[ismaelg]

Looks in shiny condition, from the little we can see. Can you show more ?

Sure! Here is the full report

My grail, the original, the one and only, "AP" Asahi Pentax - PentaxForums.com

Thanks,
Ismael

[WPRESTO]

"AP" Asahi Pentax, 1957 'nuff said

That certainly looks like my Asahi Pentax S, my first 35mm camera purchased sometime in the late 1950's before Canon released the original Canonflex and before Nikon released the "F," which to be honest was the real game-changer for cameras. My "S" was equipped with an f2.2 preset, and I eventually also had a 135mm f3.5 preset Takumar which I thought was an amazingly sharp lens. I eventually retired the "S" in favor of a Bronica S2 for which I had the standard 75mm F2.8 Nikkor and a 250mm f4 preset Nikkor that had originally been designed for the reflex housing of Nikon's SP, S3 etc rangefinder cameras, so the lens had a very long registration distance. It was also an optic I though was very sharp, and it has become a collector item worth vastly more than what I paid for it.

BTW: When I had the APS, I was initially worried that when pressing the release I would touch the spinning high speed shutter dial with my finger and foul the exposure, but that never happened.

[LesDMess]

That certainly looks like my Asahi Pentax S, my first 35mm camera purchased sometime in the late 1950's before Canon released the original Canonflex and before Nikon released the "F," which to be honest was the real game-changer for cameras.

It must have been brilliant marketing - and Nikon's cachet by then, that people went for the Nikon F. Specially when it seems the professional press lead the way. One only needs to put your first roll in to realize it's not user friendly . . .



This of course was a carryover from Nikon's rangefinders since they only added the mirror box and prism to it which itself was copied from Contax.

I think Stephen Gandy offers a great take take on the original Asahi Pentax

Canonflex . . . clearly as bad a failure as the Nikon F was a commercial success . . .

[ismaelg]

That group picture you have there is exactly what I have except for the Topcon, the Canon, the Nikon and the lens in the Pentax.

[LesDMess]

That group picture you have there is exactly what I have except for the Topcon, the Canon, the Nikon and the lens in the Pentax.

To complete the set, I'd trade you my Nikon F for a Minolta SR2 . . .

[WPRESTO]

It must have been brilliant marketing - and Nikon's cachet by then, that people went for the Nikon F. Specially when it seems the professional press lead the way. One only needs to put your first roll in to realize it's not user friendly . . .



This of course was a carryover from Nikon's rangefinders since they only added the mirror box and prism to it which itself was copied from Contax.

I think Stephen Gandy offers a great take take on the original Asahi Pentax

Canonflex . . . clearly as bad a failure as the Nikon F was a commercial success . . .

I never understood Canon's logic with the base plate winder. Leica had an accessory base plate advance, but that was a sort of pull mechanism, moderately ergonomic. It's hard to believe that any Canon engineers actually tried that design and the thumb advance side-by-side, try one then the other then back to the first etc. Perhaps they were trying to think outside the box, but it left many Canonflex bodies inside a box.

[g026r]

I never understood Canon's logic with the base plate winder. Leica had an accessory base plate advance, but that was a sort of pull mechanism, moderately ergonomic. It's hard to believe that any Canon engineers actually tried that design and the thumb advance side-by-side, try one then the other then back to the first etc.

They had to have though, which makes the decision even more inexplicable. The Canon VT, released just 3 years before the Canonflex, used a Leicavit-style base plate advance. They tried that out, then decided that they wanted something less ergonomic.

I can only chalk it up to there being something that was affecting camera designers in 1959. That's the same year that KW released the Practika IV, which also featured a base plate thumb advance.

---------- Post added 2020-09-18 at 22:05 ----------

BTW: When I had the APS, I was initially worried that when pressing the release I would touch the spinning high speed shutter dial with my finger and foul the exposure, but that never happened.

I've managed to do that with my Pilot Super. It also has a spinning shutter speed dial, except it's mounted on the side of the camera. I've more than once kept my fingers too close to the sides and turned my 1/200 into something closer to 1/20.

[LesDMess]

They had to have though, which makes the decision even more inexplicable. The Canon VT, released just 3 years before the Canonflex, used a Leicavit-style base plate advance. They tried that out, then decided that they wanted something less ergonomic.

I can only chalk it up to there being something that was affecting camera designers in 1959. That's the same year that KW released the Practika IV, which also featured a base plate thumb advance.

Canon copied Leica so it would make sense they would copy the Leicavit style film advance.

Of course Canon - like Nikon, had only been making rangefinders up until their first SLR. With the release of the Leica M3 - which they could no longer copy freely, they had to move in the direction of the SLR.

View by period - 1946-1954 - Canon Camera Museum

What the “Leica M3″ had Brought

Since it was difficult to imitate the “Leica M3″ introduced in 1954 in terms of its bright viewfinder and accurate rangefinder, many camera manufacturer, including Canon, were forced to shift their development goals to the camera that would lead the world’s market in the future. What Japanese camera manufacturer, including Canon, decided was to concentrate on the single lens reflex (SLR) camera with system capabilities, which could be developed using Japan’s own technology.

[marcusBMG]

droool.
clockwise from top: 400mm f4 65B; 300mm f2.8 360B; 300mm f2.8 60B; 300mm f2.8 107B. The latter is particularly uncommon.

[WPRESTO]

I can only chalk it up to there being something that was affecting camera designers in 1959. That's the same year that KW released the Practika IV, which also featured a base plate thumb advance.

I will repeat a pet peeve here. I am firmly convinced that automotive designers are afflicted by blinders similar to those worn by the ones who made the original Canonflex. They are preoccupied with being sleek, modern, and technolocally savvy, and consequently they iinsert features that are not only inconvenient, they are downright dangerous. The most egregious was having all of the radio and climate-control adjustments in a touch-screen, fortunately a "modern" design that was quickly and quietly abandoned (SFAIK). My special peeve are the climate controls, now returned to being the long-time standard three control knobs (fan speed, where the air is blown, and temperature), but these knobs are so sleek and smooth, with a tiny little dot as an indicator, illuminated at night but sometimes impossible to see if sunlight falls upon the knobs, but in any case UNREADABLE UNLESS YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD TO LOOK AT THE DIALS. All it takes is a ridge along the outer edge of each knob, just a tiny bump that you can feel with your fingertip and you know where the knob is set and where you move it WITHOUT TAKING YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD WHILE GOING 65MPH DOWN A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY. Pathetically obvious that would be far safer, and usable no matter what the lighting conditions. Utterly irresponsible design!! Maybe the "engineers" who designed those knobs expect that there will always be a passenger or co-pilot in the front to operate the climate controls and radio.

[steamloco76]

The Asahi Pentax & Takumar 58mm f/2.4. Pentax KP & DA 20-40mm f/2.8~4 Limited

My oldest fully functioning Pentax, The Asahi Pentax of 1957 and Takumar (pre-set) 58mm f/2.4. Both date from either late 1957 or early 1958 based on available serial number vs. date manufactured resources. The lens is awesome.

Just for comparison, I posed the “AP” with my newest Pentax, the KP of 2017 with a sliver Limited 20-40

* Apple iPad 7th generation photos. The camera in this thing is much better than my old iPad Air of 2013!

[WPRESTO]

The Asahi Pentax & Takumar 58mm f/2.4. Pentax KP & DA 20-40mm f/2.8~4 Limited

My oldest fully functioning Pentax, The Asahi Pentax of 1957 and Takumar (pre-set) 58mm f/2.4. Both date from either late 1957 or early 1958 based on available serial number vs. date manufactured resources. The lens is awesome.

Just for comparison, I posed the “AP” with my newest Pentax, the KP of 2017 with a sliver Limited 20-40

* Apple iPad 7th generation photos. The camera in this thing is much better than my old iPad Air of 2013!

That old Pentax is just beautiful with controls that are totally intuitive. Remember when you could learn every operating option of a camera with a single 15 minute perusal of the owner's manual? Were I to live as long as Methuselah, making one change to the K1 every five minutes, I very much doubt I could get through all the permutations and combinations of settings that are possible before the reaper claimed me.

[ismaelg]

I may be biased, no wait, I AM biased.
That timeless beauty is unmatched. Look closely and you can tell that even today, we are following the design basis of the AP from 1957. The dials have totally different functions, but the layout is surprisingly similar. Not to mention the pentaprism.
But wait, there's more! That 63 years old lens CAN be used on today's bodies!

Thanks,
Ismael

[womble]

I have a soft spot for folding cameras. I have an Agfa Isolette II and a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16 that I used regularly (both bought in charity shops for a few pounds). I recently spotted a Kershaw Raven folding camera on that website going for not too much so I put in the minimum bid, and won it. It is a 6x9cm folder taking 120 film made in Britain in about 1947.


Raven (1) par Kris Lockyear, on ipernity


Raven (2) par Kris Lockyear, on ipernity


Raven (3) par Kris Lockyear, on ipernity

The main thing to check with old folders is for pinholes in the bellows. Before I could do that, however, I had to remove the film that I found loaded in it! I used a dark-bag and carefully removed the film, rewinding it as it was hardly used. Imagine my surprise that the film has an expiry date stamped on the sticky strip: 22 May 1963!


Raven (4) par Kris Lockyear, on ipernity


Raven (5) par Kris Lockyear, on ipernity

Sadly, the bellows do have pinholes so I'll have to do some work on it before I can use it.

[Sam_I_am]

I have always thought the folding cameras have such a coolness factor. I have a couple myself and need to see what it would take to get one going again.