Leslie Wyatt
Film Photography
I like this camera. It is a robust, all metal mechanical camera, a
beautiful piece of engineering and at the time, quite an innovative design.
Built around 1960 it is in mint condition and works perfectly. OK the
rangefinder and viewfinder optics were messy with fungus but more on that
later. The bright viewfinder is an incredible 1:1 ratio and incorporates
moving frame lines to accommodate perspective changes when focussing. It
has a lovely Hexanon 6-element 50mm f1.8 lens with a Seikosha MXL leaf
shutter. So quiet!
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This camera was a purchase of the heart not the head!
After all, it is a purely mechanical camera, is over 70
years old and was expensive. But it is in mint condition,
works perfectly and is a beautiful piece of engineering.
It is a black dial version No. S27802 made around March 1951.
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I like using the Bronica ETR camera system. However, it could not be
called a pretty camera. In fact the full configuration of the ETRSi with the
AEII viewfinder and speed grip could easily have come from the pen of Heath
Robinson. But it is incredibly functional and easy to use. The actual camera
is the small box at the centre of the assembly. So, lenses are interchangeable,
film backs are interchangeable and the viewfinders are interchangeable as are
the accompanying focussing screens.
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OK, let's get the main gripe out of the way first....it doesn't have an auto
exposure lock. But you can always set it to manual exposure and if you are trying
to compensate for bright skies you should be using an ND filter anyway. So, you
can tell that I love this camera. It is my go to 'workhorse' and is a delight to
handle. Pentax glass has always been a premium product and there are so many lenses
to fit the Pentax K mount. It is incredibly small for an SLR but all metal and so feels
firm in the hand. As far as build quality goes I merely need to quote the American
photographer Ken Rockwell...."Made in Japan".
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If I have two brilliant Pentax ME SLRs and two classic mechanical rangefinders why on
earth would I want a basic mechanical Pentax K1000? Well, precisely because it is an
SLR, mechanical and manual. No 'auto' anything! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a
technophobe. In fact, I spent most of my working life as an electronic system designer
and builder. But, I just love the sound of the sophisticated mechanics
of vintage film cameras and the simplicity of film speed, aperture and shutter speed.
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For me this has to be the ultimate in medium format cameras. Cameras in the 645 format
are smaller and lighter than the bigger 6x6 and monster 6x7 cameras but still offer
an image over two and a half times the size of a 35mm frame. It is an integrated SLR
with an incredibly large, bright viewfinder. Pentax design and build quality is second
to none and doesn't suffer from scourge of product name inflation like Hasselblad or Contax.
OK they both sport Carl Zeiss lenses but Pentax glass has always been a
premium product.
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