More camera porn....Warning XXX

<p>Many of us are constantly adding to our collections. Every once in awhile we receive a "new" old camera that catches our fancy for one reason or another and it then becomes our favourite for a fleeting moment. Classic camera users/collectors are a fickle lot.</p>

<p>This week I acquired a Pentax Spotmatic SP in good condition (eBay "MINT"). Well, it's in very good condition now after spending a couple of hours cleaning away 40+ years of grime, replacing the light seals and straightening a minor dent in the filter ring.</p>

<p>I'm not exactly sure why it has become my favourite as of late. I am impressed with its size and weight and general ergonomics. It just plain feels good in my hands. You know what I mean. Okay, I admit it, I enjoy fondling my cameras. The meter works (#12 hearing aid battery), although it is off by one stop. Easily corrected by adjusting the ASA setting. This is my first SLR that takes M42 lenses. My Pentax KM and Sears KS Auto (Ricoh) take Pentax K-mount lenses. This means I am now forced to buy some more lenses. :)</p>

<p>I am going to take it out for a spin this afternoon and I just know that I am going to be pleased with the results. I'll post some sample shots in a day or two.</p>

<p>Please feel free to post more camera porn. What do you deem to be your favourite at the moment?</p><div></div>

<p>most of the pentax m42 lenses are really fine, have fun, I like the 105mm f2.8 ( or is it 2.5? hmmm) and dont underestimate the 28 3.5 and 35 3.5 lenses, have fun with it. the spotmatics are great simple cameras.</p>

<p>I love the Spotmatic partly because it is a straightforward camera that I find beautiful in its simple and uncluttered design. My favorite classic, for today at least, probably doesn't really belong on this forum (or if it does, it just barely makes it) is my Nikon FE2 with a Nikkor 35-135 zoom mounted on it. I say it's my favorite but that's only because I'm giving my XD-11 a break; it's probably my favorite classic most of the time. I don't have a picture of either so I'll take some and post them later.</p>

<p>Now that you have an M42 Camera you might want to try some CZJena and Meyer [Pentacon] lenses. The DDR lenses render tones in a unique way. I am sure that JDM would add that you ought to get one Praktica L2 at least! All the best; enjoy the wide variety of lenses. Regards, sp. </p>

<p>Stuart, good job ! That was first SLR that I ever <strong>used</strong>. (My Uncle bought it for himself & I got to use it) A short time later, the first SLR I <strong>owned</strong> was a Nikkormat Ftn.</p>

<p>Even though I'm a huge Leicaflex SL2 fan, these two are real favorites of mine. The F2 currently has a roll of Velvia in it; can't wait to finish it. (Stuart, notice that I also have a vintage roll of film handy)</p>

<p>Contarex Electronic and F2 with DP-2 Photomic top. (a.k.a. F2s)</p><div></div>

<p>The first picture had me hooked. I had that exact camera, as my first real SLR. And I still have a few aluminum film cans. Though yours are in much better shape than mine.</p>

<p>Thanks for getting me a little steamy over some old hardware.</p>

<p><Chas></p>

<p>Here is one of my current favorites in M42. Many of these are available in Ozz, as Hanimex had a long association with Pentacon. The Meyer-Pentacon 50mm is a top grade lens on a par with the CZJ Pancolar 50mm and the KMZ Helios 58mm. sp</p><div></div>

<p>The Spotties are great. My very first SLR in high school. As you will discover, the SMC Takumars are some of the best lenses ever. They not only fit my M42 screw mount cameras, they also fit every SLR I own with an adapter. I recently scored this mint Pentax SMC 300mm f/4 locally. Sweet thing.</p><div></div>

<p>This Ricoh XR7 is one I'm shooting with recently. Although I won't post my result in this forum (electronic shutter), it sure is a nice handling K mount system.<br>

<strong>Atttention camera porn producers:</strong><br>

If you want your little gems to really stand out and be sexy you may want to try your hand at "studio" photography. It doesn't take much time, money or space. My Ricoh XR7 is simply sitting on a $5 piece of tile. They come in a zillion colors, surfaces and textures. Here is an article that shows how to make a simple camera photography box. It can be scaled to any size and uses only small electronic flashes. A couple of cheap clamp-on shop lights would work just as well.<br>

<a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-assignment-shoot-your-shiny-new.html">http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-assignment-shoot-your-shiny-new.html</a></p>

<p>Another easy technique is shooting in a tent like my Pentax lens above. A small, white tent made of ripstop nylon are available cheaply on eBay for around $20. They come in many sizes. Two little flashes or shop lights is all you need. Nice for show and tell and for selling gear too. Actually, it's a nice clean look for a lot of objects. Once set up, the exposure and color balance never changes so it's easy as pie to pop things in for a quick shot. Just remember to use a lens hood to cut flare. Here's is a nice web site that explains how to take advantage of these white tents to shoot all kinds of things very easily.<br>

<a href="http://www.tabletopstudio.com/HowTo_page.html">http://www.tabletopstudio.com/HowTo_page.html</a></p>

<p>I sometimes like to use a natural surround with window light or open shade, too, but I find that takes more time hunting for a good spot and waiting for the good light. The above techniques are fast, easy, take very little space and can be done anytime day or night. Have Fun!</p><div></div>

<p>What was the Pentax model, sold at the same time as the spotmatic, but without a light meter? I got one of those new. It was my first 35mm camera. It had the same lightness as the FM3 I use now, but did not hold up well. When it was only 7 years old the shutter failed.</p>

<p>One datail I love of the SP is the rounding of the corners. The film advance lever feels organic at touch. It's reall a camera you want to hold and use.<br>

If there where a Nobel Prize of ergonomic design this camera would really deserve it.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>[bruce] That'll be the Pentax SL, I think.</p>

<p>Louis,</p>

<p>That is soooo sexy!</p>

<p>Yesterday I received this SRT 101b, which is going to take the place of my 100x and be an understudy to my XD7.<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3483/4013507603_fdba5d25ea.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /><br>

The camera dates from 1976 (the original guarantee says so) and I'm looking forward to running a film through it. Whether it will become my favourite, I don't know yet, but I don't think I'm going to be disappointed.</p>

<p>I'm a sucker for a Twin, esp. for one i've never owned before, so when i saw this one for sale locally - a few weeks ago, i went for it. I'll post some pixs. with it in the near future...</p><div></div>

<p>Pentax S1a has no meter, I bought one used, simpler than simple</p>

<p>Stuart,</p>

<p>Pentax M42 lenses and Spotmatics are great. I have sung their praises on this forum many times, but thing is I have sold virtually all of them. All I have left are my 35mm f3.5, 50mm f1.4, 55mm f1.8 (by far my favorite) and 135mm f3.5. Why get rid of classics like 28mm or the 105mm? Because having too many lenses and cameras was just to confusing. The clutter was driving me nuts too. I literally woke up one morning with anti-GAS. I said enough. Stop collecting. You have played with enough cameras to know what you want, so pick 4 or 5 and use them.</p>

<p>Since, July I have sold 80% of my collection. All I have in my collection are a Yashica G, Yashica GX, Yashica Professional, Bronica, Pentax SP, Pentax *ist and Canon FTb. Soon I will have even less. I am going to keep a few classics like the Argus C44 and the Leica IIIc I have in the mail.</p>

<p>The decision I have to make is what are truly the best 4 or 5 cameras for me. That may prove harder than disposing of my collection.</p>

<p>Mike</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Mike, "been there--done that" Now the stash is building again. Once you get rid of them all, you feel empty. It's a maddening addiction. But hey, I tell my wife it could be worse, I could collect women.</p>

<p>I chase calories.</p>

<p>One of the things that I always appreciated about the spotmatic, was the weight. Probably one of the lightest cameras of that time frame. I found out during my hitch with the USAF, that they were popular with pilots in Viet Nam due to this weight factor. Howard, that 101 is a hottie for sure. You never forget your first "real" camera. </p>

<p>Subbaravan, that Practica picture really sent me back. If I can remember correctly, it has shiny metal shutter curtains? Noisy, but what a <em>light</em> feel that camera had.</p>

<p>Louis M., that definitely looks like it came out of a brochure. Good job & thanks for the tips !</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Louis, I really like your black-on-black composition. I second the suggestion how easy it is to make a nice studio type shot. Here is my Minolta I got for next to nothing. I wasn't a Minolta person until I got it this year. It's pretty sweet, and I also have 28mm and 135mm Rokkor MD lenses with it.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

So much Porn... I can't take it ! I'll be right back!!

<p>I am an inadvertant camera collector, assume many are the same. I used Canon film cameras from my first Pellix up to a T90. Then Canon abandoned the FD mount and I converted to EOS auto focus then to digital.</p>

<p>I recently saw an ad on a local online website for a Canon A-1, flash and a zoom lens for $100.00. In the past I owned two A-1's complete with motor drives. I thought it would be neat to again own one again but wasn't interested in paying that much. I sent the seller a message saying if they did not sell it for $100.00, I'd pay $50.00 for the lot. Low and behold, my offer was accepted!</p>

<p>My heart sank as I opened the camera bag at the sellers' home, the camera was silver! It wasn't an A-1 after all, but an AE-1. But it was is such great condition that I bought the outfit anyway. It came with a "never ready" case that was really beat up, so I imagine the camera spent most of its life in it, hence the good condition:<br>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/railfan/CanonAE-1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I still had a hankering for an A-1, so I searched on eBay for a while and found a seller offering the camera, with a 50mm f/1.4 and a 135mm Canon lenses, and a 80-200mm zoom. There were other items shown in the auction photo but were not described. I could see a Canon Power Winder A and a Canon155A flash along with their cases. Since the description did not mention much about the gear and their condition, I assumed the seller was not the owner. So I bid and won the whole outfit for $76.00. Again the camera came with a beat up case, and the body was mostly in great condition; the only wear is on the top of the pentaprism, I assume this from the case sliding over it all the time. The flash did not work and the Power Winder has problems, but I did get it to work.</p>

<p>Next I found a Motor Drive for the A-1 on eBay, got a decent deal there too - $56.00. Here's the outfit:</p>

<p><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/railfan/CanonA-12.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I placed the Power Winder on the AE-1. Both cameras need to have their seals replaced, and I bought kits on eBay to do them myself.</p>

<p>Hope that is the extent of my collecting mania!</p>