Need to know about some cameras

Hi,

I have a few questions about a few old cameras. I want to know about the cameras

i'll mention later the following things:

 

1) Is it worth the price (maximum $50 I think)? Paying how much is justified for

this camera? I saw them all on ebay.

 

2) What is the flash sink speed of this?

 

3) Does it have DOF preview and mirror lockup?

 

4) Does it have full manual control on aperture and shutter speed?

 

5) Are there any major limitation of this camera?

 

Now let me enlist the cameras:

 

1) Asahi Pentax K1000

 

2) Yashica FX7 35mm

 

3) Yashica FR1 circa 1978

 

4) Pentax MX

 

5) Yahica FX-D Quartz

 

6) Yashica FX-3 Super

 

Whatever you know about these cameras can be helpful for me. I'm planning on

getting one. I love manual cameras. I have use Yashica mat 124G at present and

want to try out some 35mm for a change. Thank you very much for your help.

Debejyo,

Perhaps you're going about this backwards. You could instead ask us which cameras you could get for $50 and under that would meet your requirements. If you want a fully manual camera, there are plenty of good ones available at your price limit. Also remember you will eventually want to get more lenses to take full advantage of the SLRs peculiar benefits, so you must keep in mind the future cost of lenses as well - some are more expensive than others.

 

With all that said, of your list, I only know the Pentaxes, and can tell you that if you can find a good working MX at your price, that would be a good deal. It is a fully manual camera, 1/60 flash sync, DOF preview but no MLU, shutter speeds and aperture in viewfinder. It is a very small camera as well, and can take a power winder. The K1000 is larger and has less features, there is no viewfinder information, and the later ones are not so rugged. The Yashicas I know little about - someone else I'm sure can give information about them, and there are Yashica SLR webpages available to read.

Is it worth the price? Depends on condition. Are these cameras in full working order? Or if there are faults then how serious are the faults?

 

The Pentax K1000 and MX are both very good manual cameras. The others may be as well but I have used the Pentax cameras. I prefer the MX over the K1000 in use but at this age would probably opt for the K1000 for its ruggedness.

 

You can find out the specification of these cameras by searching for them on the internnt.

 

Afetr that look for good condition.

I owned a Yashica FR1 before. It is a nice camera that you can use contax c/y mount lens on this camera.

FR1 is a aperture-selected camera which means the shutter speed with change with you turn the aperture ring. Furthermore, it needs battery to operate. IT is not a fully mechanical-operated camera.

 

I would suggest Fx-3 because it a fully mechanical camera. Yashica SLRs are cheap with a wide choices of lens which is a good way for a beginner to begin.

Thanks for your response. But guys, whats the flash sync for K1000? Do any of these cameras sync at 1/500 or at least 1/250?

1/60 second.

 

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pentax_K1000_top.jpg"> Google is cool. <a>

<blockquote><i>Do any of these cameras sync at 1/500 or at least 1/250?

</i></blockquote><p>

Unless you look at classic leaf-shutter <abbr title="single-lens reflex cameras">SLRs</abbr> (Bessamatic, Contaflex, and similar) no vintage <abbr title="single-lens reflex camera">SLR</abbr> will give you flash sync at very fast speeds. So if this is important to you, stick with leaf-shutter cameras, there are even some quirky 35mm <abbr title="twin-lens reflex cameras">TLRs</abbr> (like the Agfa Flexilette) if you are into these kind of cameras. Or try rangefinders.

I always think that the K1000 is too simplistic. It may be a good deal back then, but nowadays, with the digital pushing the price down, you can get much better cameras for $50. Take advantage of it.

I highly recommend the Yashica's.

 

I would choose the FR-I over FX-3 because of the build quality and smooth operation. The battery is easy to get, PX28 or equiv.

 

As for flash sync speed, the Googloracle reveals 1/100 for the Yashica FX-D, which is also not a bad camera.

FX-3 and FX-7 are same camera, 3 is black and 7 is chrome. all are junk. it might be all manual but it's not built well. same for FX-D. Of the Contax/Yashica cameras on your list the FR-1 is certainly the best made and will be the most reliable, despite being battery dependent. But frankly if you want to get into contax/yashica, a contax 139 or 137MA won't cost that much more, and those are both truly first rank cameras.

You might also consider a Minolta SRT model. I have bought a couple of these on eBay -- one of which came with 3 lenses, a flash, and a bag -- for around $30. The lenses are excellent quality, and not too expensive since they are discontinued.

 

Many of these old manual focus SLR's from the 60's and 70's can be had very cheaply ($50 or so) if you shop around for a while, and there's not really a huge difference between one body and the next. The exception might be Nikons, which often sell well above the $100 mark. If you have some patience and don't mind rummaging through other people's junk, flea markets, yard/garage sales, and thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army) can sometimes yield a spectacular find for very little money.

I use a scuffed up Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 as my beater SLR. It's a very convenient size. The three-LED meter is not quite as informative as a match-needle or numeric arrangement but it does the job, and it's very easy to use in low light. (The meter also works with no hassles in stop-down mode when using M42 lenses with an adapter, which I often do.)

 

The FX-3 does not have a DOF preview button or mirror lockup.

I have an FX-7. I wouldn't quite call it junk, but then I only paid four dollars for it complete with lens and case, and I only got it so I'd have something to mount a couple of existing Yashica lenses on after my FX-1 died. I wouldn't suggest this as anything but a backup or beater if you already have some Y-C mount lenses. A good one to throw in the back of the car.

 

It is possible to fake DOF preview with a Yashica by unlatching the lens and rotating it a bit, but that's not exactly convenient.

You will not get such high flash-sync speeds at the price you want (no higher than 1/125), and of the cameras you list, only the Yashica FX series has a sync of faster than 1/60. Is there a reason for wanting such a high sync speed? BTW, none of these cameras has MLU. Some older M42-mount Yashicas do, and many of the Minolta SRT101s and SRT102s have it (you must look for it, some don't have it), and they also have DOF preview. I have Minoltas and can recommend the SRTs as good solid cameras, but the downsides are that sync speed is 1/60, and the meter requires a mercury battery. Lenses are reasonably priced as long as you don't get too fast or too wide a lens. If high flash-sync is that important and $50 is your limit, you'll end up having to get a leaf-shutter camera, and most of the SLRs that have leaf shutters are quirky, do not have a wide selection of lenses, and some are very hard to repair.

Hi Kevin, when you said that "FR1 is a aperture-selected", do you mean that I do not have an option of manual shutter at all? Does it have a bulb mode?

Forget junky 35mm cameras. Keep your Yashicamat, use the $50 for film, or maybe add a few filters.

well, of course one person's junk is another's treasure!

 

i second the Minolta SRT recommendation. they're cheaper than almost anything, especially the chrome bodies, and the standard lenses are almost free. the faster lenses still cost a bit, i recently paid $90 for the 35 f/1.8 and $150 for the 28 f/2.0 -- but the 50 f/1.7 cost me all of $20 and the 45 f/2.0 was $25 -- and i literally salvaged a minolta mount vivitar 80-200 f/4.5 that somebody had THROWN AWAY.

 

they're basically equivalent to Pentax Spotmatics or Nikkormats, and they're cheaper than those! although sometimes you CAN get Nikkormats for $50.

 

Another good cheap SLR is the Olympus OM-1, smallest full featured SLR ever made and one of the quietest too. Maybe not quite as cheap as $50 but sometimes close.

 

Or the Canon FT/FTB/FTBn types of that era, a bit clunky, but Canon FD lenses in the non-elite versions are very cheap also.

 

Basically it's so hard to go wrong now that you can avoid what used to be the cheapest models, because the solid mid-range gear is now so affordable.

The MX and K1000 do have mirror lock-up - sort of

 

http://ca.geocities.com/spirope/mxmlu.htm

 

I too would ho for an MX over a K1000. The K1000 feels big and clunky in my hands.

The only older camera I know with a 1/250 sync speed is the Nikon FM2n, and it sells on eBay for about 3 times what you want to pay.

 

You can get a good condition Praktica L in working condition for your price and have money left over for an M42 lens. I'd stay away from older Prakticas and from any of those with metering, as these are either going to not be working or require batteries that are no longer available. The L has a rugged vertical metal shutter, and is still a good shooter. The newer Prakticas are much fancier cameras, but cost more and the bayonet mount for their lenses means a more restricted set of choices in the lens department. M42 or 'Pentax' mount lenses are common as dirt and nearly as cheap, Just stay away from some of the Meyer lenses of the middle years, especially the Meyer Domiplan 50mm f/2.8. Otherwise, Zeiss Jena, Pentacon, Pentax and many others have top rate lenses for this mount.

The Yashica FR-I has manual settings and it has Bulb mode. Despite what its reputation, it's a very solid camera. It's actually a close cousin of the famous Contax RTS.

 

If we're talking about options *outside* of your list, of course, the Olympus OM-1 and Nikon FM2 would be top notch cameras that are worth the additional price tag.

Major limitation of any camera is usually the photographer!