[TheLens]

Here's the EOS 630 and 50 1.8 STM I got a few days ago.

[arnold]

MIOJ Konica I w/ Hexar 50/2.8

Lovely condition by the looks of it. I wish I could justify expanding into yet another brand of classic range-finders.

Just seeing that picture of the Konica has been enough to trip me into buying a Konica S that I have been eyeing. I believe it is from 1952 but can find nothing on it on the Net. Like my Canonet S, it seems rare.
Edit. Looks like the camera came out in 1959 not 1952.

[Swift1]

Just seeing that picture of the Konica has been enough to trip me into buying a Konica S that I have been eyeing. I believe it is from 1952 but can find nothing on it on the Net. Like my Canonet S, it seems rare.

Cool camera.

From Camerapedia -

"The Konica S is the first coupled light meter camera made by Konica. It was introduced in 1959. It is equipped with a 6-element Hexanon 2/48 lens or 4-element Hexar 2.8/45 lens and a Copal SV leaf shutter. "

[arnold]

Cool camera.

From Camerapedia -

"The Konica S is the first coupled light meter camera made by Konica. It was introduced in 1959. It is equipped with a 6-element Hexanon 2/48 lens or 4-element Hexar 2.8/45 lens and a Copal SV leaf shutter. "

Thanks for that. As I mentioned, the Konica S and Canonette S seem to have very little coverage. Here is a picture of the second Canonette which was made only for a short time before the QL series
I still prefer my Yashica Lynx and Retinas. The 111C (big C) has a very good view finder.

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Last edited by arnold; 09-28-2015 at 11:04 PM.

[Eyewanders]

Cool camera.

From Camerapedia -

"The Konica S is the first coupled light meter camera made by Konica. It was introduced in 1959. It is equipped with a 6-element Hexanon 2/48 lens or 4-element Hexar 2.8/45 lens and a Copal SV leaf shutter. "

Hey Colton - Along these rangefinder lines, I've been meaning to ask you about your Bessa R.... All this playing with Russian RFs really has interested in possibly stepping up to something more friendly/reliable. How do you find that Bessa and do you (or anyone else can pipe up) much about the difference between that original and the newer offerings (I've looked at the R3M a number of time online) and whether they warrant the additional cost? All my years with cameras, it's only the past two months I've spent any time at all with rangefinders and must say, I now understand the appeal.

[Swift1]

Hey Colton - Along these rangefinder lines, I've been meaning to ask you about your Bessa R.... All this playing with Russian RFs really has interested in possibly stepping up to something more friendly/reliable. How do you find that Bessa and do you (or anyone else can pipe up) much about the difference between that original and the newer offerings (I've looked at the R3M a number of time online) and whether they warrant the additional cost? All my years with cameras, it's only the past two months I've spent any time at all with rangefinders and must say, I now understand the appeal.

The Bessa R series are great user friendly cameras. They are well made and have some great features. I really like mine, although am not able to use it properly. The viewfinder is superb and really makes a difference. My main other rangefinder experience is my Zorki 4, Retina IIIc, and Contax G1, and the Bessa finder is way way better. I get used to whatever I'm using, but it definitely nice to have a big bright finder.
The Bessa R is screwmount, the R2 is basically the same camera with an M mount. The Bessa T is basically an R2 with a rangefinder but no viewfinder, ad the Bessa L is basically an R with no rangefinder or viewfinder.
The R2A, R2M, R3A, R3M, R4A, R4M are all variations of the R2 idea, but with slightly revised looks and possibly better build. A for Autoexposure, M for Manual. Te main difference in all these cameras is the finders.
The R2 series has the same finder as the original R. It's .7x magnification and has framelines for 35/50/75/90 lenses.
The R3 cameras have a 1:1 finder with framelines for 40/50/75/90
The R4 cameras are basically wide-angle cameras with framelines for 21/25/28/35/50.

I think you'd love a Bessa R.

[Eyewanders]

The Bessa R series are great user friendly cameras. They are well made and have some great features. I really like mine, although am not able to use it properly. The viewfinder is superb and really makes a difference. My main other rangefinder experience is my Zorki 4, Retina IIIc, and Contax G1, and the Bessa finder is way way better. I get used to whatever I'm using, but it definitely nice to have a big bright finder.
The Bessa R is screwmount, the R2 is basically the same camera with an M mount. The Bessa T is basically an R2 with a rangefinder but no viewfinder, ad the Bessa L is basically an R with no rangefinder or viewfinder.
The R2A, R2M, R3A, R3M, R4A, R4M are all variations of the R2 idea, but with slightly revised looks and possibly better build. A for Autoexposure, M for Manual. Te main difference in all these cameras is the finders.
The R2 series has the same finder as the original R. It's .7x magnification and has framelines for 35/50/75/90 lenses.
The R3 cameras have a 1:1 finder with framelines for 40/50/75/90
The R4 cameras are basically wide-angle cameras with framelines for 21/25/28/35/50.

I think you'd love a Bessa R.

Brilliant. Thanks for the awesome response! That's the concise model summary I needed. I need to cool my acquisitions for a time, but you've confirmed my suspicions. I'll have to put one on the shortlist.

[Nesster]

Re Bessa R - I ended up with one, and I agree with Colton, it is a really nice camera. I have used it a lot since I bought it. I even started buying a couple of screw mount lenses - a Canon 50/1.8 (low price for a Canon but excellent lens) and a Komura 35 (the Russian J-12 35 doesn't fit the Bessa). It is a pleasure to use - and at a camera show the dealers went gaga over it because it is somewhat rare and they wanted to see the vf

[Archimedes the Dog]

Thanks for that. As I mentioned, the Konica S and Canonette S seem to have very little coverage. Here is a picture of the second Canonette which was made only for a short time before the QL series
I still prefer my Yashica Lynx and Retinas. The 111C (big C) has a very good view finder.

I flirted outrageously with a Canonet early last year, but ended up with my Contessa instead. It's a nice little camera, I liked it.

[stevebrot]

The R2A, R2M, R3A, R3M, R4A, R4M are all variations of the R2 idea, but with slightly revised looks and possibly better build.

...as in metal, not plastic body shell. Cameraquest.com is a good resource.

Out of production Bessa feature matrix:

https://cameraquest.com/voigtchart.htm

Current model Bessa feature matrix:

https://cameraquest.com/voigtchart2.htm

On both pages the column heading is a link to detail articles for each camera. I have long wanted one, but have stopped just short of purchase several times. (Too many cameras, I guess.)


Steve

[Cuthbert]

Spent Sunday at the Heritage Centre to take pics of historic cars, these were the tools:

[Swift1]

Spent Sunday at the Heritage Centre to take pics of historic cars, these were the tools:

Beautiful Buronica!

[WPRESTO]

Beautiful Buronica!

Beautiful, but my wrist hurts just thinking of holding that beast to eye level through an entire roll of film.

[Archimedes the Dog]

The guy who bought my ETRS is now complaining that it doesn't work, that there is something wrong with the viewing glass, and that the inside is "filthy". It's not a sealed box, pull the dark slide out, and the glass is notorious for being dim. You bought a 35 year old camera.

I wish you could reject eBay buyers... His low purchase count and short membership were worrying me when he won.

[Cuthbert]

Beautiful Buronica!

Thanks Colton! I still point out you're morally responsible for my expenses for this camera!

Beautiful, but my wrist hurts just thinking of holding that beast to eye level through an entire roll of film.

Actually I just use it hand held and I don't have the waist finder, to be honest it's more or less as heavy as my Canon F-1N with motordrive, of course it's more cumbersome than a F-1N, but with the grip and the prism I have no problems handling it. I also bought a 220 film back and a 75 mm hood (that's huge) for little.

I shot four rolls but where I am at the moment they don't develop 120 mm, so I can't speak for IQ yet, but generally speaking I am pleased with the building quality (it doesn't feel like a plastic camera) and handling (for a medium format camera), the AE III prism seems to be very accurate and with all the bells and whistles of a good aperture priority meter.

What left me unhappy is that the prism doesn't allow real manual metering (in M the camera still shoots in AE priority but the prism doesn't control directly the shutter speed that you have to insert, so it's more a manual override than a real manual mode), the lack of 1/1000s speed (I like to shoot with the lens wide open) and lack of mirror return.

The guy who bought my ETRS is now complaining that it doesn't work, that there is something wrong with the viewing glass, and that the inside is "filthy". It's not a sealed box, pull the dark slide out, and the glass is notorious for being dim. You bought a 35 year old camera.

I wish you could reject eBay buyers... His low purchase count and short membership were worrying me when he won.

Sorry to hear that, I have a 35 mm screen with 45 degrees split image (I like slanted split screens), it's relatively dirty but at least the prism and screen aren't dim in this camera, I would say average.