Ricoh, Petri, Miranda, Fujica, Yashica SLR's: Any fans?

<p>I ask this because today I bought a Petri Penta (the oldest model, I think) with a 50mm f/2 preset lens. The quality of both camera and lens is simply amazing.<br /> Sadly, the camera is corroded and jammed, but the lens is in very nice shape and looks great on my Spotmatic.</p>

<p>When I look through my old photography magazines I see advertisements for so many different cameras I had never heard of. Some of them seem like they would be excellent picture takers.</p>

<p>What are your thoughts?</p>

<p>Some had good optics, but mechanical reliability issues.<br>

The build quality into the early 1970's was pretty amazing all around in the first and second tier makers.</p>

<p>Steven, I'm sort of partial to my old Yashica Pentamatic (long lost). I'll try to post an example which has survived almost 50 years. (1963) Actually most of the credit must go to Kodachrome. Best, LM.</p><div></div>

<p>I had a Yashica FX-1 for years, and used it a lot until the shutter packed up, not worth repairing.I'd be happy to find another of those in good order. Yashica made a rather cheap and slow but very tough and optically decent 42-75 zoom that is a great walking-around lens. Now I have an FX-7 with bad foam, which one of these days I'll fix. That's a very simple manual camera similar to a Pentax K-1000 in features. Nice picture takers, but I never understood why some manufacturers can make a camera that keeps light out by design, and others can't seem to make it work without yards of beads and pads and little doormats of foam.</p>

<p>I also kind of like the old Mirandas, but lens choices are limited there, and that's often the problem with the less well-known brands. It's hard to find stuff for them now.</p>

<p> </p>

I have an old Fujica ST-605 with a dirty VF and dead meter, but the shutter and 50mm f2.2 lens work great. I have a

much later Y/C mount Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 which I use with my CZ 45m

f2.8.

<p>I'm a fan of the older Yashicas. Had a Pentamatic. Sorry I sold it. Another good one was the TL Super. Like Mirandas. Hate Petris. Petris seldom work. Same for Fujicas and Mamiyas. Ricohs are nice. </p>

<p>Like all of them and depending how they have aged or how they were abused, the experience may vary among the users here.<br>

Early Ricohs like the Singlex were build sturdy but never got the respect they deserved and most of them were rebadged by SEARS Roebuck here in USA.<br>

Mirandas are fine cameras but as Matt said, limitted optics make them a less than desirable camera from the user perspective.<br>

Petris I like a lot, unique cameras and design in the most part, their breech lock mounts were fine cameras, however a cla may be a must for them 40-50 years later. Their optics are good, but mechanisms on their lenses not as sturdy as Nikon or Minoltas.<br>

Yashicas were fine cameras with absolutely fine optics, but not as sound mechanically as a Nikon F/F2.<br>

I love Fujica cameras for their smooth operation, compact size and good optics. I would stay away from their X mount series as it was then that they started incorporating plastics and electronics, compromising quality.</p>

<p>I have the Fujica ST-705 (my favourite) and the ST-801. The 801, with LED silicon cell meter and 1/2000s fastest speed was quite advanced for its time and market. And EBC Fujinon M42 lenses are quite good, too.</p>

<p>I own a Ricoh Singlex body which I purchased last year on Ebay from a doctor in California for the whopping sum of $10 plus shipping.. The body is in excellent shape. All it needed was a new mirror bumper foam.. I sent it to Essex Camera in Carlstadt, NJ for a CLA.. The Singlex is equipped with a metal Copal Square shutter; legendary for its' ability to take abuse and work accurately despite lack of maintenance.. Right after I purchased the Ricoh, I picked up a 55mm f1.8 EBC Fujinon lens along with a Sigma 39-80 f3.5 zoom lens..Now that winter is over and the camera has been CLA'd, I am going to throw in some TMAX 400 and shoot some portraits and night time shots of buildings etc.</p>

My first SLR was a Miranda MS2 Super, but since that was just a rebranded Cosina CT-9, I don't think it really counts...

 

Was (is) a good camera though. No frills, just pictures.

<p>Sure, I like 'em. Check out my previous posts here:<br>

Ricoh/Sears TLS<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00VlUD">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00VlUD</a><br>

Ricoh 500G<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00UimH">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00UimH</a><br>

Ricoh Five-One-Nine<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00Tigq">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00Tigq</a><br>

Ricoh Singlex II<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00T566">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00T566</a><br>

Yashica TL-Super<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00UNbJ">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00UNbJ</a></p>

 

<p>My first real camera was the Petri FT and it's 50/f1.8 lens. Today when I examine negatives I shot with it 40 years ago, they are as sharp as my later negatives shot with Nikon glass. The camera actually still works too, but I'm sure it could use to have it's "oil and plugs" changed.</p>

<p>The Fuji is the best built and durable of the cameras you mention.<br>

The others were second tier cameras which competed on price, not durability or engineering. They were largely the offerings of discount stores.<br>

One of these which has seen light use will probably work just fine for a while. I saw several of these (not owned by me, happily) succumb to low cost manufacturing ills back in the 1970's while they were relatively new, notably a Yashica which came apart in the users hands while he was focussing..<br>

These days, with film gear selling so cheaply, a screw mount Pentax or a Nikkormat might be a better choice. Spotmatics prior to the Spotmatic F have circuitry that will work properly with most currently available batteries (mercury cell not required) and the Nikkormat FT2 will accept silver oxide cells directly.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The First SLR that I bought was a Petri FT. That thing went everywhere with me. I still have it and it still works, except that (no surprise) the meter is dead. The lens packed up though. One day, the iris just quit working and that was that. The lens is still around too. I jammed the aperture wide open, and it now serves as a makeshift loupe in the darkroom. Once in a while, I'll look around for a replacement lens, but I never buy one. Why? Beats me. I doubt that I'd ever use the camera enough to justify the purchase. It was good, but it wasn't that good.</p>

<p>I've had bad luck with most Petri SLRs, bodies jam but the lenses seem to work nicely. As a confirmed SLR lunatic (I have 460 so far) approx. 1/4 are these brands particularly Ricoh and Yashica. Very little trouble with any other than the Ricoh KR5 Super II and every one that doesn't work was due to a sheared off pin beneath the shutter cocking lever. A design flaw.</p>

<p>I don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" old camera, merely broken ones. I like 'em all: the wide, the short, and the tall.</p>

<p>I'm a huge fan of Mirandas. Unfairly relegated to an also-ran status when compared against the sales of Nikon, Canon, Asahi and Minolta, these things were beautifully made cameras. The build quality on my Sensorex is as good as anything Nikon or Canon were producing at the time. I especially love the aperture adjustment -- a buttery smooth lever which changes f/stops without any clicks. And the fact that the light meter works when you take off the prism is a bonus. Try that with your F-1 or F2... </p><div></div>

<p>You can just see the match needle meter with the prism taken off...Very nice touch. </p><div></div>

<p>Since I mainly shoot hand-held available light, I typically set the shutter speed to no lower the 1/30 and then adjust the f/stop as per the internal light meter. The fact that the I can just leave my eye glued to the VF, and let one hand slide the aperture lever while the other fires the body-mounted shutter just seems natural. Always wondered why other manufacturers didn't adopt this design... </p><div></div>

<p>Hi<br>

I'm a fan of the older Yashica,i have 3 bodies electro X-ITS,and one pentax spotmatic F.<br>

Lens:28 f2.8 auto yashinon dx<br>

35f2.8 computar<br>

50 f1.4 auto yashinon dx<br>

50 f1.7 auto yashinon ds<br>

50 f1.7 auto yashinon dx<br>

55 f1.4 auto alpa mc<br>

60 f2.8 macro yashinon tomioka<br>

135f2.5 super multicoad takumar<br>

135f2.8 auto sankor<br>

200f4 asahi pentax takumar<br>

200f4 yashica dx zoom<br>

35-70 f3.5-4.8 cosina mc macro<br>

45-135 f3.5 yashica zoom<br>

75-230f4.5 auto yashinon zoom<br>

and the best: 21mmf3.3 yashica rectrofocus<br>

All are amazing</p>