Old Spiratone lens creates a stir

<p>Today, I went out with my 1960's Spiratone 400mm lens fitted to a Nikon F3 and mounted on a tripod. I wanted to try it out after de-fungusing the elements.</p>

<p>Well, no sooner than I had set it up I had a cyclist stop and enquire what it was I was using. He asked if I was a pro and whether I developed my own films. Following this, dog walkers asked me what is was and then two very young boys watched me silently from a little hill. They came over and I explained what it was I was doing. They looked down the viewfinder and commented that it was like a telescope on a camera.</p>

<p>I can say that in all my time using cameras out and about, no item has attracted more attention than the old Spiratone long tom. Shame it did not draw attention from the ladies, but perhaps I need the longer 500mm Spiratone to catch their attentions :-)</p>

<p>Anyone here have any photographic items that have people asking questions?</p>

<p>Try going some place with a Stereo Realist around your neck. Unfortunately it does not seem to attract members of the opposite gender.</p>

<p>go out in any city or rural area with traffic, equipped with a wooden view camera (the bigger the camera, the more frequent the questions) and you'll be explaining it isn't an antique about ten times an hour... of course, my definition of antique is pre-1900 ;-)</p>

<p>Any of the long, white, Canon supertelephos can attract (mostly unwanted) attention!</p>

<p> Around cafes, nothing gets as much attention from 20-somethings as my pristine Canonet GLIII Q17. Out in the street, the most comments and questions I get are for any of my big Nikons.</p>

<p>whatever happened to Spiratone-did they go under or were they taken over by someone else? I know that they have been gone for a long time but I always wondered what happened. Anyone here know? cb :-)</p>

<p>Long glass always attracts attention.</p>

<p>I occasionally borrow a 600mm f/4 AIS Nikkor from a friend of mine, now that lens<em> really</em> draws attention, especially with that huge front element and very long lens shade. Most of it is an unwanted distraction, and if I am photographing waterfowl with it, upon occasion it has scared them off, which irks me to no end.</p>

<p>I have occasionally thought it would be a good idea to string crime scene tape around me in a 50' diameter circle to keep out the distractions! :-)</p>

 

<p>Gro-oan. Last summer I was using my Century Graphic on a tripod in a national park. Guy, total stranger, walks up and stands there for a minute or so, while I set up the shot on the ground glass. His first words to me: "You know, you really should get a digital camera." </p>

<p>Spiratone was first sold and then faded into obscurity. Some information is given at (<a href="../classic-cameras-forum/00Mb9b">link</a> ), and a search for Spira will reveal many more discussions of the man and the company. It was the "Johnson Smith" of the camera world (remember the x-ray glasses, the carbide cannon [not Canon]?), only most of their stuff was very good.</p>

<p>"Any of the long, white, Canon supertelephos can attract (mostly unwanted) attention!"</p>

<p>Particularly when your lens matches your belt and shoes.</p>

<p>thanks JDM! cb</p>

<p>Every once in a while I take out <a href="http://www.zeiss.com/C12567A8003B8B6F/GraphikTitelIntern/stl_side_med/$File/stl_side_med.jpg">this puppy</a> for some close-up street photography, and yeah, people ( more women than men ) usually ask questions all the time but I try to hide behind the lens and pretend I don't hear them. I also don't use a tripod so I don't have to stand still for too long to be a small-talk target.</p>

<p>Those Spiratone 400mm f/6.3 lenses are surprisingly good - I believe at one time they were referred to as "girl-watcher" lenses. They are quite sharp, but are a bit low in contrast and have significant CA, both of which shortcomings can be overcome to a considerable extent in post-processing (talking digital body here, of course). They must have sold a ton of them. At any time there are likely to be a few available on the auction site.</p>

<p>many of the old spiratone 'stovepipes" and similar lenses are always on the big auction site. some are "plura-cote" supposedly better.Some were sold by other dealers.<br>

I note the 85mm f/1.7 and the 18mm f/3.5? start at reasonable proces and then the price goes to $200-300 dollars. Somebody must really like them.</p>

 

<p>OK, I just couldn't resist any longer. Here's that 400mm in a October 1977 Modern Photography Spiratone ad. This was late in the history of the lens.<br>

Usually multiple samples are up on eBay at any given moment. If you are patient, you can often buy it for less than the flat-rate mailing. With a nice T-mount adapter for any given camera, it makes a "stocking stuffer" of huge dimensions. :P</p><div></div>

<p>`Fred Spira also marketed a sister girl watcher model; the 500mm F8; ie a long non mirror "telephoto" lens.</p>

<p>That's the puppy JDM! Mine looks older than that - it has fluted focus grips and no such luxuries as Pluracoat. I want the 500mm - seems better value than those murky mirror lenses I see for sale.</p>

<p>Hey wait, I thought size didn't matter?!#$%&<br>

:o)</p>

<p>As a matter of fact, I have some doubt that it was Fred Spira who advertised these as "Girlwatchers" - Where I see that is from Astranar, I think it was, sellers for what is probably the same lens.</p>

<p>Apparently the Spiratone 400mm was originally introduced in 1961 in an f/7.5 version but first appears in the magazine ads I have in 1963 with a reference to 1961 and a <em>Modern Photography</em> review, apparently in that year. The f/7.5 version was offered regularly up to 1965. In 1964 in a catalog, both the f/7.5 and an f/6.3 versions are offered.</p>

<p>The 400mm then disappears from the ads (as always, in the ones I happen to have) until 1967 when it is advertised again as a "new shipment" that has come in. In the meantime there were a series of other telephoto lenses on up to 300mm. The first "Pluracoat" version is offered on this and other lenses in May 1974. A fully automatic, as opposed to pre-set, is also offered at the same time.</p>

<p>In 1975, the 400mm was marketed together with a "stock" as the "Sharpshooter."<br /> As I said before, 1977 was late in the history of Spiratone's marketing of this lens(es).</p>

<p><em>"</em><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=705858">Dave Sims</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub7.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 04, 2010; 01:27 p.m.</p>

<p>Gro-oan. Last summer I was using my Century Graphic on a tripod in a national park. Guy, total stranger, walks up and stands there for a minute or so, while I set up the shot on the ground glass. His first words to me: "You know, you really should get a digital camera."<br /><br /><br />My jaw would have dropped and I probably would have resorted to one of my old WC Field's favorites............."go 'way kid, ya botha meeee......"</p>

<p>In addition to the "girl watcher", they had all sorts of oddly useful photo items. I used to love their ads back in the day. Of course their ads came to life if you visited their store in Queens,NY. It was there that all sorts of useful photo-gimmicks, and accessories lined the shelves. Like things to help make dark room life more tolerable, bellows, filters, flashes, you name it. Fred Spira was really a true friend to the low budgeted photographers of the 60-70's.</p>

<p>As I recall one of the Japanese companies (Soligor? Vivitar?) made their lenses, many of which weren't all that bad.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>A lot of the Spiratone lenses were Tamron.<br /> I suspect that Spira played some role in stimulating the T-mount system, especially as some of the early (pre-T-mount) pre-set lenses had an adapter that looks like a T-mount, but is not the same distance from the front of the adapter to the film plane as true T-mount. I discovered this when I mounted one of those early lenses on another body, using a later T-mount adapter. [both are M42x0.75]</p>

<p>Believe it or not, there is actually one on Fleabay right now for $139 Buy it now . The item number is 180452273446 and it's the fancy-schmancy "Plura-Coat" model to boot!</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=251971"><em>Steve Levine</em></a><em> </em><a href="../member-status-icons"><em><img title="Frequent poster" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></em></a><em>, Jan 04, 2010; 07:35 p.m.</em></p>

<p><em>In addition to the "girl watcher", they had all sorts of oddly useful photo items. I used to love their ads back in the day. Of course their ads came to life if you visited their store in Queens,NY. It was there that all sorts of useful photo-gimmicks, and accessories lined the shelves. Like things to help make dark room life more tolerable, bellows, filters, flashes, you name it. Fred Spira was really a true friend to the low budgeted photographers of the 60-70's.</em><br /><em>As I recall one of the Japanese companies (Soligor? Vivitar?) made their lenses, many of which weren't all that bad.</em></p>

<p>And Steve, how could anyone forget this little gem.........just the thing to mount on the front of that "girlwatcher" lens.........item #220533197489 on Fleabay.</p>

<p>What a trip down memory lane. And who could forget those wacky, hilarious marketing names Spiratone had for their stuff. "Expandars", "Macrotar" etc. <em>Great stuff!</em></p>

<p>I might get a few comments on my Pen F. One guy asked if it was a Leica. (That got me thinking so I has the missus run me up some 'red dot' stickers. Now even my old box Brownie can be a 'Leica'.) Seriously, the camera that gets the most comments is a Kodak Tourist 6X9 with the 101mm f4.5 Anastar lens. It gets used when I get ambitious and respool three or four 620 spools. I don't get much notice when I pull a Minolta 16 II or Mamiya 16 out of my pocket. Good grief, I have way too many cameras I have to spool my own film for.</p>