Topcon D-1

<p>I just got a very nice Topcon D-1 for my collection. What a nice camera! I don't know why it wasn't more popular in its day. One of these days I'll spring for a Super D or RE Super. Did anyone use a D-1?</p>

<p>No (not yet, I suppose I should say). I do have a Topcon Uni with a few lenses, it's a fine camera. I don't know why more people don't use these 1960s marvels, it's not like you can buy anything comparable these days. Ever seen the inside of a (modern) Canon lens that's been dropped 3 feet?</p><div></div>

<p>I've owned, used and casually collected (I shoot,no fondling) Super D's and D1's for years. These are both heavy duty picture takers. The D1 was the bargain model, sort of Topcon's Nikkormat (if you will). It lacked the removable prism and wasn't MD ready like it's big brother.</p>

<p>The only real PIA's of the D1 is of course it's need for the obsolete merc batts, and it's lack of a DoF preview. In a pinch, I'll release the lens lock lever and rotate the lens slightly, at which point it stops down to the taking aperture. When the correct batts were available, the meters were dead on. Neither model had a mirror lock up. so it's absence on the D1 can't be faulted.</p>

<p>The Topcor glass is top notch. I'd compare it in contrast and sharpness to the Canon or Nikon glass of the same vintages.</p><div></div>

<p>As regards the possible reasons for Topcon's lack of large-scale commercial success:<br>

There is a metropolitan legend according to which the founder and original owner of Topcon had a deep personal dislike for all forms of advertising, that he regarded as unfair competition (BTW, this was the norm in Europe during the Middle Ages). He would thus only allow for ads that indicated but the cameras' technical characteristics and price, but without any hype and most certainly without any "hook" in terms of e.g. scantily claid women.<br>

I don't know whether this is true or not, but as an owner and user of both a Super D and a RE2 I find the story fascinating.</p>

<p>The Charles Beseler Company distributed Topcon in the US,and I think they were a mixed blessing at best. They used the "fair trade" provisions as then understood in US law to force all dealers to sell the cameras at list price. The idea was that this provided a fair playing field for all of their dealers. The reality is that it wound up with their cameras very overpriced compared to the competition. Nor did Beseler provide the sort of support to professional photographers that Joe Ehrenreich of EPoI (Nikon's US distributor at the time) provided.<br>

The other thing that hindered Topcon was that they were slow to release many important lenses. The 85mm f/1.8, 20mm f/4, and (RE) 300mm f/5.6 came out quite late. The fisheye, 1000mm, 28mm f/2 and 35mm f/1.8 never got past the prototype stage. The small throat of the Exakta lens mount made fast lenses have to be very large, the 58mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8 are big lenses. The fastest 135mm was f/3.5, and the fastest 200mm was f/5.6 (a dog lens). While most Nikon customers didn't buy the exotic/expensive lenses, having them available was a big marketing advantage.<br /><br>

What finished off Topcon, and many other camera makers, was the electronically controlled camera revolution, started by the Canon AE-1.<br>

But some of the RE Auto-Topcor lenses are just really excellent, particularly the 28mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2.8, 58mm f/1.8, 58mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and the 100mm f/2.8.<br /></p>

<p>Didn't the US Navy adopt Beseler Topcons for their 35mm standard?</p>

<p>The early mount was an Exakta bayonet-mount with some minor alterations in orientation, etc.</p>

<p>Bonsignore, I didn't know that story. It's very interesting. John, my first SLR was a Canon FX in 1967 which I quickly traded for a Canon FT. Two friends had Topcon Super D's and they were very expensive. I didn't remember that the D-1 was more expensive than comparable SLR's. You're right about the AE-1 which was revolutionary. Companies had to adapt to electronic controls or perish and some couldn't do it.</p>

<p>Jody, I have a Uni in my collection. I bought it on E-bay and it was not as described. I should have returned it, but it wasn't worth the fight. When my friends and I were raising young children I recommended a few of them buy the Uni (and its predecessor the Auto 100) because it was one of the few autoexposure SLR's and it was relatively inexpensive. They all were very happy with them.</p>

<p>I've read that the US Navy purchasing people erroneously thought that Topcon (Tokyo Optical) company ,was an American company. The reason apparently was based on Chas. Bessler's last name being on all the products. The early UK issues had the name "Haminex" on the cameras.</p>

<p>It should be mentioned that Tokyo Optical produced 35MM SLR's in 1957, before both Canon & Nikon. Unfortunately by 1970 they stopped innovating, and just produced variations of the same camera. But by the early 1970's, their system rivaled Nikon's in accessories (macro, motor drive, bulk film back,etc,) but they remained woefully behind Nikon in lens designs (but never in lens or build quality).</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The US Navy bought a lot of Topcon Super D cameras. I think the primary use was on the Orion sub-chaser planes. Special lenses with infinity lock, and many had a stud to focus when wearing heavy gloves. I've seen more than one with the unit numbers of some of those squadrons marked on the cameras.<br>

Many of the cameras you see engraved U. S. NAVY on the base plate are beaten to hell, I suspect the normal thing one did with the camera when done taking pictures was to drop it on the floor of the cockpit. You also see mutts, cameras with parts that are clearly from different eras of Topcon production. Say a black wind lever from a Super DM on an early Super D. So they did a lot of their own "expeditious" repairs.<br>

Some were also used as periscope cameras, particularly because that the time the Super D was the only camera with TTL metering when not using the normal pentaprism. They were using the 6.5x chimney finder. Nor were any metering adjustments needed for the aerial image focusing screen that was used.<br>

But there aren't many submarines, and there were lots of Orion planes.</p>

 

<p>I've used Topcon for 35 years, and have owned several either D1 or RE-2. They're great cameras aside from some pesky pin that tends to break, rendering the camera useless. I've never had that problem with any of mine. They're significantly smaller than the Super D, but nicely built and very solid, with the same metering system as the D. As mentioned before, the Topcor glass is fabulous.</p>

<p>I like these two Topcons; the lenses are fine, and they're great cameras to use, but I'm still waiting for that elusive (and affordable) RE Super...</p><div></div>

<p>Turn to pages 182-3 in Ivor Matanle's book on classic SLRs which all members of this forum have. He considered the D-1 to be the best compromise between price and quality.</p>

<p>Yeah, but Matanle "considered" a lot of equipment in very peculiar ways. However, unlike certain 'hypno" types today, he did have the guts to admit when he had made a mistake, sometimes even in the same book! ;)</p>

<p>He also says on p 183, that "Only the Topcon RE-2 ever managed to combine moderate price with true quality".</p>

<p>If you browse through his discussions (which are even a little dated and Anglo-centric by 1996 standards), you find that a camera line has to be a real, genuine, gold-plated bow-wow for him to say much bad about it.<br>

Example- he sums up Petri SLRs</p>

<blockquote>

<p>In short, I would not go out of my way to buy<br />and use Petri equipment, but I can well understand<br />the collector interest in Petri because of the unusual<br />design of the earlier cameras.<br>

(<em>C&U Classic SLRs</em> p179)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ivor is fun, like some present-day web-sites, but he is not the Hoyle of old cameras. ;)</p>

<p>I ain't dissin' the man, I just want to put him into a broader perspective. :o</p>

<p>JDM, on page 182, Matanle states that the RE-2 and the D-1 are the same camera, the D-1 being the American designation. I like Matanle's writing style and there aren't a lot of books that cover the waterfront. McBroom's books are good, and there are good books for given manufacturers.</p>

<p>Over the years, I have bought many reprints from http://www.otcworld.co.uk/ which features articles that appeared in the Brit magazine "Amateur Photographer", many written by Matanle, but they ain't cheap. The Brits are more likely to call a spade a spade than most US pubs.</p>

<p>I know for a fact that US Army in the early '70's also used Topcons in their Photography school associated with the Signal Corps at Ft. Monmouth NJ.</p>

<p>While I was on active duty with US Navy as a Photograper's Mate (1967-68) I saw that Beseler Topcon Super D was readily available for issue from carrier fleet photo labs. I was attached to Pacific Fleet Combat Camera Group (mobile photo unit) and apparently that organization most certainly had exemptions to special order Nikon F and Leica M2. As for Vietnam, I heard from a good source that some MACV (Military Assistance Command) photo journalists & photographers were occasionally issued (in addition to Leica M2) specially purchased Asahi Pentax 35mm SLRs bought direct from base exchange sources in Japan. As in many instances the end user did not always need all the 'bells and whistles' of the heavier more sophisticated & costly Nikon F or Beseler Topcon Super D. Apparently the Nikon lenses were rather costly or time consuming to repair after being infested with tropical fungus whereas the very affordable Pentax lenses could be tossed and readily replaced with new ones. I did not see Topcons in use within Vietnam, not to say they were not issued to some of the US armed forces there.</p>

<p>I've got a Topcon RE Super that I was eventually able to buy reasonably on eBay. Patience and tenacity are everything! :-) Everything they say is true - it's a wonderful camera. Does anyone know of a Topcon forum via listserv or news group? Any help would be greatly appreciated.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Doug</p>