Getting to know Miranda

 

Well, they don't come much better. I'm never sure if I collect old cameras principally because I like using them, or if I'm besotted with the mechanics of the beasts, a real male thing which makes me admire them, and entices me to find out how they go "click". This Miranda satisfies me on both counts. It's a very competent image-making machine, and a great example of fine mechanical design and engineering.<div></div>

 

I'd been watching out for an early Miranda SLR for some time, but they're relatively rare down here in the Southern Pacific. This example cropped up on our local auction from a seller who obviously knew very little about photography in general, and nothing about Mirandas. "From an estate..." ; you know the stuff. Anyway, I took a punt and bought it, waited with a certain amount of trepidation for it to arrive, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was unwrapped to reveal a very tidy specimen, indeed. It's a Miranda "B', circa 1959, the first Miranda to have the instant-return mirror. Like all Mirandas it gives the impression of being hand-finished, as if someone at the end of the production line has given it a loving polish, a little smoothing here, a final adjustment there. Despite it's years it functions like the proverbial Swiss watch, with the sweet sound of precision design and engineering. The prism slips off with silky smoothness, ready for the waist-level viewfinder, the lens rotates effortlessly in its mount, the shutter release, (despite it's long linkage through the stop-down mechanism), is smooth and precise. It has the dual shutter dials, which take a little getting-used-to; the main dial setting speeds from 1/1000th to 1/30th and B, and the secondary dial setting 1/15th to 1. There's a distinctive sound to the Miranda shutter, quiet yet definite, and the film wind has a similar sound, and feel. Precise, no slack, everything as it should be. Focusing is via a plain, unadorned ground-glass screen. The finish and attention to detail is just superb. I love the little knurled plug on the top deck that unscrews to reveal the cable release entry, though I wonder how many Mirandas now lack this component....Though I have a couple of later Mirandas, the sheer hand-built impression I gain from the "B" makes it a special camera. Rather like the early Topcons, but that's another story..

 

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I'd anticipated the lens would be the standard 50mm Soligor-Miranda f/1.9, having never been aware of an alternative. However, the camera arrived bearing a very handsome Kowa lens, the 50mm Prominar-Miranda f/1.9. I was somewhat taken aback, but some Internet research revealed that there had indeed been a few copies released with this lens. Our forum Miranda guru Pete Naylor assures me that it's a very fine lens, much sought-after because of it's great rarity. It's performance is certainly all that I'd been given to expect. I loaded the camera with a 36-shot Fuji Superia 200 and lugged it's considerable weight around with me on and off for a fortnight or so, but was rewarded by some very sharp and impressive negatives, with the same sort of "depth" I expect from some of the fine old European lenses such as the Oreston or Pancolar. Anyway, see what you think.<div></div>

<p>No.2</p><div></div>

<p>No.3</p><div></div>

<p>No.4</p><div></div>

<p>No.5</p><div></div>

<p>No.6</p><div></div>

Very nice. I have to confess I don't know a lot about Mirandas. I just may have to get one.

<p>My, that's a clean looking unit. I only shot with a Miranda once, heavy but, as you say, nice build quality. Your lens is very nice, rendering crisp textures yet creamy OOF areas. What are the two ports on the camera front? Flash sync's? Meter booster? Good series of pics! I like the Morning Store and Washtub very much.</p>

<p>Thanks, Mike and Louis. The ports are just synch. connectors for bulb or electronic flash. I forgot to post this one, which I rather like:</p><div></div>

<p>Please stop this stuff. I don't need further impetus for my addictions.</p>

<p>Damn....</p>

<p>my first slr was a Miranda D. I still have it.<br>

I bought a second one a few years later and my B-I-L talked me out of it.<br>

he has no Idea what happened to it.<br>

the lens seems very similar to my lens. the main differences were often the size of the<br>

arm containing the shutter button.<br>

one problem as i have mentioned, is sticky diaphragm blades.<br>

the front and rear groups unscrew as modules<br>

no tiny parts. no unscrewing focusing rings or helical things.<br>

then the lens part can be cleaned with a solvent such as lighter fluid.<br>

alcohol does not seem to disolve the grease/.oil<br>

just do not use something strong like carbon tet or acetoen, they will do serious damage.<br>

ask peter naylor "pete in perth"<br>

I don't know if your wind is racheted. my D exposure counter is a small wheel.<br>

you could put a preset lens or a internal diaphram internal diaphragm lens as a manual lens.<br>

the only way to get another auto lens is to keep searching. Like I did.<br>

or adapt an exacta auto lens with the radically expensive AXM adapter.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Wow! You know how to make a guy jealous!</p>

<p>I recently bought a black FTbn with a Soligar 28-80mm. This jogged my memory that Soligar was the brand name for AIC, which also owned Miranda Cameras in the 60s until it's demise. This was interesting to me as the headquarters for AIC was literally down the street from where I grew up. Since then I have become more interested in Mirandas and Soligar lenses.<br>

Nice photos!</p>

<p>Ed</p>

<p>Your "washtub" photo is striking--a textbook example of good composition.</p>

<p>And a very nice camera.</p>

<p>Excellent pictures and a wonderful presentation and narrative as always, Rick. That camera is absolutely gorgeous, and I only hope I can resist the urge to find one. Mirandas are a line of cameras that I know very little about, but half the fun of acquiring new cameras is learning about them.</p>

<p>Hi, Rick That's a very nice and rare find you've got there, mate. Congratulations on both the acquisition of the camera plus the great photos. Yes, it's true that Miranda did some strange regional marketing in its early days, so some countries got the 'B' while others got the 'C'. To further complicate things, Australasia got the 'B' with the F1.9 Kowa Prominar-Miranda while other regions got it with the F1.9 Soligor Miranda. Hard to know just why this should have been, because the 'B' and 'C' are not all that common compared to late Miranda models when the factory increased production volume.</p>

<p>I've attached a small advert for the 'B' from the Nov 60 issue of 'Australian Popular Photography', showing it sold for A Pnds 99 - quite a lot of dosh in those days. In comparison, an Asahi Pentax H2 with F2 Takumar sold for A Pnds 75. You'll notice that the photo supposedly of the 'B' looks more like the earlier 'A', with that characteristic shiny chrome 'Y' Series F1.9 Soligor Miranda. I don't think this is an error - it's more likely that to meet the publishing deadlines, the Oz Miranda distributors of Gunz Pty didn't yet have a photo of the 'B' so they stuck a pic of the 'A' instead. I say this because Sherlock Naylor has observed that several camera adverts in that Nov 60 issue don't have a correct pic.</p>

<p>For Walt Degroot - you might be interested to know that there's also an ad in that same Nov 60 issue for the Miranda 'D', and it too had the F1.9 Prominar Miranda lens as standard. Price was A Pnds 75, ie the same as the Pentax H2.</p>

<p>PETE IN PERTH</p><div></div>

<p>Yay, Mirandas! Shame I always get outbid on the items I want, especially lenses. It got to where I bought a PM M42 converter so I could use some zoom lenses and a couple of Tomioka-built ones. I may get that G someday, but I'm always a dollar short, sometimes literally.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your responses.</p>

<p><strong>Pete</strong> : That's great information, and the old ad is fascinating. I see it advertises a "Fresnel viewing lens", a feature my copy lacks, though I guess the screen could have been changed a some point.</p>

<p><strong>Walter</strong> : Helpful advice; many thanks.</p>

<p>Thanks, <strong>Andy</strong> ; your point about the joy of discovering new cameras is oh so true...</p>

<p><strong>Ed</strong> : I'm a great fan of Soligor lenses, despite the name covering a fair range of manufacturers; like you, I owned an early Canon with a couple of Soligor zooms, and the build and picture quality left little to be desired. Of course, Soligor and Miranda were fairly entwined.</p>

<p><strong>Mark</strong> , I'm constantly outbid on Miranda stuff, and usually by much more than a dollar. There are some keen Miranda people out there!</p>

<p>And <strong>Gene</strong> , thanks, and I'll stop if you'll stop....</p>

<p>Thanks <strong>Ernest</strong> , a compliment indeed.</p>

Great post, Rick... as always.

 

On my site I have a photo of my DR, a couple of ads, and a Pop Photo review:

 

http://basepath.com/Photography/MirandaDR.php

 

--Marc

<p>I picked up my second Sensomat a few months back, complete with 2 lenses and accessories, all in barely-used condition - and for a 'shocking' £24. I subsequently found a pre-set Soligor 35/2.8 in excellent condition for £2 in a junk box at a camera fair: my own junk box contained a suitable T-mount. First indications from this lens are that it is "no slouch". </p>

<p>However, more recently I have noticed stronger bidding at UK auctions, particularly for the earliest Mirandas. I just hope that folk are not simply putting them in glass cases!</p>

<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4435506043_aa2a50c933_b.jpg"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4435506043_aa2a50c933.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="352" /> </a><br>

<em>Click the pic!</em></p>

<p>Thanks <strong>Marc</strong> , that's a very tidy DR. Those ads are just hilarious, and one can only suppose that they were tongue in cheek...even in those far-off days I don't know that we really believed in the sex-appeal of a camera! They brings to mind Steed, of the iconic "Avengers" TV series...I wonder if he used a Miranda!</p>

<p>Lucky man <strong>Alan</strong> , I have the 35mm f/2.8 and can vouch for it being no slouch.. Great sharp pic; nice to see a little PhotoFrame on the forum?</p>

<p>Yes, that Kowa lens exudes the same kind of depth in rendering that you mentioned about the Oreston and the Pancolar. I guess that is why the Kowa lenses are very highly priced even on the auction sites. This quality was probably developed as inherited from the early B&W movie days as both Meyer and Zeiss were making lenses for the movie industry a lot. One can also perceive a good visual resemblance to the Exakta lens mechanism and interchangeable view finders in these Miranda models. Apparently Soligor, which made lenses for the Miranda had a strong German connection, too. Much of this history is hidden, not easily available. Great pictures, as always; I enjoy everyone of them, thanks, sp.</p>

<p>Rick, I'm impressed by how you turn up these gems. It would be really great to see a "Rick's Beauties" website some time, with a selection of the cameras and images, but I know that takes time and effort. In the meantime it's an inspiration to see how very effectively you use such cameras; your photos are always first class . . . . . Oh, and if it's <em>even partly </em> due to something in the water in your corner of the world, please send a bottle my way ;-)</p>

<p>Hi, Rick Good point about the focussing screens - the one on my 'B' is also plain glass, not the Fresnel type. Strangely in view of their price differences, the 'D' does have a Fresnel screen though. I'm just wondering if Gunz Pty were taking a punt with their spiel with the 'Fresnel Vewing Lens' description, maybe because at the time the ad copy was submitted they didn't have the Model B in stock yet, but they did have the 'D'. That could also explain the lack of a correct photo. Or am I being over-presumptive? One other interesting ad from that 1960 Pop Phot mag is for the Nikon F - with F2 Nikkor it cost A Pnds 125, ie 25% more than the Miranda 'B'.</p>

<p>Hi, S.P. - yes, there's no doubt that Miranda boss Mr Ogihara was a great admirer of the Exakta and its vast inventory of accessories and specialised gizmos. Reputedly, when the then Orion Camera Co was looking into the feasibility of producing their first SLR, several Exaktas were acquired and dissected to see what made them tick, whirr and clunk. In fact, that first prototype 'Orion Phoenix' had a Zeiss Tessar F2.8 lens from one of those Exkatas, but with a modified lens mount seeing Mr Ogihara was not a fan of Ihagee's narrow-throat bayonet design. He also felt the Exakta's amazingly complex multi-speed shutter was unnecessary overkill in the slow speed department, so his designs only went down to a full second. Any slower, you just used a cable release. He also admired the principle of having interchangeable pentaprism/WLF capability, but not the way Ihagee went about it with the screens also being removed rather than remaining inside the camera. So Mr Ogihara came up with a slide-in style of fitment, with a positive separate locking button - something that was copied in time by Nikon, Canon, KMZ and many others. However, the PAD outboard aperture diaphragm system was a definate 'pinch' of Ihagee's APD design.</p>

<p>Nice to see all this interest in Mirandas, folks. Please consider joining the Yahoo Miranda Collectors Group, which is a friendly group of people with no overblown egos or axes to grind, just an interest in these fascinating cameras. There's already a lot of documentation scanned for Group members to access, including IBs. Here's the link:</p>

<p> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mirandacollectors/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mirandacollectors/</a> </p>

<p>PETE IN A COOLER PERTH</p>

<p>Great stuff, <strong>Pete</strong> , and I'm pleased to hear it's Cooler in Perth. It's definitely cooler across the ditch..I really must investigate the Yahoo group.</p>

<p>Interesting speculations <strong>SP</strong> ; as Pete has observed, there's quite a strong European connection to the Mirandas. These sorts of photographic mysteries fascinate me...</p>

<p>And <strong>Alan</strong> , thank you for your praise. I'd love to create a website, but there currently aren't enough hours in the day. As for the water, you're quite right about there being something in it...we call it Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc, down here, and I'm convinced that I do my best work after a dose or two. Seriously, if you haven't tried New Zealand wines, it's about time...(Shameless plug from a wine-growing region...)</p>