Just thought I'd share the collection of 35mm SLRs that I enjoy using. I'd like to say that I have more than enough, but I'm sure the collection will keep growing. #filmphotography #photography
My heart raced when I saw your collection. My first film SLR was the Pentax Spotmatic F. The pictures I took and got from that camera are priceless. Also had the ME and MX with winders. Love Pentax. Now I have the Nikon F2A and FE2. The FE2 is my all-time favorite film camera. Because Nikon was so expensive, I went with the Pentax first. I wish I kept the Spotmatic F for keeps sake. When stationed in Japan in the USAF, I got my Nikons. From that time it went with me, including a moment in North Korea at the DMZ. Those were the day of Tri-X and Kodachrome.
I had an ES that I had fully CLA'd by a retired Honeywell tech for $130. This M42 mount (55mm 1.8) had the distinction of being the FIRST fully auto TTL exposure SLR using the Aperture Priority automatic Shutter. Its distinction was no self-timer, that spot reserved for a huge battery compartment. I think Nikon copied the ES for their first full auto. If the battery died, you could use it full manual, all shutter speeds on the dial plus A . . . the sound of the shutter was worth the price alone. Sold to a cute little photography student for $60 (she tried so hard to talk me down on the price she increased her offer!) and I hope it becomes here most fun, favorite film SLR.
Pentax made great cameras. I started with a Praktica. I had 2 of them until I changed over to the Nikon system. I almost got the Pentax Spotmatic. Great video.
Thanks, appreciate it. I have been tempted many times to expand my collection into East German cameras, specifically Pentacon, but I'm really trying hard to hold off on adding to the collection for a while. The LX needs service, so that is the first priority. I love the Spotmatic and love the lenses, and they are generally affordable, maybe a bit beaten up, but still solid.
Good subject I have Nikons because they are cool ( F2AS a nice 1959 F ) and one 1925 Lecia because it’s cool and yes I’ve professional most of my life they have their place I have lots of cool cameras because I like them it’s all it’s all about the photography now ! Digital and iPhones have changed everything Good subject!! Keep stewing it up !!!
Minolta. Brand I've never used, and that brings up a long list of brands I've never shot with. I would like to solve that problem but that leads to the problem of an ever-growing collection and no more vacation fund.
I have a Canon camera collection including the A-1 I bought new in 1983. Indeed, it's a great all-around camera and still looks and operates great. I noticed yours is missing the removable grip that improves the ergonomic feel in the hand when holding it with lens. Hope you can find the grip for your A-1 :)
You CAN use the ME with no batteries. You can use the 1/100th flash sync setting, in fact if you leave it in auto it will default to to this if the batteries run flat. (Just double checked this on one of my MEs)
A lot of 35mm cameras from that era had cropped viewing. This was an issue when doing copy work with transparency material, where one to one 100% frame accurate viewing was important. Nikons F, F2, F3, F4, F5, and Canon F1 all had 100% frame accurate viewing. Today, with scanned film images, this is no longer a big deal. If I recall correctly, my Nikomat had 86% viewing. A nightmare when trying to copy slides.
Or when copying flatwork to be included in the frame. Getting stuff in the frame that you cropped out of the viewfinder is disheartening when it shows up in the mounted slides. If printing, no problem, just crop out the unwanted stuff on the easel.
According to the Canon Camera Museum, the original F-1 has 0.77x magnification and 97% coverage for its viewfinder. The new F-1 has 0.8x magnification and 97% coverage :)
