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Classic cameras

JeffS7444

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...and my 50 USD Nikkormat FTN + 105/2.5 Nikkor lens combo, ready for use. Was able to press out most of the broad, shallow dents, but whether it's possible to achieve an as-new appearance in this manner..? Camera body is kind of an interesting design, with most of the complex bits all contained in a single large shutter / self timer / timing mechanism module, which is can be lifted free of the main body casting by removing just three screws. I spent a lot more time replacing the rotted foam used extensively as light and dust seals.

_DSC1704.jpg
 

DWI

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It must be a thing with old Minoltas. Some of mine have gone completely white.

View attachment 184986

The lenses I handle more seem to stay in better shape, these two primes were case queens. I'm wondering if the rubber would react well to the rubber restorer I use on turntable mats.
Yes, the M3 is a great camera. This one has a the original 50 rigid NF it was purchased with in 1957.
E2181BD1-C5EE-44E3-91B8-CE7E419934AF.jpeg
 

pablolie

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My dad owned a Canon F1 with several nice lenses. Also a Rolleiflex 6x6 (which I own and sometimes shoot with) and some obscure mini camera called a Minox.

As a student making money of the side, I got myself an Olympus OM4ti. I loved that camera and it was with me for many years, until it was stolen while vacationing in Greece. What I do love though is the fact I can use the manual OM lenses I had back then (50mm 1.4 and 135mm 2.8) with an adapter on my current Olympus digital M43, and while I have many nice lenses, the old OM lenses are still some of my favs.
 

aslan7

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Yes, the M3 is a great camera. This one has a the original 50 rigid NF it was purchased with in 1957.View attachment 213353
I had an M3 with a Summicron from the mid-1950s. I bought an M6 many years later with a more recent Summicron. I kept using the older version because I preferred it greatly—very impressionistic color photos.
 

DWI

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I had an M3 with a Summicron from the mid-1950s. I bought an M6 many years later with a more recent Summicron. I kept using the older version because I preferred it greatly—very impressionistic color photos.
I also have an M6 0.72 TTL that usually has a 50/f1.4 of 35/f2on it.
 

aslan7

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The Leicas were great but now everything is ridiculously overpriced. I switched over to Fuji cameras and for the much lower prices am totally delighted with the result.
 

dlaloum

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The Leicas were great but now everything is ridiculously overpriced. I switched over to Fuji cameras and for the much lower prices am totally delighted with the result.
I agree - I still have my Grandad's 1930's Leica IIIc, I used to have a Leica CL, but in the digital age, it is very very difficult to justify Leica's price today. (Currently using a Sony RX100... still have my Olympus OM2 & OM4 film cameras...)
 

Narnian

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I used to buy and sell cameras to pay for my own photography addition many years ago and owned lots of different models over the years.

My personal preference for film was medium format due to improved picture quality over 35mm.

Currently my stable is down to two cameras that will be sold soon to pay for my resurrected audio hobby since I no longer have my darkroom. The Horseman and Mamiya C series were my favorite regular use cameras. I also have a Pentax Spotmatic that was may favorite 35mm (well, except for my Leica M5 but I could not afford to buy it new lenses).

1663701860277.jpeg
 

JeffS7444

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A collage of stuff which entered my life in recent times.

I retrieved the Wratten Series VI filters and Olympus brochures on my last visit to my mom's place. No idea why she saved the brochures for a camera which is long gone, but since she did, I've added them to my collection.

Nikon F is film-ready, Konica Auto S3 needs a new CdS photocell; I'll get it as part of a future Mouser / Digikey order.

Half-frame 35 mm is of particular interest to me, and finding a Ricoh Auto Half for pocket money was quite a score for me. Gotta love the wisdom of the ancients: It's an automatic exposure, motorized, focus-free camera which gets all of it's power from the sun and a clockwork motor: There's not a single stepper motor or ASIC to be found. Original selenium photovoltaic cell was toast, but I was able to replace it with a modern silicon PV. Despite greater efficiency of the new part, light metering appeared reasonably accurate as-is, so I loaded the camera with film, took ~80 photos with it this past weekend.

I got the Classicbot Classic figure from https://classicbot.com/

_DSC2446.jpg
 

JeffS7444

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Latest addition to my Canon collection!
_DSC2539 Focus Stacked.jpg

It's nicely compact too:
_DSC2541 Focus Stacked.jpg

Released by Canon as a 75th anniversary collectable, it's a scale model of Canon's first production camera, the Hansa Canon. I have handled the genuine article, but with prices in the 8000+ USD range, it's a little bit rich for my blood. On the real camera, the secondary viewfinder can be retracted, but it's fixed into place in this model.
_DSC2547.jpg
 

JeffS7444

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An earlier product from the company which would later be known as Canon, was advertised; the Kwanon. To me it looks like an amalgamation of Leica II finder and Zeiss Contax film advance knob mounted on the front of the camera. Per Canon's camera museum, no examples of the Kwanon are thought to exist; perhaps they decided it was "not ready for prime time"? Zeiss themselves abandoned the front-mounted film advance knob on subsequent Contax cameras.
KwanonAd-1-Enhanced.jpg
 
Last edited:

mhardy6647

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Latest addition to my Canon collection!
View attachment 232660
It's nicely compact too:
View attachment 232661
Released by Canon as a 75th anniversary collectable, it's a scale model of Canon's first production camera, the Hansa Canon. I have handled the genuine article, but with prices in the 8000+ USD range, it's a little bit rich for my blood. On the real camera, the secondary viewfinder can be retracted, but it's fixed into place in this model.
View attachment 232662
that is too cool for school (as some would say). :)
 

JeffS7444

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The Minolta SRT101 is common and cheap on the secondhand market. I got mine cheaply (35 USD for camera body, 25 for lens). Lens as received is in great shape, but camera body had multiple problems, starting with a reflex mirror which wasn't returning.
_A050643.jpg

With top cover removed, and some of the strings undone in preparation for a deeper dive. There's quite a system of strings and pulleys used in the light meter, and to provide informational viewfinder displays, shown here with strings undone in preparation for a deeper dive.
_A010632.jpg

Leatherette body covering was held in place by some rock-hard adhesive which still maintained a death grip after all these years, and peeling the leatherette off was a slow and tedious process. But once removed, the mirror box and main body castings separated readily enough. Self-timer assembly is visible in bottom right of photo, and since it's only accessible when mirror box is removed, it seemed like a great time to clean and lubricate it.

Part of the camera's problems appeared due to general need for maintenance (clean, lubricate, replace rotted foam), but there were also some impact damage to be dealt with, some of which was causing the shutter to bind. Took me awhile to figure out just where, but once located, the fix was quick, and shutter + mirror were working great again.
_A010636.jpg

Galanometer needle is visible in viewfinder of camera as part of the built-in light meter, but this one was frozen in place. Struggled to open the galvanometer's housing due to more rock-hard adhesives, and quickly discovered the source of the trouble: Permanent magnet (right) was supposed to be attached to frame of galvanometer, but had come loose, pinning the delicate movement to the wall of the housing. Although I managed to reattach it and reassemble the unit, galvanometer needle is not moving as smoothly as it ought to, and current draw seems excessive, so I think it's simply too damaged and ought to be replaced.
_A030640.jpg

I'll look for a replacement galvanometer, but meanwhile, the camera is otherwise film-ready.
 

mhardy6647

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The Minolta SRT101 is common and cheap on the secondhand market. I got mine cheaply (35 USD for camera body, 25 for lens). Lens as received is in great shape, but camera body had multiple problems, starting with a reflex mirror which wasn't returning.
View attachment 235472
With top cover removed, and some of the strings undone in preparation for a deeper dive. There's quite a system of strings and pulleys used in the light meter, and to provide informational viewfinder displays, shown here with strings undone in preparation for a deeper dive.
View attachment 235471
Leatherette body covering was held in place by some rock-hard adhesive which still maintained a death grip after all these years, and peeling the leatherette off was a slow and tedious process. But once removed, the mirror box and main body castings separated readily enough. Self-timer assembly is visible in bottom right of photo, and since it's only accessible when mirror box is removed, it seemed like a great time to clean and lubricate it.

Part of the camera's problems appeared due to general need for maintenance (clean, lubricate, replace rotted foam), but there were also some impact damage to be dealt with, some of which was causing the shutter to bind. Took me awhile to figure out just where, but once located, the fix was quick, and shutter + mirror were working great again.
View attachment 235469
Galanometer needle is visible in viewfinder of camera as part of the built-in light meter, but this one was frozen in place. Struggled to open the galvanometer's housing due to more rock-hard adhesives, and quickly discovered the source of the trouble: Permanent magnet (right) was supposed to be attached to frame of galvanometer, but had come loose, pinning the delicate movement to the wall of the housing. Although I managed to reattach it and reassemble the unit, galvanometer needle is not moving as smoothly as it ought to, and current draw seems excessive, so I think it's simply too damaged and ought to be replaced.
View attachment 235470
I'll look for a replacement galvanometer, but meanwhile, the camera is otherwise film-ready.
Fabulous!
I don't think I've ever seen a black SRT-101 before(!?).
I also don't think there's an SRT-101 here, either (and remarkably enough) -- but it still triggers a memory.

When I was in Jr. High, a (then) kid in my class came in one day with an SRT-101 that his father (a Merchant Marine Captain) had gotten for him.
That was the beginning of the Camera Wars :) at my (Jr/Sr) high school... which lasted pretty much* until college, when and where they morphed into Stereo Wars.

Now, in my dotage, I've kinda drifted back into both of them again. :)

________________
* With a detour ca. 11th grade into the Calculator Wars. Aye, there were nerds on the earth in those days! :)
 
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