Category: Cameras

The Koniflex is a high-quality 6×6 TLR produced by Konica during the 1950s. An expensive camera during an era where multiple companies were mass-producing TLRs at a fraction of the price, the Koniflex did not sell well in North America. While not as advanced in operation as contemporary higher-end Rolleiflexes, the Koniflex has a professionally bright focusing screen and world-class viewing and taking lenses. Despite its remarkable build quality and excellent optical performance, because it was not a commercial success (at least in the Europe and the Americas), the Koniflex remains today a mostly-unknown and perhaps under-appreciated 6×6 camera.

While primary known for its 35mm film cameras and lenses, Konica produced, or had a hand in producing, a number of post-war medium format cameras, including the 1950s folding Pearl 645 series, the 1950s Koniflex 6×6 TLR, the 1950s-70s Koni-Omega 6×7 press cameras, and 1968 Koni-Omegaflex 6×7 camera system. The latter two models had a range of high-quality interchangeable lenses.

Although TLR cameras existed before WW2, they came roaring back in the post-war period. During December 1949, Rollei introduced its first new post-war TLRs, including both the new “2.8A” and the cheaper “Automat.” The 2.8A was the first of a series of higher-end Rolleiflexes with a 80mm f/2.8 lens, made with several different lens designers over the years. The Automat did not really mess with the previous wartime configuration and featured a 75mm f/3.5 taking lens. In 1950, Rollei introduced the “Rolleicord 3,” a cheaper, defeatured model with an older-style knob winder and manual shutter cocking.

The early 1950s witnessed in Japan an incredible explosion in the popularity of TLR cameras. At the end of 1952, Konica introduced its first and only TLR camera: the “Koniflex.” From first glance, the Koniflex appeared to be similar in operability to the Rolleicord, with a knob advance and manual shutter cocking mechanism. The Koniflex’s primary departure from the prior TLR formula was its use of a brand-new 85mm f/3.5 five-element taking lens. The 85mm lens was not a Tessar-derived design but a derivative of the Voigtlander Heliar design. It also used a brand-new-for-1952 Seikosha-Rapid #0 shutter. Finally, Konica took a different approach to the issue of focusing screen brightness by using a condenser lens rather than the fresnel/frosted glass (or often plastic) screen found on most every other TLR. During its production run, Konica made a few changes such as using a standard PC flash socket, adding internal baffling, and improved bottom latch. Folks have called this later version the Koniflex “II,” though Konica never officially gave it any special designation.

It appears that it was not until some time in mid-1955 that the Koniflex II made it to market in North America. It appears that the most widely-marketed Koniflex was the “Tele-Koniflex.” Retailing at around $300 in 1955-56, the Tele-Koniflex included two screw-on auxiliary lenses to extend the focal length on 135mm. Unfortunately for Konica, this was about the same price as the contemporary Rolleiflex 2.8D. Compare that with the Yashica LM that only cost around $50 at the time. It does not seem that the Tele-Koniflex sold particularly well in North America. By 1957, the Tele-Koniflex was being advertised in the USA for as low as $150, which included filters, the lens hood, and case.

1956	1957

So what about this rare bird Koniflex? For my part, I have never really been into TLR cameras of any vintage or mark because they can be pretty awkward to use as an everyday camera. However, as a lifelong Konica fan, I have always been intrigued by its products that never really made it out of Japan. Let’s take a look.

Specifications for the Koniflex II

Year of Introduction	1955 (1952 Originally)
Film	120 or 620
Taking Lens	85mm f/3.5 Hexanon (5 elements, 3 groups)
Viewing Lens	85mm f/3 View Hexar
Minimum Focus	1.00m
Shutter	Seikosha Rapid #0 Leaf Shutter
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec – 1/400
Filter Diameter	39.5mm
Weight	960g
Flash Sync	PC; All Speeds
Advance	Knob; Semi-Automatic
Shutter Tripping	Button or Cocking Lever
Self-Timer	Yes

Operation

The 85mm Experience: Perhaps the reason why folks would be drawn to the Koniflex is the use of its slight more “normal” 85mm lens, the basic equivalent of using a 50mm lens in the 35mm format. While nearly all wartime and prewar Rolleiflexes and 1950s Japanese TLRs used Tessar-type lenses, many consider the Heliar design to be more advanced and to produce more pleasing out-of-focus areas. The minimum focusing distance of 1.00m is par for the course in this class. The amber lens coating of the taking lens is typical of most Konica products of the era. The viewing lens has a blueish lens coating.

Old-Style Shutter Speeds: Throughout much of the 1950s, Konica used in several products different models of Seikosha shutters that used the “old style” of speeds, so B, 1, 1/2, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200, and 1/400. In real life, this does not really make a difference. Seikosha shutters have proven to be fairly reliable over the years but still require service from time to time.

Odd 39.5mm Filter Size: The 39.5mm filter size is long obsolete, and no modern filters are made in that size. During the era, Konica produced a number of filters (labelled “Konifilters”). However, I would not advise using any of them. My advice is to find a 39.5mm to 40.5mm step up ring and employ quality modern filters.

Shutter Speed / Aperture Use: If one is coming from a later Rolleiflex or many other TLRs, the operation of the Koniflex shutter speed and aperture controls will seem quite different. Instead of using two little dials between the taking and focusing lenses to adjust these settings, the shutter speeds are adjusted by turning the ring attached to the taking lens itself and the aperture with a little lever. While you can see the aperture setting from above, you cannot see the shutter speed.

Manual Shutter Operation: Perhaps the largest downside to the Koniflex is its method of shutter cocking and film advance. Unlike Rolleis and many other TLRs, the shutter is charged by switching a lever underneath the taking lens. Unfortunately, advancing the film does not cock the shutter for the next shot. Konica’s 645 Pearl cameras also lacked the capability for the film advance to cock the shutter. Tripping the shutter is achieved by either pressing the shutter button, or pressing the shutter cocking lever to the opposite side.

Cable Release: The Koniflex uses an older style cable release. One can use either something like the Nikon AR-2 cable or an adapter that allows the use of modern cables.

Focusing: Focusing is straightforward using the knob. The Koniflex has an excellent stock focusing screen with a simply “+,” which works fairly well to both determine the absolute center of the frame as well as ensuring that the scene is level. Seemingly unique in the history of TLR design by 1952, the Koniflex uses a curved condenser lens in combination with the glass fresnel lens. This provides excellent and even illumination across the focusing screen. Focusing is achieved by looking down into the camera and/or by using the pop-up magnifier for more critical applications. Remember that the image will be laterally reversed when focusing. There is also a “sports-finder,” which is just a small cut-out in the hood. Konica did not manufacture any other types of hoods or prisms. The focusing mechanism permits the lens assembly to be pulled further back into the body which will also “lock” the shutter. This is useful for stowing the unit after a photo is taken so that shutter does not accidentally get tripped. 120 film was not cheap in the 1950s.

Film Flatness: Konica’s higher-end cameras often made film flatness a priority, which can have a significant impact on the sharpness of any photo. Not only does the Koniflex have a well-engineered pressure plate, the mechanism has rollers to aid in keeping the film flat.

Accessory Shoe: The Koniflex has a nice cold shoe on its side for your flash or external light meter.

Flash Sync: While the Koniflex I had an older Kodak-style flash socket, the II switched to a standard PC socket. Flashes sync at all speeds because of the Seikosha leaf shutter.

120 & 620 Film: Although this was probably a big deal at the time and not such a big deal anymore, the Koniflex’s ability to use both 620 and 120 film was pretty neat. 620 was a format that was used by some super-old Rolleiflexes and many Kodak cameras from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Strap Lugs: Although you could use the Koniflex case itself as a strap, the camera includes two standard lugs for any strap you wish to use.

Accessories

Case: The Koniflex came with a standard leather case that also doubled as a strap. A good way to protect the camera.

Konifilters: As stated above, Konica produced some very specific filters for the Koniflex that are not very useful today with the extreme advances in filter technology. Konica had a variety of different “Konifilters” for different cameras so it is sometimes hard to track down the right ones even if you can find them. Go with a 39.5mm step up ring to use more common filters.

Lens Hood: Konica produced a “Konihood” for the taking lens. Like the “Konifilters,” Konica made a variety of “Konihoods” for a number of different cameras in different sizes. If your Koniflex does not come with the original hood, an aftermarket one will do.

Close Up Attachment: An extremely rare accessory is the “Koni-up” close-up lens set. This was Konica’s answer to the Rolleinars. Good luck finding one.

Conclusion

The Koniflex was an expensive camera for its time, and that may have been its downfall. In a crowded market topped indisputably by Rolleiflex and with at least a dozen other Japanese-made TLRs selling for 1/5 of its price, the Koniflex may have had a hard time finding a target audience. With its high-quality lens and its fantastic and innovative viewfinder, the Koniflex should be properly considered as one of the best non-Rollei 1950s TLRs. With the vast majority of examples in Japan and seeming to be the “Koniflex I” variety, I would recommend holding out for a Koniflex II (or even a Tele-Koniflex if it ever pops up). If you like TLRs, this is worth checking out for sure.

The stunning 1956 Konica IIA was the highest end model of the company’s popular 1951 “II” rangefinder series. Employing the fantastic 48mm f/2 Hexanon, a six element, five group lens with ten aperture blades, the IIA radiates the exceptional build quality and attention to detail of higher-end 35mm film cameras of the era. The largest drawbacks of the IIA include a relatively small viewfinder that lacks a frameline, a knob film advance, and the slightly cumbersome operation of the exposure settings and shutter. Otherwise, is the relatively-affordable, but slightly rare, IIA a good candidate for your meterless, standard-lens rangefinder needs? Let’s take a look.

Specifications of Konica II Models

Model	Year	Lens	Lens Design	Blades	Shutter	Speeds	Filter
II	1951	50mm f/2.8* Hexanon	Heliar Type; 5 Elements, 3 Groups	?	Konirapid-S	B, 1 sec. – 1/500	?
IIB	1955	50mm f/3.5** or f/2.8 Hexar	Tessar Type; 4 Elements, 3 Groups	?	Konirapid-S	B, 1 sec. – 1/500	?
IIF	1955	50mm f/2.8 Hexanon	Heliar Type; 5 Elements, 3 Groups	?	Konirapid-MFX	B, 1 sec. – 1/500	?
IIA	1956	48mm f/2 Hexanon***	Ultron Type; 6 Elements, 5 Groups	10	Konirapid-MFX	B, 1 sec. – 1/500	35.5mm
IIBm	1957	45mm f/3.5 Hexar	Tessar Type; 4 Elements, 3 Groups	?	Seikosha-MX	B, 1 sec. – 1/500	?

* A version of this lens was used in the 1952 Koniflex 6×6 TLR as the “85mm f/3.5 Hexanon.”
** The 50mm f/3.5 Hexar existed in a contemporary collapsible M39 version.
** The 48mm f/2 Hexanon existed in a contemporary rigid M39 version as the “50mm f/1.9 Hexanon” and was also used for the original 1956 Konica III rangefinder and initial versions of the IIIA.

Operation

The Konica II range of cameras have about 98% the same functionality, with the only notable differences among them being: (1) the lens employed; (2) whether the lens could partially collapse into the body; (3) the position of the shutter speed and aperture levers on the lens; and (4) whether camera contains the “I” / “T” switch on the front. Unlike the rest of the series, the IIBm placed the aperture dial window towards the front of the lens instead of at the 12 o’clock position near the base of the lens. The subsequent 1956 Konica III rangefinder line constituted a substantial modernization of the entire concept, including: (1) a double-stroke lever advance on the side of the lens that also cocked the shutter; (2) a larger, automatically parallax-correcting 1:1 viewfinder; (3) integrated strap lugs; (4) a modern exposure counter; (5) a folding rewind crank; (6) an external self-timer switch; and (7) a “light value” system that annoyingly couples the shutter speeds and aperture.

Film Loading, Advancing, & Rewinding: The IIA has a modern and easy-to-use film loading system via the standard swingback door and a locking mechanism on the bottom plate. Like other Konica products of the era, the pressure plate is large and does a good job keeping the film flat as possible on the focal plane. The advance knob is used to move the film along and then close the door and turn the lock on the bottom. Then advance the film two times and set the manual exposure counter at “0.” The II series has a mechanism that will lock the advance knob at the next frame so that you cannot over-advance the film. At the end of the roll, press the button on the bottom to unlock the mechanism and then use the rewind knob to respool the film.

No Strap Lugs: As with many other cameras from this era, the IIA does not have integrated strap lugs. The original camera case contained the lugs. Many good aftermarket cases exist today that will screw into the tripod amount and will allow the use of a standard camera strap. It is highly recommended to acquire and use an original or aftermarket case.

Viewfinder: While it could have been larger, the IIA’s bright and clear combined viewfinder / rangefinder is above average for an early-1950s fixed-lens camera. However, because the IIA was a mid-cycle product, Konica did not upgrade the 1951 viewfinder to conform with the world of 1956. With a slightly cool blueish tone, the viewfinder system uses a semi-transparent, triple-layer mirror that results in exceptional viewfinder brightness. When focusing, the large yellow rectangular rangefinder patch is yellow is aligned over a purplish image. The II series lacks a frameline or any parallax marks.

Lens: As an initial matter, you may have noticed that the II series does not precisely center the lens on the body, being just a little offset. The ten-bladed 48mm f/2 Hexanon is a world-class optic whose amber coatings work well for even modern color films. In 1956, it may have been the fastest lens put in a fixed-lens rangefinder camera. The six element, five group lens design is a derivative of the Voigtlander Ultron. There is no noticeable focus shift throughout the range, and the Hexanon is sharp from f/2 on. In my opinion, the 48mm Hexanon is as good as, or even better than, the best of contemporary 50mm rangefinder lenses, including the collapsible or rigid Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron. Konica would continue to deploy the 48mm f/2 in the III and initial versions of the IIIA rangefinders. I believe that the 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon found in the later IIIAs and the IIIM was a variation of this lens.

Shutter: The use of the Konirapid-MFX leaf shutter is from a brief period of time where Konica was producing its own leaf shutters (or at least contracting them out under its own name), which would then be outsourced to Seikosha later in the 1950s. It is incredibly quiet (certainly quieter than any Barnack or Leica M focal plane shutter) and quite elegant in operation. Like many cameras of the 1950s, it employs “older” style shutter speeds: 1/500, 1/250, 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, 1/10, etc. Keep the camera on the “I” setting for normal operation as “T” is for “time exposure.”

Taking a Photo: The aperture and shutter speed controls are on the lens itself. The aperture operation is really nice and has defined “click stops” at each full setting which can be viewed in a window at the 12 o’clock position when looking down onto the lens. Be sure to only change the shutter speeds with the shutter uncocked. To take a photo, advance the film with the dial until it stops. Then cock the shutter and trip the shutter (either via the top button or on the lens itself). Rinse and repeat. The focusing is performed via a knob around the lens and has a short, about 30-degree focus throw. Be careful not to wind the film and then press the shutter button before cocking the shutter.

Flash: The IIA has a PC sync port on the lens which will work with any appropriate electronic flash with a hot shoe adapter. You must move the flash indicator lever to display “X” in the cut-out window. With the leaf shutter, an electronic flash can sync at all shutter speeds.

Filters: Although Konica did produce some filters at the time (aka “Konifilters”), the IIA’s odd 35.5mm filter size is not really in use these days. The best option may be to use a step-up ring to 37mm or 39mm for a wider selection of modern multicoated filters.

Accessories: The IIA had several OEM accessories, such as a dedicated case, a Konica-branded clamp-in lens hood (the “Konihood”), and Konica-branded filters (“Konifilters”). None of these original OEM accessories are necessary as aftermarket cases, hoods, and modern multicoated filters can be used.

Auto Up II: A company called “Pleasant” produced an interesting accessory for the IIA that clamps onto the lens and over the rangefinder / viewfinder to permit a close focusing range of 0.52m down to 0.37m. The Auto-Up II itself has the same 35.5mm filter thread and can also be used with the Konica III rangefinder models with the same 48mm f/2 lens. The operation of the Auto Up II is somewhat inelegant as the accessory somewhat blocks the viewfinder through the middle of the frame. However, in the era before close-focusing SLR lenses, it was the best you could do.

Conclusions

The IIA is a product from an era when Konica was arguably at its best, also producing cameras like the Koniflex, the Pearl IV, and some fantastic lenses. While the IIA certainly has some drawbacks in the form of a lack of a frameline, an archaic shutter operation, a minimum focus of only 1.00m, and the lack of lever film advance, it remains a perfectly usable camera in the 21st century. My largest gripe with the IIA is the size of the viewfinder. While clear and contrasty, it remains a little squinty.

While the IIA is certainly preferable to the Konica I and a better overall choice to the II, IIB, or IIF models as a regular shooter, the more advanced III series is an alternative. While the IIA can be seen as a kind of a combined rangefinder-viewfinder, leaf-shutter, fixed-lens, easy-to-load alternative to a Barnack-style camera sporting a 50mm lens, the III can be seen as more of a combined rangefinder-viewfinder, leaf-shutter, fixed-lens, easy-to-load version of the Leica M3. Whether one would prefer a II or III would be a matter of personal preference; but having used both, I like the IIA as it occupies a particular niche while the III has some competition for its era and class of camera.

Of course, if you already have an M39 or M-mount camera that you enjoy, a better idea over the II or III rangefinders may be to just find a Leica screw mount Konica 50mm f/1.9 Hexanon, which is the same lens.

The Fuji Fujipet is a model in a fascinating series of 6×6 cameras that were sold primarily in the Japanese home market from 1957 to 1963. The original model (pictured here) has a fixed 70mm f/11 meniscus lens (with a claimed 1.00m to infinity depth of field), with user-selected aperture settings of f/11, f/16, or f/22, a leaf shutter with a fixed 1/60 (or is it 1/50?) shutter speed with a “B” setting, and a flash sync port on the lens housing. Combine those features with what appears to be an auxiliary viewfinder fused to the body and a primitive, non-locking film transport system, and you have a sort of primitive medium format point-and-shoot.

In 1961, the Fujipet underwent a major revision (the “EE”), by: (1) adding an integrated viewfinder; and (2) using an autoexposure system using a selenium meter with continuous-variable aperture between f/11 and f/22; and (3) employing just one lever that both tripped and cocked the shutter. In doing so, the EE eliminated any manual aperture control, its selenium meter was calibrated only to work with 100 speed film, and “B” mode for longer exposures was omitted. A swinging arm in the viewfinder would indicate whether the photo would be exposed correctly in the f/11-f22 range. The final Fujipet revision (the “EE-2”) added a meter sensitivity dial, presumably to accommodate different film speeds.

Subsequent cameras similar to the Fujipet have included the 1960s “Diana” and the 1980s “Holga,” both of which originated in Hong Kong. It could be argued that the Fujipet (at least the non-EE models) is as good or better than either the Diana or the Holga, as it can produce pretty acceptable images with no vignetting, albeit the field flatness and visual distortion can be a bit unpredictable given the interplay between the lens and the slightly curved film position. Although functional Fujipets are a little hard to find outside of Japan, are they worth wasting your precious 120 film on? Let’s take a look.

Operation

Exposure/Shutter: Although the Fujipet’s leaf shutter has just the single speed of 1/60 (or 1/50, it is not clear), the fact that the user can select an aperture of f/11, f/16, or f/22 via a ring around the lens, you should be able to take a well-exposed daylight photo with any film in 100 to 400 ASA range. The three aperture settings are represented as various different circles at the 12 o’clock position when looking down at the lens. There is also a “B” setting which is activated on a switch beneath the lens. Cocking and firing the shutter is accomplished via two levers on the side of the lens, marked “1” and “2.” What is nice is that if you do not click “1” then “2” after a shot, the shutter cannot trip accidentally.

Fixed-Focus Lens: The @ 70mm f/11 in the Fujipet is a simple meniscus lens, the equivalent of maybe a 45mm field of view in the 35mm format. It is not bad and has pretty good sharpness and almost no corner light fall-off. However, the interaction of the lens and the slightly curved film plane result in some pretty weird distortion given the distance to the subject and/or tilting the camera up or down from a level position. In other words, to minimize weird effects and distortion, try to keep the lens as level with the subject as possible. While Fuji claims that the depth of field spans 1.00m to infinity, it would have been nice if the lens did have a few pre-set focus positions.

Film Transport: Loading the Fujipet is pretty easy. You unscrew the camera back via the tripod mount, and then pull it out. The film transport system is quite primitive. Using the red window on the back, you have to advance the film until the “1” on the backing paper is visible. Because the transport system does not lock the advance until the shutter is tripped, you take the photo and then have to advance the film via the knob until the “2” appears in the red window, and so on. It is quite easy to accidentally double expose if you do not remember to advance the film immediately after each shot.

Viewfinder: The viewfinder appears to be an external one just attached to the top of the camera. It is clean and clear and has no framelines. Point and shoot, my friends.

Strap Lugs: The Fujipet uses just simple dimple-type strag lugs. You will either need to get a set of those metal brackets that can fit around the round mounts to use a regular strap or a strap that has “string” ends that can be wrapped and knotted around the lugs.

Slide-Out Lens Hood: The Fujipet contains a built-in sliding lens hood, but unfortunately it does not lock into place.

Film Flatness: The Fujipet has no pressure plate to flatten the film. Instead, the film chamber and the camera back contain curved molding that when put together seem to have the effect of somewhat tensioning, flattening, and then slightly curving the film plane.

Flash: The camera has a cold shoe on the right side of the top cover. On the underside of the lens housing is a small PC port for flash, which requires the non-locking lens hood to be extended to access. While apparently engineered for flash bulbs, the sync seems to work ok with modern electronic flashes. However, because the Fujipet requires shooting at f/11-22, you may need to use a pretty powerful flash to reach beyond a few feet of coverage.

Filters: The Fujipet does not have a standard filter thread. Instead, Fuji made custom filters for the system that are very difficult to find today.

Versus the Later Models

I think the original non-EE Fujipet is the one to get. The selectable apertures and the “B” setting provide at least some user control over the exposure. The EE version depends on the operability of its selenium meter, has no user override over the exposure settings, and is limited to ASA 100 film. Also remember that simple selenium meters can be easily fooled by any strong backlight, and there is no way to override the EE’s autoexposure system. The EE-2 with its meter sensitivity lever is probably a better option than the EE, but I think it’s just easier and more accurate to take a meter reading and set the f/11-22 aperture yourself.

Conclusion

Maybe this is all lost to history, but it is not clear to me to whom the Fujipet was effectively marketed. While a primitive “point-and-shoot” camera may have appealed to all sorts of people unfamiliar with or unwilling to engage in the intricacies of film photography at the time, 120 film was certainly not cheap either to purchase or develop. If you are coming from the world of “real” photography, cameras like the Fujipet can be quite aggravating because you think of all of the ways it could have been better. However, for what it is, the Fujipet remains a very cool device. With some limited exposure control, the nice big 120 format, and the ability to use it with a flash as an indoor snapshot camera, there are certainly enjoyable ways to use it. If you want to see some sample photos, check out the #fujipet tag on the IG link above.

Canon’s 1958 VI-T makes a good case for being the most interesting interchangeable-lens 35mm rangefinder camera of the 1950s. Although overshadowed during the time (as well as today) by the Leica M2 & M3, the Nikon SP, and Canon’s own ubiquitous economy model, the “Populaire,” the VI-T has some functionality that all of these models lacked. Because of the VI-T’s relative rarity (only around 8,000 were produced), it remains arguably one of the better-kept secrets in the rangefinder world.

From the late 1940s through the late 1950s, various manufacturers, mostly located in Japan, flooded the market with copies of the Leica III at a cheaper price point. Although the majority of these models exhibited exceptional quality and finish, as a whole, they did little to improve substantively upon the template. The best that could be said is that a few models introduced nice features such as a lever (rather than knob) advance and swing-back film loading; but those were the exceptions rather than the rule.

For its part, Canon was one of the few companies innovating with the M39 platform beyond that provided by the Leica Barnack template. Canon’s 1946 S II was apparently the first interchangeable-lens M39 camera with a combined rangefinder and viewfinder. In 1949, Canon upped the game with its IIB, a camera that had a three-position combined rangefinder / viewfinder that could change the viewfinder magnification among approximate 50mm, 100mm, and 135mm views. The next iconic models were the 1952 IVSB and 1954 IVSB2, which not only retained the three-position finder, but also had a 1/1000 top shutter speed and an X-sync for modern electronic flashes.

In 1956, Canon responded to the M3 and Nikon’s S2 with the “VT,” with the definitive model being the 1957 VT Deluxe. The VT was a significant redesign of the IVSB series and incorporated a host of impressive features for an M39 camera: a three-position combined rangefinder / viewfinder, a bottom trigger advance, a new 50mm f/1.2 standard lens, swingback film loading, and the ability to use proprietary parallax-corrected external viewfinders that would automatically reframe as the lens focus moved. Still, the VT still left a few things to be desired. First, the rotating viewfinders did not contain any framelines. Second, it retained the Barnack-style dual high-speed / low-speed independent shutter speed dials.

Canon spent much of 1957 and 1958 producing various iterations of the VT: (1) the 1957 L2 (lever advance, 1/500 top speed, no X-sync); (2) the 1957 L1 (lever advance, no self timer); (3) the 1957 L3 (lever advance, 1/500 top speed, no flash sync); (4) the 1958 VL (a VT Deluxe with a lever wind); and (5) the 1958 VL2 (lever wind, knob rewind, 1/500 top speed).

During the autumn of 1958, Canon launched a significant upgrade to the VT line in the forms of the VI-T (trigger advance) and the VI-L (lever advance). The VI was usually bundled with either the 50mm f/1.2 or 50mm f/1.8 lenses. By 1959, these models were selling for about $220 with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens (around $2,100 in today’s dollars), less than the $280 price for an M3 body (@ $2,600). Retaining the VT’s rotating viewfinder (0.65x, 1.00x, and 1.55x) while adding parallax-corrected framelines for 50mm and 100mm lenses, the VI series also combined the shutter speeds into a single dial. The VI-T had a built-in trigger advance, where Leica required the expensive “Leicavit” accessory. The VI series had swing-back loading, while Leica continued with its bottom-loading. The VI series also provided a demagnified view for 35mm lenses, whereas the M3 required specialized “goggled” lenses.

Despite being the most advanced Canon M39 rangefinder to date, it does not appear that the VI-T or the VI-L received much fanfare in North America. Maybe the 1958 worldwide recession had hit a little too hard, maybe the public did not see any meaningful differences between the V and the VI, and/or maybe the 35mm camera market at the time was just too overloaded. In any event, the fact that only about 19,000 examples of the VI series were produced between 1958 and 1961 explains why they are relatively rare cameras today.

Canon’s final stab at the V/VI platform was the 1959 economy model, the lever-wind “Populaire.” Most likely meant to compete with the Nikon S3, the P has a parallax-corrected, cluttered, but life-sized for 35mm lenses, viewfinder with fixed 35/50/100 framelines. Despite its slimmed-down specifications, the P was successful commercially, selling more than four times as many units as the VI series.

To be sure, during the last gasps of the Barnack era, several other Japanese manufacturers followed Canon’s lead and attempted to introduce combined viewfinder/rangefinder 35mm M39 cameras, with none of them being produced in significant quantity. These models include the Yashica YF, Leotax G, Honor SL, and Tanack V3 and VP. Most of these models are expensive collectors’ items today and in terms of features have really nothing over the Canon V or VI.

By the early 1960s, Canon was the last major, non-Eastern-bloc maker of M39 lenses. Nikon halted production of M39 lenses by early 1960s. Leica continued to make a limited number of M39 versions of some of its M lenses until about 1963, most likely to accommodate the run of its IIIg model. Although the quality of Canon’s M39 lenses varied, it did have a few winners, like the 50mm f/1.4 II, the 25mm f/3.5, the 85mm f/1.8, and the 100mm f/2 and f/3.5. Canon’s last “new” M39 lens would be its “pretty good” 1962 35mm f/2. I think the later Canon rangefinder lenses are fairly capable, but I just do not like the ergonomics of most of them. None of them could natively focus below 1.00m.

With much of the the attention focused these days on the easy-to-find and relatively-cheap VT (and its variants), P, and later 7 series, the VI appears to be a bit under-appreciated. With the VI being relatively rare and increasingly pricey, let’s take a closer look at its strengths and weaknesses and whether it can offer us a pleasant and useful rangefinder experience in the 21st century.

Specifications (Compared)

Here are the Leica M3, Leica M2, the Canon VI, the Canon P, and the Canon 7 compared:

	M3	M2	VI-T	P	7
Year Introduced	1954	1957	1958	1959	1961
Weight (Body)	580g	560g	645g	650g	622g
Speeds	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000
Shutter	Horizontal Cloth	Horizontal Cloth	Horizontal Metal	Horizontal Metal	Horizontal Metal
Framelines	50/90/135	35/50/90	35 (No Frameline); 50/100	Fixed 35/50/100	Switchable 35/50/85/100/135
Frameline	Projected	Projected	Reflected	Reflected	Projected
Parallax Corrected?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
VF Mag	0.92x	0.72x	0.65x / 1.00x @ 50mm / 1.55x	1.00x @ 35mm	0.80x
Effective RF Baselength	62.3mm	49.32mm	28.7mm / 41mm / 61.5mm	41mm	47.2mm
Film Loading	Bottom	Bottom	Swing Back	Swing Back	Swing Back
Film Rewind	Knob	Knob	Crank	Crank	Crank
Film Advance	Lever	Lever	Trigger & Knob	Lever	Lever
X Sync	1/50	1/50	1/55	1/55	1/60
Parallax Pin	No	No	Yes	No	No

Functionality

The entirely-mechanical VI-T is a well-built and solid-feeling device that certainly exudes the qualities of a bygone age.

Minimum Focusing Distance: On at least the VI and the P, it appears that both can rangefinder couple down to around 0.7m (or maybe just short of that). This is somewhat interesting as Canon never made an M39 lens that could natively focus more closely than 1.00m. This minimum focus capability comes in handy if you own M39 lenses that can take advantage of close focus. As far as I know, the only classic M39 lenses than could natively focus more closely than 1.00m with rangefinder coupling was the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor. However, many Voigtlander M39 lenses from the last 20 years can focus down to 0.7m.

Viewfinder: From 1949 until its abandonment of the concept after the VI, Canon really pushed the concept of a three-position rotating viewfinder with different magnifications. In theory, this was an excellent idea; but Canon’s execution of it left something to be desired. While the rangefinder patch is a rather faint circular type, it is fairly easy to use in practice in both daylight and low light. Not as good as Leica Ms but arguably a bit better than Nikon rangefinders.

50/100: The VT’s version of this finder position contains no framelines. Instead of the .92x magnification used on the M3, Canon chose 1.00x (life-sized) for its standard finder position at 50mm. The VI introduced the reflected 50mm and 100mm framelines that were both parallax corrected, which was a significant improvement. Whether you like the 1.00x magnification option would come down to how you prefer to take photos. In theory, this magnification was most effectively used by right-eyed shooters (without glasses) where both eyes could remain open. The visual effect is that the scene appears bright as normal life but you can also focus the rangefinder at the same time. However, a life-sized finder is not so great for left-eyed shooters, especially those with glasses. I prefer the M3 approach of a slight demagnification of the viewfinder that permits full viewing by left-eyed shooters with glasses. Similar to the contemporary Nikon S3, the P’s cluttered viewfinder would abandon the life-sized 50mm view for a life-sized 35mm view.

35: The VI retained the same 35mm viewfinder position from the VT, also with no framelines. For the 35mm focal length, parallax correction is not really necessary. This view has some barrel distortion. With glasses, the 35mm view can be pretty difficult to use.

Magnified: The VI carries over the VT’s magnified view for “critical focus.” This position would ideally be for lenses at 100mm or longer.

Rangefinder Baselength: The 41mm effective rangefinder baselength of the VI is good enough to focus with accuracy the Canon rangefinder lenses of the era. However, Nikon and Leica rangefinders both had longer effective rangefinder baselengths. Even the magnified view position of the VI (1.55x) in theory was not as accurate as the M3’s standard viewfinder at 50mm. The 7 would improve this somewhat to 47mm. The circular rangefinder patch itself is not as bright or distinct as in a Leica M, but to me it is better than Nikon rangefinders. At the 35mm position, the 28.7mm effective baselength is adequate for that wider focal length.

Shutter Speeds: The VI was the first Canon M39 rangefinder with a single shutter speed dial with equal spacing between speeds. The 1 sec to 1/1000 was par for the course for the era.

Shutter: Canon switched from cloth to metal shutter curtains with the 1958 VL and continued with this type of shutter through the 7 series. Canon’s metal rangefinder shutters have generally held up well over the decades, despite sometimes becoming crinkled from nosey fingers. The sound of the shutter is muted and pleasant.

Film Loading: The VI series employs a modern swingback film loading system with a door key on the bottom plate and a door latch at the bottom of the hinge. The film loading is performed by lifting up the rewind crank, inserting the film, lifting up the advance knob activated by a button the back of the body, and then slowly turning the knob so that the film spools on the takeup. Reset the knob, close the back, and then turn the bottom key to lock.

Film Advance: On a VI-T, advancing the film can occur in two separate ways: via the bottom fold in trigger or by engaging the advance knob and turning it until it stops. The single-stroke trigger advance is somewhat unusual but pretty great once you get the hang of it. When not in use, it folds into the bottom plate of the camera.

Film Rewinding: The film is rewound by by switching the ring around the shutter button to “*” and then rewinding the crank.

Flash Sync: The VI carried over the X-flash sync speed from the VT at 1/55. The flash sync terminal is on the side of the camera and will require the appropriate PC cable if a modern electronic flash is used.

Automatic Parallax Correction Viewfinders: One of Canon’s most innovative contributions to rangefinder technology was to create a mechanical linkage between the camera and an accessory viewfinder to automatically correct parallax error. Other manufacturers’ viewfinders would require dialing in the focus distance to the viewfinder while others had no parallax correction at all. While this system was abandoned after the VI, no other manufacturer had something like this. This capability is best suited for the use of 50mm and telephoto lenses, where parallax error can be significant, especially at closer focusing distances.

Self-Timer: The VI has a standard front switch for self-timing needs.

Double Exposures: The VI has a fairly complicated way of taking double exposures, which involves releasing the film advance, manually rewinding the film rewind crank, relocking the film advance and then advancing the film transport knob.

Accessories

Coupled Selenium Meter: Compatible only with the VI series and the P, Canon produced a shoe-mount selenium light meter that coupled directly to the shutter speed dial. Unlike most selenium meters from the time, it appears that a fair number of examples out there still work. The meter also had an accessory “incident” metering attachment as well as a “booster” for lower-light situations. To ease access to the rewind crank, Canon introduced a second version that allowed the light meter unit to pivot from the shoe mount.

Case: The VI had a two-part leather case. Using the bottom half of the case, while blocking the loading and unloading of the film, is a good idea to protect the body from unnecessary scratches.

Camera Holder: Canon offered a bracket for the VI that permitted easier operation on a tripod.

Accessory Finders: With the V and VI series, Canon’s contemporary accessory viewfinders would permit automatic parallax correction through a mechanical linkage on the hot shoe. The most interesting Canon viewfinder is the (expensive) “Twin Turret” that provided two lenses that could cover the 21-135mm range.

Pistol Grip: The V and VI could theoretically benefit from the “Pistol Grip” mounted to the tripod socket that permitted an alternate way to hold the body and utilize the trigger wind. This seems to be a rare OEM accessory.

Diopters: Perhaps the rarest rangefinder accessories of all time, Canon apparently produced a series of removable viewfinder diopters for eyesight correction so that shots can be taken without glasses. So far, very few people have actually seen one. This would be a great candidate for reproduction by some budding camera entrepreneur.

Conclusions

Given the VI’s unique design, it is somewhat difficult to make direct comparisons to other contemporary products. The VI is overall better than any Barnack camera, all Canon rangefinders that came before it, and the P. The P substitutes a more useable 35mm view for a more cluttered viewfinder. Against the 7, it is a difficult comparison. The bigger, more advanced, but not as ruggedly-built 7 adopted the Leica M philosophy of having a single viewfinder magnification with rotating projected framelines for the common focal lengths. The lower viewfinder magnification pretty much eliminated the “life-sized” right-eyed shooting technique and thus is better for those wearing glasses. The built-in, uncoupled meters on the 7 and 7s models really offer no real world advantage over using a modern shoe-mounted meter. However, the spirit of the 7 did live on with the Voigtlander Bessa M and M39 cameras. that also chose to use a switchable projected framelines system, rather than the rotating viewfinder of the V/VI. If you are shooting mostly 35/50/100, whether you prefer the 7 or the VI would come down to personal preferences.

Against the M3, the VI has a hard time. The M3 has a better viewfinder that is more resistant to flaring, a more distinct rangefinder patch, and its effective rangefinder baselength is longer at 50mm than the VI-T’s “magnified” focus setting at 1.55x magnification. However, in terms of everything else about these cameras, they function pretty much the same. The Ms and the VI-T have the same shutter speeds and similar flash sync speeds. Over the M3, the VI-T has easier film loading, faster film rewinding, a trigger film advance for faster shooting, a native ability to use 35mm lenses, and an accessory pin that allows automatic parallax correction with certain Canon viewfinders. Despite any perceived advantages, whether you would think that the M3 would simply blow a camera like the VI out of the water will probably come down again to your personal preferences and maybe wallet size.

At the end of the day, the VI remains arguably Canon’s crowning achievement in rangefinder camera design. With not many produced, a VI in serviceable condition can be a little hard to find. Because most of these cameras have been sitting on shelfs and in closets for decades, before taking one out, I would recommend a good viewfinder cleaning and a once-over on the shutter speeds and rangefinder alignment. Once working properly, these types of cameras could last forever with care and proper maintenance.

As the final model in the East German VEB Zeiss Ikon “Contax S” line, the 1958 Pentacon FM (aka the “Contax FM”) was the best of the bunch. With open aperture focusing with auto-diaphragm lenses, a nice ground-glass screen with a split-screen focusing aid, and in a relatively compact package, the FM may be the winner in the category of second generation M42 SLRs. Although the FM has some archaic operability, like a knob film advance, a non-instant-return mirror, an odd shutter speed dial, a lack of any kind of native or aftermarket provision for a cold shoe, and a front-mounted shutter button, its main draws include its size, weight, ergonomics, quality of its construction, and a fairly nice viewfinder for the time. Let’s take a look.

Not to recount unnecessarily the well-known history of the Contax S line, which is well-detailed elsewhere, let’s bring ourselves up to 1958. In 1949, Zeiss of East German introduced the “Contax S,” the first, or second depending on whom you ask, fixed pentaprism 35mm SLR. In 1952, Zeiss Ikon introduced the “Contax D,” which was successful and sold under various brand names around the world. During 1956, the “Contax E” was introduced, a “D” model with an added uncoupled selenium light meter on top of the pentaprism. Later in 1956, Zeiss Ikon introduced the “Contax F,” which was the first 35mm camera in production to allow open-aperture focusing with capable lenses, a major milestone in SLR development (to be fair, in 1956, those lenses did not really exist yet). The final variant, the 1958 “FM” would essentially be an “F” with a split-screen focusing aid. Rounding out the alphabet soup, Zeiss also produced the “FB,” an “F” with an uncoupled light meter and the “FBM,” an “FM” with an uncoupled light meter. Because of ongoing intellectual property disputes with Zeiss Ikon of West Germany, East German home market versions of these cameras were called “Contax,” while export versions were called “Pentacon.” In 1958, VEB Zeiss would become “VEB Kinowerke Dresden.” In 1959, this entity was then combined with several other East Germans companies. In 1964, this entity became “VEB Pentacon.” Thus, the Contax line ultimately was swallowed up by the company that had previously been manufacturing the competing Praktica FX series. The next major product of out this consortium was the 1959 Praktica IV, the first of the “next generation” of East German SLRs.

It would not be until about 1960 that M42 automatic diaphragm lenses would begin to hit the scene in earnest. Thus, the FM was often bundled with a “pre-set” lens, mostly the 50mm f/2.8 Tessar but could have come with a number of different East German-made standard lenses of the time. “Pre-set” lenses were a stopgap solution where you would set the minimum aperture you want on the lenses, and then another ring would allow you to switch from wide-open (for focusing) to your preferred aperture (for taking the photo). If you want my opinion, I generally prefer the later multicoated CZJ M42 lenses of the 1970s over any of the 1950s Tessars, Biotars, or whatever. Bundled with the Tessar, and if you could actually find one in North America (it appears that few were imported), the FM retailed for about $230 in 1958 but sometimes advertised as low as $160 (around $2,300 to $1,600 in today’s money).

Here are the three of the top M42 SLRs of 1958 compared:

	Pentacon FM	Praktica FX3	Asahi Pentax K
Place of Manufacture	East Germany	East Germany	Japan
Lens Mount	M42	M42	M42
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec – 1/1000	B, 1/2 – 1/500	B, 1 sec – 1/1000
Fast/Slow Speeds	Switch Operated	Same Dial	Separate Dials
Auto-Diaphragm	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auto Return Mirror?	No	No	Yes
Prisms	Fixed Pentaprism	Interchangeable	Fixed Pentaprism
Film Advance	Knob	Knob	Lever
Stock Focusing Screen	Fresnel; Split-Screen	Ground Glass	Fresnel; Microprism
Weight	620g	620g	570g
Standard Lens	Tessar 50mm f/2.8	Tessar 50mm f/2.8	Takumar 55mm f/1.8
Shutter	Cloth Horizontal	Cloth Horizontal	Cloth Horizontal
X-Sync Speed	1/20	1/50	1/50
Price w/ Lens (1958-59)	@ $160	@ $160	@ $200

While it would have been nice to have a camera that combined the best features of these three, none of these three models clearly vanquished the competition. However, by 1958, great leaps forward in SLR technology were just a year or two in the future.

Operation

Being the final model, the FM incorporates everything good about the Contax S line and all of the upgrades that were incorporated along the way. Although much of its operation is archaic, its saving graces are the ability to use auto-diaphragm M42 lenses, a viewfinder with an incredibly bright center circle with a split-screen focusing aid, and exceptional build quality. I would say that if it were not for these three features, the FM would not be a worthwhile M42 user given the range of better alternatives. That all being said, how does it work?

Viewfinder: I was fully expecting that the viewfinder would be typical of 1950s and 1960s SLRs, quite dark even with a standard f/1.8 lens and pretty much unusable with slower aperture lenses. While the FM’s ground glass screen overall is not exceptionally bright, its center focusing spot is awesome. This makes a difference because with lenses slower than f/2, while the overall viewfinder dims significantly, the center spot remains bright. When using lenses that are f/2.8 and slower, the viewfinder outside of the center spot becomes fairly dim. While many M42 bodies do have center spot that is somewhat “brighter” than the rest of the focusing screen, they are nothing like the FM. Like the rest of the Contax S line, the focusing screens were not interchangeable. No other information is shown in the viewfinder.

Auto Diaphragm Operation: Although by the early 1960s, you could find auto-diaphragm M42 lenses in every corner drugstore, in 1958 they were a little hard to come by. The FM’s auto-diaphragm capability makes it compatible with every M42 lens from any manufacturer. The front-positioned shutter button may seem odd at first, but it is actually fairly ergonomic.

Shutter Speed Selection: Selecting the shutters speeds is another odd task. For starters, the FM uses the “old style” shutter speeds: 1/50, 1/100, 1/200, etc. That is not a big deal. To change the shutter speeds, you must first cock the shutter and then rotate a dial below the shutter speed window in the direction of the arrow. To use the slow speeds, a lever must be switched on the back and then you turn the dial for the slow speed to match the red arrow.

Shutter Sound: The FM’s shutter is fairly muted but has a slight metallic sound. The horizontal cloth shutter of the Contax S series has a fairly good reputation but remember that the material does not last forever.

Film Loading & Counter: The FM uses modern swing-back film loading. Interestingly, the Contax S series had this idea that you could use another film cartridge as a kind of take-up spool, which would eliminate the need to rewind the film into the original canister. The film counter is located on the advance knob and does not reset automatically. After loading the film, you set the film counter dial to two spots short of “0” and then shoot / wind the film until the counter reaches “1.”

Film Advance: Although adding a lever would have been easy enough, the FM sticks to a clockwise rotating knob. Because the FM does not have an automatic return mirror, rotating the knob will both lift the mirror back into position and cock the shutter for the next shot.

X-Flash Sync: 1/20 is a rather abysmal flash x-sync speed, even for the 1950s. The sync speed may not even matter anyway because there is nowhere to put a flash. The Contax S line lacked either a native or aftermarket cold shoe option.

Accessories: The FM did not have a super large range of proprietary accessories. Of note, they included a rubber eyecup, extension rings for close-up photography, an angle finder, a leather case, and a microscope adapter. None of these are essential.

Conclusion

If considering a Pentacon / Contax FM as a shooting platform for M42 lenses, rather than as a shelf queen or conversation piece, it is difficult to make a compelling case versus subsequent generations of cameras. However, despite its quirky operation, I like the FM. It is not only an elegant machine from a bygone age, but the center spot alone provides a brighter view than 98% of M42 bodies’ focusing screens (maybe all of them). The FM remains a difficult camera to find in working condition, so expect that any long-neglected body will require some repair.

The Konica Pearl IV was a short-lived, Japanese-domestic-market-only medium format folding camera of exceptional quality that was produced from late 1958 to 1959. With the precipitous decline in the popularity of folding medium format cameras during the late 1950s, it disappeared from the market along with most others brands and would be Konica’s final attempt at the 645 format. Because the Pearl IV has been generally unknown outside of Japan, and because most Konica products of the 1950s were absolutely world-class, is it possible that the IV was the best “classic” 645 medium format folding camera? It makes an extremely good case.

Although folding cameras were produced by many different manufacturers all over the world, the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta series, produced between the early 1920s and late 1950s are probably the most famous. The post-war models included the Ikonta 524/15 (6×6), the Ikonta 524/12 (6×9), the Super Ikonta III (6×6), and the Super Ikonta IV (6×6). During the 1950s, other new, rangefinder-coupled folding cameras included the Voigtlander Bessa I and II (6×9), the Agfa Super Isolette (6×6), various iterations of the Mamiya 6 (6×6), and the different versions of the Olympus Six (6×6). An endemic problem with rangefinder-coupled folders, even in their final generations, was that their viewfinders were generally abysmal.

Introduced at the sunset of the folding camera era was the December 1958 Konishiroku (Konica) Pearl IV. However, because of its relatively low production, the fact that very few examples made their way out of Japan, and the general death of the folding camera, for decades not many people outside of Japan had actually put their hands on one. It does not appear that any well-known North American photography publication even reviewed the Pearl IV when it was produced. In recent history, online sellers (mostly Japan-based) have asked a lot of money for working examples, much more than any other common vintage folding camera. For many people, for the money, there are other attractive classic and modern alternatives in the 645 and 6×6 format.

So, is the Pearl IV a fun, usable 645 camera for the 21st century, or should it be confined to the climate-controlled cabinets of the camera collector crowd? Let’s take a look.

The Pearl II & III

Konica, whose origin reaches back to the 1870s, has a long and storied history as a famous optical and camera company in Japan until its ultimate demise in 2003. Although the history gets a little fuzzy, it appears that at least by 1909, Konica was producing a folding roll film camera. The grandmother of the Pearl line was the 1938 “Semi Pearl” — a non-rangefinder coupled 645 folder that may have been inspired by the contemporary Zeiss Ikonta. The Semi Pearl was produced before the war, sporadically during the war, and then for a short time after the war. In 1948, Konica introduced the “Pearl I,” which retained much of the physical appearance of the Semi Pearl while adding an “uncoupled” rangefinder, where the distance from the rangefinder would have to be dialed in manually to the lens.

The Pearl II (1950) and Pearl III (1955) were the immediate predecessors to the IV. The Pearl II featured a coupled combined viewfinder/rangefinder, a Konica-designed shutter with a top speed of 1/500, a choice of a f/4.5 or f/3.5 lens, an off-set cold shoe, swing-back film loading, a viewfinder lacking framelines or any parallax correction lines, and an interesting top-mounted “depth of field” calculator that automatically adjusted with the selected aperture. To take a photo, the shutter speed and aperture had to be set on the lens itself, the shutter had to cocked, and then the shutter release button is positioned on the top of the door (not where you think it would be on the top plate). The Pearl II’s film advance system will seem a bit bizarre. When advancing the film, one had to look through a small glass window through the back door that would read the frame number from the backing paper of the 120 film. The Pearl II had neither “double exposure prevention” nor did the film advance “lock” when advanced to the appropriate next frame. Thus, it would have been easy to double expose a shot if you forgot to advance the film, or you could advance the film too far if not paying attention to the film window.

Faced with newer, more-featured models from companies like Zeiss and Mamiya, Konica introduced the Pearl III in 1955. The last variant of the Pearl III, the IIIL, featured a coated version of the f/3.5 Hexar lens and a new Seikosha-produced leaf shutter (the MX). Shutter speeds again went up to 1/500, M/X/F flash synch capability was added (flash syncs at all shutter speeds), an off-set cold shoe sat on top, and the smallish viewfinder/rangefinder window still lacked framelines and any parallax marks. The most “innovative,” and now controversial, feature of the Pearl III was its “automatic stop” film advance. To make a long story short, once the film was loaded and the arrows on the film were lined up with the marks on the camera, one closed the back, and then flipped a lever on the bottom of the camera, that would engage the “auto” advance mechanism. Now, the bottom-positioned advance would automatically “stop” at the appropriate frame interval. In practice during the 1950s, this probably worked ok. However, as many people have reported, modern 120 paper backing is much thinner than it was during the 1950s. As a result, the auto stop mechanism does not often work as intended, either not leaving enough space between frames or, alternatively, too much. Folks have developed workarounds. However, the IIIL still lacked a double exposure prevention system.

Released during December 1958, the Pearl IV was a complete ground-up redesign of the Pearl III, essentially retaining only the lens and the shutter of the IIIL. Because the popularity of folding cameras had fallen so drastically during the 1950s, the IV was only produced for less than a year with only 4000 – 5000 built.

Specifications

Format	6 x 4.5 (120 Film Only)
Weight	715g
Lens	75mm f/3.5 Hexar
Filter Thread	30.5mm
Minimum Focus	1.20m
Shutter	Seikosha MXL
Shutter Speeds	B to 1/500 in Click Stops
Aperture Range	f/3.5 – f/32 in Click Stops
X Flash Sync	All Speeds
Parallax Correction	Etched in Viewfinder

Operation

The IV’s most impressive upgrades over the III include a completely-redesigned brilliant viewfinder/rangefinder with actual framelines and etched parallax lines for close focusing, a far better and reliable automatic film advance mechanism, a centered cold shoe, double exposure prevention, and a traditionally-placed frame counter mechanism.

Viewfinder/Rangefinder: To me, what separates an excellent camera from the pack is the inclusion of a large, bright viewfinder. The IV does not disappoint in this regard. Indeed, there is probably no classic folder with a larger and brighter viewfinder. The projected framelines and rangefinder patch are very easy to see even in bright sunlight. Although the viewfinder is not automatically parallax-corrected (etched instead), I do not believe that any classic folder had such a feature.

Film Loading: The IV has straightforward and easy film loading that will be familiar to anyone who has used a modern medium format camera. The bottom dials rotate to “pop out” to permit placing the take-up spool and film in position. Once secured, the dials are turned to the red marks on the bottom plate to “lock” the take-up. Once you have lined up the arrows on the film paper with those on the body, close the swing back, and use the advance knob until it stops. At this point, the top frame counter will read “1.”

Operation: To take a photo with the IV, in no particular order, set the aperture and shutter speed on their respective dials on the lens assembly, focus, and cock the shutter. The shutter is tripped by pressing a rectangular button on the door. Then advance the film with the knob on the top of the camera until it stops. Repeat. The lens cannot be stowed unless it is focused at infinity. This is very, very important to remember.

Cable Release: Where one would expect a shutter release button to be, the IV has a standard cable release socket. However, all the cable release socket does is mechanically trigger the door shutter button.

EV Coupled Exposure: In a feature also found on the contemporary Konica III 35mm rangefinder series, the Seikosha MXL shutter provides an option to set the EV for a scene instead of the aperture and shutter speeds separately. Setting an EV will permit you to rotate both the aperture and shutter speed dials together in the same ratio. In fact, the Seikosha unit defaults to that operation. If you want to set the shutter speeds and aperture independently, you need to push in the EV lever to let the aperture ring move independently of the shutter speed. This may seem somewhat annoying, but learning how to use the EV actually makes things easier because now you can choose the particular speed and aperture for the EV rating at the same time. However, as with all folders, setting exposure is a little cumbersome as you have to look at the front of the camera to set the actual selected EV value, instead of looking down at just the speed and aperture.

Traditional Film Counter: Unlike the III, the IV has a film counter window on the top plate.

Advanced Film Advance: Unlike the III, the IV has a more modern film advance that is not only immune to the III’s “backing paper thickness” issue, but also prevents double exposure as it is impossible to cock the shutter if the film has not been advanced to its next hard stop.

Centered Tripod Mount: Unlike the III, the IV has a traditional centered standard tripod mount.

The Optics: The 75mm f/3.5 Hexar is a stunning optic with Konica’s trademark 1950s amber lens coating. A 75mm 645 lens is equivalent to a 45mm lens in the 35mm format. The minimum focusing distance is only 1.20 meters.

Shutter Speeds: The IV uses the “older” style shutter speeds — so 1/10 for 1/15, 1/25 for 1/30, 1/50 for 1/60, 1/100 for 1/125. However, 1/250 and 1/500 are the same. It would not be until the 1960s that shutter speeds became uniform across manufacturers. However, the small variation in speeds should not throw off any exposures. The Seikosha MX shutter has a reputation of being fairly reliable but still may require service from time to time.

Pocketable: When folded, the IV is narrower than any practically 35mm fixed-lens rangefinder camera of the era, either fixed lens or interchangeable lens, yet obviously a bit taller.

Handy Little Prop: Built-in to the lens door is a small metal hinge lever than allows the camera to prop itself up on a flat surface in its horizontal orientation. This may be useful to steady the camera for longer exposures on the fly.

Missing Features

Auto Cocking of the Shutter: Unlike the 1955 Mamiya 6 Automat, the IV did not include an “auto” shutter cocking mechanism. The 6 had a great feature that the advancing of the film also cocked the shutter for the next photo.

Traditional Shutter Button: The IV lacks a shutter button where you would expect it to be. Instead, as mentioned above, it has a cable release socket in its place. This is odd because the Konica III rangefinder series’ shutter button is nearly identical to that in the Pearl IV. It would have been easy enough to add a similar top plate shutter release.

Accessories

Case: The Pearl IV was sold with a proprietary two-part case which also doubled as the camera strap. It is highly advisable to purchase an example with the case as it is nearly impossible to find it as a standalone accessory. Because the Pearl IV lacks any strap lugs, the only other solution would be to find a strap that attaches to the bottom tripod mount.

Lens Hood: Pearl IV with a metal clamp on “Konihood” which is the same as that used on the Pearl III. However, any aftermarket 30.5mm screw-in hood will work. However, any hood must removed before collapsing the lens back into the body.

Konifilters: During the era, Konica produced a set of “Konifilters” in 30.5mm thread. However, it is always preferable to use modern multicoated filters over those from the 1950s. The plus side is that the lens can be folded in with any single filter attached.

Close Up Lenses: As with many rangefinder cameras of the era, the Pearl IV could accept two different “close up” lenses. A company called “Pleasant” produced a close-up accessory that could focus only between 1.00m and 0.5m and another that would focus between 0.6m to 0.4m. These Pleasant close up lenses, regardless of the system, are fascinating pieces as they permitted rangefinder to focus as closely as modern SLR lenses. With a medium format platform, these accessories can be very useful. Today, these are extraordinarily difficult accessories to find as they were proprietary to the IV only.

Flash: Konica produced a fold-up Koniflash that worked with normal flash bulbs of the time. Because no one really uses bulbs anymore, the IV works with all standard electronic flashes at all shutter speeds.

Compared

While the Pearl IV is an impressive 645 camera for the 1950s, it certainly had some competition.

Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta IV 534/16 (6×6) (1956): The Ikonta IV has a strong claim to the title of best classic 6×6 folding camera. It checked the important boxes: a decent combined viewfinder/rangefinder, double exposure prevention, easy/conventional film loading, and the standard 75mm f/3.5 lens,. The Ikonta IV did not require that the lens be set to any particular focus point before closing. Over the Pearl IV, the Ikonta IV had a built-in primitive uncoupled selenium meter (most not working today), an 8-second delay self-timer, and a conventional shutter release on the top of camera. However, working Super Ikonta IVs are just as expensive on the used market as Pearl IVs.

Mamiya 6, Mark V (6×6 & 645) (1955): The very popular Mamiya 6s operate differently that the Ikonta IV or the Pearl IV. Instead of focusing with the actual lens, the 6 had a focusing dial on the back that moved the film plane rather than the lens assembly. Although the 6 went through a half-dozen or so versions during the 1950s, Model V appears to have been the most innovative with the ability to shoot in either 6×6 or 645 format (with an optional drop-in film mask). The 6 will impressively compensate its frame spacing to accommodate for 645. However, the 6’s viewfinder/rangefinder leaves some to be desired, it requires the installation of the pressure plate each time the film is changed.

Mamiya 6 Automat (6×6) (1955): The most impressive feature of the Automat is the ability for the camera to cock the shutter mechanically for the next shot at the end of the film advance. However, that is really the only feature that the Automat has over the Pearl IV. The Automat does not have double exposure prevention and did not have the capability to switch to 645.

Conclusions

Now that the Pearl IV has made its way out of Japan after many decades of relative obscurity, how does it compare? If you enjoy shooting the 645 format on a folding camera, the IV is clearly better than any of the pre-war folding camera models. If cost were not an option, it compares favorably with its contemporaries Its greatest selling features being the incredible viewfinder/rangefinder view, its ease of film loading, and its double exposure prevention. The IV also exhibits extremely fine craftsmanship, being solid and confidence-inspiring without being unnecessarily heavy. However, the IV is not necessarily an easy camera to use out in real life. Given the fact that the exposure settings and shutter cocking mechanism are on the lens itself, you may find yourself needing constantly to adjust the settings with changing light conditions. The lack of a shutter release in the traditional position is a little disappointing.

In the end, while relatively pricey, the IV is a wonderful 645 folding camera with solid build quality, an impressive viewfinder, and an extraordinary coated Konica lens. Despite its short list of shortcomings, I would highly recommend it if you are into the classic folding experience.

The 1964 Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP was the first commercially-available M42 SLR that combined auto-diaphragm lens operation with TTL light metering, but in a rather cumbersome two-step process. This third generation M42 technology would be employed by countless models by numerous manufacturers from the mid 1960s through the late 1980s. Like the Nikon F before it, the SP has generated quite a lore around itself where many folks believe it was the “best” or one of the best M42 bodies ever made. Given the wide range of later and better M42 camera body alternatives, is there an objective case for the SP? Let’s find out.

The M42 lens mount standard was developed before WW2 but did not come into general commercial use until the late 1940s. In 1949, East Germany’s Contax introduced the first of its “S” line of M42 SLR cameras. Other East German products such as the “Praktica” and “Praktina” line also appeared during the late 1940s and early 1950s. For its part, Pentax also entered the race, claiming that its 1952 Asahiflex I was the first Japanese-built M42 SLR to reach market.

Throughout the 1950s, M42 camera technology rapidly developed with the East German and Pentax models being competitive with each other. During 1956, Contax announced its “F” camera that introduced “auto-diaphragm” operation with M42 lenses that contained an extra “stop down” pin that permitted the camera body to hold the lens’ aperture wide open for focusing while automatically stopping down to the selected aperture upon taking the shot. Pentax’s ultimate response was the 1958 Pentax K, an auto-diaphragm-capable camera with an integrated pentaprism and a lever film advance. In 1961, Pentax introduced the S3, which could use an optional detachable coupled light meter.

When introduced in 1964, the SP’s primary innovation was a built-in TTL light meter with a match-needle exposure system. From the outset, the Spotmatic system had broad range of professionally-oriented accessories as well as a full-range of lenses from 17mm to 1000mm. Although the SP came standard with either a 50mm f/1.4 or a 55mm f/1.8, it could function equally well with any auto-diaphragm M42 lens. Pentax continued producing the Spotmatic series in various forms until about 1975.

In 1971, Pentax introduced the first of the fifth generation” of M42 SLRs with its “ES.” The ES was the first electronic-shutter, aperture-priority autoexposure M42 camera. For the system to function properly, however, Pentax required the use of proprietary lenses that contained the necessary linkages to communicate the lens aperture to the camera.

Specifications

Year Introduced	1964
Lens Mount	M42
Shutter	Metal Focal Plane
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec. – 1/1000
Viewfinder Magnification	0.88x (50mm); 1.00x (55mm)
Focusing Screen	Fresnel / Microprism
ASA Range	20-1600
Weight	621g
Flash X-Sync Speed	1/60
Battery	PX400; 387S (Modern Replacement)

Operation

Like many marquee 35mm camera bodies of the 1960s, there is little question that the SP exhibits exceptional build quality and attention to detail. There is a strong case that the SP is among the best of the third generation of M42 cameras.

Operation: In 1964, the primary draw of the SP would have been its ability to use any auto-diaphragm M42 lens with true built-in TTL light metering. Remember that even the Nikon F and F2 require the use of an optional external prism for TTL metering. The SP employed a two-step procedure for it to work. Essentially, when an auto-diaphragm M42 lens is mounted, the camera body holds the aperture wide open for the purposes of easy focusing. To meter at a selected aperture, you press the switch at the side of the lens mount to turn on the meter and to stop down the lens to the taking aperture. A needle will then begin moving in the viewfinder, and you would change the aperture and shutter speed combination until the needle falls between the + and – signs. You then switch off the meter, which returns the lens to wide-open aperture. When triggering the shutter, the body automatically stops down the lens to the selected aperture. The shutter noise is not particularly quiet.

Viewfinder: The only information displayed in the viewfinder is the match-needle information on the right side of the screen. The fixed, non-interchangeable focusing screen is a fresnel / matte microprism type with a .88x magnification with the 50mm lens and 1.00x magnification with the 55mm lens. The focusing screen is not exceptionally bright, even with a f/1.8 lens, and is mostly par for the course for a 1960s camera of this type.

Lack of Flash Shoe: The SP did not come standard with either an integrated cold or hot shoe for a flash. A cold shoe adapter that fit over the camera’s viewfinder was an optional accessory. The SP has two flash sync sockets on the front of the camera for “X” and “FP.”

No Motor Drive Capability: The original SP does not have the appropriate linkages for the Pentax’s later motor drive. However, Pentax later produced in 1967 a variation of the SP called the “Spotmatic Motor Drive.” With a bottom-mounted unit, the camera could achieve 2-3 frames per second at 1/1000. Read all about this motor drive and the optional 250 frame back here.

Batteries: The SP used a single V400PX 1.35 mercury battery to power the meter. The most common alternative today would be a zinc air MRB400 1.35V battery. Many SP users claim that, unlike other 1960s cameras, the 1.55V of modern alkaline batteries will not throw off the camera’s meter. The closest alkaline equivalent that works appears to be a 387S, which is just a 394 battery with a rubber ring.

Shutter Speed / ISO Range: Typical for the era, the SP had shutters speeds of “B” and 1 second to 1/1000. No SLR camera of the 1960s, save for 1960 Konica F, the 1960 Canonflex R2000, and the 1964 Leicaflex, offered a faster shutter speed than 1/1000. ISO range is 20 to 1600.

Self-Timer: The SP has the standard mechanical front self-timer.

Exposure Lock: The SP has no external exposure lock and no manual exposure compensation.

Conclusions

In my opinion, the SP suffers a bit from “conventional wisdom” syndrome. While no doubt a quality-made and innovative SLR from an age where manufacturers placed more of a priority on aesthetics and durability, the SP has been completely eclipsed by several subsequent generations of M42 cameras. The main drawbacks for me are the cumbersome metering process and the relatively dark viewfinder with any lens slower than f/1.8, with the obscure battery thing being a secondary concern. This may be heresy to some, but if looking for a native film platform for M42 lenses, there are plenty of better options.

Introduced in 1966, the East German Pentacon Six is an SLR-style 6×6, interchangeable-lens medium format camera. With its essential architecture dating back to 1956, the P6 operates essentially as a “grown-up” version of a Praktina 35mm SLR from the same era. While arguably not what we would consider today as a “professional” system, lacking the expected range of accessories, the P6 was a successful product with many working examples floating around the world today. Being a fairly cheap camera with a good selection of 1950s-1990s German and Ukrainian lenses, is the P6 a good option for the world of 6×6 photography? For sure.

As with many other famous East German camera products, the concept of a single-lens reflex, interchangeable-lens 6×6 camera finds its origin before WWII. In 1935, a Dresden-based company named “Korelle-Werk” produced the “Reflex-Korelle,” perhaps the first 6×6 reflex-view cameras. After the war, the 1950 “Meister-Korelle” (called the “Master Reflex” in the USA) featured interchangeable lenses, a focal plane shutter, shutter speeds from 1-1/1000. The Meister-Korelle was discontinued in 1952.

Introduced at Photokina in 1956 and then to market in 1957, the “Praktisix” was a further evolution of the Meister-Korelle concept and formed the essential basis of the later P6. Produced by Kamera-Werkstatten in Dresden, perhaps most famous for its “Praktina” line of 35mm SLRs, the Praktisix was well-regarded, being produced until it was replaced by the P6. It does not appear that the Praktisix was exported in any meaningful quantity to North America until about 1962. In America, the Praktisix was fairly cheap, being advertised during 1962-63 for around $150 with its standard waist-level finder and an 80mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena lens.

During 1964, the East German camera industry consolidated further, forming the company “VEB Pentacon.” After this consolidation, Pentacon made a few tweaks to the Praktisix and introduced the “Pentacon Six ” in 1966. The notable upgrades over the last version of the Praktisix included improvement to the film transport system, the ability to use 220 film, and an automatic film counter reset. In 1968, Pentacon introduced the P6 “TL,” which coincided with the introduction of an uncoupled metered prism. It appears that the P6 with its Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm f/2.8 Biometar hit the North American market in 1968. Advertised during the early 1970s with a standard lens and case often for around $199 or less, the P6 was certainly one of the cheapest 6×6 interchangeable-lens medium format systems on the market. The P6 was also sold under the name “Haminex Praktica 66.” It is not clear how long the P6 was sold “new” in North America, but advertisements for new copies seem to have stopped around 1972. For whatever reason, at some point during the early 1970s, further new East German camera products seem to have largely disappeared from the American market.

The P6 eventually spawned three spinoffs. In 1971, Arsenal (Ukraine) introduced the “Kiev 6C,” a 6×6 camera with similar proportions, capabilities, and the same lens mount. This model was followed in 1984 by an improved, yet often-unreliable “Kiev 60.” Until very recently, a Ukrainian company called “Arax Foto” offered rebuilt and upgraded Kiev 60s and a company called Hartblei still does. The final spinoff was the “Exakta 66,” a somewhat-unreliable higher-tech 1986 West German version of the P6 that offered a number of very high quality lenses made by Schneider Kreuznach. A wonderful site to peruse regarding all things P6 is here.

Building a Pentacon Six TL

The first thing you may want to do with a P6 is build it to your preferences. Needless to say, to get the most out of the system, a stock P6 may need a little work.

Finders/Prisms

Pentacon offered three main options for finders/prisms for the P6: (1) a waist-level viewfinder; (2) a nonmetered prism; and (3) a metered prism. With the once-available aftermarket metal adapters now unavailable, the P6 could also easily use finders/prisms made for the Kiev 60 system. As of 2023, unless you can find one of the older adapters second-hand, your best bet will be to 3D print your own, like this one.

The first fork in the road is whether you prefer using the P6 like a TLR (looking down) or an SLR (a level view). Remember that the waist-level finder will present the image reversed horizontally. If taking the TLR approach, the standard waist-level finder should be fine. If you are seeking a better option, the waist-level finder for the Kiev 60 is better (with an adapter).

For prism finders, there is no question that an adapted Kiev 60 TTL metered prism is the best option. It is not only brighter than both P6 prisms but has greater coverage of the focusing screen. With an appropriate battery stack adapter, the Kiev 60 prism can be powered by three common SR44 batteries. Aftermarket focusing screens tend to throw the Kiev’s metering off, so you may have to set the maximum aperture on the prism to some point on the dial below “1.4” to get correct readings. By contrast, the native P6 prisms are a little dark and do not have full viewfinder overage. The P6 TTL prism also uses discontinued 1.35V mercury batteries, and does not cover the entirety of the focusing screen. While high-quality metal plug-and-play Kiev-to-P6 prism adapters formerly existed, they are now discontinued. Someone really should consider licensing the design from Baier Fototechnik and start making them again. Otherwise, 3-D printing is the only option for now.

Focusing Screens

After choosing a preferred viewfinder/prism, the next step is whether you want to upgrade the stock focusing screen. Despite some reports, the stock, ground-glass, focusing screen is bright enough when using a f/2.8 lens in daylight conditions. However, it is not so nice in lower light or with slower lenses.

With the original P6 screens being a little difficult to find these days. there are a few relatively-inexpensive aftermarket options, including those with a traditional SLR-style split-screen focusing aid and/or microprism collar. Current options include: (1) a screen made for the P6 by Arsenal in the Ukraine; and (2) screens made in China found on eBay. The Arsenal and Chinese screens are made out of optical plastic, rather than glass. Replacing the screen will make using the P6 far more pleasant.

It must be noted that the modern aftermarket replacement screens are far, far thinner than the original curved / thick Pentacon screens. So thin, in fact, that you cannot really re-use the original retaining wire (which were “bent” to conform to the curved shape of the OG P6 screens) and the clips are not deep enough to even anchor the retaining wire even if you could make it work. Fortunately, an aftermarket thin screen can normally work just by “sitting” in place without additional securing. Just make sure after you install an aftermarket screen that the camera is focusing perfectly at infinity.

Standard Lens

If new to the system, it is probably a good idea to start off with a lens in the 80mm-90mm focal length, which translates to about 45mm-55mm in the 35mm format. Most of the standard lenses are fairly easy to find and affordable. These are the most common ones.

Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm f/2.8 Biometar: The Biometar was the standard lens offered with P6 models. These come in two flavors: a single-coated “zebra” edition and a later multicoated version. If your P6 came with one of these, you are all set. However, priced apart from a P6 body, standalone Biometars, especially the later multicoated versions, are getting a little spendy.

Vega-12B 90mm f/2.8: The Vega-12B was the standard lens for the Kiev 6 and Salyut-S 6×6 cameras, made at the Arsenal plant until the early 1980s. A single-coated optic, the 90mm focal length is arguably a bit better for portrait photography. Some folks prefer the rendering of the Vega to the Biometar.

Volna-3 80mm f/2.8: The Volna-3 replaced the Vega-12B as the standard lens for Kiev 60 cameras. The Volna-3 can also be found with “Arsat” branding. Where the earlier versions were single-coated optics, the later examples were multicoated. A somewhat frustrating design flaw with the Volna-3 is that the aperture stop-down lever on the side of the lens often creates a light leak at its minimum focusing distances. You could just put some black electrical tape over the lever. Unlike the P6, taping over the stop down lever is not such a big deal for the Kiev 60 because it has an independent DOF preview lever on the body.

Arax 80mm f/2.8: This Arax Foto product is the same lens as the the Volna-3, but checked, cleaned, and upgraded. Currently, you can order these any day from Arax’s site with either a metal or rubber focusing ring. If you are looking for a standard lens, want a lens that someone has already looked over, and do not want the hassle of attempting to find a good one second-hand, I would suggest going this route. It does have the same “light leak through the stop-down lever” as the Volna-3.

The design of the Biometar is derived from the old Xenotar template. The Vega-12B shares a similar design to the Biometar. The Volna-3 resembles neither and is a more traditional “50mm SLR” lens design. What is better about the Ukrainian lenses is that they focus much more closely than the Biometar. With either the Vega-12 or Volna-3, remember that they were also produced for the Kiev 88 cameras, whose lenses are not compatible with the P6. These lenses are supposed to be distinguished by letter, with “B” meaning P6 mount and “V” meaning Kiev 88 mount. Watch out as some internet sellers sometimes confuse the two.

Here are the specs of the three primary lenses compared.

Lens	Biometar 80mm f/2.8	Vega-12B 90mm f/2.8	Volna-3 80mm f/2.8
Manufacturer	Carl Zeiss Jena	Arsenal	Arsenal
Year Introduced	@ 1956 (SC); @ mid-1970s (MC)	@ 1971	@ 1984
Design	5 Elements, 4 Groups	5 Elements, 4 Groups	6 Elements, 5 Groups
Min. Focus	1.00m	0.6m	0.6m
Weight	260g	480g	420g
Coating	Multicoated	Single	Multicoated
Filter Size	58mm	58mm	62mm
Aperture Blades	8	6	6

There are also the older 1950s CZJ 80mm f/2.8 Tessar (one of the standard lenses for the earlier Praktisix) and a high-performing / expensive Schneider Kreuznach 80mm f/2.8 (produced for the later Exakta 66). If you are into something slightly wider, there are the 1960s CZJ 65mm f/2.8 Flektogon (quite rare today in decent condition), the 1970s Arsenal Mir-3B 65mm f/3.5 (reportedly an excellent, but hefty, optic), or the 1980s multicoated Arsenal Mir-38B 65mm f/3.5 (opinions vary). Whatever is clever.

Functionality

The P6 operates more or less like an 1950s SLR. There are really only two major and two minor shortcomings with the system that may or may not matter to you.

The first major issue is that there is no depth-of-field preview lever as CZJ lenses made for the system had DOF levers built-in. The second major issue there is no native mirror lock-up function, which prevents using lower shutter speeds to prevent shake.

The first minor issue (that is endemic to medium format focal plane shutter cameras), is that the X flash sync is a paltry 1/25, which effectively prevents reliable handheld electronic flash shots. The second minor issue is that there is no accessory shoe on the camera. Pentacon only offered an add-on accessory shoe that fit on its prism viewfinders.

Open Aperture Focusing: The P6 holds the aperture wide open for the purposes of framing and focusing. This is accomplished by a pin of the lens interacting with the camera body. With f/2.8 lenses and waist-level finder, the stock groundglass focusing screen is bright enough for everyday use. However, upgrading to a brighter screen that has some kind of focusing aid will make your life easier.

Focal Plane Shutter: The P6’s focal plane shutter has two separate curtains. The shutter and mirror flip noise is not as loud as you think it would be and sounds quite elegant. Advancing the film resets the mirror position and cocks the shutter for the next shot.

Weight: Although the P6 can be appear to be quite large, its stock set-up (waist level finder + 80mm lens) does not feel heavy or particularly bulky. Indeed, CZJ seems to have prioritized making its 50/65/80/120 line-up as light as possible. It is only when bolting on prisms and using the heavier and physically larger Ukrainian lenses that a P6 begins to weigh you down a bit.

Shutter Speeds: The shutter speed dial has discrete clicked positions for each speed from B to 1/1000. The speeds can be set whether the shutter is cocked or not.

120/220 Film: An upgrade over the Praktisix, the P6 can use both 120 and 220 films. No special operation is required other than releasing a lock that permits the film advance to go past 12 frames.

Loading the Film: A much discussed topic is the P6’s inability to tolerate sloppy film loading. For those familiar with medium format systems, this issue is not necessarily unique to the P6. When loading the film, make sure that the film is tight as possible as it advances (it may take more than one try to accomplish this). Also, be sure when advancing the film / cocking the shutter to ease the lever back rather than letting it “snap back.” Even if you are careful with loading and advancing, irregular frame spacing can occur. However, as long as the frames do not actually overlap or touch each other, it will be fine.

Standard Cable Release: The P6 uses a standard screw-in cable release, very useful for using the camera on a tripod or with a handle.

Camera Strap: Like many cameras, the P6’s case doubled as its camera strap. If you do not have a case or do not trust your case, special metal clips are available for purchase that attach to two points on either side of a lens, allowing the use of pretty much any standard strap.

Accessories

Besides the eye-level prisms and focusing screens, the P6 had a limited range of accessories. Of note, these included dedicated bellows, an angle finder, a “chimney” finder, an accessory tripod mount, a focusing magnifier, and extension tubes. Unless you are using the P6 for close-up / macro work, none of these accessories are essential or even exciting.

Conclusions

Despite several shortcomings, the P6 remains a worthwhile 6×6 camera system. With current market demand focusing on 6×7 systems, popular models for that format have been skyrocketing in price. While the 6×6 format is not the “traditional” rectangular perspective, it is still a large negative that can tolerate some cropping to any aspect ratio. As compared with TLRs, a focal plane 6×6 camera trades compactness for versatility. The P6 is also not that heavy and not a backbreaker to haul around all day. In my opinion, the P6 is easier and more intuitive to use with a prism finder, thus as an “SLR” rather than a “TLR.” Perhaps the most redeeming part of the system is that there are three entirely separate lens lines from which to choose, not including the Arax and Hartblei tilt/shift lenses. With the CZJ line, there is a range of relatively affordable lenses ranging from 50-500mm. With the Arsenal lenses, there is an inexpensive range from 30-500mm. Finally, for big spenders, the Schneider Kreuznach lenses made for the Exakta 66 represent professional, perhaps Hasselbad-level, products in the 55-250mm range along with several zooms.

Buying a P6 can be a little daunting as it is necessary to find one that has been recently serviced. These days, most examples for sale seem to reside east of the Elbe or south of the Danube. Find reputable sellers and ask questions about its service history.

Regarding alternatives, you probably cannot go wrong with the bigger and heavier Kiev 60. However, finding a reliable Kiev 60 can be difficult. With Arax Foto apparently no longer refurbishing / rebuilding those cameras, you still can find a nice an inexpensive kit at Hartblei. Despite its heavier weight and lower quality all around, the Kiev 60 does have a native TTL prism and a DOF preview lever. Although much pricier, the Exakta 66 may seem like a decent option, but apparently also have serious reliability and parts-availability issues and only the “Mod III” is the one you want.

Announced in 1966, but not introduced to market until some time in 1967, the Konica Auto SE Electronic is a relatively-obscure, fixed-lens, spring-loaded auto-advance, program-mode-only 35mm rangefinder camera sandwiched between the well-known Auto S2 and followed in 1969 by the similarly-program-only Electron. The Auto SE was the first implementation of Konica’s four-group, six-element 38mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens, the second and final occasion being on the 1973-77 Auto S3. Not only can the Auto SE focus down to 0.6m, quite a feat, it also was one of the very few production 35mm rangefinder cameras that incorporated a wind-up, spring-loaded automatic film advance. The Auto SE was not cheap and cost about $100-130 in late 1960s dollars (like @ $800 today). Although it is not known exactly how long the Auto SE was produced, it was still being advertised for sale at least as late as 1970. Other than an exterior design resemblance, the Auto SE shares little in common with Auto S2, almost as if a different team of engineers developed it. Being lucky enough to find one that “works,” let’s take a closer look at this yunikōn.

Specifications

Lens	38mm f/1.8 Hexanon
Shutter	Seiko ES
Parallax Correction	Yes
Viewfinder Magnification	0.59x
Effective Rangefinder Baselength	24.8mm
Shutter Speed Range	1/15 – 1/500
Aperture	f/1.8 – f/16
X Sync	1/30
Minimum Focus	0.6m
Meter	TTL CdS
Battery	PX1 / MR50 1.35V
ASA Range	25-400
Filter Size	49mm
Weight	750g

Operation

Program Mode Autoexposure: The Auto SE operates in program mode only. Because the manual does not illuminate the preferences of the programming, all we know is that the camera will automatically set a shutter speed and aperture for a particular shot. The Auto SE will most likely default down to 1/30 at f/1.8 in insufficient lighting. The CdS cell on top of the lens should automatically compensate for any colored / neutral density filters. The shutter itself makes little noise, but the auto advance sure does.

The Lens: Perhaps the primary draw to the Auto SE for most camera enthusiasts would be Konica’s first implementation of its 38mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens. Although no official design schematic seems to exist for the Auto SE (or the Auto S3), we know that the Auto SE version is a single-coated, mostly symmetrical 1-2-2-1 double-gauss design. It is entirely possible that the 38mm is simply a modified version of the 45mm f/1.8 from the Auto S2. However, in an era where nearly all fixed-lens rangefinders cameras sported lenses in the 45-50mm focal length, a 38mm lens is much more versatile. More importantly, the lens itself could focus down to 0.6m, one of the only cameras in its class that could do so. While the Auto S3’s 1973 version of the 38mm was multicoated, it could only focus down to 0.9m. The Auto SE has a relatively short focus throw like the Auto S3.

Viewfinder/Rangefinder: The viewfinder is pleasant, is fairly demagnified, is automatically parallax-corrected, and has yellow projected framelines. It has the same blueish tint as the Auto S3 and is not super flare resistant. There is no exposure information in the viewfinder. The only light that appears is a very odd yellow “star” at the bottom as an underexposure warning / battery check. Although my example may have an unknown level of normal degradation, the square rangefinder patch is visible but of course will get somewhat washed out in direct light.

Battery Check: On the back of the camera is a “battery check” button. Pressing it will illuminate the same bizarre yellow star in the viewfinder that serves as the underexposure warning.

Lens Hood: Like other 1960s Konica rangefinder models, the Auto SE has a built-in, slide-out lens hood. The Auto SE also has a removable plastic filter holder that screws into the front of the lens, Because the lens hood does not have much travel, it will barely get past a 49mm filter. Any hood that exceeds the diameter of the lens itself will tend to block the rangefinder. Like the Auto S3, the screw-in hood from the Minolta 7sII or the hood from the early 1960s Konica Auto S will work, but good luck finding either.

Spring-Loaded Film Advance: The coolest design feature of the Auto SE is certainly the bottom fold-in key for spring-loading the film advance. The manual states that the system is good for 20 shots on a single full wind. Because the shutter is quiet and the drive is pretty loud, you can snap a photo, keep your finger on the shutter, and then walk away. The film release and rewind crank is also on the bottom of the camera.

Film Loading & Unloading: The Auto SE will not operate without film loaded and will not even fire the shutter. It is not quite clear how the camera knows there is no film loaded, but there must be some kind of communication between the winding mechanism and the shutter (perhaps to avoid double exposures?). The Auto SE loads film the opposite way than a traditional camera. Insert the film leader into the take-up and then use the key on the bottom to advance the film. Once you close the back, you fold out turn the key until it automatically switches over from “loading mode” to “winding mode.” Very cool. The film counter is bottom center below the film door. To unload the film, you have to pull out the key and hit the button underneath it, which will release all of the tension on the film advance to permit the rewinding of the film on the tucked-in knob on the opposite side of the base plate.

Self-Timer/Shutter Lock: Another interesting design feature of the Auto SE is the self-timer and shutter lock. The self-timer is activated by moving the switch around the shutter button down and then pressing the shutter activates it. You can also lock the shutter entirely by sliding the switch up.

Metering/Battery: The Auto SE appears to use the same CdS metering system as the Auto S2, which uses a single sensor placed above the lens. The Auto SE takes a single and unusual mercury PX1/MR50 1.35V battery, inserted on the back of the camera to the right of the viewfinder. Because PX1/MR50 batteries are no longer made, the available substitutes include modern 1.5V LR50/A1PX alkaline batteries. There is also a rather pricey MR50-sized step down converter to 1.35V, which I could not get to work at all with the Auto SE. As a side note, MR50s were most commonly used in desk clocks back in the day.

ASA Range: The Auto SE only permits ASA selection from 25 to 400 via a switch on the bottom of the lens.

Hot Shoe/Flash: The Auto SE may have been the first Konica camera product to come equipped with a hot shoe for a flash. For flash exposure, the Auto SE uses a “guide number” system, which essentially means that given the flash’s rated power in manual mode, the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed and aperture automatically to account for both the focusing distance and available ambient light. After mounting an electronic flash, you have to turn the lens dial to the appropriate guide number on the lens and then take the photo. For instance, if you mount a flash with a guide number of 14 (GNs are usually for 100 ASA), put the flash on full power (not “auto mode”) and then turn the lens dial to “14.” While the Auto SE will default the X-sync flash speed to 1/30, the camera will set the appropriate aperture given the focused distance to the subject. The Auto S3’s concept is the same, but works a little differently. The Auto S2 had a more conventional flash system where with an electronic flash’s auto mode, you manually selected a shutter speed of 1/60 or below and the appropriate aperture.

Shutter: The Auto SE appears to be the only Konica fixed-lens rangefinder camera of the 1960s to use a Seikosha electronic shutter. Of course, Seikosha had supplied a variety of leaf shutters for Konica’s 1950s products, including the III series as well as many of the medium format folding Pearls. The only other popular 35mm rangefinder at the time to use the Seikosha ES shutter was the 1965 Canon QL19.

Construction/Size: Small and light may not be suitable adjectives for the Auto SE. What is striking about the Auto SE is how well it is made, sturdy, well-finished, and functional (but minimal) design. Regarding both design and ergonomics, the Auto SE is real winner.

Versus Contemporary Competitors

There is no other fixed-lens rangefinder camera that has the same combination of features as the Auto SE. While the SE may not have been “first-to-market” with many of its features, it remains unique in combining them. Although a spring-loaded drive could be found on the contemporary scale-focused half-frame Fuijca Drive and Canon Dial cameras as well as full-frame cameras like the Kodak Motormatic, the “Robot Royal,” and the obscure Soviet “Leningrad” rangefinder cameras, none were quite as advanced or shared a similar combination of features as the Auto SE. By 1966, a coupled fixed-lens rangefinder camera wider than 40mm could be found on a variety of cameras produced during the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the Ricoh Wide (35mm f/2.4) and Kowa Wide F (35mm f/2.8) but none had a built-in CdS meter or were as fast at f/1.8. During the 1960s, only a small handful of fixed-lens rangefinder models could focus down to 0.7m (the Auto S2 could only focus down to 0.9m), like the 1967 Fujica Compact Deluxe and the 1969 “New” Canon QL17. However, the “New” QL17 is not a good comparison because it was arguably part of the next generation of compacts. The 1965 QL19 would have been the comparable Canon product to the Auto SE.

Because there was no obvious direct “competitor” to the Auto SE, I would imagine the combination of the close-focusing wider lens, rangefinder coupling, and the “point-and-shoot” CdS autoexposure system would have been the main draws. By 1969, the next generation of camera products were starting hit the market that would have dethroned the Auto SE from any technological advantages it may have briefly enjoyed.

Versus Other Konica Rangefinders

	Auto S2	Auto SE	Auto 1.6	Electron	Auto S3
Year	1965	1966	1967	1969	1973
Lens	45mm f/1.8	38mm f/1.8	45mm f/1.6	45mm f/1.8	38mm f/1.8
Min. Focus	0.9m	0.6m	1.00m	0.9m	0.9m
Shutter Speed Range	B – 1/500	1/15 – 1/500	B – 1/500	?	B – 1/500
Exposure	Shutter / Manual	Program	Shutter / Manual	Aperture	Shutter
Weight	750g	750g	783g	?	410g
Film Advance	Lever	Spring	Lever	Lever	Lever
Filter Thread	55mm	49mm	55mm?	?	49mm
Metering	CdS	CdS	CdS	Dual CdS	CdS
Parallax Correction	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Etched
ASA Range	25-400	25-400	25-400	25-400	25-800
Shutter	Copal SVA	Seiko SE	Copal SVA	Copal	Copal Leaf
X Sync Speed	All	1/30	All	?	All
Hot Shoe	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
VF Magnification	0.65x	0.59x	0.65x?	?	0.55x
Original Battery	PX625	PX1 / MR50	PX625	PX32	PX675

Some Maintenance Tips

Adjusting Horizontal RF Alignment: Like many other 1960s Konica rangefinders, the horizontal rangefinder adjustment is a pretty “easy” task. On the plastic viewfinder piece on the back of the camera, you will see a small plastic screw cover with two tiny holes. With a pair of sharp-pointed tweezers, rotate that screw CCW and take it out. You will then expose a hole that will lead to the horizontal adjustment. Although you will not be able to see what you are doing, stick a small flathead screwdriver into the hole, find the groove in the screw, and turn it appropriately until the rangefinder is aligned.

Cleaning the Viewfinder: This is fairly straightforward. The top plate is held on by six screws — three tiny screws on the shutter lever and three around the top plate. Loosen but DO NOT REMOVE the three tiny screws on the shutter lever until you can lift the lever itself straight off. Then go onto the easier screws around the body. Be careful with the soldered wires to the top plate because those are very easy to break. The viewfinder windows are then very easy to get to.

Conclusion

While the iconic Auto S2 was and remains Konica’s premiere fixed-lens 1960s rangefinder, the more obscure Auto SE incorporates a variety of features that sets it apart. Despite having almost no ability to override its automatic exposure system, the Auto SE’s close-focusing wider lens, its automatic mechanical film advance, and its relatively-advanced flash system more than make up for it. The Auto SE makes an interesting case as a competitor to the Auto S3. Although both share the same lens, the Auto SE focuses significantly closer, has a larger viewfinder, has an automatic film advance, and does not constantly drain the battery by running the meter whenever the lens cap is removed. The Auto S3 on the other hand is smaller/lighter, has shutter-priority exposure control, and has an exposure lock. If you can live with program-only autoexposure, the Auto SE is a real winner in the 1960s fixed-lens rangefinder category in every other respect.

Manual

Because the Auto SE manual is not otherwise online anywhere, here it is for your reference.

The 1973 Konica Auto S3 is an advanced compact fixed-lens rangefinder camera whose primary selling point is its exceptional 38mm f/1.8 lens. The Auto S3 descends from two prior Konica rangefinder products, combining the 38mm Hexanon lens from the 1966 Auto SE and the general design and ergonomics of the 1968 C35. With a good, but not perfect, combination of features, the Auto S3 still remains one of the iconic pocketable fixed-lens rangefinder cameras.

During the 1950s, Konica produced a series of high-quality fixed-lens rangefinders in the form of the I, II, and III series. With the market demanding cameras with coupled light meters, starting in 1959, Konica produced a series of excellent fixed-lens rangefinder cameras, which ultimately culminated in the 1973 Auto S3.  Here is a brief recap.

Konica S Series (1959-63): Starting in 1959, Konica introduced the first of three cameras in the “S” series, which combined a sharp and rangefinder-coupled lens, a coupled selenium light meter (match needle), a Copal SV shutter (max 1/500 shutter speed), and a parallax-corrected viewfinder. The primary differences between Models 1, 2, and 3 were the lenses. The S came with a 45mm f/2.8 lens, the S-II with a 48mm f/2 lens, and the rare S-III with a 47mm f/1.9 lens. The independent aperture and shutter speed controls were placed on the lens itself.

Konica Auto S Series (1963-66): During 1963, Konica introduced the next generation of its fixed-lens rangefinder camera in its Auto S camera. Using the same 47mm f/1.9 lens from the contemporary Konica S III, the Auto S added an off-lens coupled CdS metering system powered by a single PX625 1.3V battery, a Copal SVA shutter, a dual range exposure system that permitted an “auto mode” for shutter speed priority operation or match needle operation for aperture priority, a parallax-corrected viewfinder, and a pull out lens hood.  It was a superb (and expensive) camera for the time. In 1965, Konica released a major update to the platform in the form of the Auto S2 with a the 45mm f/1.8 lens.  The major difference from the Auto S was the relocation of the CdS meter cell to inside the ring of the lens (allowing for automatic exposure compensation when using filters). 

Side-by-side with the production of the Auto S2, Konica announced the Auto SE Electronic in 1966. The Auto SE featured a brand new, wider 38mm f/1.8 lens, a wind-up auto film advance mechanism, and automatically parallax-corrected viewfinder. The Auto SE was a “program-only” camera, whose only exposure input was the film speed, with the camera doing the rest.

Konica C35 (1968): In 1968, Konica introduced its perhaps most iconic rangefinder camera.  The C35 was a major departure from the Auto S series line.  The C35 had a coupled rangefinder, a four-element 38mm f/2.8 lens and a Copal B shutter.  The C35 was a completely automatic camera, with no manual override for either shutter or aperture settings.  The CdS meter transmitted both the shutter speed and aperture settings to the viewfinder.  The auto shutter operated from 1/30 to 1/650.  The camera also introduced a neat automatic flash system that set that automatically set the shutter speed to 1/25.  Konica sold a ton of these cameras. The C35 lived on through the 1970s in various configurations, using the same 38mm f/2.8 lens. 

Konica Auto S3

The Auto S3 combines the general ergonomics of the C35 with its excellent 38mm f/1.8 lens from the Auto SE. Other than the lens, the Auto S3’s highlights included shutter speed priority autoexposure, an exposure lock capability, and a further implementation of the guide number flash system that synced at all shutter speeds. Although the production of the Auto S3 ceased around 1977, Minolta and Vivitar introduced very similar products immediately thereafter: the 7sII and the 35ES.

Specifications

Construction	Anodized Aluminum Body
Shutter Speeds	B, 1/8 to 1/500
X-Flash Sync	All Speeds
Aperture Range	f/1.8 to f/16
ASA Range	25-800
Shutter	Copal (Leaf)
Battery	PX675
Filter Thread	49mm
RF Baselength	14.2mm
Minimum Focus	0.9m
1973 Price	$199
Years of Production	1973-77

Operation

38mm Lens: The multicoated, six-element, four-group 38mm f/1.8 lens on the Auto S3 is carried over from the single coated version in the prior Auto SE (which could focus down to 0.6m). The 38mm Hexanon is a fantastic lens with (I am pretty sure) a 1-2-2-1 symmetrical design and. In my opinion, the Hexanon rivals lenses like the similarly-designed 35mm f/2.8 Leica Summaron and the 35mm f/2.5 W-Nikkor. There is a little vignetting wide open but the resolution and color rendition are top-notch for a non-professional lens. I like the Hexanon so much that I had one modified to rangefinder-coupled Leica M mount.

Viewfinder: The Auto S3 has a relatively small but bright viewfinder and displays along the right side the aperture reading that would correspond to the selected shutter speed. There is no automatic parallax correction, only marks in the etched frameline for closer distances. The rangefinder patch is adequate for most situations.

Focusing: The primary shortcomings of the Auto S3 are that body’s capabilities are not commensurate with the lens performance. The combination of having a short effective rangefinder baselength, a short focusing throw, and a minimum focusing of only 0.9m limit the camera’s potential.

Exposure & Exposure Lock: The Auto S3 uses shutter-priority autoexposure. This means that the camera automatically sets the appropriate aperture at the shutter speed selected on the lens. Light metering is achieved via a CdS cell above the lens. A really nice feature on the Auto S3 is an exposure lock that is activated by a half-press of the shutter button.

Film Speed: The ASA 25-800 range was pretty good for 1973. The film speed is selected via a lever at the bottom of the lens.

Guide Number Flash System: Like the Auto SE before it, the S3 has an interesting daylight fill flash feature, that was originally designed for the Konica X-14 and X-20 flashes but will work with any flash that has a manual mode. The way it works is that you place the flash into the hotshoe and then adjust the flash guide number ring to match the flash’s guide number. With the flash attached, a dark bar appears along the aperture readings in the viewfinder. You focus and then meter the scene and then adjust the shutter speed until the aperture lines up with the black bar. Thus, this system takes into account the flash’s maximum power, the distance to the subject, and the ambient light. The Auto S3’s pre-set guide numbers (at ASA 80/125 in meters) are 7, 14, 28, and 56.

Battery: The Auto S3 requires one PX675 battery to operate.  The camera will still fire with no batteries, but the aperture will be stuck wide open at f/1.8 and shutter speed at 1/30.  Although PX675 mercury batteries of the correct voltage are no longer produced, there are adequate replacements (1) a zinc-air 675 replacement; or (2) an MR44 step down adapter, you can use a cheap 392 silver oxide battery.

Lens Hood: Konica never produced an OEM lens hood for the Auto S3. Almost all aftermarket 49mm lens hoods partially block the viewfinder, with some vented hoods actually also partially blocking the rangefinder as well.  Per the helpful comment below, there are several workarounds. The first is the lens hood from the Minolta 7sII, which also has a 49mm filter thread. The second is the original hood from the 1959 Konica S.

Always On Light Meter: The light meter remains always on as long as the lens is uncovered.  This is a major design flaw given the fact that either a switch or half-cocking the film advance could act as an “on” switch. 

Compared to Contemporary Alternatives

During the 1970s, a variety of manufacturers made similar compact, fixed-lens rangefinders. Here are a few of the more popular ones compared. Aside from a slightly-wider lens and an exposure lock, the Auto S3’s specifications are, on paper, similar to its competitors.

	Konica S3	Vivitar 35ES	Olympus 35RD	Yashica 35GX	Minolta 7sII
Year Introduced	1973	1978	1975	1975	1977
Lens	38mm f/1.8	40mm f/1.7	40mm f/1.7	40mm f/1.7	40mm f/1.7
Min. Focus	0.9m	0.9m	0.85m	0.8m	0.9m
Shutter Range	B – 1/500	B – 1/500	B – 1/500	B – 1/500	B – 1/500
Exposure Modes	Shutter	Shutter	Shutter/Manual	Aperture	Shutter/Manual
Weight	410g	465g	490g	580g	460g
Filter Thread	49mm	49mm	49mm	52mm	49mm
Metering	CdS	CdS	CdS	Silicon Diode	CdS
Parallax Correction	Etched	Etched	Etched	Yes	Etched
ASA Range	25-800	25-800	25-800	25-800	25-800
Shutter	Copal	?	Seiko	?	Copal
X-Sync	All	All	All	Proprietary Flash	All
VF Mag.	0.55x	?	0.60x	0.62x	?
RF Baselength	14.2mm	?	?	?	?
Battery	PX675	PX675	PX625	2 x PX640	PX675
Exposure Lock	Yes	No	No	No	Yes

Accessories

The Auto S3 had two main accessories: (1) a two-part case; and (2) a close up lens called the “Auto Up 3.”  Because the Auto S3’s lack of close focusing,  I have been keeping an eye out for the close up lens but they seem to come up very rarely.   

Conclusions

There is no doubt that the Auto S3 is fine camera. Building upon the success of the C35, and incorporating the excellent wider lens from the Auto SE, the Auto S3 makes the case for being one of the better and more versatile consumer fixed-lens rangefinders on the market in 1973. Despite much internet enthusiasm for the Auto S3, it has some downsides that are mostly shared across its class of cameras. The fact that the meter continuously runs without a lens cap and drains the battery is a bummer. The minimum focusing distance of 0.9m limits its versatility. Because other manufacturers followed suit with similar products with similar capabilities, the Auto S3 does not monopolize any particularly useful feature in its class, except for perhaps exposure lock. Unless you are focused on the Auto S3 in particular, any of the other better cameras in its class (listed above) should similarly be considered. I would suggest that: (1) the Minolta 7sII would be considered as the true “successor” of the Auto S3; (2) the Yashica 35GX is more useful for those who prefer aperture-priority operation; and (3) the 1972 Canon QL17 G-III is perhaps the best of the bunch.

Produced from 1973 to 1976, the Leitz Minolta CL was the Japanese domestic market version of the Leica CL 35mm M-Mount camera, identical in all respects except for the nameplates.  The CL was produced as a part of a collaboration between Leica in West Germany and Minolta of Japan that also spawned a few M-mount lenses and other products such as some of the earlier Leica R models. A very pricey camera in 1973, the CL (and the later 1980 Minolta CLE) remain the most compact Leica M-mount film bodies produced. Is the CL a viable alternative to a “real” M camera? Or should it just be appreciated for what it is? Let’s take a look.

As the story goes, by the late 1960s, Leica was in trouble. TTL light-metered SLRs were quickly becoming the standard for professionals. In 1971, Leica made a hard departure from the 1966 M4 in the form of the M5, a camera, while interesting and capable, never caught on. Leica’s answer to the Nikon F, the “Leicaflex” system, although advanced and still well-regarded today, never really caught on with the masses. By the early 1970s, West German camera companies generally were falling seriously behind technologically. During 1972, Leica struck up a partnership with Minolta, a collaboration that would lead initially to the Leica CL (manufactured in Japan) and the 1976 Leica R3 (manufactured in Germany). Similarly, Zeiss partnered with Yashica to produce a new generation of high-quality 35mm SLRs and lenses under the “Contax” brand name.

The early 1970s also witnessed an explosion of the automatic compact fixed-lens rangefinder camera. Although the idea of an easy-to-use, lightweight, metered, fixed-lens rangefinder had come of age in the 1960s, this next generation included cameras that were even smaller, lighter, and easier to use. Examples of these included the Canon QL17 G-III, the Yashica 35 Electro, the Konica Auto S3, and the Olympus 35RD. These cameras were extremely popular and relatively affordable.

The Leica CL was likewise a small, lightweight camera with a built-in meter with the capability of using most of the world of interchangeable M-mount and M39 lenses. At launch, two brand-new Leica M-mount lenses were offered with CL system: (1) the 40mm f/2 Summicon-C (in Japan, these lenses were rebadged as the “M-Rokkor 40mm f/2”); (2) and the 90mm f/4 Elmar-C. The 40mm Summicron is a fantastic little lens.

Neither the M5 nor the CL ended up being commercial successes. Leica shut down production of the M5 in 1975 and the CL in 1976. The CL may have been a camera in search of a market and was also a terribly expensive camera at the time: listed for around $600 with the 40mm f/2 Summicron in 1973 money (around $4,000 today) but sometimes advertised as low as $400-450 ($2,700-3,000). If shopping for a high-quality compact rangefinder camera in 1973, there were plenty of cheaper options.

The CL remains a forever orphan in the Leica universe. If you are looking for a low-cost entry point into Leica rangefinder photography, is the CL a good choice? If not, is it a good “side” Leica?” I am not sure if either is the case.

Operation

Viewfinder: The CL’s bright, parallax-corrected viewfinder can display framelines for 40mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses.  The 40mm and 50mm framelines are displayed by default, and the 90mm is displayed only when that lens is mounted. In my opinion, the CL’s display of the 40 and 50 framelines at the same time clutters the viewfinder.  In my opinion, it would have been preferable to display the 40mm/90mm framelines together and then the 50 by itself or just eliminate the 50mm frameline altogether.

The viewfinder magnification is .6x and its effective rangefinder base length is 18.9mm (compared to an effective baselength of 49.3mm on a modern 0.72x Leica M film body).  The CL’s short rangefinder base length decreases focusing accuracy at wide apertures and at close distance. Fortunately, the camera was designed around these limitations, ensuring that the camera will focus correctly at f/2 with the 40mm and f/4 with the 90mm. Overall, other than some frameline clutter, the viewfinder of the CL is pretty good and is perhaps one of its best aspects, displaying the shutter speed that is selected along with the metering needle.

Mechanics: The CL has a par-for-the-course top shutter speed of 1/1000, like all Leica Ms at the time. The shutter speed goes down to 1/2 second and also has a “B” setting. The placement of the shutter speed dial on the front of the camera is rather ingenious , as you can hold the camera as normal and use your finger to adjust the speed. Because the shutter is mechanical, batteries are only required to power the meter. The film speeds from 25 to 1600 ASA are set manually via a dial in the middle of the shutter speed wheel. The flash sync is at 1/60 and below. The minimum focusing capability of the body is a respectable 0.8m, although many standard Leica M lenses of the era could focus down to 0.7m.

Loading Film: It would not be a Leica-designed product if film loading were easy. One must remove the bottom of the camera, lift up the pressure plate, and thread the film through the plastic take-up spool. It took me a few times to get the hang of it. A common failure point in CLs includes the white plastic take-up spool becoming brittle with time and snapping. Rewinding the film is performed by pressing a release button on the bottom of the camera and then using the lever. Unfortunately, you also cannot get to the camera’s battery unless you take the back off.

Metering & Batteries: The CL and and the contemporary Leica M5 both use a CdS metering mechanism.  A small arm containing the cell is extended between the rear lens element and the shutter curtain.  When activating the shutter, the arm retracts.  Correct exposure is accomplished by a match needle: you move the aperture or shutter speed until the needle rests in the middle of the range on the right of the viewfinder.  There is no exposure lock. As long as it is on, the camera continuously meters the scene. In lower light situations, the CL meter is not very accurate.

The CL originally used a sole PX625 1.35V mercury battery to power the meter, which is activated by slightly cocking the advance lever.  There is a battery check button below the lens mount to the right (if facing the camera). Modern 625 batteries are all 1.5V, which will slightly throw off the meter.  There are replacement options out there, including Wein cells and step-down voltage adapters for silver oxide batteries. Unfortunately, the meter is another fail point on the CL. Over the years, the meter’s cell degrade and become less sensitive to light. However, depending on the nature of the issue, an experienced Leica repairperson may be able to revive and/or recalibrate it for you.

Lens Compatibility: As noted above, the CL is not able to utilize the entire universe of Leica lenses. There are three types of lenses that are incompatible with the CL: (1) lenses with excessive physical length and/or width that block the actual rangefinder to prevent viewfinder focusing, which in my personal experience include the pre-aspherical 90mm f/2 Summicron and 21-35 Konica Dual Hexanon); (2) lenses with unusually large rear lens elements that could damage the metering and/or rangefinder mechanism; and (3) certain specialty lenses like the “goggled” 1950s/60s lenses. Other lenses have limited capability due to no guarantee of an accurate focus, which include lenses faster than f/2 or lenses longer than 90mm. That is not to say that you cannot give those lenses a try. The CL really works the best with compact lenses.

Accessories

The CL did not have any significant OEM accessories of note. I would highly recommend using a half-case designed for the CL (widely available on auction sites) for added protection. There are at least a few home-made grips for sale that look pretty cool.

Conclusions

After putting a bunch of film through a CL, I have mixed feelings on it. For its intended purpose, shooting a 40mm lens, it excels. Maybe think of the CL like a miniature Leica M3 for the 40mm focal length. It is also a decent platform for shooting super wides with the help of an external viewfinder. At the same time, it is really no substitute for a true Leica M, which has more framelines, more accurate focusing, and bigger and brighter viewfinders. If you are debating a CL versus any metered M-mount camera, I would go for the M.

If looking for the closest alternative, the 1980 M-mount Minolta CLE does everything a CL does and more. The CLE has aperture-priority autoexposure, uses modern batteries, adds a 28mm frameline, employs standard film loading (swing back door), and has much longer effective baselength for more accurate focusing. The only advantage that the CL has over the CLE is that the former is all-mechanical and the CLE electronics may not be able to be easily repaired if/when they fail. If I were to do it all over again, I would have chosen a CLE over a CL.

CL bodies will run about $350-$600.  Paired with the body’s original lens, the Leica Summicron-C 40mm f/2 or the original single coated Minolta Rokkor 40mm f/2, add another $300 to $600.  Cameras that are branded “Leitz Minolta CLs” tend to be a little cheaper than “Leica CLs” although they are the exact same camera. If buying from an auction site or a forum, be sure to pay close attention to the functionality of the meter, the alignment of the rangefinder, and the accuracy of the shutter speeds.   Fortunately, except for the meter (which may be able to be repaired depending on the problem and your service person), experienced Leica repair people should be able to address many of the mechanical issues that CL may have.

The 1976 Chinon CE-II was one of a series of cameras produced by Cosina and Chinon during the 1970s that implemented an innovative method for achieving a primitive aperture-priority autoexposure with all M42 auto-diaphragm lenses, regardless of manufacturer. No other M42 camera line could do this.

While deploying TTL light metering, the post-1964 third generation of M42 camera bodies used a rather painful method to achieve it. While the camera body could hold the lens’ aperture wide open (for focusing purposes), one had to depress an external button or engage a switch to turn on the light meter. Once the switch or button is activated, the aperture of the lens stops down to the taking aperture (thus darkening the viewfinder), and from that point you can then fiddle with the shutter speeds and aperture until a needle in the viewfinder fell into the right spot. You then deactivate the switch/button, which opens the aperture all the way back up, and then you take the photo with the settings you just determined.

By the early 1970s, many manufacturers’ solution to this two-step process was to develop proprietary M42 lenses with an extra linkage that could permit the lens to “communicate” the selected aperture with the camera body so that no physical “stopping down to meter the scene” was required. Examples of these cameras included the the Praktica LLC (1969), the Olympus FTL (1971), the Fujica ST801 (1972), and the Pentax Spotmatic F (1973). These cameras did not have “autoexposure” and still required the user to fiddle with both the shutter speed and aperture to achieve an appropriate combination.

Cosina (and ultimately Chinon) took a different approach to TTL metering by combining the system shutter button and the stop down switch to achieve a kind of aperture-priority autoexposure. Essentially, after setting the shutter dial to “Auto,” a half-press of the shutter button would stop the lens down so that the camera could meter at the selected aperture (this would darken the viewfinder). Through the viewfinder, the camera would communicate to you what the shutter speed would be at that selected aperture. Once you have the right aperture setting for the shutter speed you want, you press the shutter button all the way down, which nearly-instantaneously stops down the lens and takes the photo. This operation required an electronically-controlled shutter.

The first camera body to use this system was the 1972 Cosina Hi-Lite EC. The other bodies with this autoexposure technology included the Chinon CE (1974), the Chinon CE-II (1976), the Cosina Hi-Lite ECL (1977), and the Chinon CE-3 (1978). Chinon and Cosina also made de-featured versions of these models that retained the shutter-button stop down mechanism, but did not have aperture-priority autoexposure.

The CE-II is typical of mid-1970s “normal” camera bodies: quite large and heavy, but well-built and sturdy. At release in 1976, it retailed for about $250 with a 55mm f/1.7 lens, with the optional 55mm f/1.4 being much more expensive. Besides the autoexposure system, the CE-II’s main claim to fame is having a top shutter speed of 1/2000, which was as fast as SLRs achieved during the era. Like many Cosina and Chinon products, the CE-II was rebadged and slightly modified in various forms for different markets, including the Revueflex 5000 EE, the Revueflex 5005, and the Porst Reflex M-CE.

Specifications

Lens Mount	M42
Shutter Speeds	2 sec. – 1/2000
Viewfinder Coverage	92%
Focusing Screen	Microprism / Ground Glass
Viewfinder Info	Shutter Speeds (Needle)
Shutter	Electronic Metal Vertical
Battery	S28PX / 4SR44 (6V Silver Oxide)
ASA	25-3200
Meter	TTL; Silicon Blue Cells (SBC)
Weight	760g
Self-Timer	Yes
X-Sync Speed	1/90
Battery Check?	Yes
Exposure Lock?	External Switch
Multiple Exposure?	Yes
Motor Drive?	No

Operation

While the CE-II did not have interchangeable focusing screens, motor drives, or a long list of dedicated accessories for specific tasks, it does contains nearly every feature that an advanced-amateur camera could have during the mid-1970s. Let’s run down the highlights of its functionality.

Viewfinder: The CE-II has a viewfinder of fairly average brightness with an average or slightly-below average coverage of 92%. The fixed focusing screen is a standard microprism / ground glass type. The available shutter speeds are displayed on the left side of the viewfinder. In my opinion, the CE-II’s rather ho-hum viewfinder is one of its weaker aspects.

Shooting: As noted above, the CE-II’s aperture-priority operation with all M42 auto-diaphragm and its 1/2000 top shutter speeds are its coolest features. After setting the shutter speed dial to “Auto,” a half-press of the shutter button stops the lens down to the selected aperture and the viewfinder displays the appropriate shutter speed. The exposure lock function is triggered by half-pressing the shutter button and then turning a dial on the body besides the lens. After taking a shot, you then return the dial to its original position.

In metered manual mode, you can select an aperture and a shutter speed and then half-press the shutter button. The viewfinder will display what the shutter speed should be set to given the selected aperture.

Although the shutter is electronically-controlled, the CE-II has a backup mechanical speed of 1/90, selectable as the “X” on the shutter-speed dial.

Flash Sync: 1/90 is nothing special. You must manually set the shutter speed dial to the flash sync setting. The CE-II will work with any flash with an auto mode.

Batteries: The CE-II uses a big, easily-available, non-mercury 6V battery to power its meter and electronic shutter. It also has a battery check button. The CE-II contains a nifty green light near the viewfinder that tells you with every shot whether the battery is still good.

Other Features: The CE-II has a handy shutter lock around the button. It also allows double-exposure via a switch on top of the body that allows the shutter to operate even if the film is not advanced.

Conclusions

If you enjoy using a wide variety of M42 lenses from different manufacturers, the Cosina/Chinon systems are without a doubt the most versatile for this purpose. While most manufacturers of the fourth and fifth generations of M42 bodies chose to go with proprietary lenses for the TTL light metering systems to function efficiently, the Cosina/Chinon systems act as a universal platform for all auto-diaphragm lenses, regardless of make or era. While the CE-II does have a 1/2000 top shutter speed and pretty much every other feature that existed in advanced amateur mid-1970s SLRs, other aspects such as its size/weight, the so-so viewfinder brightness, and the lack of a split-screen focusing aid dampen my enthusiasm for this particular model. I think the best overall camera of this the line is the CE-3.

The 1977 Praktica EE2 (and the “praktically”-identical 1979 EE3) was the most advanced M42 SLR camera body produced by Pentacon. The EE2’s run was ultimately cut short as Praktica introduced its next generation bayonet mount cameras in 1979. If you are a fan of East German M42 lenses and enjoy the convenience of aperture-priority autoexposure, is the EE2 a model worth considering? Maybe, but only if you primarily use East German “Electric” lenses. It is not a particular great all-around M42 lens platform.

During 1969, Praktica introduced the “LLC,” a member of the fourth generation of M42 camera bodies. These cameras no longer required a two-step “stop down” operation for TTL light metering. With extra linkages added between lens and the body, the lens could communicate the selected aperture to the camera’s meter without the lens having to physically stop down to read the lighting. In Praktica’s case, only East German “Electric” M42 lenses (those with the electrical contacts on the body) would work with this open-aperture metering system. The LLC and its direct descendants did not have true “autoexposure,” and still required the user to set both the shutter speed and aperture via a “match-needle” visual aid in the camera’s viewfinder.

During 1971, Pentax was the first M42 camera manufacturer to announce a true aperture-priority autoexposure camera. The fifth generation of M42 camera bodies also required proprietary M42 lenses. Several other companies followed with autoexposure models such as the Fujica ST901 and the Ricoh Auto TLS EE.

During 1977, Pentacon announced the Praktica EE2, its first electronic shutter camera body capable of aperture-priority autoexposure. The later 1979 EE3 would only add a split-image focusing screen. The EE2 did not hit the North American market until mid-to-late 1978 and was advertised for around $250 with a Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 lens. Besides the standard Pentacon lens, it is unclear what range of East German M42 “Electric” lenses even existed in the North American market during this time. During this time, most American retailers offered generic, Japanese-made M42 lenses in the 28mm, 135mm, and 200mm focal lengths that would require the two-step “stop down” metering to work correctly on the EE2.

These days, the EE2 is a relatively affordable and fairly capable M42 camera body. The example I acquired worked for a while then the electronics went haywire and ultimately could not be repaired. If you are a fan of 1970s East German M42 lenses, is it worth it? Let’s take a look.

Comparison With Other Contemporary Praktica Electric M42 Bodies

Here are three post-LLC “Electric” Praktica bodies compared. The later EE3, VLC3, and PLC3 were the same as their predecessors but for the addition of split-image focusing screen.

	EE2	VLC2	PLC2
Years Introduced	1977	1976	1975
M42 Generation	5th	4th	4th
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec – 1/1000 (Stepless)	B, 1 sec – 1/1000	B, 1 sec – 1/1000
Shutter	Electronic	Mechanical	Mechanical
Battery	V21PX	V21PX	V21PX
Flash Sync Speed	1/125	1/125 (No Hot Shoe)	1/125
Prism	Fixed	Removable	Fixed
Viewfinder Information	Shutter Speeds	Match Needle	Match Needle
Focusing Screen	Microprism	Microprism	Microprism
ASA Range	12-1600	12-1600	12-1600
Autoexposure?	Yes	No	No
Exposure Compensation	+ / – 2 stops	No	No
Work Without Battery?	No	Yes	Yes
Exposure Lock?	No	No	No

East German “Electric” Lenses

The German “Electric” M42 lenses for the Praktica system included the following.

Manufacturer	Lens	Elements/Groups	Min. Focus	Filter Thread
Carl Zeiss Jena	20mm f/2.8 Flektogon	9/8	0.19m	67mm
Pentacon	29mm f/2.8	7/7	0.25m	55mm
Carl Zeiss Jena	35mm f/2.4 Flektogon	6/6	0.20m	49mm
Schneider Kreuznach	35mm f/2.8 Curtagon	6/5	0.30m	49mm
Carl Zeiss Jena	50mm f/1.8 Pancolar	6/5	0.35m	49mm
Pentacon	50mm f/1.8	6/4	0.33m	49mm
Carl Zeiss Jena	80mm f/1.8 Pancolar	6/5	0.80m	58mm
Pentacon	100mm f/2.8	5/4	1.10m	49mm
Pentacon	135mm f/2.8	5/4	1.50m	55mm
Carl Zeiss Jena	135mm f/3.5 Sonnar	4/3	1.00m	49mm
Schneider Kreuznach	135mm f/3.5 Tele Xenar	5/5	1.50m	49mm
Carl Zeiss Jena	200mm f/2.8 Sonnar	6/4	2.20m	77mm

Operation

The EE2 has decent functionality for mid-range 1977 camera body. The most important feature omitted from all M42 Praktica bodies was the lack of an exposure lock, which would not arrive on a Pentacon product until the bayonet-mount B200 in 1979.

Viewfinder: The EE2 has average viewfinder brightness for this class of camera. Although the EE2 came with a microprism focusing screen, at least some models seem to have been equipped with a split-image screen (maybe export models?). The focusing screen and prism certainly could have been much better. The shutter speeds are displayed on the right of the viewfinder screen with a needle indicating the speed at the selected aperture. A half-press of the front-mounted shutter button will turn on the meter.

Shutter Speeds: The EE2 uses a stepless, electronically-controlled shutter that requires a battery to operate. The “A” setting is for autoexposure but manual speeds can be selected. Like many Pentacon products of the era, the angled shutter button is located on the front of the camera and takes a standard cable release. The shutter noise itself is not pleasant.

“Electric” Lenses: The Praktica “Electric” system is unique for M42 open-aperture focusing/metering as it uses electrical contacts on the lens mount rather than proprietary mechanical linkages like other manufacturers. With electric lenses, the aperture is always held open for focusing but the lens will meter at the aperture selected on the lens and will stop down when a shot is taken. Via a switch on the right side of the lens mount, you can use other automatic diaphragm M42 lenses in “stop down” metering mode.

Battery: The LLC / VLC / PLC / EE series originally used a single mercury 4.5V battery which is no longer available. There are several modern solutions. The first is an alkaline A21PX. The second is a battery adapter available that permits the use of three 1.5V SR44 batteries. The EE2, like other contemporary Praktica cameras, has a noticeably flimsy plastic cover for the battery at the bottom of the camera.

Exposure Compensation: While none of the Praktica M42 camera bodies have an exposure lock function, the EE2 does permit at +/- 2 stop exposure compensation via a dial on the top of the camera.

Flash: The EE2 does not have any sophisticated flash functionality, and its flash sync is 1/125. To use the flash sync, one must manually select the lightning bolt on the shutter speed dial.

Other Functions: The EE2 has a standard self-timer lever, the stop down lever for metering with non-Electric M42 lenses, the ability to close the viewfinder to prevent the entry of stray light, a battery check button on the bottom of the camera.

Accessories

Other than a case, the EE2 did not have any significant, camera-specific accessories.

Conclusion

The EE2 was one of only a handful of M42 electronic shutter, aperture-priority autoexposure cameras produced during the 1970s. As a platform for East German “Electric” lenses, it is pretty good only to the extent that it provides aperture-priority autoexposure, but otherwise it is not an extraordinary product. As a platform for other M42 lenses, it is very average, not offering any capability or advantage over any other third or fourth generation body. When compared to other Prakticas of the era, the EE2 is certainly more advanced than the mechanical-shutter PLC, VLC, or MT series. As with any 45 year-old film camera, many EE2s may be DOA and/or may need some work. I would also suggest looking for the rarer EE3 as the former’s split-image focusing screen can be much easier to use.

Introduced to market during 1977, the Revueflex EE 303 (a rebadged “Hi Lite ECL” for a West Germany-based retailer named Foto-Quelle) was Cosina’s most advanced M42 SLR and a follow-up to its 1972 Hi Lite EC model. The Hi Lite ECL’s primary distinguishing feature included the employment of a primitive autoexposure system that works all auto-diaphragm M42 lenses. In most respects, the Hi Lite ECL mirrors the functionality of similar products, like the Hi Lite EC and the contemporary Chinon CE-II (1976). The Hi Lite ECL’s incremental improvements over the original Hi Lite EC included: (1) being somewhat lighter; (2) increasing the max ASA for the light meter from 1600 to 3200; and (3) adding an exposure lock button. Unlike the Hi Lite EC and the CE-II, which are fairly plentiful on the used market today, both the Hi Lite ECL and Revueflex EE 303 are a little hard to find today, suggesting that neither sold particularly well.

While I remain convinced that the 1978 Chinon CE-3 (aka the “Revueflex AC1”) is, overall, the most advanced and versatile M42 camera body of the film era, certain Cosina and Chinon cameras with the same or similar autoexposure system before it could achieve a slightly higher top shutter speed of 1/2000, which comes in handy from time to time. Given the alternatives, is there a case for the EE 303 / Hi Lite ECL to be your daily M42 platform? Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Lens Mount	M42
Shutter	Copal E-394 (Electronic Metal Vertical)
Shutter Speeds	2 sec. – 1/2000 (Continuously Variable)
Viewfinder	0.9x Mag. / 95% Coverage (with 55mm lens)
Focusing Screen	Fresnel Lens and Micro-Prism
X-Sync	1/125
Battery	1 x S28PX or A544 (6V)
Weight	730g
ASA Range	25-3200

Operation

The EE 303 is a well-built, all-metal, and sturdy camera, certainly a member of the upper-range of consumer 35mm film SLRs from the mid-1970s. It has quality industrial and ergonomic design, including the layout and design of the various switches and buttons. It was a fairly expensive camera in its day and was sold with a number of standard lenses, including but not limited to the Auto Revuenon 55mm f/1.4 or 55mm f/1.7 (which were also sold at the time under a variety of different names). The Chinon 50mm f/1.7 pictured here was not sold with it.

Aperture-Priority Autoexposure System: The primary draw of certain Chinon and Cosina models from the 1970s was the employment of a primitive autoexposure system that could work with any auto-diaphragm M42 lens, regardless of manufacturer. Essentially, the way it works is that a half-press of the shutter button simultaneously stops down the lens to the selected aperture, meters the scene, and automatically selects a shutter speed corresponding to the aperture. This preview ability temporarily darkens the viewfinder as the lens stops down. With the aid of the electronically-controlled shutter, a full press then trips the shutter. This saves time and effort compared to prior generations of M42 cameras that required a two-step manual stop down procedure.

Although I had assumed that the Cosina autoexposure system worked pretty much the same way as the Chinon CE-II and CE-3, it unfortunately does not. Unlike the Chinons, the Hi Lite ECL shutter button does not contain a spring that will push the lens back to wide open after you release the half-press of the shutter button. In other words, a half-press will stop down the lens to the taking aperture, but releasing the button does not re-open the aperture to wide-open. Instead, you must use an external button at the 7 o’clock position around the lens to re-open the aperture and reset the metering. The half-press allows you to change the aperture, which automatically re-meters the scene and adjusts the shutter speed accordingly (although the viewfinder will get darker and darker as you stop down). For me, the Chinon spring-loaded shutter button system is better, faster, and more intuitive.

Exposure Lock: Although the EE 303 does have an exposure lock function, it is also not as practical as the system used on the CE-3. To use it, you must first half-press the shutter to get a meter reading and then hold in a little button on the right side of the lens. However, as soon as you release the button, the AE-L disengages. The CE-3’s AE-L system locks the exposure with a press-in button that does not require continuous pressing.

Manual Metering Mode: The EE 303 also a manual metering mode. For a given aperture, you can select any shutter speed. When you meter, the viewfinder will tell you what actual shutter speed should be be chosen for the selected aperture.

Shutter: The EE 303 uses a standard Copal electronically-controlled metal shutter with continuously-variable shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/2000. The shutter noise is about average for a 1970s SLR. Although the shutter is battery-dependent, there is a manual backup speed of 1/125.

Viewfinder: The EE 303 does have a fairly nice viewfinder and focusing screen for the era, both of which seem to be carried over from the original Hi Lite EC. The match-needle shutter speeds are displayed in the left side of the viewfinder from 1 – 1/2000 with red zones above and below the scale for over and under exposure. The focusing screen is a fresnel type with a micro-prism center spot. The 0.9x magnification and 95% frame coverage are outstanding specs until you realize that they are for a 55mm lens. With a standard 50mm lens, you would have less of both.

Battery: Like some other 1970s cameras, the EE 303 uses a 6V 4xSR44-type battery that powers the center-weighted TTL light meter and controls the shutter. The silver oxide version is a S28PX and the alkaline is an A544. The battery loads into the top back of the body, rather than through the bottom. There is a neat battery check button on the top right of camera that illuminates a small adjacent orange light to show whether the battery has sufficient power.

Film Load Indicator: An interesting feature that I have not seen on too many SLRs is the EE 303’s “film load indicator.” If there is film loaded in the camera, a little window northwest of the rewind crank will display red. If there is no film loaded, no color will be shown.

Flash: The EE 303 does not have any sophisticated flash capability, having just a single contact on the shoe for electronic flashes. To the side of the lens, there are terminals for a X-sync and FP (bulbs) if you are using a flash with a cable connection. The flash sync of 1/125 is par for the course for the era.

Other Features: The EE 303 has a standard set of more mundane features, such as ASA settings from 25 to 3200, the provision for a regular cable release, a shutter button lock switch (which does not lock into place, just slides back and forth), a eyepiece light trap that prevents stray light from entering the viewfinder during longer exposures, and a self-timer of 10 seconds.

Proprietary Accessories: Other than a case, none really of note.

Conclusion

While seemingly quite rare these days on the used market, the EE 303 is a perfectly nice, high-quality M42 camera. Along with the variety of standard features, it has a nice viewfinder and a fast top shutter speed. However, because the main draw of a camera in this class is its aperture-priority autoexposure function with all auto-diaphragm M42 lenses, the Chinon CE-II and CE-3 system is preferable as it does not require an additional step to re-open the aperture for the purposes of metering and focusing. Despite not having a 1/2000 top speed, the CE-3 has a variety of advantages over the EE 303, like a split screen focusing aid, the provision for a motor drive, and an easier-to-use AE-L function. If none of that matters to you, the EE 303 / Hi Lite ECL is overall a nice platform for the use of the world of M42 lenses.

The 1978 Chinon CE-3 Memotron (aka the “Revueflex AC1”) is one of a handful of M42 camera bodies that provide a kind of primitive aperture-priority autoexposure capability with all auto-diaphragm lenses, regardless of manufacturer. Being one of the last “new” M42 bodies introduced, it is also the most advanced. In my opinion, it is the best, overall, M42 body of the film body.

By the mid-1960s, M42 camera manufacturers began working on a technical solution to eliminate the “two-step” stop-down process required for TTL light metering. In other words, the goal was to have the camera body be able to read the selected lens aperture for metering purposes while keeping the aperture wide open for focusing and composition purposes. By the early 1970s, most manufacturers solved this issue by developing proprietary mechanical or electric linkages between the lenses and bodies so that the two could “communicate.” Pentacon’s 1968 “Super” appears to have been the first to market with this fourth generation technology. Just a few years later, Pentax went in a different direction, combining an electronic shutter with its own proprietary lenses to achieve aperture-priority autoexposure in what would become the fifth generation.

Cosina and Chinon took a third approach. Instead of using a proprietary lens system, they developed a type of electronic-shutter, aperture-priority autoexposure system where the shutter button itself would act as the “stop down” metering switch. With any M42 lens with auto-diaphragm operation, you would select “Auto” on the shutter speed dial and select an aperture on the lens. When you press the shutter button half-way down, the camera stops the lens down to the selected aperture (darkening the viewfinder), and the viewfinder displays the shutter speed for the aperture selected. Pressing the shutter button all the way down would then trip the shutter.

The cameras with this “autoexposure” feature included the Cosina Hi-Lite EC (1972), the Chinon CE (1974), the Chinon CE-II (1976), the Cosina Hi-Lite ECL (1977), and the Chinon CE-3 (1978). Many of these models also were marketed (often with some minor cosmetic changes) under the Revueflex, Petri, or Porst brand names. The Hi-Lite EC, the Hi-Lite ECL, the CE, and the CE-II all had a top shutter speeds of 1/2000, which was as fast as SLRs got in the 1970s. The primary difference between the two systems was that Chinon used a spring in the shutter button that would return the lens to wide open when the half-press was released. Cosina models did not contain this spring and required the pressing of an external button to return the lens to wide open.

The CE-3 lost the top 1/2000 top speed but further improved upon the CE-II with better focusing aids in the viewfinder, better viewfinder coverage and brightness, a provision for a motor drive, the use of silver oxide 1.5V batteries instead of a 6V battery, a slightly higher flash sync, all in a smaller and lighter body. The CE-3 was often bundled for sale with, I believe, a 50mm f/1.7 or 55mm f/1.4 Chinon lens. The Revueflex AC1 is essentially the same camera as the CE-3 with some inconsequential cosmetic differences.

Specifications

Lens Mount	M42
Shutter	Seiko Electronic Vertical Metal
Shutter Speeds	4 sec. to 1/1000 (Continuously Variable)
Viewfinder Coverage	95%
Flash Sync	1/100
Exposure Lock?	Yes
ASA Range	25-3200
Meter	TTL Center-Weighted Silicon Type
Batteries	2 x SR44
Weight (Body Only)	620g

Operation

In addition to the useful autoexposure system described above, the CE-3 pretty much checks all of the boxes for what a mid-range 1970s SLR could do. It is fairly small-bodied, like contemporary cameras such as the Nikon FM.

Exposure Lock: Always a nice feature on any camera, the CE-3 has an exposure lock that operates via a button on the side of the lens. In operation, you would half-depress the shutter, push in the AE lock button, reframe and take the shot.

Exposure Compensation: Via a dial on the top left, exposure compensation can manually be inputted to +/- 1 stop in 1/3 stop increments. One of the significant differences between the AC1 and the CE-3 is found with the way this dial works. On the AC1, the dial itself has the entire range of ASA speeds, which is then rotated to a white dot for the desired film speed. On the CE-3, the ASA selection is the more traditional windowed type. With both, the main dial is rotated to the appropriate exposure compensation spot.

Viewfinder: The CE-3 has a nice, but not professional, viewfinder with 95% coverage. It uses a non-swappable focusing screen with a split image with a microprism surrounding it. Shutter speeds are displayed on the left part of the screen with match-needle operation. If the batteries are working, a green light will illuminate in the outside viewfinder frame to remind you that the batteries are working.

Shutter Lock: Via a switch around the shutter speed button, the shutter can be locked to prevent accidentally triggering.

Batteries: The CE-3 uses cheap button-style silver oxide SR44 batteries. It will also work fine with the equivalent alkalines.

Shutter: The CE-3’s stepless electronic shutter is not very quiet or dampened, par for the course with 1970s consumer SLRs.

Flash Sync Speed: 1/100 is par for the course for the era.

Self-Timer: & Flash Hot Shoe Yes.

The Motor Drive

The CE-3 has an optional “Power Winder” that uses AA batteries and screws in to the bottom of the camera. Unlike most 1970s consumer motor drives which simply permitted continuous shooting at about 1.5-2.5 frames per second (tops), the Power Winder had several different functions operated by rotating switches. First, it had a “single” versus “continuous” (2 fps) mode. Second, it had a pre-set counter which would permit the camera to continuously fire until a certain number of selected frames was reached (up to 24). Finally, there was an “interval timer” which permitted the automatic firing of the camera at up to 30 seconds apart. The Power Winder also provides a nice built-in grip for the camera as well. It was rebadged in connection with the AC1 as the “Revue Motor 35.” Both the Power Winder and the Revue Motor 35 are interchangeable. The Power Winder could also be used on the Chinon CM-3. Do not leave the drive ON when not in use as it will drain the batteries even if not actively being used.

Differences Between the CE-3 and the AC1

The CE-3 (top) and the AC1 (bottom) are not exactly the same camera. However, the only apparent differences can be found in design of the top plate and the layout of some of the controls. While the shutter dial and shutter button are the same, the film advance lever, exposure compensation dial, ASA selection, film counter window, prism shape, rewind dial, and the hot shoe are not. The rest of the camera body, including the viewfinder and electronics, are exactly the same.

Conclusions

If you enjoy using a wide variety of M42 lenses from different manufacturers with the option of aperture-priority autoexposure, in my opinion, the Chinon CE-3 is the best overall option. Other M42 cameras might surpass some of its features individually (higher shutter speed, brighter viewfinder, higher flash sync, etc.), but not as a package.

Konica’s short-lived 1978-79 Autoreflex T4 was the last of its mechanical-shutter “Autoreflex” line of 35mm SLR cameras, which has started with 1968 “Autoreflex T” (or “FTA” in Japan). The Autoreflex platform was designed for a “shutter speed priority” autoexposure operation: where the user would select a shutter speed and the camera would select the appropriate aperture given the light meter reading. In this system, each AR lens has a moveable arm whose swing opens and closes the lens’ aperture. When the lens is set to “AE” (or “EE” on older lenses), the body holds the arm to keep the lens at its wide open aperture for focusing purposes. When the internal light meter gauges the appropriate aperture given the selected shutter speed, when the shutter is tripped, the body’s arm moves to stop down to the appropriate aperture. Although the T was certainly no professional tool, it was all-metal, durable, and completely mechanical. It would not be until 1972 that Nikon would introduce its first automatic “aperture priority” camera, the Nikkormat EL, and not until the 1980 F3 that it would incorporate aperture-priority autoexposure into one of its professional cameras.

The trend during the mid-1970s was the production of smaller-bodied SLRs. The 1972 Olympus OM-1 is probably the most famous of these. Following suit in 1976, in a major departure from its bulky T/T2/T3 series, Konica introduced the consumer-oriented “TC” (or “ACOM-1” in Japan). Although the specifications of the TC were not particularly impressive, it did sport one of the newest, most durable, reliable, if not the loudest, of the Copal mechanical shutters: the Square CCS-M. The TC sold very well for the time and was produced all the way into 1982. With Konica’s flagship T3 becoming a little long in the tooth, Konica introduced the T4, incorporating the essential features of a T-series camera into the general frame of a TC. Over the TC, the T4 had a variety of additional features, such as slow speeds down to 1 second, a depth-of-field preview lever, double exposure capability, the ability to use an external motor drive, a battery check light, a brass rather than plastic baseplate, and a slightly brighter focusing screen. Because the T4 was arguably uncompetitive in 1978 with the new generation of electronic-shutter SLRs, Konica quickly replaced it with the motor-driven, electronic-shutter FS-1 in 1979, and then the more basic electronic-shutter FC-1 in 1980. The T4 was Konica’s last mechanical-shutter camera until the 1985 TC-X.

During the late 1970s, Konica began outsourcing the production of some of its final generation of SLR lenses to Tokina. These later lenses are generally identifiable by a minimum aperture of f/22 rather than f/16. Konica’s standard kit lens for the T4 was a “new” version of its 50mm f/1.7, with the Tokina-sourced 40mm f/1.8 beginning to replace it in 1979. While the 50mm f/1.7 Hexanon is perhaps one of the great standard bundled lenses of the 1970s, the 40mm f/1.8 is fairly average.

Specifications

Lens Mount	Konica AR
Minimum Aperture	f/16
Shutter	Copal Square CCS-M
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 – 1/1000
Flash Sync	1/125
Viewfinder Coverage	90% / 0.89x
ASA Range	25 – 1600
Batteries	2 x PX625
Weight	530g

Operation

Viewfinder: Although the T4 viewfinder is a little brighter than TC, it is still somewhat dim even with lenses faster than f/2. The 90% viewfinder coverage and 0.89x magnification are average for the class of camera. The non-interchangeable focusing screen is a standard split-image type. On the right hand side of the viewfinder displays apertures from f/1.7 to f/16 with a black needle indicating the correct aperture given the selected shutter speed. What is rather disappointing is that although the camera will correctly meter and expose at all apertures in a particular lens’ range, the display itself does not include f/1.4 or f/22. The manual addresses this and states for f/1.4 lenses to use part of the “red underexposure area” for lenses with apertures wider than f/1.4. The FS-1 and FC-1 would introduce a new LED viewfinder that displayed apertures from f/1.4 to f/22, and that viewfinder would continue to be used through the FT-1 (but not the TC-X).

Shutter: The Copal CCS-M shutter was brand new in the mid-1970s and was one of the most robust, accurate, and loudest mechanical shutters of the era. The T4’s top shutter speed of 1/1000 was typical of most consumer cameras at the time.

Exposure Lock: The T4 continued in the Autoreflex tradition of being able to lock the exposure through a half-depress of the shutter release. Many other cameras of the era either did not have an exposure lock, used an external button for exposure lock, or had an external “backlighting” compensation button. Exposure lock was noticeably absent from the next three Konica bodies: the FC-1, the FP-1, and the FS-1. The feature would not return until the 1983 FT-1.

Motor Drive: The T4 was the first of three Konica bodies that could use an external autowinder, the others being the FC-1 and the FP-1. The T4’s proprietary winder can only advance the film (at a slow 1.8 fps) and also adds to the significant noise that the shutter generates.

Depth of Field Preview: The T4 retains the traditional capability to evaluate the depth of field via a switch on the right side of the lens.

On/Off Switch: The T4’s “on/off” switch is activated by slightly pulling the film advance lever backwards, which turns on the meter. To turn “off” the camera, press the large and prominent button on the back of the camera, which will push the advance lever forward. Nice and simple.

Manual Operation: Because the batteries only power the meter/autoexposure system, the camera will operate at all shutter speeds mechanically.

Battery Check: The T4 has a very prominent battery check button with a large red light on the back of the camera that will turn bright red if the batteries are still good. The light is a little overkill for its purpose, but it is better than not having it, I guess.

Flash-Sync: The T4 has a respectable X-sync flash speed of 1/125. The later electronic-shutter FC-1 and FT-1 have a maximum flash sync of only 1/60 with non-proprietary flashes.

Bad Leatherette: With the TC and T4, Konica used some sub-par leatherette that shrank throughout the decades. It looks really bad. Best bet is to scrape it all off and buy one the aftermarket covering for them.

Mercury Batteries: By 1978, most major manufacturers had already discontinued the use of mercury batteries for cameras. The T4, like the TC before it, requires two PX625 1.35V mercury batteries for accurate metering. Although there are multiple ways to substitute the PX625s (Wein cells, MR-9 adapter for silver oxide batteries, wiring in a diode, etc.), none of them are particularly pleasant.

Smallish: While the T4 is noticeably smaller and lighter than the T/T2/T3, the FC-1 and FT-1 are also around the same physical size.

Conclusions

As the swansong of the Autoreflex line, the short-lived T4 incorporates all of the most important features of the “T” line into the smaller frame of the TC. If you prefer smaller and lighter SLRs, or dig the TC but want more functionality, the T4 may suit your needs. Apart from the typical failings of any 1970s SLR, like the light meter, the T4’s robust mechanical shutter can last a long time. Otherwise, there is nothing particularly interesting or innovative about the T4 for the time period it was produced. For me and for those who do not mind electronic shutters, the 1983 Konica FT-1 remains the best Autoreflex-mount camera.

The 1980 FC-1 was Konica’s second electronic-shutter, shutter-speed priority 35mm SLR in the Autoreflex mount, incorporating some of the electronics technology from the 1979 FS-1, but without the integrated motor drive. The FC-1’s primary interesting feature for the time was a “semi-automatic” film loading that only required pulling the film across, closing the back, and advancing without the need to trip the shutter. At launch, the FC-1 was listed for about $200 and was initially bundled with the Konica 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon (produced by Tokina) and then later with the 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon (also produced by Tokina). A fairly basic SLR, the FC-1 has been proven to be a fairly reliable device with its only downsides being the lack of exposure lock and its profoundly average viewfinder brightness. Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Year Introduced	1980
Mount	Konica Autoreflex
Autoexposure	Shutter Speed Priority
Exposure Lock?	No
Shutter Speeds	B, 2, 1 – 1/1000
X-Sync	1/60 (1/100 with X-24)
Focusing Screen	Split Image / Microprism
ASA Range	25-1600
Battery	4 x SR44
Weight	650g
Motor Drive	External Auto-Winder F

Operation

There is nothing particularly remarkable about the FC-1’s operation. Much of its technology was carried over from the prior FS-1. It was fairly competitive in the 1980 cutthroat advanced amateur market. In 1983, both the FS-1 and FC-1 were replaced by the much better Konica FT-1.

Semi-Automatic Film Loading System: In a system modified from the motor-driven FS-1, the FC-1 advertised an “easy” film loading where it was only necessary to pull the film across the film plane to the other side, without the need for engaging the leader into the cogs of the take-up mechanism. Merely pull the film across, close the back, and advance the film to “1” without having to trip the shutter.

Flash Automatic Shutter Speed Control: In another feature carried over from the FS-1, the Konica X-24 flash could automatically set the flash-sync speed on the camera to 1/100 (over 1/60).

Viewfinder: In yet another feature from the FS-1, the FC-1’s viewfinder displayed on the left-hand side apertures from M to f/22. When used in AE mode, an red LED would illuminate next to the aperture that would be set at the shutter speed selected on the camera. There is no other information displayed, such as frame count. While the viewfinder does have a split-screen / microprism focusing aids, the focusing screen itself is not very bright.

AE and Manual Exposure Control: The FC-1 does not have an exposure lock or any exposure compensation dial. With Autoreflex AE or EE lenses, simply choose a shutter speed on the dial and the camera will automatically select the appropriate aperture. Over or underexposure are indicated if the red LED blinks at the top or bottom of the aperture display in the viewfinder. Correct metered manual exposure is achieved by manipulating the aperture on the lens and the shutter speed on the camera until the LED lights up in the blank between the “M” and “f/1.4” settings.

Motor Drive: The FC-1 could employ the external “Auto-Winder F,” which could theoretically achieve 1.5 frames per second with an optional “continuous mode.” The Auto-Winder F is pretty loud. It also illuminates a red light when the roll is at its end.

Conclusions

There is not much to say about the rather basic FC-1. As one of four electronic-shutter Konica Autoreflex models (FS-1, FP-1, and FT-1 being the others), it is probably the second best of the bunch. While proving to be a more reliable platform than the FS-1, it cannot hold a candle to the later FT-1. For me, the lack of exposure lock or exposure compensation and the below-average viewfinder brightness make this not the best choice if looking for a Konica Autoreflex film platform. My advice would be to hold out for a working FT-1.

For 1979-80, the Zeiss-Yashica partnership introduced three new advanced-amateur 35mm film cameras for its C/Y lens mount: the Contax 139 Quartz, the Contax 137 MD, and the Yashica FX-D. The 139 was a completely new product, representing Contax’s attempt to slot a camera under its 1975 flagship, the RTS. The hefty 137 MD was also a new design, being one of the first 35mm SLR cameras with an integrated motor drive (the 1979 Konica FS-1 was the first).

Although not built on the same chassis, the FX-D is properly considered as a “de-featured” version of the 139, but not by much. During early 1981, typical advertised pricing for the three models with a standard lens was about $400 for the 137, $350 for the 139, and $250 for the FX-D. The FX-D was a commercial success during its 1981-85 run and certainly competitive with all contemporary advanced amateur models offered by the major manufacturers. The FX-D was ultimately replaced in 1985 by the FX-103, a camera built on the same frame but having a noticeably brighter viewfinder, the addition of program-mode operation, and the capability for TTL flash.

Today, FX-Ds are plentiful, cheap, and easy to find on the used market. While it is certainly no substitute for a Contax-branded product, the FX-D does offer pretty much all of the essential features that a good manual focus 35mm camera should have, and its reliability seems to have held up fairly well during the past 40 years. Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Here are the three contemporary Contax-Yashica products compared.

	Contax 139Q	Yashica FX-D	Contax 137 MD
Viewfinder Coverage	95% / 0.86x	95% / 0.86x	95% / 0.86x
Focusing Screen	Split / Microprism	Split / Microprism	Split / Microprism
Shutter Speeds	11 sec. – 1/1000	1 sec -1/1000	11 sec – 1/1000
Autoexposure Modes	Aperture	Aperture	Aperture
Exposure Lock?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Metering	TTL Center-Weighted	TTL Center-Weighted	TTL Center-Weighted
Viewfinder Info	Aperture; Shutter Speed	Shutter Speed	Aperture; Shutter Speed
Shutter	Metal Vertical	Metal Vertical	Horizontal Cloth
X-Sync	1/100	1/100	1/60
TTL Flash?	Yes	No	Yes
ASA Range	12-3200	25-1600	12-3200
Batteries	2 x SR44	2 x SR44	4 x AA
Battery Check	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winder?	External	External	Integrated
Exposure Comp.	+/- 2 EV	+/- 2 EV	+/- 2 EV
Weight	500g	460g	600g
Standard Lens	Contax AE 50mm f/1.7	Yashica 50mm f/2 ML	Contax AE 50mm f/1.7

Operation

Viewfinder: The FX-D has the standard split-screen / microprism collar focusing screen with a good 95% coverage and an average 0.86x magnification. It displays only the shutter speed information in the viewfinder via a LED light scale on the right side of the viewfinder (whereas the 139 and 137 also display the selected aperture just outside the frame). The brightness of the FX-D’s viewfinder is about average for its class of camera and era and is probably its weakest attribute. The viewfinders of the 139, 137, and FX-103 are significantly brighter than the FX-D.

Exposure Modes: The FX-D has slightly different method for metering and taking photos from the Nikons and Canons of the era. The main light meter switch is not the shutter button, but the button on the front of the camera. If the shutter is not cocked, both the shutter button and the front button will provide a metering of the scene. However, if the shutter is cocked, only the front button can provide a pre-exposure meter reading. If the shutter is cocked and you decide not to push the front button, pressing the shutter button will trigger an instantaneous reading and then take the photos. The shutter is not especially loud but lacks good dampening.

The FX-D’s metered manual mode is straightforward. The LED viewfinder will blink the correct shutter speed for the given aperture value if the selected shutter speed is incorrect.

Exposure Lock: Both the 139 and FX-D introduced a front switch that would lock the metered exposure for as long as the lever remained in that position. This switch is also used for the FX-D’s self-timer. This type of switch was also incorporated into the later 1982 RTS II.

Flash: Unlike the 139 and 137, the FX-D does not have TTL flash capability. A 1/100 flash sync is par for the course for the era and the class of camera.

Camera Covering: The FX-Ds used a vinyl-type body covering which has not stood the test of time. Nearly all have degraded pretty badly. Replacement coverings exist.

Accessories

FX Winder: The FX Winder is a standard bottom-fitting unit that could advance the film up to 2 frames per second. The Winder is loud and obviously cannot rewind the film. It does have a nice built-in handle that helps grip the set-up. The FX-D could also use the winder designed for the 139.

CS-201 Flash: While the FX-D does not have TTL flash capability, the CS-201 auto flash could set the camera automatically to its flash sync speed while the exposure is in “auto” mode.

Eyecup: While the original round rubber Contax/Yashica eyecups are difficult to find today, the cheap square rubber eyecups for the Canon EOS 100D – 1100D fit just fine.

Conclusions

The relatively compact and lightweight FX-D has pretty much all of the essential features anyone would want in a manual-focus 35mm SLR. Its main characteristics include viewfinder of so-so brightness, exposure lock capability, relatively reliable electronics, and the capability for a motor drive. Compared with its 1981 competition in the advanced amateur SLR market, the FX-D was right up there with the best. Today, FX-Ds are extremely cheap on the used market, with many sellers basically giving them away. The FX-103 is another camera to consider as it adds a better viewfinder, program modes, and TTL flash at the expense of dropping the exposure lock feature. Otherwise, all Contax bodies from the 139 onwards significantly outclass the FX-D.

The RTS II was Contax’s flagship professional SLR from 1982 until the introduction of the RTS III in 1990. With pretty much everything you would want in a manual-focus SLR and with a professionally-bright viewfinder, it is an excellent native platform for C/Y-mount lenses.

Sometimes, what separated a 1970s or 1980s professional 35mm SLR from an advanced amateur model was not much. However, professional cameras from this era usually have three significant upgrades over the mid-range: a brighter viewfinder with greater scene coverage and magnification, interchangeable focusing screens, and a higher top shutter speed. Other attributes could include more advanced metering modes, a manual shutter speed backup for electronic shutters, and higher-powered motor drives. With the RTS II, it was not so much that it was more materially capable than the existing prosumer 139Q or 137 MA, but it had a truly professional viewfinder, a slightly higher top shutter speed at 1/2000, interchangeable focusing screens, a manual backup shutter speed, and more robust construction all around. Some of the technology found on the RTS II had already been implemented on the 139, including the capability for TTL flash and a front-mounted exposure lock switch.

The RTS II is certainly the best of what could be considered the “second generation” of Contax-Yashica SLRs, which also included the 139, 137, and Yashica FX-D. The 1986 167MT would be a giant leap forward for Contax, introducing a 1/4000 top shutter speed, multiple program modes, multiple metering modes, integrated film advance and rewind, TTL daylight fill flash, and a number of other truly modern features. Given the fact that so many advanced post-RTS II Contax models exist, some of them remaining very affordable, perhaps there is no compelling reason for most to go “back” to a 1/2000 top speed, only center-weighted metering, and manual everything else?

Marketed as an “upgrade” to the original 1975 RTS, the RTS II retained the ability to use most of the original accessories for the former. Compared to its contemporaries, the 1980 Nikon F3 and the Canon New F-1, it was fairly competitive but not entirely. For instance, the RTS II did not have interchangeable specialized prisms, super high-speed motor drives, and its line up of lenses was not as extensive as either Nikon or Canon. Even by the early 1980s, it appears that Contax had pegged its fortunes not to pros who did niche work like sports or wildlife, but more towards a system that focused on providing capable platforms for high-quality normal focal length (18-200mm) SLR lenses, whereas it can be argued that Nikon and Canon focused on the reverse, high-tech reliable bodies with a ton of accessories and a wider range of above-average lenses.

More than forty years after its introduction, the RTS II remains a highly worthwhile platform, delivering the Contax “experience” without any unnecessary bells and whistles. Let’s take a look.

Specifications

For reference, here are the specifications for three contemporary products: the Leica R4, Contax RTS II, and the Nikon F3.

		Leica R4	Contax RTS II	Nikon F3
Year		1980	1982	1980
1983 Price (Body Only)		@ $1,000	@ $500	@ $400
Viewfinder Coverage		92% / .90x	97% / .87x	100% / .82x
Viewfinder Info		Shutter Speed / Aperture / Exposure Mode	Shutter Speed / Aperture	Shutter Speed / Aperture
Focusing Screens		Interchangeable (5)	Interchangeable (8)	Interchangeable (21)
Shutter Speeds		1 sec – 1/1000	16 sec – 1/2000	8 sec – 1/2000
Shutter Type		Vertical Metal	Horizontal Titanium Foil	Horizontal Titanium Foil
ASA Range		12-3200	12-3200	12-6400
Exposure Modes		P / A / S / M	A / M	A / M
Exposure Lock?		Yes	Yes	Yes
Metering		Center Weighted / Spot	Center Weighted	Center Weighted
X-Sync		1/100	1/60	1/80
TTL Flash?		No	Yes	Yes
DOF Preview?		Yes	Yes	Yes
Backup Speed		1/100	1/50	1/60
Winder		External	External	External
Winder Model		Motor-Winder or Motor-Drive	W-6 or W-3	MD-4
Exposure Comp.		Yes	Yes	Yes
Prisms		Fixed	Fixed	At Least 6
Batteries		2 x SR44	1 x S28PX	2 x SR44
Weight		635g	735g	715g

Operation

Viewfinder: The RTS II uses a different viewfinder than those employed in the contemporary 139 and 137 MA (95% / 0.86x) and is also different than those used in the later 159 and 167MT. 97% viewfinder coverage with a .87x magnification is a professional specification. Curiously, the RTS II stock focusing screen is a microprism type that lacks a split screen focusing aid. The viewfinder displays both the shutter speed and aperture but lacks the frame count that was included on the 137 MA. The viewfinder is noticeably brighter that the 139 and 137 (which are both fairly bright themselves). Unlike, the 139 / 137, which displays the selected aperture at the bottom of the viewfinder via some kind of magnified reflected dial, the RTS II uses LEDs to display the aperture, even in half-stops, even with Yashica ML lenses.

Exposure Modes: The RTS II is aperture-priority, which means that the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed given the selected aperture. It also has the capability for metered manual, which means that an LED will blink at the correct shutter speed given the selected aperture. Metering and taking a shot is a little unusual and works the same way as the 139, 137, and FX-D. With the shutter not cocked, metering of the scene is performed by either pressing the shutter button or the button of the front lever. However, if the shutter is cocked, pressing the release will take a photo without any preview opportunity. If the shutter is cocked, you must use the front button to take a pre-exposure reading.

Manual Back-Up Speed: Obviously, a concession to professionals who still probably lacked confidence in batteries and electronic shutters, the 1/50 backup manual shutter speed is activated by turning a lever and then pressing the DOF preview lever.

Battery: The RTS II uses a single 6V battery The silver oxide versions include the S28PX and the 4SR44. The alkaline version is the A544.

Exposure Lock Lever: Introduced on the 139, and also used on the 137 and the Yashica FX-D but disappearing on the 159, the RTS II has a front-mounted exposure check and lock lever. Pressing in the button checks the exposure. Turning the lever will “lock” the current exposure reading indefinitely until the lever is switched back. With some practice, this system is almost as convenient as the more conventional “half-press” of the shutter speed button found on other manufacturers’ products.

Internal Improvements: Over the original RTS, other than some better technology, Contax implemented a better film pressure plate and improved the film transport system.

Film Loading: The RTS II employs a little sleeve in the spool to take up the film leader, ala the Leica M3 or Leica CL. When loading the film, the camera will automatically set itself to 1/60 for shooting the blank frames to arrive at frame 1. I have found that loading film in an RTS II can be a little finicky because the sleeves sometimes do not hold the film leader well, perhaps because over time they have lost their snugness or maybe modern film stocks are a bit thinner.

Other Functions: The RTS II has the standard series of other features which do not require any detailed explanation: a 1/2000 top shutter speed, a shutter lock switch, DOF preview, exposure compensation dial, conventional manual film loading and rewind, capability for double exposures, and self-timer.

Accessories

Flashes: The RTS II has a relatively slow flash sync speed of 1/60. Its hot shoe contains two pins and can fully utilize the entire range of Contax TTL-capable flashes. In my opinion, the RTS II pairs the best with the affordable TLA 30. While not a small unit, the TLA 30 has native bounce abilities and can use TTL flash exposure with any aperture set on the AE lens, allowing a sort of primitive daylight fill operation.

Focusing Screens: Contax produced a total of eight (8) focusing screens for the RTS II. Unfortunately, these screens are not compatible with any subsequent Contax model. The split image focusing screens are extremely hard to find these days.

Winder: Contax produced two professional winders compatible with the RTS II: the W-6 and the W-3. The hefty W-6 plus its 12-AA battery powerback was carryover from the original RTS and can shoot up to five frames per second and features some interval shooting settings. Also offered was the more compact W-3 with a three frames per second capability that took only 6 AA batteries.

D-4 Databack: Designed for some specific practical use that seems to be unknown today, the RTS II had an optional databack that could imprint the time, date, and frame number on the negative.

Eyepiece: For some reason, the OEM Contax rubber eyepieces are a little hard to come by. Fortunately, as with nearly every single Contax and Yashica SLR, the cheap replacements for various digital Canon SLRs fit just fine.

Conclusions

If looking at pre-1985 Contax SLR models, I would recommend the RTS II over any alternative (coming in second would be the 137 MA). If looking at models like the Leica R3-R5, the problem with Leica R for film use is that the lenses have skyrocketed in price, almost absurdly so. When comparing the RTS II to the Nikon F3 or Canon New F-1, it may come down to your preference between great bodies and great lenses. When comparing the RTS II to any other pre-1985 non-professional, manual-advance camera, the RTS II will pretty much always be the better choice.

During 1982, the Zeiss-Yashica partnership announced two new cameras: the Contax RTS II, its new professional flagship and the 137 MA, an upgraded version of the 137 MD. The 137 MA went on sale in North America during the spring of 1983. While retaining most of the same specifications as the MD, the MA included the following upgrades: (1) optional manual shutter speed control; (2) a faster integrated motor drive to 3 frames per second from 2; and (3) an improved the film transport system. At launch, camera shops often bundled the 137 MA with either the Contax 45mm f/2.8 AE Tessar (meh) or the 50mm f/1.7 AE Planar (excellent). According to advertised retail prices at the time, the 137 MA cost about $100-150 more than the Contax 139Q. The 137 MA was produced until about 1986, replaced that year by the Contax 167MT.

At bottom, the 137 MD/MA, the 139, and and Yashica FX-D have similar capabilities: (1) the same viewfinder coverage and magnification; (2) the same top shutter speed of 1/1000; (3) aperture-priority autoexposure; (4) either an internal or optional external motor drive; (5) the same or similar metering system; (6) provisions for exposure compensation; and (7) an exposure lock function. Over the FX-D, the 139 and 137 have brighter viewfinders, longer max auto shutter speeds (11 seconds versus 1 second), TTL flash capability, and display the selected aperture in the viewfinder. The 1985 Kyocera-produced Contax 159MM (the successor to the 139) and Yashica FX-103 (the successor to the FX-D) contained significant further improvements. The 159MM would add, inter alia, a top shutter speed of 1/4000; and both it and FX-103 would add program-mode autoexposure. However, the launch of the 159MM and FX-103 clearly signaled Kyocera’s intentions to push Contax upmarket and Yashica downmarket.

These days, the 139 and 137 MA remain generally inexpensive on the used market, while many sellers cannot give FX-Ds away. Although the 137 MA is quirky, its controls are all in the wrong places, and it is bulkier and heavier than many of its contemporaries, I think it is a fantastic and reasonably-priced vintage SLR. Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Year Announced	1982
Lens Mount	Contax/Yashica Bayonet
Viewfinder Coverage	95% / 0.86x
Focusing Screen	90-Degree Split Screen; Microprism Collar
Viewfinder Info	Shutter Speed, Aperture & Exposure Count
ASA Range	12-3200
Shutter	Electronic Horizontal Cloth Focal Plane
Shutter Speeds	11 sec. – 1/1000
Flash Sync	1/60
TTL Flash?	With Dedicated Contax Units
Exposure Compensation	+ / – 2 Stops
Exposure Lock	Yes; Switch on Top
Automatic Film Advance	Single; Continuous Up to 3 FPS
Batteries	4 x AA
Weight	665g (without batteries)

Operation

Viewfinder: The 137 MA’s bright viewfinder is one of its primary strengths. The 95% coverage and 0.86x magnification, the same as the 139 and FX-D, is pretty good, but not professionally-good. The non-interchangeable focusing screen is a standard 90-degree split screen with a microprism collar. The viewfinder displays the shutter speed (via LEDs) on the right of the frame, the selected aperture at the top of the frame, and the current frame count on the left of the frame. The 139 does not display the film count. The FX-D does not display either the aperture or the film count.

Autoexposure: The 137 MA utilizes aperture-priority autoexposure, via the “A” position on the shutter speed dial. The top shutter speed of 1/1000 was standard for this class of camera. While it is nice that the 137 MA has the capability to manually select the shutter speeds, it is a little awkward to use in real life given the left-hand side controls and the fact that the shutter speeds are displayed on the side of the dial and not on top. To use the 137 MA in a manual metering mode, the LED in the viewfinder will blink at the selected aperture, but will remain on at the appropriate shutter speed given the aperture. The horizontal cloth focal plane shutter on the 137 MA is an unusual attribute for a 1980s Contax camera, not used since the 1975 RTS or on any camera after, but it probably has something to do with keeping the shutter noise down and/or better syncing with the motor drive.

Film Loading / Advance: The automatic film loading on the 137 MA is still quite primitive compared with the next generation of SLRs. The film must be pulled across into the slot like a normal manual camera. Once it is in the slot, you press the shutter button which in theory should automatically spool the film onto the sprockets. The continuous mode allows shooting up to 3 frames per second, which was extraordinary for 1982. The integrated film advance is actually fairly muffled, making at kind of shew shew sound, much quieter than any external motor drive of the era. Rewinding of the film is through a regular rewind crank (auto rewind technology was still in the near future). My example seems to have a “hair trigger,” which means if you are not super careful, it is really easy to shoot two consecutive frames in “Single” mode.

Exposure Lock: It would be fair to say that Contax never took a conventional approach to exposure lock. Instead of a switch on the front of the camera like the 139 and FX-D, the 137 MA uses a switch at the top right side of the camera. The procedure is to meter the scene, switch the setting to “AE Lock,” and the camera will lock the prior shutter speed as long as the switch is on that setting. To disengage, you must switch off the AE Lock setting.

Batteries: The 137 MA is powered by four AA batteries loaded in the bottom of the camera. Easy, cheap, and convenient.

Flashes: The 137 MA can use the world of Contax-branded TTL flashes. The flash sync speed is slightly slower at 1/60 than the 1/100 for the other products. When using a Contax TTL flash, the camera will automatically set the shutter speed to 1/60 when in “A” mode. For all other flashes, the shutter speed dial must be turned to “X.”

Other Features: The 137 MA also has the slew of other common features, like a self-timer, a battery check, exposure compensation, and a depth-of-field preview.

Accessories: The 137 MA had a few accessories, like a nifty hand grip and a primitive, useless databack. As OEM eyecups are hard to find, like nearly every Contax and Yashica product, the cheap replacements that work for many Canon digital cameras fit perfectly on the 137 MA.

Conclusion

The 137 MA represents a pinnacle of the pre-Kyocera-takeover Contax-Yashica advanced amateur line. It is a high-quality (yet somewhat hefty) camera with a bright focusing view and a relatively muted automatic advance. As a platform for C/Y lenses, it will not disappoint. If considering acquiring a pre-1985 Contax SLR, I would still recommend the RTS II overall as it has a higher top shutter speed and a professionally-bright viewfinder, but the 137 MA is certainly not far behind. While the 137 MA cannot really compete with the 167MT and later Contax cameras in terms of overall functionality, it does provide pretty much everything you would need in a non-professional manual-focus SLR.

Although not the last new 35mm film SLR introduced by Konica (that would be the 1985 TC-X), the 1983-87 FT-1 was its best. Fixing most of the shortcomings of the abortive 1979 FS-1, the FT-1 incorporated almost all of the features of the better pre-autofocus advanced-amateur cameras of the early 1980s: an integrated motor drive, auto film loading, exposure lock, a relatively bright viewfinder for its class of camera, and the ability to use a dedicated semi-automatic flash system. If looking for an Autoreflex lens mount platform, the FT-1 should be at the top of your list. None of Konica’s contemporary models — the FS-1, FC-1, FP-1, or TC-X — are competitive with it. The FT-1 exists in two versions: a silver and black model. Neither is particularly rare. During its production run, camera stores often bundled the FT-1 with a number of different standard lenses, typically with the Tokina-produced 40mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 Hexanons or the more expensive Konica-made 50mm f/1.4.

By 1983, with autofocus SLRs on the horizon but not yet to market, electronic-shutter, battery-dependent cameras had come to dominate the market. 1983 witnessed the introduction of a number of remarkable cameras such as the Nikon FE2 & FA, the Canon T50, and the Minolta X-500/570. With competition in the professional and advanced amateur markets so intense, slight differences in price or the addition/omission of a single feature could make or break a new model. The FT-1’s biggest selling points were: (1) an integrated film loading and advance (which was still quite rare in 1983); (2) an intuitive easy-to-use exposure lock located by half-depressing the shutter button (many cameras of the era either did not have AE Lock, had external switches and levers to lock the exposure, or just had an external “back-lighting” button); and (3) an ability to use dedicated, semi-automatic flashes at a slightly-higher sync speed. Otherwise, with a top speed of only 1/1000 (average for the class), and the lack of accessories like focusing screens, battery packs, and the like, the FT-1 was no professional machine.

In terms of reliability, the FT-1’s electronics have held up “fairly” well. Its primary and endemic problem is its gasket deterioration. In essence, the gaskets used between the circuit strips eventually broke down into sticky piles of goo whose residue interferes with the electrical contacts. Thankfully, dedicated camera enthusiasts have developed step-by-step tutorials for the relatively-painless (i.e., still relatively) fix, which requires some disassembly of the top of the camera, the cleaning of the old goo, and the replacement of the gaskets with common household materials. This operation will probably be necessary for nearly any FT-1 still in existence. If it helps, I am not great at camera repair, but I was able to do it.

So, with all of that, let’s take a look at the swansong of the Konica SLR line.

Specifications

Lens Mount	Autoreflex
Exposure Modes	Shutter Speed Priority / Manual
Shutter	Vertical Electronic Metal Focal Plane
X-Sync	1/100 (Dedicated Flash) or 1/60 (Other)
Viewfinder Coverage	92%
Meter	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode
ASA Range	25-3200
Shutter Speed Range	B, 2 secs – 1/1000
Weight	570g
Batteries	4 x AAA or 4 x AA

Operation

The FT-1 is a straightforward and easy-to-use camera.

Motor Drive: The number one selling point of the FT-1 at launch was its integrated film loading and advance Film loading is straightforward. Pull the film across the plane and close the film door. On the “single” shooting mode, the FT-1 may get up to 1 frame per second, but “continuous” could possibly (optimistically?) do up to 2 frames per second. The motor drive is not necessarily quiet, but significantly quieter than the external motor drives of the day.

Exposure Lock: Konica’s prior Autoreflex cameras each were able to “exposure lock” through a half-depress of the shutter button. To activate exposure lock on the FT-1, you slide the lever around the shutter button to the AE-L position and half-depress and hold the shutter button.

Shutter Speed Priority: In 1968, Konica was first-to-market with an SLR with shutter-speed priority autoexposure with its Autoreflex T. Although aperture-priority operation eventually became more popular and widespread on other manufacturers’ SLRs, shutter speed priority is no less difficult to deal with. A main advantage of shutter speed priority is to ensure that the speed is always high enough to prevent motion blur, the death-knell of any photograph. By keeping the shutter speed at a minimum of 1/60 and only moving up from there, motion blur risks are minimized. Konica bodies require the lens be set to “EE” or “AE” for the autoexposure to operate properly.

Metered Manual Mode: Like other Konica AR bodies, the FT-1 will meter in “manual mode.” In essence, you select a shutter speed and aperture and when the LED illuminates in the blank spot in the viewfinder right above f/1.4, you are at the right settings.

Flash Technology: TTL flash operation hit the market around 1980. TTL flash meant that now the camera is the device that measures the reflected light from the subject to determine the proper exposure. TTL flash operation (requiring dedicated units) began to appear on cameras like the 1981 Minolta X-700 and the 1982 Nikon FG. The FT-1 does not have TTL flash capability. However, Konica’s dedicated X-24 and X-36 flashes will automatically set the shutter speed on the FS-1, FC-1, and FT-1 to a higher X-sync (1/100 instead of 1/60) and then automatically set the lens aperture to that setting indicated on the switch of the flash. In theory, this is slightly more automated than a regular auto flash where one would have to set the shutter to 1/60 and set the appropriate aperture on the lens, the Konica flash units were not particularly versatile with the X-24 having only two aperture settings (f/5.6 and f/11). Of course, the FT-1 will work with virtually any third-party auto mode flash.

Viewfinder: The FT-1’s 92% coverage and 0.81x magnification are just about average for cameras of the class. Of course, viewfinder brightness will most always be dependent on the maximum aperture of the lens you are using. Although the viewfinder is bright, certainly good enough to easily focus indoors with lenses with a max aperture of f/2 and wider, it is certainly not “professionally” bright. However, the FT-1 is much better than all Konica AR bodies that came before it. The non-interchangeable focusing screen is a standard split image micro-diaprism. The actual display is borrowed from the FC-1 and uses LED lights that are illuminated next to the aperture selected for the shutter speed from f/1.4 to f/22. Overexposure is indicated by f/22 blinking and underexposure by a blinking light in the blank slot above f/1.4.

Batteries: The FT-1 came standard with a four-slot AAA battery pack that was advertised to be good only for about 20 rolls. The more desirable optional AA battery pack had a larger capacity for about 40 rolls. Konica warns not to use NiCad batteries in the camera. However, rechargeable NiMH batteries work just fine.

Self-Timer: The button is located on the top of the camera by the shutter speed dial.

Exposure Compensation: On the left side of the camera, the FT-1 has a dial for -2 to +2 exposure compensation in 1/3 stop increments.

Use of Exakta, M42 & Nikon Lenses: Like all Konica AR bodies, it is possible to use with full infinity focusing and metering M42, Exakta, and Nikon F lenses with the appropriate adapter. However, although AR bodies will meter these lenses, using them is a bit cumbersome.

Compared to Its Model Year 1983 Competition

When compared to its direct competition at similar price points, the FT-1 presented an attractive options. The cameras below all sold with a standard lens for about $175-225 in 1983.

	Konica FT-1	Canon T50	Minolta X-570	Nikon FG	Yashica FX-70
AE Modes	Shutter	Program	Aperture	Program & Aperture	Aperture
Shutter	Electronic Metal Vertical	Electronic Metal Vertical	Electronic Metal Horizonal	Electronic Metal Vertical	Electronic Metal Vertical
Shutter Speeds	2 sec – 1/1000	2 sec – 1/1000	1 sec – 1/1000	1 sec to 1/1000	11 sec – 1/1000
Meter	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode	Center-Weighted Silicon Diode
X-Sync	1/60 or 1/100	1/60	1/60	1/90	1/100
TTL Flash	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Viewfinder Coverage	92% / 0.81x	92% / 0.83x	95% / 0.90x	92% / 0.84x	95% / 0.86x
ASA Range	25-3200	25-1600	12-3200	12-3200	25-1600
Motor Drive	Load / Advance	Load / Advance	Motor Drive 1	MD-14	No
Exposure Lock	Yes	No	Yes	No (Backlight Button)	Yes
Weight	570g	490g	480g	490g	435g
Batteries	4 x AAA or AA	2 x AA	2 x SR44	2 x SR44	2 x SR44

Conclusions

If you enjoy using Konica AR lenses for film photography, you are pretty much stuck with Konica bodies because of their lens’ close film-to-flange distance. In my view, the FT-1 is the best option. While many Konica aficionados would alternatively suggest the bulky and mechanical 1973 Konica Autoreflex T3, I am generally not a fan of that generation of SLRs. With the brightest viewfinder and the best feature set, the FT-1 remains Konica’s best overall SLR and is a great platform for using Autoreflex lenses on film.

The 1984 East German Praktica BC-1 was a modest update of Pentacon’s 1979 flagship B200 35mm SLR. The BC-1 also appeared as the “Jenaflex AM-1” and the “Praktica BC-3” (the latter being export versions). While nothing particularly special or innovative for the mid-1980s, the BC-1’s main appeal, as with the rest of the “PB” (Praktica Bayonet) line of cameras, is as a platform for the last generation of Carl Zeiss Jena and Pentacon 35mm SLR lenses. Because we covered some background of the Praktica bayonet cameras and lenses in the review of the 1987 BX20, here we are just going to focus on the BC-1.

Along with all other major manufacturers of M42 bodies and lenses during the late 1970s, Praktica followed suit and switched from M42 to a proprietary bayonet mount and electronically-controlled shutters for aperture-priority autoexposure operation. Starting in 1979, three “lines” of lenses were made for the PB system: (1) CZJ produced the “high end” primes and zoom, deploying a mix of repurposed M42 optics as well as some new designs; (2) Pentacon produced a few prime lenses in house, mostly M42 carryovers; and (3) Japan-based companies like Sigma and Tokina produced a few primes and a few ho-hum, slowish zooms. It appears that after 1983-84, CZJ lens production for the system fell to a trickle. After Pentacon was split up and sold, Schneider briefly resurrected the BX20 as the moderately-redesigned “BX20s” in 1992, but by that time there were no German-designed lenses made for it except for the kit Pentacon 50mm f/1.8.

While the 1979 Praktica B200 (and its export version, the “BC-X”) was a fairly competitive body at the time for the mid-range, non-professional SLR class, the 1984 BC-1 was just a slight refresh with no real additional features other than the addition of a flash ready light. With an all metal body, BC-1 is certainly a quality manual focus SLR whose only real limitation is its par-for-the-course 1/1000 top shutter speed. Praktica produced a fair number of them (along the AM-1 and BC-3), and they are plentiful and cheap on the used market (with the vast majority being in Europe). Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Shutter	Electronic Metal Vertical
Shutter Speeds	40 secs – 1/1000 (stepless)
ASA Range	12-3200
Focusing Screen	Fresnel + Triple Wedge + Microprism
Flash Sync	1/90
Viewfinder Coverage	95%
Weight (Body)	530g
Battery	1 x 6V (A544 Akaline / S28PX Silver Oxide)
Exposure Lock?	Yes
Self-Timer?	Yes
Exposure Compensation?	Yes
Motor Drive Capable?	Yes

Operation

Viewfinder/Focusing Screen: The BC-1 has a relatively nice focusing screen with three focus aids, 95% coverage, and good viewfinder brightness for this class of camera. The viewfinder displays the selected aperture at the bottom of the view using a mechanical system that links to the lens. On the right, a series of red-dot LEDs to the left side of the shutter speeds will appear. In autoexposure mode, a half-depress of the button will light up the LED next to the camera’s preferred shutter speed. In metered manual mode, the red LED will light up next to the shutter speed that should be selected for the aperture chosen on the lens. Easy and straightforward stuff.

Exposure Lock: Unlike many cameras in this class from other manufacturers, the BC-1 has a useful exposure lock button located on the top of the body. To use it, continue half-pressing the shutter button and then press the exposure lock button. As long as the shutter button is half-pressed, the exposure will be locked. When the shutter button is released, the lock disengages.

Flash: A “new” feature on the BC-1 was an extra flash shoe pin that would provide a flash charge indication in the viewfinder and adjust the shutter speed automatically to 1/90. This only works with certain Praktica-branded flashes (which were seemingly all made under contract in Japan). With any other type of flash, one must set the shutter speed dial to the “flash” setting.

Battery: Along with all other PB cameras, the BC-1 originally used a PX28, a 6V mercury battery. The Germans must have had a soft spot for this kind of battery as it was also used by the contemporary West German Contax RTS II. Fortunately, there are perfect modern replacements like A544 (alkaline), S28PX (silver oxide), a 6V lithium (I have not tried this one), or stacking four LR44s or SR44s. Plenty of options. Silver oxide is my preferred route.

Shutter: The electronically-controlled vertical metal shutter is not particularly quiet but has proven to be fairly robust in the 40 years since its production.

Other Features: The BC-1 also has the stable of standard other features one would expect from this class of camera, including an exposure compensation dial, an external depth of field preview lever, a self-timer, and a battery check button.

Accessories

B Winder: The B winder is a simple device that screws into the bottom of the camera and takes 4 x AA batteries. It is not particularly fast with “up to” two frames per second and is quite loud.

M42 Lens Adapter: Praktica made the only adapter of which I am aware that that permits the use of M42 lenses (in stop down mode only) on PB bodies. This slightly rare adapter has the required three electronic contacts that communicate with the body that a lens is attached. Because PB bodies require that contact must be made with the three connectors on the body for the metering system to work, no lenses other than M42 with the Praktica adapter (and those lenses that can adapt to M42) can be used on them.

Flashes: The BC-1’s only real “new” feature over the B200 series was a flash “ready light” that appeared in the viewfinder. This function only works with a few contemporary Praktica-branded flash units (these flashes were made in Japan) like the BC1600, BC2400, BD24, BD32, and BD36. Praktica-branded flashes are an enigma, with seemingly few popping up for sale in Europe. The later BX20 and BX20s were TTL-flash capable, using Olympus’ system.

Miscellaneous: Other than a case, the BC-1 could utilize a variety of other Praktica accessories such as an eye cup, an angle finder, bellows, extension tubes, and teleconverters.

Longevity Issues

Other than the types of general faults that may plague many electronic 35mm SLRs from the 1970s and 1980s, like frame counters failing and electronics burning out, the BC-1 appears to have been a fairly robust platform as long as it was taken care of. A common complaint is that the shutter speed dial plate falls off because of the failure of the factory adhesive. Also, if you find that with a good battery, the autoexposure is flashing “under” no matter what you do, remove the four bottom screws from the baseplate and press the white electronics terminal with your finger to see if the autoexposure then works. If this is the issue, for a decent workaround, shove some cardboard between the connector and the base plate to keep some pressure on the former and reassemble. As with nearly all old cameras, it remains important to run test rolls through any PB body as an electronic shutter can fail in ways that would not be immediately noticeable until you develop the negatives.

Conclusion

Although Praktica PB bodies as a whole were and are not that exciting, the ability to use some unique, high-end, extremely expensive for the time that noticeably stand apart from the manual focus Nikons, Canons, and Minoltas of the era, would be the main draw. in my opinion, the PB cameras are a much better platform for CZJ and Pentacon 35mm SLR lenses than any older Praktica M42 body. The BC-1’s viewfinder is nice, the autoexposure operates as intended, and the exposure lock is very useful. The only advantages of the later BX20 are its lighter weight and capability for TTL flash, although some anecdotal reports are that the BX20 may not be as reliable in the long-term as the B200/BC-1 series. My impression is that the B200 / BC-1 / BX20 series are probably equally reliable. Be sure to TEST all functions with any Praktica PB body that that you are considering acquiring.

By 1984, the concept of the modern point & shoot camera had begun to emerge. No longer would people be expected to set apertures, manually load film, focus lenses, or figure out how to use a flash. 35mm photography would no longer require so much technical skill, but just extraordinary vision. But does this early generation of 35mm film cameras have any place in the 21st century? Maybe?

In 1984, every major Japanese manufacturer introduced very similarly-featured point and shoot 35mm cameras with a “sliding door” to cover a diminutive lens. These cameras may be properly considered the “second generation” of modern point-and-shoots.

The high-end range of this generation included the Canon MC, the Chinon 35FA Super, the Minolta AF-C, the Pentax PC35AF-M, and the Vivitar TEC 35. Each had a 35/2.8 Tessar-style lens, a built-in or clip-on flash, a primitive autofocusing system, automatic film advance and rewind, and user-selected ASA settings from 25/50, 100, 200, 400, and 1000. Some of these manufacturers sold cheaper, de-featured versions of these cameras; but we will leave discussion of those to the recycling center of history.

We were not going to endeavor to pick up examples of all of these cameras as: (a) these former thrift-store bargains are now selling for a premium on eBay, Etsy, and online camera stores; and (b) these cameras have mostly the same features, with minor some variations. Given the slight technical differences and overall similarity in functionality in all of these cameras, it hard to say whether any of them are the “best” of the class. Of note, the Pentax focuses down to 0.7m at the trade-off of having to use DX-coded film cassettes (or otherwise default to ASA 100). It is possible that certain lenses excel over others, but that would difficult to evaluate without testing them all against each other. One could assume that despite slightly different lens designs, they probably perform pretty similarly.

WARNING: The primary drawback of all of the cameras of this class is the lack of reliable autofocus at closer distances. Although most will provide some kind of viewfinder LED indicating close, medium, and far focusing, these cameras will not indicate to you what it has actually focused on. The flash operation is equally quirky and dependent upon an accurate autofocus in the first place. None of these cameras are well-suited for any critical work – you will miss plenty of close-up photos and not realize it. The ability of point & shoots to provide accurate autofocusing feedback did not come until years later. However, as a snapshot camera for subjects within the lens’ depth-of-field, they work moderately well.

The 35FA Super was at the top tier of the 1984 gamut. The essential features were: (1) a 35/2.8 lens; (2) manual ASA settings up to 1000; (3) an underexposure warning; (4) a built-in flash; (5) automatic film loading and rewinding; (6) focus confirmation in the viewfinder (close, medium, far away); (7) a self-timer; (8) auto-focus lock; and (9) automatic daylight fill-flash. And you can open the shutter cover and take a photo far faster than you can retrieve your iPhone out of your back pocket.

Early autofocus cameras will seem bizarre to anyone used to the moving lenses of SLRs. During the 1970s, the American company Honeywell patented the first commercially-useful autofocus system. In a nutshell, two sensors on the camera would triangulate the distance to the subject (much how a rangefinder focuses) and then transmit the distance information to the camera. The lens itself does not pre-focus, it will do so in the instant after the shutter is depressed. Japanese camera manufacturers were the first to license and figure out how to build a camera around this technology – starting with the revolutionary Konica C35 AF in 1977.

The 35FA Super has impressive mid-1980s industrial design. Sliding open the lens door powers on the camera. The fixed lens trades image quality for versatility. The camera is eminently pocketable. Check out the manual here.

Loud: The 35FA has an incredibly loud shutter and film advance mechanism. And it is not a pleasant sound. This is not for your secret “street photography.”

35/2.8 Glass Lens: The modern fast Tessar lens design has its origins in 1930. In archetypal form, it is a four element, three group design. The minimum focusing distance on the 35FA Super is 1 meter — the industry standard for the time.

Bright Finder: The 35FA has a bright, non automatically parallax-corrected viewfinder. It has etched parallax correction framelines for shorter focusing distances. It would be some time before an autofocus point and shoot would have automatically-corrected framelines.

Underexposure Warning and Focusing Verification: The camera will warn you with a red LED just to the left of the viewfinder if the shot will be underexposed. The viewfinder also displays the approximate location of the focusing — close up, medium range, and infinity — in cute little icons.

Autofocus and Exposure Lock: By depressing the shutter slightly, the camera will lock both the focus point and the exposure so you can reframe. These are essential features for any useful point and shoot.

Auto-Rewind: With a switch on the base, the camera will auto-rewind the film and automatically stop when completed.

Built-in Fill Flash: A sliding lever turns on the flash. A yellow indicator will alight when the flash is charged. The camera has an “auto” daylight fill flash capability — turn on the flash for daylight shots and it will do an ok job of filling in shadows.

User-Selected ASA 50 to 1000: From ASA 50 to 400 the 35FA can adjust in 1/3 increments. This is the only camera in this class that do this. There are no increments over 400 — just straight from 400 to 1000. Also, no DX coding like later point and shoots. So if you roll your own film with generic cassettes, there is no annoyingness.

Optional Date Back Model: I have no idea why Japanese cameras were so big on date backs — a feature that imprints the current date on the negative. Many of these data backs only went up to 2019. Whomp.

Recommendation: For cameras of this class, the Chinon checks all of the boxes. The most useful feature is its fast operation. Autofocus lock and exposure lock make this camera as useful as any larger SLR. The only feature that it lacks is the 0.7m minimum focus of the Pentax. The biggest drawbacks are that it is loud and has spotty autofocus.

The 1984 Konica MG is a delightful, clam-shell, compact autofocus camera. Konica also produced an “MG/D,” which was the same camera but with a date-imprinting feature. With a fixed four group, four lement 35mm f/3.5 lens, the ability to manually set the ISO, and an auto load/advance/rewind, there is much to like about the little MG. The only real drawbacks are the loud film advance, an easily-fooled light metering system, and a primitive passive autofocus system that lacks feedback. Let’s take a closer look.

In 1975, Konica produced the first 35mm compact camera with a built-in flash: the C35 EF. In 1977, Konica produced the first commercially-available autofocus camera: the C35 AF, which licensed the “Vistronic” technology from Honeywell. The C35 AF actually had an indicator to show the distance the camera autofocused on the photo you just took, but not before you took it. The C35 AF was amazingly successful, selling over a million copies. From 1978 to 1982, Konica then produced a number of mostly-forgettable compact cameras aimed primarily at the mass market. Here they are compared.

	EFP	C35AF2	EF3	EFJ (Pop)	C35MF
Year	1978	1980	1981	1982	1982
Lens	38mm f/4	38mm f/2.8	35mm f/2.8	36mm f/4	38mm f/2.8
Min. Focus	1.5m	1.1m	1.0m	1.5m	1.1m
Aperture	f/4, f/8 & f/16	f/2.8-16	f/2.8-16	f/4-16	f/2.8-22
Shutter Speeds	1/125 only	1/60-1/250	1/60-1/500	1/125 only	1/60-1/250
ASA Settings	100 & 400	25-400	25-400	100-400	25-400
Focus	Fixed	Autofocus	Zone (4 Positions)	Fixed	Autofocus
Flash?	Built-In	Built-In	Built-In	Built-In	Built-In
Batteries	2 x AA	2 x AA	2 x AA	2 x AA	2 x AA
AF Lock?	No AF	No	No AF	No AF	Yes
Underexposure?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weight	300g	375g	275g	270g	440g

Konica’s MG certainly constituted a more “fully-featured” compact point & shoot. The MG was not necessarily cheap, being advertised for around $120-150 during the summer of 1984 (about $350-430 in today’s dollars). With MGs remaining fairly affordable and largely unnoticed by 21st-century influencers, is it a serious contender for one’s everyday point and shoot? Let’s take a look.

Specifications

There is no question that the MG was Konica’s then-most advanced point and shoot to date and outclasses all prior models in functionality.

Year	1984
Lens	35mm f/3.5
Lens Design	4 Elements in 4 Groups
Minimum Focus	1.1m
Aperture	f/3.5-16
Shutter Speeds	1/30-1/500
ASA Settings	50-1000
Focus	Autofocus
Flash?	Built-In
Batteries	2 x AA
AF Lock?	Yes
Exposure Lock?	No
Underexposure Warning?	Yes
Weight	288g

Operation

Auto Film Loading, Rewinding, and Advancing: The MG will automatically load the film, auto-advance, and auto-rewind. There appears to have been no attempt to muffle the sound of any of it. The auto-rewind does not automatically shut off. You will have to listen to the change in sound when the film becomes entirely rewound.

Taking Photos: The MG has pretty simple operation with almost no user override. A half-press of the shutter should “autofocus” when a green light pops up by your eye. The autofocus zone is a small square in the middle on the viewfinder. A red light by your eye means underexposure. There is no warning if you are too close to a subject to autofocus the lens. Consequently. you will need to make sure that you are physically at least 1.1 meters away from your subject. There is no confirmation in the viewfinder or thereafter how far the lens focused for a particular shot. The manual assures us that if you partially depress the shutter button, the focus will lock and then you can reframe the shot. There is a slight lag between pressing the shutter button and the camera taking the shot. Unfortunately, the built-in light meter is easily fooled by any strong backlighting in a scene, requiring some guesstimating of exposure compensation.

Automatic Aperture & Shutter Speeds: The MG has automatic shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/500. No manual override. The 1/30 bottom shutter speed effectively prevents “shutter shake” in low-light situations.

35mm f/3.5 Lens: The MG sports a four element, four group lens. I would guess that this lens provided the template for Konica’s later A4 / Big Mini series of cameras. The f/3.5 lens performs exceptionally well, even wide open, with almost no distortion.

Manual ASA Selector: The ASA is adjustable via a switch above the lens in full steps of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 1000. Unlike later-generation point and shoots that only used DX film coding, this permits the user easily to use home-rolled film, to push/pull film at one’s leisure, or even to adjust exposure on the fly.

Parallax Correction: In the viewfinder, there is an etched line within the frameline to estimate the framing at closer focusing distances.

Pop-Up Flash: To turn on the flash, there is a gray lever on the side of the camera that pops it up. There is an orange light on the back of the camera that informs when the flash is charged. The flash recycles quite slowly. The flash will work in automatic fill-flash mode.

Auxiliary Lens Capability: At least one company made auxiliary lenses for the MG. There is a “wide angle” and a “telephoto.” The wide angle appears to decrease the view to about 28mm from 35mm. The telephoto seems to increase the view to about 50mm. Any auxiliary optics will degrade the image quality at least slightly. But they are small enough to carry around.

Optional Date Back Model: The MG/D model had the standard date back that would imprint the date in the corner of the frame. Still do not understand why those were a thing.

Conclusions

It is difficult not to like the MG. It has a very sleek, easy to use, and fairly inconspicuous apart from its film advance noise. The ability to select an ASA setting not only allows the use of reloadable film cassettes but also permits some degree of exposure compensation in difficult lighting situations. The primary drawbacks are the lack of useful autofocus feedback and a light meter that picks up any strong backlighting. That being said, I have been pleasantly surprised by the results. It is certainly a camera I will keep in the stable. If you are looking for a slightly “better” Konica point-and-shoot from the mid-1980s, check out the MT-11 of 1986.

Sample Shots

Please check the Instagram associated with this website at hashtag #konicamg for sample photos from the Konica MG.

The Konica MG Manual

Because the MG Manual is not otherwise available on the Internet, please enjoy!

Introduced in 1985 and discontinued in 1987, the Konica TC-X was the last of the line for the Autoreflex-mount series of cameras.  Supposedly built for Konica by Cosina, the TC-X shares nothing in common with any prior Konica SLR model except for the lens mount. Despite this, the TC-X was notable from an historical perspective for two aspects: (1) it was the first 35mm SLR camera capable of reading DX-coded film cassettes; and (2) it was the first body made primarily of plastic. Other than that, there is nothing remarkable about the TC-X. With its mechanical shutter and relatively dark viewfinder, and as its name implies, the TC-X is probably best understood not as any type of step forward from the 1983 electronic-shutter Konica FT-1, but rather as a kind of spiritual successor to the 1970s Autoreflex TC.

The standard lens sold with the TC-X was a new 6 element, 5 group 50mm f/1.8 Konica Hexanon lens, which was a product of a collaboration between Konica and Tokina, which produced a number of the final generation of Konica lenses, such as the f/22 versions of 21mm f/2.8, 24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2.8, 40mm f/1.8, and a number of unremarkable zooms.  The TC-X retailed for about $149 in 1985 with the 50mm lens. Sellers also often bundled the TC-X with the Tokina 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Zoom.

Given that, is there any case for the TC-X? Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Lens Mount	Autoreflex
Shutter Type	Vertical Metal
Auto Exposure Mode	Shutter
X-Sync	1/60
Viewfinder Coverage	92% / 0.87x
Meter	Center-Weighted
ASA Range	50-1600
Shutter Speed Range	B, 1/8 – 1/1000
Exposure Lock?	Yes
Weight	375g
Self Timer?	Yes
Batteries	1 x AAA

Operation

While functional, reliable, and relatively light, the TC-X is a very basic SLR whose design and build quality leave something to be desired. Inheriting nothing from any prior Konica body other than the lens mount, the TC-X exhibits the typical attributes of many of Cosina’s made-for-hire bodies.

Viewfinder: The TC-X has a rather dark viewfinder for this class of camera and is easily its worst attribute. The focusing screen is a standard split-screen / microprism type with the aperture settings (f/1.4-22) on the left hand of the viewfinder. Dark viewfinders mean that with lenses whose maximum apertures are f/2.8 and smaller are much more difficult to focus.

Operation: The TC-X’s shutter-speed priority autoexposure operation is straightforward. Mount an AR lens and set it to AE/EE. Turn the meter on via a switch. The viewfinder via a match needle will show what aperture is selected at the shutter speed. Fiddle with the shutter speed accordingly to arrive at the aperture you desire. The TC-X can lock the exposure by a half-press of the shutter button. The TC-X can also operate in a metered stopped-down mode. This is also very simple: set the shutter speed and aperture until the meter needle arrives at f/1.4 in the viewfinder.

Shutter: The TC-X has an abbreviated shutter speed range of 1/8 to 1/1000. The shutter is loud and undampened. The On/Off meter switch also acts as a shutter button lock.

X-Sync: The TC-X’s flash sync speed is a below-average 1/60 and must be manually set, along with the appropriate aperture, for auto flash use.

Battery: The TC-X uses a sole AAA battery which only powers the light meter. Being a mechanical-shutter camera, the TC-X will work at all shutter speeds without a battery.

DX Film Coding: As stated above, the TC-X was the first widely-available 35mm SLR that had integrated DX film reading, set on a dial around the film rewind. Fortunately, you can still manually set the film speed at anywhere from 50-1600 ASA. Film loading is actually a little bit of a pain as sometimes it is difficult to get the film leader to catch reliably into the takeup reel.

Conclusions

The good things about the TC-X are its non-battery-dependent mechanical shutter, its reliability / durability, and its useful exposure lock feature. The biggest downsides of this simple camera are its relatively dark viewfinder, its undampened shutter, and sometimes fussy film loading. While the TC-X can be seen to be a better (overall) mechanical body than the TC or the T4, my advice is go for an FT-1 and do not look back.

Kyocera-owned Yashica of Japan manufactured four program-mode, electronic-shutter, manual-focus C/Y-mount SLRs: the FX-103, 107, 108, and 109. The FX-103 was introduced during early 1985 shortly after the unveiling of the impressive Contax 159MM. At launch, retailers offered the 159MM for about $425 with a 50mm f/1.7 Contax Zeiss lens while the FX-103 was usually priced around $250 with a 50mm f/1.9 ML Yashica lens. However, camera stores often bundled the FX-103 in all sorts of configurations, with flashes, zooms, winders, and even sometimes with the Contax 50mm f/1.7.

The FX-103’s claims to fame include the fact that: (1) it was the first Yashica body that could offer three different exposure modes: program (high and regular), aperture priority, and manual; (2) it was the last Yashica manual-focus SLR that included the shutter speed information in the viewfinder; and (3) it had the best viewfinder of all Yashica bodies. However, there was one feature that the program-mode Yashicas had that no Contax camera featured: the ability to use “Program Mode” with every single lens made in the C/Y mount. On the other hand, Contax bodies could only use post-1985 “MM” lenses in their program modes because of the way those lenses interact with the bodies’ electronics.

In terms of design, the FX-103 is direct descendant of, and shares much in common with the prior 1980 FX-D and the de-featured 1983 FX-70. The FX-103 also shares the same basic viewfinder as the Contax 137 MD/MA, the Contax 139Q, and the FX-D. The primary differences between the FX-103 and the FX-D are the the FX-103’s addition of program modes, its capability for TTL flash, its much brighter focusing screen, and the FX-D’s exposure-lock capability via a switch on the front of the camera.

Although the most “functional” 35mm Yashica camera body made up to that time, the FX-103 is really nothing special when compared with the 1985 offerings of other major manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, and Minolta. During that year, the latter companies were marketing products like the T80, the N2000, and the autofocus Maxxum 7000.

It goes without saying that the best “backup” body for your Contax is another Contax. However, if, despite all of that, you are still in the market for a Yashica film camera body, should you consider the FX-103 over models like the FX-3 Super 2000 or the FX-D? Let’s take a closer look.

Specifications

Year Introduced	1985
Weight	460g
Battery	2 x LR44
Shutter Speeds	B, 16 sec – 1/1000
Viewfinder	95% / 0.86x
TTL Flash?	Yes (Dedicated Units)
Flash Sync	1/100
Focusing Screen	Fixed Microprism / Split
ASA Range	12-3200
Motor Drive?	External
Auto Exposure Modes	Program (Regular & High) / Aperture / Manual
DOF Preview?	No
Settings In VF	Shutter Speed
Exposure Lock?	No
Exposure Compensation?	+2 to -2

Operation

While the FX-103 is significantly de-featured compared with the contemporary Contax 159MM, apart from the lower top shutter speed, it has fairly similar real-world functionality. The FX-103 is an odd mishmash of features on prior Contax/Yashica products: (1) the viewfinder of the 137/139 without the aperture information; (2) the basic body frame of the FX-D; and (3) the winder contacts of the 139/FX-D; and (4) the self-timer switch of the 139/159MM. The FX-103 is a remarkably small and light body. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of its functionality.

Shutter: The FX-103’s top shutter speed is only 1/1000. This is a bit below par for the mid-1980s when most decent electronic-shutter SLRs could hit 1/2000 and even 1/4000. The shutter is quite pronounced and clanky because of an unusual lack of effective mirror dampening. The shutter sound is perhaps my least favorite aspect of this camera.

Viewfinder: The viewfinder is one of the best aspects of this camera. The FX-103’s viewfinder has a good 95% coverage and an average 0.86x magnification. The focusing screen is much brighter than the one in the FX-D and similar to that found on the 139/137. On the right side of the viewfinder is displayed the shutter speed range. Red LED lights illuminate to the right of each speed. There is a green “P” at the top to remind you whether the lens is set in the right position for program mode. Unfortunately, Yashica omitted the capability from the 137/139 to show the aperture setting in the viewfinder. The non-interchangeable screen is the standard split-screen microprism type.

Exposure Modes: A large improvement over the FX-D was the addition of two program modes: “regular” and “high.” As noted above, program modes will work with all C/Y lenses, unlike Contax’s limitation to “MM” lenses. All that is necessary is to set whatever lens attached to its minimum aperture setting. High program mode, in theory, is for longer lenses to ensure that the shutter speed remains high enough to prevent “camera shake.” However, the FX-103’s programming is not super aggressive in this regard, with only two (sometimes only one) shutter speeds between regular and high. The program mode has no shutter speed “floor.” In other words, the camera will set the shutter speed as low as necessary for correct exposure. The FX-103 also retains straightforward aperture-priority operation. A metered manual mode is also available by matching the LEDs in the viewfinder through the adjustment of the shutter speed and aperture.

Lack of Exposure Lock: In the only feature deleted from the FX-D, the FX-103 does not have the capability for exposure lock, lacking the front-mounted switch of the 139, FX-D, and RTS II. The FX-103 has a front-mounted switch, but it is only for a self-timer and a battery check light.

Cable Release: The FX-103 does not have a standard mechanical cable release slot. Instead, there is something called the “Cable Switch S” that will attach to a socket on the back side of the camera. This is the same cable that Contaxes use.

External Winder: There are two winders that will work with the FX-103. The first is the “Contax Winder II” designed for the 139, which has a modest 2 frames-per-second max speed and a nifty auxiliary shutter release. The second is the “Yashica FX Winder” which is basically the same unit but lacks the second shutter release. As you know, these older winders neither assist in loading or rewinding the film. These winders seems to have zero sound dampening and are quite loud.

TTL Flash: Another big improvement over the FX-D was the addition of TTL flash when using the then-new Yashica CS-203 flash as well any Contax TLA-series flash. A compatible flash will automatically change the camera’s shutter speed to 1/100.

Accessories: The FX-103 uses the standard eyecup (either the rectangular or circular one) that works on nearly all Yashica and Contax bodies. Yashica also produced a useless data back that was capable of imprinting the date directly onto the negative.

Compared

Here are the 159MM, the FX-103, and the FX-3 Super 2000 compared. As we can see, the FX-103 has several significant advantages over the FX-3 Super 2000: (1) a better viewfinder; (2) TTL flash; (3) real exposure information in the viewfinder; (4) the capability to use an motor drive; and (5) a dedicated exposure compensation dial. Of course, the FX-3 Super 2000 has a slightly higher top shutter speed.

	Contax 159MM	Yashica FX-103	Yashica FX-3 2000
Year Introduced	1985	1985	1986
Weight	520g	460g	445g
Battery	2 x SR44	2 x SR44	2 x SR44
Shutter Speeds	B, 60 sec – 1/4000	B, 16 sec – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/2000
Viewfinder	95% / 0.82x	95% / 0.86x	92% / 0.91x
TTL Flash?	Yes (Dedicated Units)	Yes (Dedicated Units)	No
Flash Sync	1/100 (Dedicated); 1/250 (Auto)	1/100	1/125
Focusing Screen	Interchangeable Microprism / Split	Fixed Microprism / Split	Fixed Microprism / Split
ASA Range	12-3200	12-3200	25-3200
Motor Drive?	External	External	No
Auto Exposure Modes	Program (3) / Aperture	Program (2) / Aperture	Metered Manual
DOF Preview?	Yes	No	No
Settings In VF	Shutter Speed / Aperture	Shutter Speed	3 x LEDs
Exposure Lock?	Yes	No	No
Exposure Compensation?	+2 to -2	+2 to -2	No

Repairs

Like any nearly 40 year-old camera, many FX-103s you may run across will most likely require a full replacement of the light seals and mirror dampener prior to serious usage. Furthermore, like many other Kyocera-produced Contaxes and Yashicas, the FX series are susceptible to “mirror slip” issue, a phenomenon where the glued-on reflex mirror starts to slip from its housing. In extreme cases, it will slip so far that the mirror may hit the back of a lens. As with any electronic cameras, there is also always a small risk that the electronics have failed over the years.

Conclusions

Kyocera was careful to ensure that no Yashica body could truly compete on features with a contemporary or prior Contax body. The FX-103 could have been a kind of “program mode” version of the Contax 139, but Kyocera decided not to do that. Although conventional thinking about Yashica C/Y bodies has traditionally focused upon the FX-3, the FX-103 is arguably a more versatile and advanced platform and has a brighter focusing screen than either. Its main achilles heel is the lack of an exposure lock. If looking for the most “advanced” Yashica SLR, that would probably be the 109 MP, which does have the 1/2000 top speed and auto film load/advance/rewind, but its lack of exposure feedback renders it yet another imperfect, “almost there” Yashica product.

Shortly after the introduction of the full-featured Contax 159MM in 1985, Kyocera followed up almost immediately with the 167MT in 1986 as a successor to the 1982 Contax 137 MA. The 167MT was an abrupt departure from the prior 137/139/159 series and was intended to compete with the next generation of 35mm SLRs like the manual-focus Canon T90, the Ricoh XR-M, and the Nikon N2000 (F-301). It was also quite expensive, about $600 for the body at the time. With Kyocera not replacing the professional 1982 Contax RTS II until 1990, cameras like the 167MT with its advanced electronics and higher shutter speeds would have to fill the void, at least temporarily. In 1992, Kyocera replaced the the 167MT with the “ST,” a camera with nearly the same functionality but with “knobs and dials” instead of LCD readouts and buttons displays, and a 1/6000 top speed instead of 1/4000.

With used 167MTs appearing to be pretty cheap entries into the Contax SLR world, they have always been somewhat popular. Is it a good option? Let’s take a look.

Specifications

Here are the 159MM, 167MT, and ST compared.

	159MM	167MT	ST
Year Introduced	1985	1986	1992
VF Coverage	95% / 0.82x	95% / 0.82x	95% / 0.82x
Shutter Speeds	60 sec – 1/4000	16 sec – 1/4000	16 sec – 1/6000
Metering Modes	Center	Center / Spot	Center / Spot
Autoexposure Modes	P / A	P / A / S	P / A / S
Motor Drive	External	Advance / Load / Rewind	Advance / Load / Rewind
Advance Speed	3 FPS	3 FPS	3 FPS
TTL Flash?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flash Sync	1/100	1/125	1/200
Viewfinder Info	Shutter Speed / Aperture	Shutter Speed / Aperture / Frame Count	Shutter Speed / Aperture / Frame Count
Batteries	2 x SR44	4 x AAA or AA (Optional)	4 x AAA or AA (Optional)
AE Lock?	Yes	Yes	Yes
ASA Range	12 – 3200	6-6400	6 – 6400
Weight	520g	620g	800g

Operation

The 167MT is an orphaned design in the Contax SLR lineup. With an LCD screen replacing some of the traditional knobs and switches and with a viewfinder LCD reminiscent of that in the Nikon F4, the 167MT takes a little getting used to. While top-mounted LCDs on SLRs were all the rage during the mid-to-late 1980s, whether they actually assist with real-world shooting is a matter of preference. Although the LCD screen certainly adds some convenience and renders settings easier to visualize, it makes using shutter speed priority and manual modes somewhat time-consuming. Otherwise, the 167MT demonstrates the quality and attention to detail that one would expect from Contax’s mid-range line of SLRs.

Lenses: There are four categories of lenses in the C/Y mount: (1) Contax AE lenses (pre-1985); (2) Contax MM lenses (post-1985); (3) Yashica ML lenses; and (4) third-party lenses made by Tokina, Cosina, and others. The 167MT can use all of these lenses but can only use the “MM” lenses with its program and shutter-speed priority modes. All other lenses can only be used in aperture-priority or manual modes.

Viewfinder: Like most all Contax bodies, the 167MT has an excellent, bright, but not quite professional viewfinder. 95% viewfinder coverage with a 0.82x magnification is just above average for the era. With the 167MT, Contax first adopted an LCD to display the exposure information (in green, no less). The LCD displays the aperture, the shutter speed, the exposure mode, and the frame count. Half-pressing the shutter button will light up the readings with a green light (still a little difficult to see in the daytime). The viewfinder does have an illuminator light for tough conditions.

Exposure Modes: The 167MT has three program modes (high, normal, and low), aperture priority, shutter speed priority, and manual. These modes are selected via a switch on the top of the camera and displayed on the top LCD screen. Contax MM lenses are required for the program and shutter speed priority modes. Program mode has the camera set the appropriate shutter speed and aperture combination for a particular shot. Program high is to maximize the aperture opening and shutter speed, and program low is to minimize the aperture opening and shutter speed. The 167MT’s exposure chart shows that the programming is fairly aggressive in this regard, with a maximum difference of five exposure stops between High and Low, exactly what you would want.

Aperture priority operation is straightforward. Choose the aperture and the camera sets the appropriate shutter speed. Manual mode is easy as well. The viewfinder will tell you by a + or – sign whether the shutter speed is too high or too law for the selected aperture.

Metering and AE-L: The 167MT has the capability for center-weighted or spot metering, adjustable via a switch on the top right of the body. The autoexposure lock setting only works with spot metering. When using AE-L, half-depress the shutter button to create a “locked exposure” value at which you can shoot away after recomposing. While the AE-L is activated, and while in aperture-priority mode, you can change the aperture and the body will automatically adjust the shutter speed according to the prior-set exposure value. However, to get out of AE-L, you have to switch it off and on again. I have always found the Contax AE-L method somewhat cumbersome compared to systems like Nikon.

Winder: The 167MT was the first Contax SLR body with integrated film load, advance, and rewind. Film loading simply requires opening the back, pulling the film across, and closing the back. The rewind is not automatic at the end of a roll. Simultaneously pushing and button and sliding the rewind switch starts the process. The 167MT has two drive modes: Single and Continuous. The continuous advance is good for up to 3 frames per second, which is very respectable for a 1986 camera.

Batteries: The 167MT uses 4 x AAA bottom-loaded batteries to power the camera and the winder. An optional bulkier battery pack allows the use of 4 x AA batteries.

DX Coding: The 167MT was also the first Contax body to be able to read DX film coding. Film speed can also be manually set via the LCD screen.

Exposure Compensation: The 167MT has the ability to correct + / – 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments. A + or – sign appears in the viewfinder to indicate that the compensation switch has been activated. In program mode, compensation changes both the shutter speed and aperture, in aperture priority just the shutter speed, and in shutter priority just the aperture. The 167MT also has an auto-bracketing feature that is activated by a switch below the exposure compensation dial. Switch that on, put the advanced on “Continuous,” and the body will shoot three photos in a row at the appropriate spread.

TTL Flash: The 167MT has the capability for TTL flash exposure with all of the Contax TLA flash units. In program mode, the body will set the shutter speed and set the appropriate aperture. In aperture priority mode, you set the desired aperture, the camera sets the shutter speed and the TTL flash does the rest. For daylight fill in program mode, there are no additional steps. However, the relatively low max flash sync speed of 1/125 will result in a rather small aperture for most faster films. For daylight fill in aperture priority mode, set the aperture and the camera will set the shutter speed. However, if the aperture is too wide, the camera will blink an overexposure warning in the viewfinder. I am not quite sure how “advanced” the daylight fill system is as later professional cameras took complex readings of the background and foreground to calculate the appropriate settings.

Accessories

The 167MT had a few accessories.

F-3 Eyecup: This rubber eyecup that slides over the viewfinder will protect your glasses.

P-5 Battery Pack: The 167MT natively uses 4 x AAA batteries. To increase the weight and size of your 167MT, the P-5 battery pack is available and takes 4 x AA batteries for increased longevity.

The D-7 Databack: The databack replaces the backdoor of your camera. During the 1980s and 1990s, many camera manufacturers offered the ability to imprint the date/time on your actual negative, like in the lower left quarter of the frame. I am not sure where the D-7 imprints the data. The D-7 databack could also be used to program interval photography.

Focusing Screens: The 167MT can accept four different focusing screens: the FU-3 (45 degree split image), FU-4 (horizontal split screen), FU-5 (matte), and FU-6 (grid).

Possible Issues

An important issue to take into account before you plunge into a 167MT is the fact that Kyocera no longer services this camera and there are no spare parts. Although still rare, the electronics on these cameras can still catastrophically fail for reasons beyond your control. I had an 167MT where the shutter, while firing seemingly correctly, was not opening correctly and was subsequently declared unfixable. The other endemic issue that plagues both Kyocera-made Contax and Yashica SLRs is the dreaded “mirror slip,” where the glued-on mirror slips out of it housing, resulting in the inability to focus correctly. Reports of 167MTs failing has made me think twice about recommending it over other competitive Contax bodies.

Conclusions

Choosing a manual-focus Contax SLR can be a little daunting because the Kyocera produced so many cameras with overlapping features. The first fork in the road is whether you are looking for a body without an integrated drive. If not, the choices are easy: the electronic-shutter 159MM or the mechanical-shutter S2b. If looking at cameras other than the professional RTS III, the RX and Aria were overall the best. Choosing between the 167MT and the ST really comes down to whether you prefer the LCD or switches/knob experience. The only other differences are that the 167MT has two additional program modes, the ST has a 1/2 stop higher maximum shutter speed, and the ST has a slightly higher flash sync speed at 1/200. In my opinion, I do not think that the 167MT competes well with the post-1986 Contax bodies and paying a little more for an ST, RX, RTS III, or Aria is well worth it.

For many of us, a high-quality fixed lens 35mm film point-and-shoot is on the bucket list – a camera that we can carry around everywhere and about which we will not get too upset if it gets lost, broken, or stolen. In deciding a camera to acquire, for me there are really only two essential inquiries: (1) is the lens relatively fast and sharp? and (2) what is the probability that the camera actually autofocused on the right thing?

The Internet has already done a pretty good job of combing over the more popular, higher-end point-and-shoot models — like the Contax T series, the Yashica T4, the Nikon 35/28ti, and the Olympus Mju. However, having a small obsession with Konica-branded cameras (my father having purchased his Autoreflex T during Vietnam War-era service), I have been attempting to track down some of its lesser-known products to see if they are any good. While Konica products like the 1968 C35, the 1990s Big Mini series, and the 1993 Konica Hexar AF are generally well-known, 1980s-era Konica compacts not so much.

35mm cameras marketed during the 1970s and before required the user to know something about photography. The 1980s saw the rise of cameras that permitted users to take good photos without such knowledge. The advent of autofocusing made photography more accessible to the masses who were not keen on learning to use / lugging around heavy SLRs.

From the introduction of the C35 rangefinder in 1968 until the unveiling of the C35AF in 1977 (the first consumer autofocus camera), Konica was on top of the compact camera game (although its SLRs were always a step or two behind). The C35AF, while impressively beating all others to market, lacked a few essential features. It lacked a focus lock mechanism for off-center subjects. The viewfinder did not communicate to you what the camera was actually focusing on (although Konica expected you to look at a distance scale on the front of the camera to confirm) or whether you were too close to the subject. The absence of these basic indications will guarantee a certain number of misfocused shots on every roll.

Other manufacturers solved these problems before Konica did. In 1983, Nikon introduced its L35AF, which pretty much has all the features you would have wanted in a point-and-shoot from the mid-1980s — a 35/2.8 lens, an integrated motor and rewind drive, focus lock, an active autofocus mechanism, a viewfinder showing four separate autofocus distances, minimum focus to 0.8 meters, a backlight compensation switch, a thread for a screw-in 46mm filter, shutters speeds from 1/8 to 1/450, and on some models manually adjusted ISO settings from 50 to 1000. Canon, Chinon, Minolta, and Pentax all introduced similar products with more or less the same material features.

Falling far behind, in 1983, Konica introduced the last of its C35 series — the “AF3.” In 1984, Konica unveiled the very slick but overly-simple MG — a kind of automated, autofocus Olympus XA. Neither of these cameras was competitive from a features perspective. During this time, Konica also made simplified versions of the C35 with only zone or fixed focus in its “EF” series — and throwaway cameras like the Pop and the Tomato. Under no circumstances should you waste any money on the C35AF, C35AF2, the Pop, the Tomato, or any Konica camera with the EF designation. We are going to ignore the 1985 Konica MR70 (a twin focal length 38/3.2 + 70/5.6) compact camera because it is not in our “fixed lens” category here and because I have never seen one.

In 1986, Konica made a clean break from the C35 series with three brand-new cameras — called in export markets the MT-7, MT-9, and MT-11. The MT series represented the totality of the Konica fixed-lens point-and-shoot line until the introduction of the next-generation A4 in 1989, followed by the first of the “Big Mini” series in 1990.

All MT cameras share some basic features like an integrated motor drive, a built-in flash, and auto rewind. The MT-7 is an extremely basic camera with a fixed-focus lens that only focused down to 1.5m, one aperture per ISO value, a fixed shutter speed of 1/125, and a rather slow 36/4 lens. Think of the MT-7 as the next-generation Konica Pop. The MT-9 was more capable, with focusing down to 1.3 meters, a focus lock option, visual icons for the auto-focusing distance, an underexposure warning indicator, a “close-focus” flash option (discussed below), and a 35/3.5 lens.

The MT-11 was the flagship, sporting a slightly faster 35/2.8 Tessar-style lens. The MT-11 sold for about $150 in 1986, about the same price as the contemporary Nikon L35AF2, which translates roughly to $350 today. Konica would not produce another true point-and-shoot with a 2.8 lens until the 1990s Big Mini F.

Specifications

The MT-11 hits most, but not all, of the benchmarks established by the Nikon L35AF.

Lens: 35/2.8, 4 elements in 3 groups, Tessar-style
Motor Drive and Auto Rewind: Yes
Focus Lock: Yes, by slightly depressing the shutter
Autofocus Type: Passive
Autofocus Confirmation: Three LED indicators (close, near, and infinity)
Minimum Focus: 1.00 meter
LED Warning For Exceeding Minimum Focus Distance: Yes
LED Underexposure Warning: Yes
Backlight Compensation Switch: No.
Capability for Screw-In Filters: No.
Shutter Speeds: 1/4 to 1/500.
ISO Settings: DX Coded Only; No Manual Override; Defaults to ASA 100
Batteries: 2 x AA

Although a filter thread would have been nice, the biggest bummer on the list is the lack of manual override for ISO settings and the limited number of DX settings. I am still at a loss to understand why as the 1980s progressed, camera manufacturers moved to DX-coding only with only a limited range of ASA values. Seems like expanding the ISOs up to 1600 would have cost $0. But I guess if we are going to have this hypothetical debate, at a 1/500 top speed, 1600 speed film would have just overexposed all of your outdoor shots. And 800/1600 speed film may not have been a thing for regular people during the Ritz Camera era of photography.

The MT-11 has two features that the L35AF lacks: (1) automatic daylight fill flash; and (2) a bizarre flash-only close-up focusing mode that goes down to 0.45 meters (about 1.5 feet). Also interesting to note, Nikon’s subsequent L35AF2 (1985) and AF3 (1987) cameras actually had less functionality and manual control than the original L35AF.

Operation

Photos may not do the MT-11 justice. It is a really handsome, well-designed camera. Although its shell is hard plastic, there is nothing flimsy about it. Everything is intuitive. There are only a total of five buttons and switches — shutter (top), self-timer (top), flash (front), on switch (front), and rewind (bottom). The lens is protected by an door whose opening also acts as the camera’s “on” switch and prevents any shots while closed.

Although lacking in any override, the camera functions well. As stated above, the most frustrating part of point-and-shoots, unlike SLRs and rangefinders, is that you often never can be sure what the camera just focused on. The MT-11 has three autofocus confirmation lights in the viewfinder. Half depress the shutter, and you will see either a person (close), or a group of people (near), or a mountain (infinity). Depressing the shutter halfway locks the focus point. A blinking person means you are too close to the subject. A flash light will blink in the viewfinder as an underexposure warning. You can force a shot with no flash on the MT-11 by simply not activating it. Underexposure will most likely default the camera to its wide open settings (1/4 at f/2.8, I believe).

The autofocus mechanism is “passive,” and the lens does not physically move until after the shutter is tripped. The pre-shot autofocusing is completely silent. I am almost positive that MT-11 operates in “steps” to correspond to distances and aperture combinations — it is just unclear how many there are. There is a typical brief shutter lag as in all cameras of this class and the motor drive is a bit noisy (noisier than the MG). In daily practice, the autofocus works “pretty well” but you will often need to “try again” if the camera indicates “far away” when your subject should be “close.” Also, the autofocus does seem to have occasional problems focusing on uniformly-colored subjects (either light or dark). This reveals a limitation of a “passive” autofocus system that requires the scene to have at least some contrast.

The light meter appears to be somewhat primitive and can be fooled by strong backlight in a scene. If your subject is close and backlit, consider using the flash. Otherwise, just be careful.

Like in most of its advanced compact cameras since the C35, the MT-11 uses a “Tessar” lens — 4 elements in 3 groups. It is likely that the MT-11’s lens is a derivative of the C35’s optics, but that is not clear from any extant literature. The Tessar is a simple, effective design that is easy to mass-produce and can be found in almost every higher-end point-and-shoot made in Japan during the 1980s and into the 1990s. Do not expect Leica-like performance from the humble 35/2.8. It is a capable lens for your standard 1980s 4x6s and 5x7s. For internet purposes, it works just fine.

Feature No. 1: Daylight Ambient Flash

Ever since the introduction of the Konica S3 in 1973, Konica had been firmly committed to the concept of daylight fill flash. Almost all of Konica’s point-and-shoots were programmed to shoot daylight flash. (At the same time, Konica never produced an automatic daylight fill flash system for any of its SLRs). The MT-11 is no exception. The operation is simple — just turn on the flash and take a daylight photograph. I am not sure exactly the method used, but I imagine that it is a descendant of the Konica S3’s system. The built-in flash syncs at full power at all shutter speeds. The autofocus sensor sends the distance information to the camera which then adjusts the aperture and shutter speed accordingly. Fill flash from point-and-shoots is not often flattering, so consider finding some material with which to attempt to diffuse the flash a bit.

Feature No. 2: Close-Up Flash Focusing

Certainly the oddest feature on the MT-11 is this “close-up flash mode” which permits you, only with the flash on, to take a photo at a distance down to 0.45 meters (about 1.5 feet). I am not quite sure what this mode is attempting to accomplish. In any event, if you press and hold in the lever next to the lens the flash pops up and then angles. You will see that the autofocus LED will no longer flash when you are closer than 1 meter to the autofocus point. However, in this mode, the camera will not tell you if you get closer than 0.45 meters to the subject. For those who do not carry a ruler around, for a close-up subject, the idea would be to find the 1 meter minimum focusing mark and then “lean in” towards the subject slightly, but not more than 0.55 meters inwards.

Should You Buy One?

Once I started looking for an MT-11, it took quite a while to locate one for a decent price and in good condition. It is not clear whether its apparent rarity is because it never sold well in the USA, because they are sitting in people’s basements and attics, or because a strategic stockpile of them is hiding in resale shops across the country.

I wholeheartedly agree with the Internet that if you are going to acquire a film point-and-shoot camera you should go straight for the good ones. To me, the point of a point-and-shoot camera is to take it with you everywhere and not be out a rent or mortgage payment if something befalls it. Because the MT-11 checks both essential boxes — it has a good and fast lens, and it minimizes the possibility for user autofocus error — I say that you cannot go wrong with it. Other cameras to consider in the mid-1980s class would be the Nikon L35AF (the original one with the ASA up to 1000, and not the AF2 or AF3), the Chinon 35FA Super, the Pentax PC35AF, or the Minolta AF-C (no built-in motor drive). Of these other options, the L35AF still has the most features.

Sample Photos

Here are a few sample photos taken on Kodak Portra 400. As you can see, the MT-11 is more than capable as a snapshot camera (assuming you nail the focus).

Instruction Manual

Because the MT-11 instruction manual is otherwise unavailable on the Internet, here you go.

Sometimes you do not choose a camera, a camera chooses you. This is certainly the case with my father’s well-worn and still-functional Nikon N2020 (or F-501 outside of North America). The N2020 is a pretty well-made and capable body, hobbled by a relatively dark viewfinder and a slow, loud autofocus system that does not function well in low-light conditions.

By the early 1980s, the race to develop a viable autofocus SLR was on. While Pentax technically produced the “first” example, the 1981 ME F, it was slow, clumsy, and could only use a single dedicated 35-70 lens. The following year, both Canon (AL-1) and Yashica (FX-A) introduced bodies with “focus assist,” a manual focus system where the camera’s sensors could indicate to the user when the subject in the crosshairs was in focus. In 1983, Nikon introduced its own clumsy F3AF with could autofocus only a proprietary 80mm and 200mm lens. In 1985, Minolta beat everyone to the punch with the Maxxum 7000, the first modern and functional autofocus camera sporting a top mounted LCD screen for exposure feedback. Nikon would not produce with a camera with both autofocus and an top-mounted LCD info screen until the 1988 N8008 (F-801).

During 1985, Nikon introduced the N2000 (F-301). A complete break from the prior FG series, the N2000 represented a series of firsts: (1) a body made of polycarbonate; (2) an integrated motor drive with auto film loading and advance (but no rewind); and (3) the capability to read DX-coded film cassettes. The N2000 had far more electronic functionality than any Nikon body before it, even the fabled F3 and FA. Although the FA was the first Nikon body with a “program” mode, the N2000 had two program modes (high and normal) as well as retaining an aperture priority and a manual mode.

In 1986, Nikon introduced the N2020 (F-501), essentially an N2000 with autofocus. The N2020 had the additional feature of a “dual program mode,” which switched to “program high” for lenses 135mm and longer and regular “program” mode for lenses shorter than that. The N2020 could also take three different focusing screens not available on the N2000. By the time the N2020 was discontinued in 1989, Nikon’s flagship F4 had appeared and autofocus modules were already in the next generation. For future cameras, Nikon did not retain any aspects of the N2000/N2020 design.

The N2020 is certainly an interesting interregnum camera. While it was a great leap forward from Nikon’s late 1970s and early 1980s FG/FE/EM series, it also came before the 1990s mass-plastification of consumer SLRs. While an interesting piece of Nikon history, I am not so sure if it is a good choice for a daily shooter today.

Specifications

Lens Mount	Nikon F
Shutter	Electronic Vertical Metal
Full Lens Compatibility	Ai, Ai-S, AF & AF-D
Focus Modes	AF, Focus Assist & Manual
Exposure Modes	Aperture, Program & Manual
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec – 1/2000
ASA Range	12-3200 (Non-DX); 25-5000 (DX)
Motor Drive	Load & Advance; Up to 2.5 FPS
Flash Sync	1/125
Batteries	4 x AAA (MB-4); 4 x AA (MB-3)
Weight	604g

Operation

Lens Compatibility: While Nikon retained its “F Mount” up until its newest Z mirrorless cameras, the N2020 cannot use with full functionality the entire range. The N2020 can utilize Ai, Ai-S, Series E, AF, and AF-D lenses. After that, things get a little dicey. Screw-drive G lenses will autofocus but will only work in program mode. Modern AF-S lenses will kind of work: they will not autofocus, but in program mode only, they will meter, focus assist, and take a shot. With screw-drive G lenses or AF-S lenses, the N2020 will not be able to tell you what the shutter speed or aperture are. AF-P lenses will not work at all.

Viewfinder: The N2020 has a decent, uncluttered, and not especially bright viewfinder that displays LEDs for the shutter speed along the right side and the focusing indicators at the bottom. The camera came native with a “Type B” focusing screen but can be replaced with proprietary “Type J” (matte / fresnel with a centered microprism) or “Type E” (grid). The different screens will not affect the autofocusing and are only aids for specific uses.

Autofocus: The N2020 uses Nikon’s first-generation autofocus module that contained 96 CCDs that focused on a subject in the precise center of the frame. For reference, Nikon’s later AM200 module used in the F4 and other cameras had 200 CCDs. The N2020 was designed to use Nikon’s “screw drive” AF and AF-D lenses, where a rather-noisy motor in the camera body focuses the lens. Today, autofocus lenses are now driven by motors in the lens itself powered by the camera body. The advantage of the later cameras is far less noise and vibration. The N2020’s autofocus, while very slow compared to modern cameras, is relatively capable and definitely works better in daylight than in low light. The N2020 can “focus lock” a point but half-depressing the shutter for reframing.

The N2020 has “single” and “continuous” autofocus modes. In “single” mode, the camera will not trigger the shutter until the subject is in focus. This mode permits one to focus lock a subject while halfway depressing the shutter button for reframing. The “continuous” mode was a primitive attempt at autofocus tracking. It does not work well at all.

When used with the SB-20 Speedlight flash’s assist lighting, the N2020’s low-light autofocus abilities vastly improve.

Focus Assist: For most manual focus Nikon lenses, the N2020 can use its autofocus sensor to “assist.” Through the arrows and circle at the bottom of the viewfinder, half-pressing the shutter button will activate the sensor. When the center circle turns “green” the lens is in focus. Focus assist is really a great feature, and it made its way into most subsequent higher-end Nikon film SLRs.

Exposure Modes: The N2020 has settings for three program modes, aperture priority, and manual operation. In program modes, the viewfinder will not display the selected aperture, only the shutter speed. “Program Hi” tells the camera to set a higher shutter speed and wider aperture. “Program Dual” will set the camera to “Program Hi” if the lens is 135mm or longer. If not, it will revert to regular “Program.” Aperture priority mode is straightforward. Manual permits the user the set the shutter speed on the camera dial, set the aperture on the lens, and the camera will let you know if the settings do not match the meter, by either blinking a shutter speed above or below the selected setting.

Auto Film Loading: The N2020 has the traditional swingback door with a film reminder window. Pull the film across the back and close the door. There is no automatic film rewind.

Underexposure Warning Alarm: The N2020 has a switch on the top that produce a loud beep if the shutter speed / aperture combination is not sufficient for the lighting conditions. Fortunately, you can turn this off.

Motor Drive: The N2020’s integrated motor drive is loud. In the most continuous mode, the camera can achieve up to 2.5 frames per second, which about on par with contemporary non-professional cameras. In normal ideal shooting conditions, the N2020 is good for about 1.5 – 2 frames per second.

Film Speed: The N2020 has a DX setting for coded film cassettes. Otherwise, the user can manually select any speed from 25 to 3200.

Exposure Compensation: On the ASA dial, there is a wheel for exposure compensation from -2 to +2. A separate adjacent button must be simultaneously pressed for the wheel to rotate.

Accessories

Focusing Screens: The standard “B” screen comes with the camera. Nikon also offered a “E” and “J” screen.

MB-3 AA Battery Pack: The stock N2020 uses 4 AAA batteries. The optional MB-3 module permitted the use of 4 AA batteries.

SB-20 Flash: The SB-20 is a really nice flash with a native bounce ability. Like other better Speedlights, in low light conditions, it will shoot a red light from the unit to assist the camera to focus in low light. The N2020 also has native TTL and auto flash ability with the older SB-15 and SB-16B units. The SB-18 could be used only in TTL or manual mode. With the SC-23 cord, the SB-14 and SB-11 could be used in TTL or manual mode. I am not sure if later Speedlights will work as my SB-30 would not couple with the camera.

Conclusions

So what is a case for the N2020 today? While the camera is of average weight, with an average viewfinder, and has a very loud autofocus, shutter, and film advance, the N2020 was the last Nikon 35mm autofocus film body that retains a “classic” SLR look. The ability to use manual focus lenses in focus assist mode and AF/AF-D autofocus lenses makes it a more versatile platform than any of the consumer-oriented manual focus SLRs of the late 1970s and early 1980s. While the best Nikon camera of the 1980s is clearly the F4, the N2020 offers some of the same functionality in a much smaller package. However, with most Nikon AF film bodies being so cheap these days, if not the F4, F5, or F6, cameras like the N90s or the F100 simply blow the N2020 out of the water in all regards.

The 1987 East German Praktica BX20 was the penultimate model in Pentacon’s “PB” line of cameras. A departure from the design of Praktica’s prior 1979 B200 and 1984 BC-1, the plastic-shelled BX20 incorporates everything interesting about PB cameras while adding the capability for TTL flash. With a great selection of lenses by Carl Zeiss Jena and Pentacon, the BX20 is a nice little camera, although a little inelegant and clunky.

In line with prior moves from Pentax, Fujica, Yashica, and others, Pentacon dropped the M42 lens mount for its Praktica-branded cameras in 1979 and adopted a new bayonet mount. Praktica’s final “new” M42 camera bodies, the 1977 EE2 and the short-lived 1979 EE3, were interesting autoexposure models with decent capabilities, but far from perfect. Praktica did not completely abandon the M42 standard in 1979 as it continued to produce the outdated third-generation MT series until about 1989.

Praktica’s first bayonet camera model, the 1979 B200, adopted not only a new lens mount but also employed a stepless electronic shutter, capable of aperture-priority autoexposure. During the 1980s, Praktica produced both a higher-end and lower-end models in this mount. The B200 (1979), also known as the BC-X (export version), the BC-1 (1984), also known as the BC-3 and Jenaflex AM-1 (export versions), and the BX20 (1987) were the “higher end” models. The “lower end,” de-featured models included the B100, BCA, BCS, BCC, BMS, and Jenaflex AC-1. For the best source of information of essentially all Praktica camera bodies, check out this famous site.

For its part, the B200 was a competitive advanced amateur SLR body for 1979, the era of the Nikon FM, the Canon A-1, and the Pentax ME. During the run of the B200, its lens lineup contained a mix of: (1) more expensive Carl Zeiss Jena lenses; (2) “reasonably”-priced Pentacon-branded ones; and (3) a few aftermarket, mostly-zoom lenses made in Japan. Although the SLR camera market was becoming increasingly competitive, Praktica’s 1984 BC-1 (essentially, a slightly-redesigned B200) did not move the ball forward.

Pentacon’s 1987 Praktica BX20 included a complete body redesign, a slightly faster flash sync speed, the capability for TTL flash (using the same system as Olympus), and a relocated exposure lock button. During its run, the BX20 was typically bundled with the final version of the Pentacon-made 50mm f/1.8 Prakticar lens, reportedly based on the earlier Meyer Optik 50mm f/1.8 Orestor. Around the time of German reunification, the government formally dissolved Pentacon. In 1991, Schneider Kreuznach acquired much of Pentacon’s camera assets and continued the production of a final model, the Praktica BX20s, until about 2001. The BX20s included another slight body redesign and the incorporation of DX film coding.

That all being said, more than 35 years after its introduction, is the BX20 a worthwhile platform? Part of the appeal of these late Prakticas is that while they are plentiful and relatively cheap in Europe and other markets, the B/BX series was pretty much unknown in North America. Compared with any run-of-the-mill 1970s M42 camera body, the B and BX bodies have generally brighter viewfinders, aperture-priority autoexposure, exposure lock, and TTL flash capability. If you enjoy using late-model multicoated Carl Zeiss Jena SLR lenses, the Praktica B series is arguably a better platform for these lenses than any classic M42 body. The B-series can also employ some CZJ lenses that were either extremely rare or never existed in M42 mount, like the 55mm f/2.8 Macro (no M42 version), both versions of the 50mm f/1.4 (no M42 version), and the 35-70mm f/2.7-3.5 zoom (rare and expensive in M42 mount).

Specifications for the Higher-End Praktica B Camera

There is not much that distinguishes the higher-end Praktica B camera bodies from each other in terms of functionality. They all seem to use the same shutter, focusing screen, viewfinder design, and metering system. Here the are features compared:

	B200	BC-1	BX20	BX20s
Year	1979	1984	1987	1992
Manufacturer	Pentacon	Pentacon	Pentacon	Schneider
Shutter	Vertical Metal	Vertical Metal	Vertical Metal	Vertical Metal
Shutter Speeds	B, 40 sec – 1/1000	B, 40 sec – 1/1000	B, 40 sec – 1/1000	B, 40 sec – 1/1000
Battery	PX28	PX28	PX28	PX28
Weight	530g	530g	510g	510g
ASA	12-3200	12-3200	12-3200	25-5000 (DX); 25-400 (Manual)
Meter	Center	Center	Center	Center
VF Coverage	95%	95%	95%	95%
Focusing Screen	Wedge / Microprism / Ground Glass	Wedge / Microprism / Ground Glass	Wedge / Microprism / Ground Glass	Wedge / Microprism / Ground Glass
Flash Sync	1/90	1/90	1/100	1/100
Shutter Speed / Aperture in VF?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TTL Flash?	No	No	Yes	Yes
AE Lock?	Button on Top	Button on Top	Button in Front	Button in Front
Motor Drive Capable?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
DX Coding?	No	No	No	Yes

Praktica B Lenses

Perhaps the primary reason to acquire a Praktica B camera is for the use of the several pretty good lenses that were made for the system. For a great and exhaustive resource on the Praktica line of PB-mount lenses, check out this site. While most of the system’s prime lenses were sourced by Pentacon either in-house or using third-party East German designs, CZJ either designed (or at least put its name on) other lenses, including some carryovers from the M42 era. Here is a list of the East German-designed lenses for the system.

Brand	Focal Length	Elements/Groups	Min. Focus	Filter Size	Notes
CZJ	20mm f/2.8	9/8	0.19m	67mm	M42 Carryover
CZJ	28mm f/2.4	8/8	0.19m	49mm	Floating Element; Extremely Rare
CZJ	35mm f/2.4	6/6	0.22m	49mm	M42 Carryover
CZJ	50mm f/1.4 V1	7/6	0.36m	52mm	Based on M42 55mm f/1.4
CZJ	50mm f/1.4 V2	7/6	0.40m	52mm	Better Version
CZJ	50mm f/1.8	6/5	0.35m	49mm	M42 Carryover
CZJ	50mm f/2.8	4/3	0.35m	49mm	M42 Carryover; Very Rare
CZJ	55mm f/2.8	6/5	0.25mm	49mm	1:2 Macro; Rare
CZJ	80mm f/1.8	6/5	0.65m	52mm	M42 Carryover
CZJ	135mm f/3.5	4/3		49mm	M42 Carryover
CZJ	200mm f/2.8	6/5	2.00m		New Design
CZJ	300mm f/4	6/5	4.00m		New Design
CZJ	35-70mm f/2.7-3.5	9/8			M42 Carryover
CZJ	80-200mm f/4	12/6	1.10m		M42 Carryover
Pentacon	28mm f/2.8	7/7	0.25m	49mm	East German Design
Pentacon	50mm f/1.8 V1	6/4	0.33m	49mm	Earlier Kit Lens
Pentacon	50mm f/1.8 V2	6/4	0.45m	49mm	Later Kit Lens
Pentacon	50mm f/2.4	5/4	0.60m	49mm	Two Versions (Metal / Plastic)
Pentacon	135mm f/2.8	5/4	1.70m	55mm	Orestor Design

The winners in this list mostly include all of the CZJ lenses. The Pentacon lenses can be pretty decent performers, but they are really nothing special for the 1980s.

Features

The BX20 presents the standard set of features found on many late-1970s to mid-1980s advanced-amateur SLRs. Its plastic body does not feel particularly cheap and is pretty comfortable in the hands.

Battery: The PX28 was originally a 6V mercury battery. While PX28s are no longer available, there are both silver oxide (S28PX) and alkaline (A544) replacements widely available. Lithium 6V substitutes do not seem to work.

Viewfinder/Focusing Screen: The BX20 has a relatively nice and bright viewfinder that displays in LED the shutter speed, the selected aperture (for PB lenses), an +/- indicator on the left that tells you if the exposure compensation is activated or manual ASA is set, and a green light to remind you whether the exposure lock has been activated. The PB series all share a nice and useful focusing screen with a dual 45 degree split-image, a microprism collar, and a ground glass.

Shutter Speeds: A 1/1000 top shutter speed is definitely below average for 1987. The shutter sound is a a bit metallic but not unpleasing.

Exposure Lock: The BX20 relocated the exposure lock button from the top to the front of the camera. To use this, half-depress the shutter to take a reading of the desired subject, press the button while still half-depressing the shutter, and then shoot. If you take your finger off the shutter release at any point, the AEL stops working. The system is a little finicky as I had a beautiful condition BX20s whose AEL did not work at all. My example of the BX20 sometimes takes more than one press to get the AEL mode to function.

Adapting M42 Lenses

Pentacon did not leave its legacy M42 users completely high and dry and produced an OEM adapter permitting autoexposure with “stopped down” metering, which means that an M42 lens must be closed down to taking aperture (thus, darkening the viewfinder) for the camera to meter. This is pretty much how all modern M42 to whatever adapters work. However, the adapter required an electrical connection to the camera body because the light meter will not function unless those contacts are made. As far as I know, there are no other third-party M42 to Praktica B adapters apart from the OEM one.

Accessories

Leather Case: Praktica produced a universal ever-ready case for the B and BX series.

Motor Drive: For the B and BX series, Praktica produced three unremarkable external power winders with three separate names: the “Winder,” the “B Winder,” and the “BX Winder.” The first two were allegedly made in Japan while the BX Winder was made in Germany. The BX Winder apparently promised 3 frames per second. All three winders are incredibly loud and take AA batteries.

TTL Flashes: Because Praktica BX cameras share TTL technology with the Olympus OM series, there are a wide variety of TTL flashes that can be used. The actual Praktica-branded TTL flashes include the basic BD-24, the more advanced LCD-style BD-32 (produced by Samyang), and a simpler BD-36 (produced by Samyang). The BX series can also use Metz TTL flashes with the SCA321 module.

Conclusion

Folks often say that forbidden fruit often tastes the best. While Praktica B/BX camera bodies were relatively popular in Europe (being a good value, German-designed camera), they never really reached North America when sold as new. With its standard Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 lens or with any of the mediocre zooms offered for the system, the case for the BX series over plenty of other options becomes pretty weak. While the BX bodies are not really spec-competitive with most popular SLRs made after 1985 or so, they remain the only film platform for some world-class CZJ lenses. While some have reported electronics failures with the BX series over the years, there are still plenty of working models out there. With the primary source of used BX cameras still being Europe, they are nevertheless purchasable any day through the normal internet channels.

In the history of Nikon 35mm film SLR cameras, none arguably was more revolutionary than the 1988 F4. The 1959 Nikon F ushered in the film SLR era. The 1971 F2 improved upon the concept. The 1980 F3’s stunningly bright finder, rugged reliability, and 5.5 frames per second motor drive set the bar for photojournalism during the Reagan-Thatcher era. The F4 significantly changed the game in its own way.

By the early 1980s, the SLR game was changing fast. Everyone foresaw that the future was autofocus, and the race was on. In 1982, Canon introduced the consumer-oriented AL-1 with a primitive “phase detection autofocus” that permitted the use of manual focus lenses in an “assist” mode. In 1983, Nikon responded with the F3AF, a version of the F3 that used a special finder that permitted the autofocusing of specially-designed 80mm and 200mm lenses. Still, this primitive foray was arguably ahead of most other manufacturers at the time. However, it was the 1985 Minolta Maxxum 7000 that beat both Nikon and Canon to the punch with an LCD shooting menu, an integrated autofocus mechanism, and a built-in motor drive.

Nikon responded in 1986 with the N2020 (the F-501 in other markets). Although directed at the consumer market, the N2020 was built upon the prior 1985 N2000 non-AF chassis, had a fairly advanced for the time phase detection autofocus, and a 2.5 FPS integrated motor drive (but no auto rewind). A motor inside the camera drove the autofocus mechanism (a so-called “screw drive” mechanism). Today, such motors are inside the lenses themselves. No shooting menu LCDs, just switches and dials. However, Nikon’s first-generation autofocus system found in the N2020 was slow, noisy, and not entirely reliable in low-light conditions.

Canon seriously upped the ante in March 1987 with the introduction of the EOS 650 and then the slightly more advanced 620 later that year. Canon developed a completely new lens mount (the “EF”) not natively-compatible with any of its previous-generation manual focus lenses (the “FD” mount). With fast autofocus, matrix TTL metering, LCD menus, and a 3 frames per second motor drive, the 620/650 arguably became the most advanced SLR in the world.

For its part, Nikon decided that instead of creating a new lens mount for the autofocus generation, it would create AF lenses in F mount — which meant that new AF bodies could use the older manual focus lenses, and the manual focus bodies could use the AF lenses (in manual focus mode only, of course). Nikon’s decision to stick with the F mount, unlike Canon and Minolta that “ditched” their legacy lenses in their new systems, certainly endeared itself with many users. In 1986, in connection with the launch of the N2020, Nikon’s “AF” lens series emerged. In 1992, Nikon updated these lenses to “AF-D” specification to assist with TTL flash control.

The F4 is one of the most intelligently-designed SLRs of all time. Unlike the LCD menus of Canon and Minolta, the F4 is all dials and switches. The F4 was a complete system camera with every possible accessory the professional market could ask for: motor drives, focusing screens, interchangeable finders, data backs, battery modules, underwater housings, and on and on. The F4 upgraded the autofocus module found in the N2020 and provided a fairly advanced TTL flash system with auto day fill flash capability, multiple metering modes (including matrix metering), auto film rewind, multiple single and continuous shooting modes, and an integrated 4 frames-per-second motor drive. The “F4s” version included a vertical grip and a larger battery pack (the MD-21) and allowed up to 5.7 FPS, and the F4e had an even larger battery pack (the MD-23). Nikon also made an MD-22 that permitted the use of an external power source. I am not going to endeavor to detail the equipment and technical specifications of the F4 system, but you can get a good sense here.

Although the F4 was made to complement Nikon’s contemporary line of late-1980s AF lenses, it still both autofocuses and retains “program” and “shutter priority” functionality with modern AF-S lenses. It will focus-assist with Ai and Ai-S lenses.

The F4’s electronics, now over 30 years old, have held up pretty well with very few, if any, endemic mechanical or electronic problems. The only problem of note is that a few of DP-20 finders have had their LCD displays start to leak. Manufacturers of the 1980s warned people of this possibility with all LCD-equipped cameras. However, the average DP-20 is still working just fine today.

Using the F4 In Real Life

The Nikon F4 is a rather hefty machine, even bulkier with the larger battery pack/motor drive combos (the F4s and F4e). The primary selling point is the extremely bright viewfinder — really blowing away any non-professional film SLR. The F4’s aluminum alloy body is also tough as nails. If you are, like me, someone invested in a variety of 35mm film machines, the F4 is a go-to in circumstances that require that you get the shot — in focus and properly exposed.

The F4 is a such a sophisticated camera that it would be impossible to run through the entirety of its functionality. Other than fast-moving sports or other similar subjects, where it has been definitively surpassed, there is no other job that the F4 and its dedicated accessories cannot tackle.

For Ai, Ai-S, AF, AF-D lenses, the F4 can operate in a complete dummy Program mode, or if you prefer Aperture-Priority, Shutter Speed-Priority, or Manual modes. One of the most ingenious and useful features of the F4 is the “Program High” mode. This mode automatically tells the camera to set a wide aperture for maximum depth of field and loss of motion blur. Program High also assists with shooting AF-S lenses where no manual aperture control on the F4 is possible. Although you cannot set the exact aperture on these later lenses, you can tell the F4 to “prefer” depth of field + higher shutter speeds, so achieving the same basic result.

In practice, I find using the stock focusing screen and matrix metering fine for most settings. Without the auxiliary built-in finder light, I do have a hard time seeing the LCD readout in DP-20 finder. In daylight, a SB-20 and SB-30 Speedlight flashes perform well in auto fill-flash mode (perhaps a tad bit overexposed). The built-in motor drive is remarkable and suitable for most purposes. Focus tracking on fast moving subjects is not good and nearly useless. In the past, I have used the MD-21 battery pack which contains a separate shutter release for when holding the camera vertically. But for everyday shooting, its added bulk normally adds little to the experience.

Conclusion

Although your grandparent’s F/F2 may hold sentimental value, your acquisition of a former pro photographer’s beat-up but working F3HP may be a great conversation piece, and the FA, FG, EM, and FM2 are all super cute, none of them beat the F4 on any metric other than size and weight. While the F5, F100, and F6 all moved the ball significantly forward, especially with their faster auto focus modules and increased lens compatibility (i.e. with “G” lenses), the F4 has everything most photographers would need in a camera. With F4 bodies being offered for so cheap these days, they are one of the great deals in 35mm film photography today.

The 1989 109 MP was the last of a line of follow-up cameras to the 1985 FX-103 and Yashica’s final manual-focus 35mm SLR with the Contax/Yashica lens mount. The 107/108/109 series was a hard departure from prior Kyocera Contax and Yashica outings in terms of both design and functionality. Sharing virtually nothing in common with contemporary Contaxes (perhaps some internal components), the 109 was without a doubt the “best” of the 107 series, having a 1/2000 top shutter speed and an auto load/advance/rewind motor drive. It is not a bad camera, but it seems like the answer to a question that no one asked.

Kyocera bought out Yashica in 1983 and continued to produce cameras under both the Contax and Yashica brand names. The first SLRs to come out after the buyout were two electronic-shutter models that introduced “program mode” autoexposure to the lineup: the Contax 159MM and the Yashica FX-103. While the 159MM is undoubtedly a superior product to the FX-103, the cameras were not universes apart. After the 159MM and FX-103, Kyocera would continue to push Contax upmarket and Yashica downmarket.

For 1986, Kyocera unveiled the next two Contax/Yashica products: the 167MT and the FX-3 Super 2000. While the 167MT was the most advanced Contax to date, which an integrated motor drive, multiple metering and exposure modes, advanced flash options, etc., the FX-3 Super 2000 was a minor update to the mechanical-shutter 1984 FX-3 Super, adding a 1/2000 top speed.

While the next Contax-branded product would not appear until 1990 (the professional RTS III), Yashica introduced several new models, including its first autofocus camera, the 200 AF (1987). A year later, Yashica introduced the manual-focus 107 MP. Over the prior FX-103, the 107 MP had an automatic film load and advance, a top shutter speed of 1/2000, and an additional “low-speed” program mode. At the same time, the 107 MP had a lower magnification finder, no detailed exposure information in the viewfinder, no aperture-priority autoexposure mode, and a DX-coded-only film reading system (defaulting to 100 ASA for non-DX canisters). Yashica followed up in 1989 with the 108 MP, which eliminated the “low-speed” program mode in favor of an aperture-priority setting.

The 109 MP would be the best of the series. Over the 108, the 109 would add an auto-rewind feature.The 108s and 109s most often came bundled with a Yashica-branded 35-70mm f/3.5-4.8 zoom. It is not clear how long the 109 MP was produced. It appears that the only Yashica prime lens still being produced into the 1990s was the 50mm f/1.9 ML. Does the 109 have anything to add to the Contax/Yashica universe? Let’s see,

Yashica Models Compared

Here are the FX-103, 107, 108, and 109 compared.

	FX-103	107 MP	108 MP	109 MP
Year	1985	1988	1989	1989
Weight	460g	500g	500g	510g
Battery	2 x SR44	4 x AAA	4 x AAA	4 x AA
Shutter Speeds	B, 11 sec – 1/1000	B, 16 sec – 1/2000	B, 16 sec – 1/2000	B, 16 sec – 1/2000
Viewfinder	95% / 0.86x	92% / 0.82x	92% / 0.82x	92% / 0.82x
Flash Sync	1/100	1/90	1/90	1/90
Focusing Screen	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split
ASA Range	12-3200	50-3200 (DX) / 100 ASA Default for non-DX	25-3200 (DX) / 100 ASA Default for non-DX	25-3200 (DX) / 100 ASA Default for non-DX
Motor Drive?	External (Advance Only)	Advance Only	Advance Only	Advance & Rewind
Autoexposure Modes	Program (High & Normal) / Aperture	Program (High / Normal / Low)	Program High / Program / Aperture	Program High / Program / Aperture
DOF Preview?	No	No	No	No
Settings in VF	Shutter Speed	3 LEDs (Flash / P / M)	4 LEDs (Flash / Circle / 2 Arrows)	4 LEDs (Flash / Circle / 2 Arrows)
Exposure Lock?	No	No	No	No

Operation

The 109 MP is not a complicated machine, but let’s walk through some of its major features.

Size & Weight: Despite its mostly plastic body and class-average weight, the 109 has fairly large physical dimensions.

Exposure Modes: The 109 MP has four exposure modes: program high, program, aperture priority, and metered manual. The camera can use the program modes with every C/Y-mount lens. In both PH and P, simply set the lens to its minimum aperture and shoot away. However, in the P modes, there is no “floor” to how low the shutter speed will go. The camera will set as long a shutter speed as necessary in both P and A modes to take the shot. If you are wondering how the P exposure combinations are calculated, the manual includes the following chart. As you can see the 109 does not have very aggressive programming between “P” and “P High.” You really would want at least a three-stop aperture-stop difference between the two for better background separation. Contax-branded bodies with program modes are more ambitious in this regard.

Metering and Exposure Compensation: The 109 has a single center-weighted metering mode. There is no formal exposure compensation dial or the ability to change the film speed rating. There is also no exposure lock. However, the 109 does include a +1.5 backlight button next to the lens mount. In reality, a +1.5 exposure pull can be used somewhat effectively in real life once one gets the hang of it. It is not just for backlit situations, but also in brightly-lit scenes where shadow detail is sought. It is not a substitute for real exposure compensation or even an exposure lock, but it is better than nothing.

Viewfinder: Unfortunately, the 109 does not display any meaningful exposure information in the viewfinder. There are only four LED lights on the right side of the screen: a flash, a green light, a “down” arrow, and an “up” arrow. However, these four lights provide adequate guidance for any of the exposure modes. In P or A modes, a sole green light will appear if sufficient light exists. If insufficient light exists, the flash LED will blink. It is not clear at what shutter speed the “flash” LED comes on, but my guess is 1/60. In metered manual, the user sets the aperture and shutter speed combinations until the “down” and “up” arrows are both illuminated.

The finder magnification, coverage, and brightness are about average for a camera of this class. The focusing screen has about average brightness. With large-aperture lenses, it is fairly easy to focus. However, with slower zooms, it becomes more difficult. The non-interchangeable focusing screen is the standard microprism collar / split-screen type.

Motor Drive: Unlike the 107 and 108, which could only automatically load and advance the film, the 109’a motor drive can also rewind the film at the end of the roll. Loading the film is straightforward and automatic. The manual does not state the camera’s frames-per-second rate but it appears pretty slow, probably around 1.5 FPS max. The drive is not excessively loud.

DX Coding: Although the 109 can read DX-coded film cassettes from 25 – 3200 ASA, non-DX film will default to 100 ASA with no ability for manual override. This is bad news for those who roll their own film or those who want to push or pull film.

Flash: The 109 has a standard hot shoe and an X-sync port. There is no TTL flash capability. The sync speed of 1/90 is nothing special. With the Yashica-branded CS-140, CS-220, or CS-240 flashes, the camera will automatically set the shutter speed to 1/90 when the flash is attached and on. It is not clear whether any of the contemporary Contax flashes will do the same. With any other auto flash, select the “X” on the shutter speed dial.

Accessories

Besides various Yashica-branded flashes, only two camera body accessories exist.

F-3 Eyecup: The 109 MP takes the standard Contax/Yashica rectangular rubber F-3 Eyecup. These pieces are interchangeable with any Contax or Yashica SLR with the rectangular-style viewfinder piece, like the FX-103, 167MT, and the Aria.

DA-1 Databack: The DA-1 databack’s only capability is the imprinting of the date and year on a negative. The DA-1 worked with both the Yashica autofocus models as well at the 107, 108, and 109. I have never been sure why anyone would want this. The databack reportedly only goes to 2019.

Conclusions

At the end of the day, no C/Y-mount Yashica 35mm film SLR is particularly competitive with a post-RTS II Contax body. However, if one were to consider a Yashica body for the use of C/Y lenses (and you are not a mechanical shutter purist), the FX-103 and 109 remain the most interesting. The 109’s positive aspects are that it has a 1/2000 top speed, can use its P modes with all C/Y lenses, and has a useful motor drive. At the same time, its relatively bulky size, lack of actual exposure information in the viewfinder, lack of exposure compensation or DX override, and lack of exposure lock keep the 109 MP from being a truly competitive manual focus camera. The obvious alternative would be the FX-103, which only has a top shutter speed of 1/1000 and requires an external winder for auto advance. Yet, the FX-103 has exposure override, no DX-coding issue, and shutter speed information in the viewfinder. Combining the best features from the FX-103 and the 109 MP would have resulted in a somewhat competitive product, and easily possible, but alas, never happened.

At the end of the day, if looking for a beginner SLR or a second or third or fourth body for your C/Y lens collection, or just want to try something different, the 109 MP is certainly a capable and seemingly reliable machine. While the prices for all working 35mm film SLRs are rising, the 109 has remained (for now) outside of both the “collector” and “influencer” spheres that are driving the upward spiral.

Appendices

Here is a timeline of Contax and Yashica manual-focus 35mm SLRs.

Year	Contax	Yashica
1975	RTS	FX-1
1976		FR & FX-2
1977		FR I & FR II
1978
1979	139Q	FX-3 & FX-7
1980	139MD	FX-D
1981
1982	RTS II & 137MA	FX-A
1983		FX-70
1984		FX-3 Super
1985	159MM	FX-103
1986	167MT	FX-3 Super 2000
1987
1988		107 MP
1989		108 MP & 109 MP
1990	RTS III
1991
1992	ST & S2
1993
1994	RX & S2b
1995
1996	AX
1997
1998	Aria

Here is a list of mechanical-shutter Yashica models compared.

	FX-2	FX-3/FX-7	FX-3/FX-7 Super	FX-3 Super 2000
Year	1976	1979	1984	1986
Weight	690g	446g	445g	445g
Battery	PX675	2 x LR44	2 x LR44	2 x LR44
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/2000
Viewfinder	90% / 0.89x	92% / 0.90x	92% / 0.91x	92% / 0.91x
Flash Sync	1/60	1/125	1/125	1/125
Focusing Screen	Microprism	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split
ASA Range	12-1600	12-1600	12-1600	25-3200
Motor Drive?	No	No	No	No
Exposure Modes	Metered Manual	Metered Manual	Metered Manual	Metered Manual
DOF Preview?	Yes	No	No	No
Settings in VF	+ / – Only	3 x LEDs	3 x LEDs	3 x LEDs
Exposure Lock?	No	No	No	No

Here is a list of electronic-shutter Yashica 35mm film SLRs.

	FX-1	FR	FR I	FR II	FX-D	FX-A	FX-70
Year	1975	1976	1977	1977	1980	1982	1983
Weight	695g	650g	660g	650g	460g	470g	435g
Battery	6V Silver	6V Silver	6V Silver	6V Silver	2 x S76	?	2 x S76
Shutter Speeds	B, 2 sec – 1/1000	B, 1 – 1/1000	B, 4 sec – 1/1000	B, 4 sec – 1/1000	B, 1 sec – 1/1000	B, 11 sec – 1/1000	B, 11 sec – 1/1000
Viewfinder	?	92% / 0.87x	92% / 0.87x	92% / 0.87x	95% / 0.86x	95% / 0.86x	95% / 0.86x
Flash Sync	1/60	1/60	1/60	1/60	1/100	1/100	1/100
Focusing Screen	Microprism	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	Microprism / Split	?	Microprism / Split
ASA Range	12-3200	12-3200	12-3200	12-3200	25-1600	25-1600	25-1600
Motor Drive?	No	External	External	External	External	?	No
Autoexposure Modes	Aperture	Metered Manual	Aperture	Aperture (Only)	Aperture	Aperture	Aperture (Only)
DOF Preview?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	No
Settings in VF	Aperture & Shutter Speed	Aperture & Shutter Speed	Aperture & Shutter Speed	Shutter Speed	Shutter Speed	?	Shutter Speed
Exposure Lock?	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes

The Big Mini 21 is a rather obscure point-and-shoot camera with a fixed 30mm f/4.5 lens produced by Konica around 1994. Sharing nothing physically in common with any other Konica product of the 1990s, and with the manual so far MIA on the internet, the BM-21 remains somewhat of a mystery in terms of functionality. Does the entirely automatic BM-21 take good photos? Is Konica’s 30mm lens any good? After some testing, and unfortunately, it seems that there is nothing particularly special about the performance and functionality of the BM-21 (other than its size); and it is about par for the course for mid-range consumer point-and-shoots of the mid-1990s.

Upon shutting down its SLR business in 1987, Konica shifted its focus to the continued production of compact 35mm point-and-shoot cameras. During 1989, Konica introduced the “A4,” its next generation autofocus point-and-shoot that provided the platform for the successful “Big Mini” camera line of the 1990s. The next year, Konica launched the first “true” Big Mini model, the BM-201. During 1993, Konica introduced the iconic “Hexar AF,” perhaps the most capable autofocus point and shoot ever produced. Konica’s 1990s higher-end models like the BM-301 and the Big Mini F are well-known and have been extensively reviewed.

With a design wholly distinct from the rest of the Big Mini line, the BM-21 offered the usual consumer features but with a wider 30mm f/4.5 lens. It seems that the BM-21 appeared and then disappeared rather quickly, with the initial batches apparently having some mechanical and/or electrical gremlins that were eventually worked out in later production. It is also not clear if the BM-21 was ever officially offered for sale in North America as I cannot find it advertised in the media of the time. Although BM-21s do occasionally pop up for sale, it seems that most examples reside outside of North America. In 1996, Konica introduced the apparent successor to the BM-21, the “VX BM-701” (assembled in China), a more conventionally-styled point and shoot with a fixed 29mm f/4 lens (most likely the same lens as found in the BM-21). There were plenty of similar contemporary consumer cameras with fixed 29-30mm lenses, like the Nikon Fun Touch 5, the Pentax PC-55, the Ricoh R1e, and others.

The BM-21 is truly a camera that can fit in any pocket, purse, or bag. With no manual out there so far to guide us, let’s try to figure out how it works.

Specifications

Introduction	1994
Weight	155g
Dimensions	100 x 63 x 32mm (4 x 2.5 x 1.25 in.)
Lens	30mm f/4.5
Lens Design	?
Shutter Speeds	?
DX Coding	Yes
Flash Modes	5
Autofocus Lock?	?
Underexposure Warning?	No
Battery	1 x CR2 Lithium

Operation

Styling: The BM-21 has a completely different design than any previous or subsequent Konica camera. It is tiny, approximately the length of playing card. In my opinion, it is one of the more attractively-designed 1990s point and shoots.

Film Loading: The BM-21 has the usual automatic load, advance, and rewind typical for point and shoots of the era. However, the film loads the opposite way from most cameras: from right to left. Not sure what that is all about. This also means that your photos will be upside down on the negatives. The film transport and rewind have the typical point and shoot high-pitched tinny sound.

30mm f/4.5 Lens: Other than the 29mm f/4 found on the later VX BM-701, it does not appear that the BM-21’s 30mm f/4.5 lens appeared on any other Konica product. While a 30mm lens can be much more versatile than a 35mm, especially for candids and travel, f/4.5 is rather slow, 2/3 of a stop slower than an f/3.5 lens. The bright side is that with a large depth of filed these types of lenses can be quite sharp and resolve wonderfully. It is unclear what the minimum focusing distance is, but I would guess somewhere between 1-1.5 meters. The 30mm lens produces photos of acceptable quality and sharpness for the 4×6 print era but do not expect “premium” point-and-shoot optical performance. The lens displays a little barrel distortion in certain conditions and sometimes vignettes a little bit.

Shooting: I think that those of us who shoot “real” cameras often expect too much from point-and-shoots. Cameras like the BM-21 were designed to be as easy as possible to use for folks who know nothing about photography. The death-knell of any photo is that it is out-of-focus because of missed focus or camera shake. Cameras like the BM-21 did their best to address this. A wider lens with a large depth-of field eliminates many focusing errors. A relatively high minimum shutter speed prevents most camera shake.

That being said, and frustratingly, the autofocus performance of the BM-21 at closer distances is hit or miss. I found that although the subject generally filled the frame at 1 meter or more, the BM-21 still managed to focus behind the subjects. The lack of: (1) feedback regarding whether a subject is too close for the minimum focusing distance (which is currently unknown); (2) confirmation of an autofocus lock (if it actually has it); and/or (3) an underexposure warning can really ruin your day. Whether the BM-21 can focus lock and how it works are really important to know, as many point-and-shoots will just focus in the center of the frame, regardless of whether the subject actually is.

It is unclear what the minimum and maximum shutter speeds are. Taking a look at the operation of the shutter, I would guesstimate that the minimum speed is about 1/15 (or even 1/8). The maximum shutter speed appears to be probably 1/250 or 1/500.

The only real control the user has over the BM-21 is the flash settings. There are five modes: (1) automatic flash operation (default); (2) red eye reduction. (3) flash always on; (4) flash always off; and (5) daylight fill flash. It is important to note that the BM-21 will always default to using the flash if it determines insufficient light exists, even in what would appear to be regular daylight conditions. Remember to turn the flash off when taking daylight photos if you do not want the flash to fire unexpectedly.

LCD: The top-mounted display only shows the frame count and the flash modes.

Viewfinder: The BM-21 has a fairly large and bright viewfinder for how diminutive the body is. There is no exposure or autofocus information in the viewfinder. There are no etched marks for any parallax correction (but a 30mm lens does not really need them).

DX Coding: The BM-21 accepts and reads DX-coded film, but it is not clear what the range is. I would guess that it would be at least 100-800. It also not clear whether the camera defaults to ASA 100 or something if a non-coded cartridge is used. There is obviously no DX override.

Conclusions

Given its unique and very cool form factor, I really, really wanted the BM-21 to be some kind of capable, reliable dark horse winner. Unfortunately, that is not the case. While its hyperfocal performance works fairly well and can produce some nice results with good color fidelity, the lack of any focus or exposure feedback drives me nuts. Full disclosure: I am generally not a fan of most point-and-shoots in any price range. I will 10/10 choose to carry a larger, heavier, and more conspicuous 35mm camera that can provide both focus and exposure feedback.

Sample Photos

Feel free to follow the Instagram account to see sample photographs from the BM-21 at the hashtag #konicabm21.

The Nikon N50 (F50) was an entry-level autofocus camera body produced from 1994 until 1998, when it was replaced by the N60 (F60). Compared to the universe of Nikon autofocus SLRs of the 1990s and early 2000s, the N50 has somewhat limited capability and awkward interfaces. Given the existence of numerous, superior, and affordable alternatives, is there any case for the N50 today? Probably not.

From the introduction of consumer autofocus SLRs during the late 1980s until their general demise in the early 2000s, the market was incredibly competitive and all models radically improved through the era in all respects, most notably in autofocus speed and accuracy. Unfortunately, Nikon had to play some serious catchup in this segment to Canon, which was introducing some fine SLRs with faster autofocus speed and accuracy. Starting in 1986 with the N2020 (F-501), Nikon produced a series of advanced consumer autofocus cameras: the N4004 (1987), the N8008 (1988), the N4004S (1989), the N6006 (1990), and the N8008S (1991). These models were followed by the well-featured N90 (F90) in 1992, and then by the updated N90s (F90x) in 1994. The N90s was clearly and purposefully the best of the bunch and an important stepping stone between the professional Nikon F4 (1988) and the F5 (1996).

Alongside the introduction of N90s, Nikon introduced two consumer-level cameras for 1994: the N70 and the N50. The N50 was often packaged with two “kit” zoom lenses: the 35-80mm f/4-5.6 AF-D and/or a 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-D. The general consensus is that the 35-80mm is not a very good lens, but the 80-200mm has its fans. The N50 was replaced with the more-intelligently designed N60 in 1998 and then by the further improved N65 in 2001.

Specifications

Here are the compared specifications of the 1994 N90s, N70, and N50.

	N90s	N70	N50
Shutter Speeds	30 sec – 1/8000	30 sec – 1/4000	30 sec – 1/2000
Viewfinder Mag.	92% / .78x	92% / .77x	90% / .78x
Motor Drive	Load / Advance / Rewind	Load / Advance / Rewind	Load / Advance / Rewind
Auto Focus	CAM246 Module	CAM274 Module	AM200 Module
ASA Range	DX (25-5000); Manual (6-6000)	DX (25-5000); Manual (6-6000)	DX (25-5000); Manual (6-6000)
Battery	4 x AA	2 x CR123A	2CR5
Weight	755g	585g	580g
Flash Sync	1/250; TTL	1/125; TTL	1/125; TTL
Metering	Matrix / Center / Spot	Matrix / Center / Spot	Matrix / Center
Exposure Modes	P / A / S / M	P / A / S / M	P / A / S / M
Full Lens Compatibility	AF; AF-D; AF-S; AI-P	AF; AF-D; AF-I; Non-G AF-S	AF; AF-D
Partial Lens Compatibility	AI; AI-S	AI; AI-S	AI; AI-S; AF-S; AF-I

Operation

While certainly capable of taking great photos and with a variety of useful features, the N50 is nevertheless hobbled by a poor user interface and limited capability to use both manual focus lenses and Nikon’s later and better AF lenses. Even in its class of entry-level cameras, later models like the N75 and N65 just blow it away. Given that, and without going exhaustively through all of its features, let’s look at what it can and cannot do.

Limited Nikon Lens Compatibility: The N50 was designed to work primarily with Nikon’s contemporary line of AF and AF-D lenses. While there are some winners in this line-up, especially the professional zooms and the prime telephotos, Nikon’s later AF-S lenses were largely a significant improvement. While the N50 cannot autofocus either AF-S or AF-P lenses because of a lack of appropriate interfaces, it still can operate them in all shooting modes with a focus-assisted manual-focus mode. More importantly, the N50 cannot meter or focus-assist the AI or AI-S line of lenses.

Viewfinder: The N50 seems to have borrowed the viewfinder design of the Nikon F4, with its signature green LCD screen at the bottom displaying the shutter speed, aperture, and focus assist indicators. Unlike the F4, where the illuminator has to be switched on, the N50 illuminator always lights up when the exposure meter is activated. The 92% frame coverage with .78x magnification is not that great but similar to the N90s and N70.

Autofocus: The N50 uses the same 1988 autofocus module as the Nikon F4. The AM200 is relatively fast and accurate but had certainly been long-surpassed by 1994. The autofocus from the screw drive is fairly noisy. A half-press of the shutter button will trigger the autofocus and turn on the exposure meter. To lock the exposure, one must press an external AE-L button on the back upper-right of the body. The N50 has both a single and continuous autofocus mode. The continuous mode remains fairly primitive by modern autofocus standards.

Exposure Metering: When using AF, AF-D, AF-S, or AF-I lenses, the N50 automatically defaults to a now-primitive six-segmented matrix light metering. When switching to manual exposure mode, the N50 will switch to center-weighted metering.

TTL Flash: Apart from a fairly useless built-in pop up flash, the N50 can use the world of Nikon TTL flashes contemporary to it and has a fairly average x-sync speed of 1/125. The N50 can use Nikon TTL flashes for automatic daylight fill.

Other Features: The N50 had a variety of other standard features, like an integrated motor drive and automatic film loading and rewinding,

Shooting Modes: The N50’s most significant shortcoming is its often-confusing and unnecessarily complicated shooting modes. Instead of using what ended up becoming “standard,” a top mounted LCD readout and rotating dials moved by one’s fingers, the N50 uses a series of buttons and LCD readouts consisting of pictures, numbers, and letters that on a good day would take some getting used to. The primary modes are labelled “Simple” or “Advanced.”

In “Simple” mode, the camera gives you four pre-set options to select on the LCD menu on the top right of the body: (1) “General Purpose Program” (camera icon); (2) “Landscape” (mountain icon); (3) “Portrait” (lady in a hat icon); and (4) “Close-Up Program) (a flower icon). No technical exposure information (shutter speed or aperture) is displayed in the viewfinder. However, there is an autofocus confirmation circle and the flash icon will blink if there is not enough light.

In “Advanced” mode, to choose standard exposure modes (P / A / S / M), the user selects with a button under the appropriate letter. If P is selected, there are four additional pre-programmed modes to choose from: (1) “Sport Program” (runner icon); (2) “Night Scene Program” (buildings with moon icon); (3) “Motion Effect Program” (a runner with wind icon); and (4) “Silhouette Program” (setting sun with palm tree icon).

By selecting “A,” you can use the top controls to select your preferred aperture without having to change the settings on the lens itself. If insufficient light exists, the viewfinder will blink the “flash” icon. By selecting “S,” you can use the top controls to select a preferred shutter speed and the camera will set the appropriate aperture. If your shutter speed is too high or low for the lighting, the viewfinder will signal “Lo” or “Hi.” By selecting “M,” you can use the top controls to manually set a shutter speed and aperture. If your manual settings disagree with the camera’s meter, the viewfinder will tell you in +2 / -2 how much you are off and also blink the flash icon if necessary.

Conclusions

Because N50s are basically free today, it is difficult to find anything wrong with the camera at that price point. I think that the N50 is best used in a standard “Program” or “Aperture Priority” modes, which allows the camera to fully function so you can focus on the shot, and not trying to figure out how to change the settings on the fly. The inability to autofocus the much better and quieter AF-S lenses is a real downer, especially since, save for the 1998 N60, Nikon would never make another 35mm film SLR that could not autofocus them. The inability to effectively use manual focus lenses is also a bummer. You just have to deal with the pain of its relatively loud autofocus mechanism and one of Nikon’s earliest autofocus modules.

Instead of the N50 for an easy-to-use, entry-level AF Nikon SLR, I would look at the early 2000s N80 (F80) or the N75 (F75). These cameras are much more fully featured, relatively lightweight, and can use virtually every Nikon AF lens ever made. If you have a few more bucks, consider the F100, which has everything you would want in Nikon autofocus camera. Unless a camera like the N50 falls in your lap, I would skip it entirely.

Without a doubt, the 1993 Konica Hexar AF was and remains the most advanced fixed-lens 35mm “point and shoot” ever produced. Konica centered this masterpiece around its newly-designed 35mm f/2 Hexar, a direct descendant of the famous 1950s Nikon 35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor, which itself was produced in relatively small quantities in Nikon rangefinder and Leica screw mount.

Nothing about Konica’s early 1990s camera product line, consisting mostly of semi-advanced point-and-shoots in the form of the “Big Mini” series, would have foreshadowed the AF. The AF’s most immediate ancestor appears to have been the 1988 Konica “Genba Kantoku” series of autofocus point-and-shoots made for the construction industry. That line had four basic models, with the following lenses: a 28mm f/3.5, a 35mm f/3.5, a switchable 40mm / 60mm, and a 28-56mm zoom. These tough, weatherproof cameras were entirely automated with no meaningful user override. These cameras were never really exported to North America and remained largely unknown outside of Japan until the internet era.

The Hexar AF came in two primary versions: the black original Hexar AF (1993) and the better-featured Hexar AF Silver (1997). There were also a few limited editions like the “Classic,” the “Gold,” and the “Rhodium.” With the AF Silver arguably being the “definitive” version, let’s take a look at that one specifically.

Specifications Compared

Here is the AF compared with the internet’s favorite point-and-shoots with fixed lenses around the 35mm focal length: the Contax T3, the Fujifilm Klasse, the Leica Minilux, the Nikon 35Ti, and the Yashica T4.

	Hexar AF Silver	Contax T3	Fujifilm Klasse S	Leica Minilux	Nikon 35Ti	Yashica T4
Year Introduced	1997	2001	2007	1995	1993	1990
ASA Range	6-6400	25-5000	25-3200	25-5000	25-5000	50-3200
ASA Override?	Yes	No; Non-DX Defaults to ASA 100	Yes	No; Non-Dx Defaults to ASA 100	No; Non-Dx Defaults to ASA 100	No; Non-Dx Defaults to ASA 100
Lens	35mm f/2	35mm f/2.8	38mm f/2.8	40mm f/2.4	35mm f/2.8	35mm f/3.5
Lens Design	7 Elements / 6 Groups	6 Elements / 4 Groups	4 Elements / 3 Groups	6 Elements / 4 Groups	6 Elements / 4 Groups	4 Elements / 3 Groups
Lens Type	Modified Xenotar	Sonnar	Tessar	Double-Gauss	Double-Gauss	Tessar
Viewfinder Coverage / Mag.	?	85% / .50x	85% / .48x	83% / .35x	85% / .50x	?
Filter Size	46mm	None; Accessory for 30.5mm Filters	None	None	None	None
Metering	Center / Spot (in M)	Center	Center	Center / Spot	Center	Center
Min. Focus	0.60m	0.35m	0.40m	0.70m	0.40m	0.35mm
Focus Lock?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auto Parallax-Corrected?	Yes; Automatic	No	No	No	No	No
Exposure Modes	P / A / M	P / A	P / A	P / A	P / A	P
Exposure Compensation?	+/- 2	+/- 2	+/- 2	+/- 2	+/- 2	None
Max Shutter Speed	1/250	1/1200	1/500 (f/2.8); 1/1000 (f/16)	1/400	1/500	1/700
Flash	External GN System	Built-In; Optional External TLA 200	Built-In	Built-In	Built-In	Built-In
Battery	2CR5	CR2	CR2	CR123A	CR123A	CR123A
Weight	495g	230g	270g	366g	310g	190g

The Good

I have owned a Hexar AF Silver for over 20 years. In my opinion, the most impressive aspects of the AF include: (1) its fantastic lens; (2) its modern implementation of the 1960s guide number flash system; (3) its nice parallax-corrected viewfinder; (4) extensive user control over all of its functions; (5) its optional “silent mode;” and (6) the ability to use regular camera filters.

Lens: The 35mm f/2 Hexar lens on the AF is a multicoated, Xenotar-type descendant of the Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor. The two lenses perform remarkably similarly. The Hexar even displays the same focus shift as the Nikkor. Aware of the focus shift issue, Konica designed the autofocus system of the AF to compensate automatically for any shift in focus. The Hexar’s only real shortcoming is its noticeable barrel distortion. Oddly enough, the 1950s W-Nikkor’s barrel distortion is much better controlled, perhaps due to its use of discontinued (and slightly radioactive) lanthanum glass. The Hexar AF’s lens was so desired that large Japanese camera stores commissioned Konica to produce several Leica screw mount versions of it, including the limited edition, brass-barrel 35mm f/2 UC Hexanon.

Guide Number Flash System: The AF’s electronic leaf shutter permits flash synchronization at all shutter speeds. The AF’s external hot shoe flash system was a modern implementation of the old 1960s guide number flash system, appearing in such products as the Auto SE and the Auto S3. This system was quite ingenious. Using virtually any electronic flash in existence that has a manual mode, the user would simply dial in the flash’s guide number (at ASA 100). With the camera knowing that the flash would always fire at that full power setting, it would automatically compensate for both the ambient lighting and the focusing distance to arrive at the correct exposure for both indoor and daylight conditions. Of course, the AF can also use any regular old electronic “auto mode” flash. Konica did offer the HX-14 flash that could operate both in GN and auto mode.

Automatically Parallax-Corrected Viewfinder: The AF’s bright viewfinder automatically compensates for parallax error by collapsing the framelines to the appropriate size. The viewfinder also includes lights for over/under exposure, a spartan distance scale which collapses appropriately, and a warning light if the subject is too close to focus.

Silent Mode: During the 1990s, Konica got into a bit of legal trouble by including an optional “silent mode” where the camera makes virtually no noise when autofocusing, tripping the shutter, and advancing the film. This apparently appropriated another company’s intellectual property. While this function does slow down the autofocus, it is still doable. The focus and advance are not truly “silent,” but they are pretty muted. Because of the aforementioned legal trouble, Konica stated that it had “removed” this feature from the AF Silver. However, if you know the secret code, you can enable it.

Filters: The AF’s compatibility with any screw-in 46mm filters is another great attribute. Filters are very useful for, e.g., protecting a lens, for black and white photography, and for increasing exposure time with neutral density filters.

Functionality

Without going through the whole list, here are the salient features of AF in no particular order:

Multiple Exposure Modes: The AF can operate in three separate modes: Program, Aperture-Priority, and Manual. “Program” is a true point-and-shoot mode, with the camera setting both the aperture and shutter speed. “Aperture Priority” is also straightforward, with you setting the aperture on the rotating dial and the camera sets the appropriate shutter speed. Manual mode is less straightforward, with you setting the aperture on the dial and then scrolling through some buttons to set the shutter speed via the LCD.

Minimum Shutter Speed Setting: To prevent camera shake from ruining your photos, you can program the AF to a minimum shutter speed while in Program or in Aperture-Priority mode: 1/4 to 1/60 of a second. I find that 1/30 is generally sufficient if you have a somewhat steady hand.

Focus & Exposure Lock: A half press of the shutter button will lock both the focus and exposure. This is an essential feature for this type of camera.

Exposure Compensation: In either P or A mode, you can easily set exposure compensation using two buttons beneath the switch.

Film Speed Override: The DX override is a fantastic feature. It allows one to use non-DX coded film cassettes at any ASA. It also works well for exposure compensation when using filters.

Automatic Infrared Film Focus Compensation: When using infrared film, the AF has a setting that will automatically adjust the focus appropriately.

Multiple Exposures: The AF has a feature that easily permits multiple exposures, as many of you want, within reason.

The So-So

Despite the AF’s impressive optics and features, there are a few aspects that could have been better.

1/250 Top Shutter Speed: The most popular gripe about the AF is its relatively-low maximum shutter speed of 1/250. This limitation is puzzling as leaf shutters can often achieve at least 1/500.

Size/Dimensions: Although the AF generally operates like a point-and-shoot, it is not point-and-shoot sized, more resembling the dimensions of a classic 1960s fixed-lens rangefinder.

No Exposure Information in Viewfinder: While the AF’s viewfinder contains automatic parallax corrected framelines, an abbreviated distance scale, warnings for over/under exposure, and an indication if the subject is too close to focus, there is no actual exposure information communicated.

Too Many Buttons? While the AF can do a lot, many of its advanced functions require some button and switch combinations that are neither necessarily intuitive or easy to remember without a cheat sheet.

The Data Back: The AF Silver came with a data back whose only function is to perhaps ruin your photo by imprinting a date on the bottom right quadrant of your negative. While this function may have been useful for some documentary, industrial, or scientific purposes, it is useless for taking real photos. The date function only goes up to December 31, 2019.

Tips for Use

Neutral Density Filters: One of the best things you can do to get the most out of the AF is to invest in a high-quality 2 or 3 stop neutral density filter. If using 400/800 speed film in daylight conditions, a neutral density filter is pretty much necessary. A 3-stop ND filter reduce 400 speed film to 50 and 800 speed to 100, allowing you to use the same roll in a variety of lighting conditions.

Unlock the Silent Mode!: If you have a Silver AF, that had the silent mode disabled from the factory, be sure to unlock the secret silent mode. The code can be found through an internet search.

Take Advantage of the GN Flash System: Because the AF Silver does not require the use of a proprietary flash, invest in whatever large or small flash that suits you, as long as it can shoot in manual mode (i.e., full, 1/2, 1/4 power, etc.). The Konica HX-14 flash is cute but not necessary. The daylight fill flash feature works quite well but can lean towards a little overexposure, just like SLR TTL flashes.

Treat It Like a Point and Shoot: At the end of the day, although the AF has remarkable capability and user override, in my opinion, the AF is really best used as an advanced point and shoot that can excel in available-light situations.

The Contax Aria is one of my favorite 35mm film SLRs. With its bright viewfinder, a 1/4000 top shutter speed, integrated motor drive, lightweight construction, capability of using the latest Contax TTL flashes, and multiple metering modes, it checks all of the boxes. It’s a little pricey but worth it.

The 1998-2004 Aria was the last “new” manual-focus 35mm film SLR produced by Kyocera under the Contax brand name (for the purposes of this statement, we are going to exclude the later de-featured RXII). Contax would only release two more new 35mm film SLRs afterwards: the autofocus models N1 (2001) and NX (2002). Unfortunately, neither of these later autofocus bodies are compatible with C/Y lenses. Not designed or marketed as a professional’s camera, the Aria’s main attraction is that is light, so light in fact that almost all of the great Contax SLR lenses make the camera decidedly front heavy. The Aria pretty much combines everything a regular person would want in a film SLR.

When autofocus technology substantially improved during the early 1990s, most major manufacturers abandoned the concept of the advanced manual-focus SLR with integrated motor drives. One would have to go back to 1990 to find the last similar model produced by Nikon, the extremely underwhelming F-601M (the N6000), a manual focus version of the F-601 (N6006). For Canon, we would have to go all the way back to the 1986 T90. By the 1990s, only Leica and Contax were producing high-quality, professional-level, manual-focus 35mm film SLRs.

Specifications

Lens Mount	Contax/Yashica
Shutter	Vertical Metal Focal Plane
Shutter Speeds	B, 16 sec – 1/4000 (P/A); 4 sec – 1/4000 (Shutter/Manual)
Flash Sync	1/125
Exposure Modes	Program / Aperture / Shutter / Manual
Metering Modes	Matrix / Center-Weighted / Spot
ASA	DX (25-5000); Manual (6-6400)
Exposure Compensation	+ 2 EV to – 2 EV in 1/3 Increments
Viewfinder Coverage	95%; 0.82x.
Batteries	2 x CR2 Lithium
Motor Drive	Up to 3 FPS in Continuous

Operation

The Aria has extensive functionality for a non-professional SLR body. Over the Aria, the professional RTS III has only the following real-world advantages: (1) better viewfinder coverage and brightness; (2) a more powerful internal motor drive; (3) built-in viewfinder diopters; (4) a 1/8000 top shutter speed; and (5) a 1/250 flash sync speed.

Light! One of the main draws of the Aria is its size and weight, only 460 grams (without the batteries). A Leica M7 body is 610 grams. A Contax 167MT body is 620 grams. A Nikon F4 body is 1280 grams. An iPhone 13 Pro Max is 240 grams. The body is so light that any of the professional C/Y lenses will often double the weight of the set up (the 50mm f/1.4 is 330 grams, the 85mm f/1.4 is 595 grams, and the 35m f/1.4 is 600 grams). The Aria’s diminutive package makes it great candidate for a camera you could easily slug around all day, whether it be at a party, on a hike, or vacation, whatever.

Metering Modes: The Aria has three separate metering modes (spot, center, and full) adjustable via a switch on the back of the camera. The selected mode is visible in the viewfinder. These work reasonably well. I find that in non-straightforward lighting situations, the full view errs on the side of underexposure. The Aria’s metering is good but certainly not as sophisticated as, say, Nikon’s matrix-metering system.

Integrated Motor Drive: The Aria has an integrated motor drive that can automatically load, advance, and rewind the film. The advance has two setting: single and continuous. The “continuous” mode apparently can achieve up to 3 frames per second in absolutely ideal conditions.

Exposure Modes: The Aria has five exposure modes: program, aperture-priority, shutter-speed-priority, metered manual, and TTL auto flash. These are set via a dial on the upper left side of the camera.

Reasonably Bright Viewfinder. The Aria’s viewfinder brightness is pretty good, far better than most consumer SLRs that came before it, but not quite “professionally good.” It is on par with cameras like the older Contax 137MA and just slightly darker than the RTS II. The right side of the viewfinder displays: (1) the shutter speed; (2) the selected aperture; (3) a metering mode icon (blinking if locked); (4) the frame count; (5) a flash-on icon; (6) a “M” or “X” if set to either mode; (7) exposure compensation marks; and (8) over/under exposure warning indicator.

The Aria can use four different focusing screens, the same ones used by the 167MT. I believe the FU-4 is the standard screen.

Quiet Operation. The motor drive is not silent by any means, but it is quiet. Most likely the quietest of all Contax SLRs.

AE Lock Functionality: Like most other Contax bodies, the Aria’s exposure lock is activated by metering the scene and then switching the top lever from “On” to “AEL.” The AEL setting will hold the metering forever until the switch is toggled back to “On.” However, the Aria permits you to set a Custom Function where a half-press of the shutter button will lock the exposure. The other four Custom Functions include: (1) switching the automatic bracketing mode from regular-over-under to over-regular-under; (2) altering the rewind function to prevent the leader from being rewound; (3) overriding the automatic rewind at the end of the film; and (4) overriding the advance to the first frame when loading the film.

Lens Compatibility. The Aria can use any Contax lens designated “MM” in all exposure modes (“MM” lenses are easily identified by their minimum aperture in green paint). Older Contax “AE” and Yashica lenses can be used in aperture-priority or manual mode.

Other Features: The Aria has a number of other interesting features, including: (1) a depth-of-field preview button; (2) an auxiliary shutter release on the side of the lens, (3) automatic exposure bracketing; and (4) exposure compensation dial (+/- 2 stops)

D-9 Data Back. A holy grail-type accessory, the D-9 data back can, among other less impressive functions like “interval shooting” and the imprinting of the exposure data either as a list on a frames of the film roll itself or between the frames. Today, these are pretty hard to find unless you can purchase an body with one already attached. I believe that the D-8 (AX), D-9 (Aria), and the D-10 (for the N series) were the only Contax data backs that could do exposure imprinting.

Flash Stuff. Flash sync at 1/125 is ok for this class of camera. All TLA series Contax flashes will work in TTL mode with the Aria, but only later flashes with five pins can take advantage of rear curtain sync. With TTL-capable flashes, the Aria can perform a pretty good automatic daylight fill. And dialing down TTL flash compensation is very easy by using the exposure compensation dial to cut or increase the relative flash power.

Versus Other Contemporary Higher-End Manual Focus SLRs

If the Aria had any direct contemporary competition in the higher-end, small-body, manual-focus SLR market, it would have been the Leica R7 and the Nikon FM3a. Here are the three compared.

Specifications

	Contax Aria	Nikon FM3a	Leica R7
Years Produced	1998-2004	2001-2006	1991-1996
Shutter	Electronic Metal Focal Plane	Hybrid Focal Plane	Electronic Metal Focal Plane
Shutter Speeds	B, 16 sec – 1/4000	B, 8 sec – 1/4000	B, 16 sec – 1/2000
Flash Sync	1/125	1/250	1/100
Exposure Modes	P / A / S / M	A / M	P / A / S / M
Metering Modes	Matrix / Center / Spot	Center	Matrix / Center / Spot
ASA	6-6400	12-6400	6 – 12800
Exposure Compensation	+ 2 EV to – 2 EV	+ 2 EV to – 2 EV	+ 3 EV to – 3 EV
Viewfinder Coverage	95% / 0.82x	93% / 0.83x	92% / 0.80x
Batteries	2 x CR2 Lithium	1 x CR1/3N	2 x CR1/3N
Drive	Integrated Load / Advance / Rewind	External MD-12	External Motor Drive R
Weight (Body)	460g	570g	670g

Although the R7 and FM3a are both excellent camera bodies, neither of them really overall outclass the Aria. Although R7 bodies are not terribly expensive today, used Leica R lenses are in the running for the most overpriced items in 35mm photography today. And it is far from clear whether Leica R lenses perform objectively better than their Contax equivalents. The now-pricey Nikon FM3a is indisputably a masterpiece of late film SLR design; but most Ai-S lenses are not in the same performance league as Contax or Leica R glass. Given the price of the bodies, the relative capabilities of the cameras, and the price-to-performance ratio of the desirable lenses, I would still take the Aria over the R7 or the FM3a.

Conclusions

The Aria is a fantastic little SLR that checks all the boxes: lightweight, a fast top shutter speed, a reasonably quick motor drive, multiple metering modes, all of the standard exposure modes, and an above-average viewfinder. The Aria is a far superior and more capable tool than any of the older non-professional Contax bodies like the 139, 137, 159MM, or the 167MT. The Aria is a little pricey for a manual-focus SLR, but entirely worth it. If looking to save a few bucks, maybe look at the Contax RX, which has the same essential feature set but in a larger and heavier package.

In a project launched in 1998, Nikon spent an extraordinary amount of effort recreating its 1958-64 S3 rangefinder camera. If you have not already, be sure to read Nikon’s official account of this project. In short, a leading Nikon employee had an idea to recreate the company’s S3 rangefinder lens with a copy of its mid-1960s “Olympic” version of its 50mm f/1.4 S-mount lens. As part of the research phase, Nikon engineers reportedly had to go out and purchase a few original S3s from local camera stores. In 2000, Nikon launched its new S3 in the Japanese domestic market, including a recreation of the original packaging, the body, the lens, the lens cap, and the lens hood. In 2002, Nikon produced an additional 2,000 “black paint” copies. Not quite finished with the trip down memory lane, in 2005, Nikon produced 2,500 black-paint replicas of its classic SP rangefinder paired this time with a re-pop of its world-famous 35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor.

Although Nikon had to modify just a few minor parts from the original S3, there is no doubt that that the year 2000 S3, like its late 1950s predecessor, exhibits outstanding craftsmanship and attention to detail. But, other than as a conversation piece or a shelf queen, is the 2000 S3 actually a good real-world shooter in the 21st century? I am not quite sure. Let’s take a look.

The Viewfinder & Focusing Accuracy

Although bright and life-sized, the S3’s viewfinder is its own greatest enemy. In an era where most major manufacturers used projected (or reflected) framelines, the S3’s 35/50/105 thick, cluttered, non-parallax corrected framelines are etched into the piece of glass closest to your eye. The decision to go with etched framelines is puzzling, as Nikon’s S2 and SP rangefinders both used projected framelines.

It gets a little worse. The 35mm frameline cannot be really seen if glasses are worn, and barely can be seen without them. Even if specific diopters did exist at some point for the S3, you will likely have a hard time finding one today. The S3 really appears to be optimized for non-glasses-wearing, right-eyed shooters keeping both eyes open. If you can accomplish this, the viewfinder is actually pretty great. Additionally, if you are unfamiliar with Nikon rangefinders, the rangefinder patch is not the nice, easy-to-see rectangle used by Leicas. It is a fuzzy deal that can be difficult to see without some practice. At the same time, the 50mm and 105mm framelines are easy to see, yet they are almost on top of each other.

The combination of the S3’s incredibly long effective rangefinder baselength plus the relatively long focus-throws of S-mount lenses can make for accurate focusing at the widest apertures. However, because there is no viewfinder parallax correction, framing will be off a closer distances with a 50mm and are incredibly off with the 105mm. If you are going to use the 105mm at closer distances, you almost have to invest in the Nikon 105mm external viewfinder, which can be parallax-corrected.

Operation

Despite the shortcomings of its viewfinder, the S3’s design is well thought out, intuitive, and with high quality parts everywhere. Much of the original S3 made its way into the 1959 Nikon F SLR. Here are a few highlights.

Focusing: As with Contax, Nikon rangefinder lenses come in two varieties: external mount and internal mount. External-mount lenses are conventional with their helicoids in the barrel. They latch onto the outside of the S3’s lens mount. Internal-mount lenses use the camera body itself for the helicoids. Focusing can be accomplished in two ways: either turn the lens barrel to line up the rangefinder patch or use the finger wheel on the body. The minimum focusing capability of the body is only 0.9m. This is another bummer as the S3’s long effective rangefinder baselength is capable of accurately focusing fast lenses at much closer distances than that. Finally, because most S-mount rangefinder lenses want to turn when you want to change the aperture, you must usually hold the focus in place to do this.

Shutter: The rubberized-silk shutter is smooth as, well, silk. It creates little noise and little vibration. It is not as quiet as Leica, but it is pretty close. The top shutter speed is 1/1000, as good as it got during the 1950s.

Manual Exposure: Because the S3 comes from a time before camera electronics, there are plenty of dials and switches. There is a sync port for a bulb flash is right in front of the hot shoe. The film counter window is above the advance lever, which also contains a reminder for how many exposures are on the film you are using. There is a shutter lock around the shutter lock. There is a film speed reminder dial on the bottom of the camera. There is a self-timer switch on the front.

Flash: The S3 was introduced at a time when electronic flashes were just becoming widely available. At the time, it was assumed that you would be using some kind of bulb flash system, which of course has not been used now for at least 50 years. However, the S3 does have a X-sync port on the side which will work with any modern flash. The flash modes must be manually scrolled through by lifting up and turning the ring around the shutter speed dial. The X-sync speed is 1/60 and below, slightly better than a Leica M’s 1/50.

Film Loading: For those unfamiliar with Nikon rangefinders in general, the S3 requires the removal of the camera back to access the film loading mechanism. However, unlike Leica Ms, one can simply pull the film across the plane and into the take up spool without an unnecessary headache.

Accessories: During its production run, the S3 had a few dedicated accessories, most of which are not very common today. These accessories will still work with the 2000 re-issue. These includes a case (the new case has a longer nose for the new 50mm lens), a shoe-mount coupled selenium light meter (most surviving examples are now dead), and the BC-4 bulb-flash unit. The holy grail accessory for the S3 is its S36 motor drive. The S36 replaced the back of the camera with bottom-mounted motor drive powered by an external battery pack. These units, when working, sell for multiple thousands of dollars. Too bad Nikon did not make a modern version of these when it had the chance.

Versus the Voigtlander Bessa R2S

An obvious alternative to an S3 (or SP) would be the short-lived 2002-05 Voigtlander Bessa R2S. Based upon the chassis of the Leica-mount Bessa R2, the Cosina-produced R2C (Contax mount) and R2S (Nikon S mount) were the first new cameras in those mounts made in nearly 40 years. Along with the camera bodies, Cosina also re-popped some of its existing Leica-mount lens designs for the systems. While not selling particularly well at the time, people seem to be only now appreciating them. Consequently, used copies of the R2C and the R2S have exploded in value, selling sometimes for double or triple than what they cost brand new.

Here is a comparison of the specs between the S3 and the R2S.

	Nikon S3	Bessa R2S
Years Produced	1958-64; 2000-02	2002-05
VF Coverage / Magnification	100% / 1.00x	87% / 0.70x
Shutter Speed Range	B, 1 sec – 1/1000	B, 1 sec – 1/2000
Minimum Focus	0.9m	0.9m
Shutter Design	Rubberized-Silk Horizontal Focal Plane	Copal Metal Vertical Focal Plane
Weight	590g	520g
Metering	None	Center-Weighted
Framelines	Etched, Non-Parallax-Corrected 35/50/105	Projected Parallax-Corrected 35/50/85
Optional Winder	S36 Motor Drive	Trigger Winder
Effective RF Baselength	60mm	25.53mm
Batteries	None	2 x SR44
Flash X-Sync	PC; 1/60	Hot Shoe; 1/125

Of course, the largest advantages that the R2S have over the S3 is the existence of a built-in light meter, a faster top shutter speed, and parallax-corrected framelines. However, while metering and fast shutter speeds are always a plus, the S3’s longer rangefinder baselength can effectively focus S-mount lenses far more accurately than the R2S. Also, in my opinion, Cosina may have made a miscalculation by not making the R2S’ framelines 35/50/105, instead of 85. While Nikon’s S-mount 85mm f/2 is a fine lens, and with the 85mm f/1.5 currently an unobtanium collectors’ model, being able to accommodate natively the superb and common 105mm f/2.5 would have been killer.

Nikon Rangefinder Lenses

The number one reason why you would want to use a Nikon rangefinder camera is to shoot with the world of S-mount lenses. Although all of the original 1940s-60s lenses for the system have been long surpassed in objective optical performance, and with certain of the rarer and faster lenses like the 50mm f/1.1 and 85mm f/1.5 remaining hopelessly expensive collectors’ items, the S-mount lenses still are capable of producing fantastic images. The main drawback of these older lenses is not so much their optical design but their primitive lens coatings, which result in sometimes strange color rendition, flaring, and loss of contrast at wider apertures.

As an initial matter, the ideal modern platform for S-mount lenses may not be a Nikon rangefinder camera at all, but a Leica M-mount body. With the various iterations of the rangefinder-coupled Amedeo S-mount to M adapter, it is far easier and more economical to mount these lenses to a metered Leica M body, a Zeiss Ikon ZM, a Minolta CLE, or an R2-R4 Voigtlander Bessa. With the CLE and M7, you can even get aperture-priority autoexposure with these lenses.

Unfortunately, while the vast majority of S-mount lenses can be used on a Leica M platform with the adapter, certain lenses (i.e., arguably, the most desirable) cannot as their design interferes with the Leica rangefinder cam. The 21mm f/4.5 Contax Biogon, the 21mm f/4 Nikkor-O , the 25mm f/4 W-Nikkor, the 35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor, and the 50mm f/1.1 Nikkor-N cannot work with any adapter currently being made. What a bummer. Furthermore, unless you have an M-mount camera that can manually select and lock framelines, the current M adapters will only bring up the 50mm framelines, making it cumbersome to use 28/35/85/105 lenses. Of course, apart from the 21mm Biogon, you can try to find the rare M39 versions of the aforementioned lenses somewhere, but these tend to be very expensive and are becoming more so. As perhaps the ultimate camera body alternative, you can go for the Bessa R2S, which can use all S-mount lenses without restriction.

If looking for lenses for the S3, an ideal set would match its 35/50/105 framelines.

35mm: There are plenty of OEM and aftermarket options in the 35mm focal length for Nikon rangefinders. Nikon produced three different 35s: a 35mm f/3.5, a 35mm f/2.5, and a 35mm f/1.8. The f/3.5 is an older design and is not as good as the others. Between the 35mm f/1.8 and f/2.5, the slower f/2.5 is arguably a better “all-around” lens, with good distortion control, no real focus shift, useable at all apertures, and is approximately comparable with the 1950s Leica 35mm f/2.8 Summaron. What the fast f/1.8 does well is control distortion and is very sharp in the center. It has typical light fall-off at wider apertures and its single coating shows its age, especially in color shooting. Finally, the 1.8 has some pronounced focus shift as the lens is stopped down.

There were several third-party companies like Komura that produced S-mount lenses in the 35mm focal length Although Contax and Nikon rangefinders have a small registration difference, the lenses at 35mm and wider can generally be interchanged with each other. This means that any of the numerous versions of the pre-war and post-war 35mm f/2.8 Contax Biogons can be used. However, I am not sure whether the Biogon is a better lens than the 35mm f/2.5 W-Nikkor. Finally, Voigtlander produced a version of its Leica-mount 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar, which is an excellent lens and probably the best overall S-mount 35mm.

50mm: The choices in 50mm include a few OEM lenses and some modern lenses Voigtlander introduced in connection with the R2S. Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4 came in three varieties: a 1950s Sonnar-derivative, a 1960s Double-Gauss version, and the 2000 Double-Gauss re-issue. The 1950s f/1.4 is ubiquitous and very affordable. However, it also has primitive lens coatings and noticeable focus shift. The 1960s “Olympic” f/1.4 is a rare bird, but its Double Gauss design makes it more suitable for general applications and will work well at all apertures. The 2000 re-issue f/1.4 is more or less the same basic optical design as the 1960s version but with modern lens coatings. It is a really good lens, pretty much maxing out at f/8 or f/11 like most lenses of its class, most likely better in objective performance than any “classic” 1950s or 1960s 35mm rangefinder lens from any manufacturer, but is not as good as a modern Summicron. Voigtlander produced three S-mount lenses in the 50mm focal length: a 50mm f/1.5 Nokton, 50mm f/2.5 Skopar, and 50mm f/3.5 Heliar. These are all excellent lenses.

105mm: The 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor-P was one of Nikon’s best rangefinder lens designs, more or less replacing the earlier 85mm f/2. Produced in relatively large quantities and eminently affordable, the 105mm was the only Nikon rangefinder lens to be reworked with only minor tweaks as a regular (non-mirror-lockup) F-mount SLR lens, in use until the early 1970s. Using the Sonnar template, the 105mm is a fantastic portrait and landscape lens. The F-mount version is still regarded as one of Nikon’s best portrait lenses ever for its flattering rendering. It is best used at about f/2.8-4 for close up subjects and f/8-11 for longer distances. Komura also made several 105s in S-mount, a 105mm f/2.8 and a 105mm f/2. Both of these Komura lenses are quite rare today and it is not clear if they are any better than the Nikkor-P.

Conclusions

If I had been Nikon in the late 1990s, instead of putting forth the extraordinary effort to create a breathtaking copy of the S3, a camera that during its own time was neither revolutionary nor had any unique capabilities, I would have designed and produced a brand-new S-mount camera from the ground up. A “Nikon S5,” if you will. Use the FM3a’s 1/4000 top-speed hybrid mechanical/automatic shutter, metering with aperture-priority autoexposure, swing-back film loading, and selectable framelines with maybe varying degrees of viewfinder magnification. This was not theoretically unachievable as both Konica and Cosina built ground-up, innovative Leica-mount film cameras during this same era. Would an “S5” have been a more expensive and less profitable endeavor than reverse engineering and then hand-building the S3 and SP re-issues? I guess we will never know. Also, as long as they were re-making these lenses in S-mount, Nikon should have considered making Leica-mount versions of the new 50mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor.

To me, unless you are just in love with the concept, the S3 does not present a compelling case as a regular shooter. Apart from the non-metered operation, the cluttered, non-parallax-corrected viewfinder make taking photos kind of chore. To me, the R2S seems like an overall better choice as an actual shooter. In the end, although Nikon’s 2000 S3 is indisputably a masterpiece of design and engineering, and remains relatively cheap in the market today despite its uniqueness and incredible build quality, it is not for me a go-to platform for rangefinder photography.

Introduced in 2006 and discontinued in 2015, Voigtlander’s Bessa R4A and R4M remain unique in rangefinder camera history because of their ultra-wide viewfinders with framelines for 21, 25, 28, 35, and 50mm lenses. While probably not fully appreciated during their introduction and run, both of these models have rapidly increased in both popularity and price. Is the R4 a camera you should add to your rangefinder arsenal? Sure, why not?

Although the Bessa “R” line of rangefinder cameras all have a certain “1980s SLR” feel to them (probably because Cosina produced many of the cheaper 1980s and 1990s manual-focus SLRs), the R4A (electronic shutter) and the R4M (mechanical shutter) are perhaps the most interesting of the bunch. Regarding the body design, the Bessa Rs are not much to look at, exalting function over form. While the R2 and R3 series did a relatively decent job at providing the basic functionality and experience of the Leica M2 and M3, respectively, at a fraction of the cost, the Bessa R series all have three features over any Leica M film body: a top shutter speed of 1/2000 (instead of 1/1000), a flash sync of 1/125 (instead of 1/50), and user-selectable framelines.

Today, Bessa R cameras have never been more expensive. For me, even though they have some functionality advantages, the Bessa R/R2/R3 cameras, for the cost, do not present particularly compelling cases over a Leica M body. On the other hand, the super-wide viewfinder of the R4 series has no Leica M equivalent. If you are a wide-angle rangefinder shooter, is the Bessa R4 a better system for taking photos than using various shoe-mounted external viewfinders or even Leica’s Frankenfinder? The answer to that question is probably a qualified “Yes.”

Bessa R4M Specifications

Lens Mount	Leica M
Viewfinder Magnification	0.52x
Rangefinder Baselength	19.24mm
Framelines	Parallax-Corrected 21/35, 28 & 25/50
Shutter Speeds	B, 1 sec – 1/2000
Meter	TTL Center-Weighted
Batteries	2 x SR44
X-Sync	1/125
Weight (Body)	440g
ASA Range	25-3200
Shutter	Vertical Metal Focal Plane

Operation

The Viewfinder: The primary draw of the R4M is its low-magnification, bright viewfinder for wide angle lenses. With any other rangefinder camera, hotshoe accessory finders would be required for 21mm and 25mm (and in some cases 28mm) lenses. The R4M lives up to the hype in that regard. The user-selected, parallax-corrected 21/35, 28, and 25/50 framelines make focusing and framing a breeze. The 21mm frameline does hug the absolute outside of the frame, while the 50mm frameline is small.

Metered Manual Operation: Unlike the R4A that provides aperture-priority autoexposure, the R4M employs a “metered manual” operation, like a traditional mechanical-shutter camera bodies and the Leica M6/MP. The R series has an LED indication system for metering that is activated through a half-press of the shutter button. Unlike metered Leica Ms that display arrows for over/under exposure, the Bessa reads out exposure in displayed half stops of exposure: from -2 to +2. Because silver oxide batteries only power the light meter, the R4M can be used at all shutter speeds without them.

Short Effective Rangefinder Baselength: To create the wide-angle viewfinder, some compromises had to be made. The 19.24mm effective rangefinder baselength is about the same as the early 1970s Leica CL. The baselength is more than adequate for accurate focusing of lenses 35mm and wider.

Longer Lenses Partially Block the Viewfinder: It is obvious that the Bessa R series was designed to accommodate many of the slimmer first-generation Voigtlander lenses, like the 21mm f/4, 25mm f/4, 28mm f/3.5, 35mm f/2.5, and others. Lenses that are physically longer tend to block a portion of the viewfinder, especially if one uses a lens hood. The 21-35mm f/3.4-4 Dual Konica Hexanon, which is pretty much an ideal all-around lens for the R4, significantly blocks the 35mm frameline.

Averagely-Quiet Shutter: The vertical metal mechanical shutter is also not particularly quiet. Perhaps not as loud as the mechanical SLRs of the 1980s, but noticeably louder than a Leica M camera.

Reflected LEDs in the Viewfinder: Due to some design oversight, the LEDs for the meter in the viewfinder sometimes reflect off the sides of the assembly.

The 21mm & 50mm Framelines: While the R4’s 21mm frameline is usable, what the viewfinder does not show is the actual distortion in the final image. In other words, while the viewfinder shows a flat view, that is not at all what the shot will look like, especially at closer distances. The framing at 21mm and 25mm is also not terribly accurate, with the subject image being somewhat smaller on the resulting negative than what was framed through the viewfinder. For its part, the 50mm frameline is pretty small (think of the 90mm frameline on a Leica M3).

Platform for Contax & Nikon Rangefinder Lenses: What is nice about the Bessa R series in general is the ability to change framelines manually. This means that using the various Contax or Nikon rangefinder adapters to Leica M becomes much easier, as they are all keyed to Leica M 50mm framline.

Bessa Accessories: The Bessas had a few useful accessories. Of note, there is a bottom trigger winder and a decent body case. I would suggest getting one of the cases for camera protection. The trigger winder is kind of fun and does not interfere with also using the lever advance after a shot.

Conclusions

The R4M is a fun-to-use camera that occupies a unique place in rangefinder history because its super-wide finder. The R4s were largely overlooked at the time apart from a dedicated few, and it is nice to see folks appreciating them now. It is perhaps an ideal travel rangefinder camera for those who prefer the 21-35 range. However, R4s are a bit overly-expensive at the moment given their relative scarcity and a renewed demand for M-mount film bodies. The only real downsides of the R4 are that: (1) the viewfinder does not effectively communicate the visual distortion in the finished shot; and (2) the framing at the widest settings (21mm mostly and 25mm to a lesser extent) is not terribly accurate.