Episode 112: Fixed Lens Rangefinders and SLRs

Whenever you get a bunch of camera collectors together to talk about rangefinders and SLRs, the focus of the conversation almost always centers around those models with interchangeable lenses. Thread mount Leicas, Contax rangefinders, Nikon F-series and Zeiss-Ikon Contarexes almost always dominate the discussion. While certainly worthwhile cameras to talk about, lens swappable cameras overshadow their fixed lens counter parts, and for Episode 112, the Camerosity crew decided to take a deep dive into those rangefinder and SLR models where the lens can't be removed.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo and Mike are regular and first time callers A.J. Gentile, Aaron in Idaho, Basile from Montreal, Ben Ryerson, Fernando Villava, Greg Harp, Howard Sandler, Marty Olsen, Ron Gee, Sarah Davis, Vlad Kern, and Wayne Scheipers.

We start off the episode asking if anyone who listened to Episode 111 was inspired to buy anything from a Japanese auction, but then we hand over the virtual mic to Vlad Kern who had a crazy eBay story regarding an extremely rare Smena camera he ended up selling, buying back, and then having to sell a second time. In addition, we were joined by Sarah Davis who came back on to check in with how her repair business has been going. Since her first appearance on the show in Episode 108, several Camerosity listeners have reported being very happy with her repair services.

When we finally got on topic, we shared our love for a large number of mostly fixed lens rangefinders including the Minolta Hi-Matic 7, Yashica Electro series, the Mamiya Super Deluxe, Konica III, and even though we primarily stayed with 35mm cameras, we discussed Fuji's lineup of excellent 6x4.5, 6x7, and 6x9 rangefinders including the popular "Texas Leica". In addition to covering GAS, Anthony asked the question if any fixed lens rangefinders ever had telephoto lenses, and Mike gave a quick lesson on what exactly the Yashia Electro's "Pad of Death" is and what it sounds like.

For fixed lens SLRs, we covered models by Mamiya, Zeiss-Ikon, Nikon, Canon, and a few others. Mike shared one of his favorites, the strange Fujica ST-F with the Ihagee Exa style shutter and in body flash.

It wouldn't be a Camerosity show if we didn't get off topic, and our listeners were quick to ask questions about adapting Soviet lenses, what the difference is between an Industar and a Jupiter, whether or not Zeiss lenses for Contax SLRs are better than Yashica lenses, and whether the Vectis APS SLR was responsible for Minolta going out of business.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

We don't yet have a topic for the next episode, but rest assured whatever it is, it will likely involve a bunch of adults irresponsibly spending their money on half century or older cameras! When we know what we plan on talking about, we will be sure to update you through the usual channels, but we will record Episode 113 on Monday, August 10th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time. For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time. Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Has anyone bought anything from Buyee since the last episode? / Nikon F90X
• Vlad Kern's crazy eBay story / Soviet Smenas / Paul's experience with International shipping
• Cameras are one of the only collectible things that do their job as good or even better than when they were new
• Most cameras, even when new weren't very accurate at their maximum shutter speeds
• Pentax SP 500 with missing 1000 speed / Fujica ST605 with 700 shutter speed and f/2.2 lenses
• VF Moto Shutter Speed Tester / Shutter speed testers with LED light sources
• Using a CRT monitor to check shutter speeds
• Minolta Hi-Matic 7s / Voltage differences with Mercury batteries
• Theo bought the Agfa Makro 110 camera and it needs 3 Mercury batteries
• Paul really hates the Konica Auto S2 and S3 / Yashica Lynx 5000 and 14 Rangefinders
• Yashica Electro 35 series / Theo has an Electro 35 GL / Pad of Death
• Konica II and III series rangefinders / Konica IIIM Half-Frame Model / FED Mikron 2
• Mamiya 528TL SLR / Mamiya Super Deluxe Rangefinder / Majamatic
• Other Fixed Lens SLRs / Contaflex / Kowaflex / Nikkorex / Canonex / Fujica ST-L
• Fuji GS645S / Fuji's lineup of medium format rangefinders / Fuji GL690 Professional / What is a "Texas Leica"?
• Kowa made two fixed lens rangefinders with telephoto lenses / Kowa T85 and T100
• Why do Fuji Medium Format Rangefinders have a shutter counter on the bottom?
• Voigtländer B / L / BR / Vitomatic IIa / Vito III / Voigtländers with Ultron lenses
• Vitoret 110 Camera / Marty bought a Minolta Vectis off Paul / Other APS SLRs
• Bridge SLRs / Olympus iS-Series / What is a Bridge Camera?
• Why didn't Pentax make Rangefinders? / Many Japanese companies "stayed in their lane"
• Teraoka Auto Terra Super / Minoltina-S / Greg Makes Lemonade from Lemons
• How do Yashica Lenses compare to Zeiss Lenses for Contax SLRs?
• Industar 50 and other Soviet Lenses / Adapting fixed rangefinder lenses to M39 and M42
• The next episode of Camerosity in Spanish will be about Soviet cameras and lenses

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

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The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/