[Skodadriver]

I have a latest acquisition I would like to share. It came with a Prinzflex Super TTL won at auction (a found in attic sale, seller knows nothing about cameras) and a pleasant 130 mile round trip, for 15 Great British pounds, buyer collects.


It's a SUPER REFLECTA 55mm F1.4 (M42 mount) with an A/M switch and a plastic slipover cap with Prinzflex as a logo.


It came with an instruction booklet presumably written up by Dixons, could not have taxed them much producing the booklet, it is short and provides some basics for the camera, the battery orientation (but no value or voltage) and the legend..."Build your complete Prinzflex system - on a budget - at your Dixon's now!"


Well after cleaning out the battery compartment of a severely corroded battery, fitting a new battery, to find that the meter did not meter, not a flicker, I concentrated on the lens.


This lens seems quite clean optically after removing some dust. Some cleaning marks on the front and a few scratches on the body. The focus ring was stiff!!! I fitted it to my K-5 on a flanged adapter and found that trying to turn the focus just unscrewed the lens it was so stiff. Unfortunately the aperture ring seems a little fragile to hold when trying to turn the focus ring. I left it on a sunny windowsill for an hour to see if the heat would help unstiffen the grease a bit while I searched the net for information.
It seems the lens may well be of Tomioka heritage, similar to the Rikenon and Sears 55mm F1.4's but not quite exactly the same. It does have a flat rear glass element.
What looks like knurled and anodised aluminium may actually also be plastic, so along with the fact that the Prinzflex instructions featured this lens in it's cover picture I'm assuming it may have been made by Cosina (along with the camera).I did find another owners picture of the lens on the net so it's not unique, just not featuring much.


The lens focus is still very stiff but I have taken some images with it. Wide open it seems to have ugly bokeh but that is just my taste. I think it is not quite as sharp wide open as the Chinon 50mm F1.4 that I had and sold (i.e. soft but not too unpleasant) but it sharpens up nicely stopped down. Not a razor though.


If anybody can add to my post with some history of this lens...or even details on how easy it might be to clean and regrease it....that would be kind.


Some images of the lens.

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[BigMackCam]

More finds from my storage boxes (and, hence, new to me for the second time )...

This time, a Leica that's really a Panasonic (or possibly a Minolta) in fancy clothes - the Minilux Zoom 35mm "compact". I bought this new and unused, sealed in it original box with flash unit and leather carry case. I put half a roll of film through it before it went into storage. My photographic knowledge has improved vastly since then, and knowing what I know now, I can't see me wanting to use this camera much - it is mostly automatic, with a fairly slow zoom lens. But it's a heck of a nice ornament, and maybe I'll run a roll or two through it during the summer, just for fun

[ChrisPlatt]

Fixer SMC Pentax-A 24-50/4 zoom lens, a good deal from a fellow PF member.
It's highly rated in PF reviews. Eric is willing to take a crack at it. Wish me luck!

Chris

[Canada_Rockies]

Fixer SMC Pentax-A 24-50/4 zoom lens, a good deal from a fellow PF member.
It's highly rated in PF reviews. Eric is willing to take a crack at it. Wish me luck!

Chris

Good luck. I've heard that lens is a winner.

[Jean Poitiers]

I was in the Cantal region at a small town called Maurs when I saw this in the shop window of a photo development store.

Recognizing what it was, I went inside to ask about it and a few other items ... after inspection and being told that the price was 35€, I bought it. Hands down, no haggling involved.

Quite happy to add this to the Minolta gear ...

[Helios 1984]

Joby UltraPlate - 25$ free shipping - Bestbuy.ca

[BigMackCam]

... after inspection and being told that the price was 35€, I bought it. Hands down, no haggling involved.

Nice find! 35€ for a 35mm f/1.8?! That's some fast glass for very little money!

[Kerrowdown]

I'm waiting to say a K1... but it's not here yet, it's still in transit to me.

[jimr-pdx]

2 deals from shopgoodwill.

A t-mount quantaray 300/5.6 won at $19 plus shipping, like new with case and disposable Canon T-ring. Smaller than my Spiratone and in much better condition!

Also a "Vivitar Polarizing Filter 49mm UV-Haze Lens" (love these filter sales!) which was a UV filter connected to an old linear PL filter which was attached to an Auto Vivitar 35/2.8! Cost a whole $16+ for this one; now awaiting an M42 adapter to give it a spin. It's a Tokina #37 serial, I don't see this one in the Vivitar or Tokina databases. Eight crazy-ninja-star aperture blades, A/M preset type, focuses to 0.4m

---------- Post added 05-01-16 at 18:36 ----------

link? Google fotos is weird..

Better yet -

[jcdoss]

I procured two more lenses I didn't need... K55/1.8 and K105. I need psychiatric help.

edit: After tonight's jam session with my wife on keyboards, soninlaw on guitar, and step daughter on vocals, I bought a starter electric violin. I used to play when I was a strapping young lad, so hopefully that'll work out. If not, it looks cool, so there's some photo potential there at least.

[gaweidert]

Well I was walking around a Home Depot window shopping and went to the hand tools section. And this thing started talking to me so for some crazy reason I got it. Maybe I can use it to fight off hordes of squirrels. I think that I was influenced by watching the History Channel series Vikings. It may have awakened my inner Ragnar Lothbrok.

[Jonathan Mac]

2 deals from shopgoodwill.

A t-mount quantaray 300/5.6 won at $19 plus shipping, like new with case and disposable Canon T-ring. Smaller than my Spiratone and in much better condition!

Also a "Vivitar Polarizing Filter 49mm UV-Haze Lens" (love these filter sales!) which was a UV filter connected to an old linear PL filter which was attached to an Auto Vivitar 35/2.8! Cost a whole $16+ for this one; now awaiting an M42 adapter to give it a spin. It's a Tokina #37 serial, I don't see this one in the Vivitar or Tokina databases. Eight crazy-ninja-star aperture blades, A/M preset type, focuses to 0.4m

---------- Post added 05-01-16 at 18:36 ----------

link? Google fotos is weird..

Better yet -

I think that Vivitar is the same (or very similar to) the one I have. It's very sharp wide open but focuses beyond infinity so can be tricky to use for a manual focus.

I was in the Cantal region at a small town called Maurs when I saw this in the shop window of a photo development store.

Recognizing what it was, I went inside to ask about it and a few other items ... after inspection and being told that the price was 35€, I bought it. Hands down, no haggling involved.

Quite happy to add this to the Minolta gear ...

Wow, what a bargain. I believe that lens usually goes for serious money.

[Rockysan]

I got a pretty good deal on a lightly used blue K-30. I didn't take it on my latest road trip, but plan on using it regularly. From what I can see from the results, it has good image quality and seems pretty simple. A good complement to the K-01.

[jimr-pdx]

Well I was walking around a Home Depot window shopping and went to the hand tools section. And this thing started talking to me so for some crazy reason I got it. Maybe I can use it to fight off hordes of squirrels. I think that I was influenced by watching the History Channel series Vikings. It may have awakened my inner Ragnar Lothbrok.

Very dangerous!
I picked up a nasty machete at Harbor Freight (fright?) Tools recently, we'll make quite a team..

[pepperberry farm]

new-to-me Tamron Adaptall 2 72B:




if I understand how Tamron used serial numbers, a fairly-early model as well...