terry_scott

I am reminded that (for the Japanese market?) Nikkormats were Nikomats. A few got around, of course, and there is a camera shop ten miles away that has one in his secondhand window.

Hmm. Thanks for the sobering advice. Still...it does makes a good door-stop!

Great photos ! Very informal, very alive.

 

Now, as to date: I reckon the cars are mid-1930s. Of course, they could have still be around years later.

Thanks for the responses, especially from those who have this lens. I knew the theory on Gaussian vs Tessar designs but wanted the hands-on stuff the most.

The British pronounce it "Nikkon".

Can somone give me an e-mail address or website that will lead me to purchasing a Maxwell screen?

I'm toying with the idea of buying a current-model Nikkor 45mm f/2.8

lens. In theory, with only a few elements, it should have superior

MTF to a 50mm, possibly a 55mm, a 35mm, a mid-range zoom. Now, "in

theory"! Does anyone know from experience how a sample of this lens

compares?

In terms of perspective, I'd suggest 55mm or even 58mm is close to how the human eye sees things. But in terms of natural angle of view of the eye(s), go for 45mm or 40mm.

Back 20-30 years, in Modern Photography magazine, someone got very definitive about how "Nikon" is pronounced. Came out much like some contributors here already have it: "Nee-kohn" (Japanese), "Nye-kon" (American), "Nikkon" (British). Which is correct? Surely the Japanese version. Now, whether it had anything to do with "Ikon" is another matter. In German, that is pronounced mainly "Ee-kohn" or "Ee-konn".

My up-to-datest cameras are a Nikon FM3a (film) and a Fujifilm FinePix S7000 (digital). Each is excellent in its own way. My most ancient? An Agfa Super Isolette folder - 6x6cm rollfilm, coupled rangefinder. "Of course" I have an Olympus XA, among the rest of my gear!

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. I must take a look at a good-condition EF - provided I can find a sales clerk who doesn't equate 'EF' with a range of Canon lenses!

Peter, Thanks for your thoughts. Much obliged. Yes, maybe a cannibalisation twixt the RTL 1000 and a similarly (rather, differently) non-working Praktica would do the trick. Provided the aforesaid Praktica cost the same as the Exakta! Got your point about lubricants. Hmm, but wouldn't feel happy about batting on the RTL 1000 - rather, it would end up as a doorstop. More seriously, how the heck do I remove its r.h.s. top plate so I can get inside and play with the thing? Anyone know...?

A Century Graphic 23 with 100mm f/5.6 Symmar lens and 6x9cm rollfilm back...in the excellent condition in which I bought one in 1971!

That's right - I had forgotten the on-off switch! Yes, one always had to be careful to turn the camera off.

 

Great camera. I think I'll look around seriously for one and a couple or three of the older, genuine-breechlock, lenses - all in good condition. I'm encouraged!

Hi, Peter: Thanks for your input. You have a point.

 

I got the RTL 1000 free-for-nothing, and my idea was to try to repair it. So far, I can't even get into the thing but that's lack of experience, I guess. It sounds like it's not worth repairing but the experience of taking it apart just for fun still appeals. Now, how do I do that, I wonder.

In 1978, I bought new a Canon EF camera. It was great. Sort of a

Canon F-1 look to the body shell but with a Copal Square shutter

that ranged fro 30 seconds to 1/1000. Sensitive meter and a bright

viewfinder. Eventually, I traded mine.

 

Well, I seldom if ever see this camera mentioned these days. Did

problems develop with them or did they simply die of old age - or

are they so problem-free that no-one has to discuss them?

 

By the way, I must admit I preferred the original FD breechlock

lenses. Any thoughts about those? At the end of all this, I am

thinking of searching out an EF and a couple of old-good FDs for my

(working) classic cameras collection.

There are four-and-a-half pages about the Exakta Real in the hardback book,"Exakta Cameras 1933-1978" by Clement Aguila and Michel Rouah. Originally published in French, there is an English-language edition by Hove Foto Books, 35 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN23 2GJ, England. ISBN: 0-906447-38-0.

 

The Real was manufactured in Berlin - introduced to the market at the Photokina exhibition in Cologne in 1963. Production stopped in 1967.

Well, thanks to one and all. At the moment, I don't know whether it's worth spending time on. Maybe it'll become another paperweight... I have yet to discover how to remove the shutter dial and the wind lever, though, so any tips on that would be welcome.

Today, a friend gave me an Exakta RTL 1000 which needs repair. Wind

on and the shutter immediately fires (i.e., without pressing the

shutter release) then the mirror stays up. Further winding sometimes

clears the condition - till the next time it happens.

 

So: (a) Does anyone know why this occurs? And (b) Can someone

recommend a web site with repair tips for an RTL 1000?

 

The RT 1000 (early 1970s vintage) is essentially a Praktica L-type

body plus Exakta bayonet mount plus interchangeable viewfinder, so

the same questions applies to Praktica L-type cameras.

Tom Schneider: A couple of weeks ago, I came across the thread, "info on vivitar zoom thyristor 3500". Martha Taylor began by asking about the yellow triangle. Tuan Hoang said (in part)... "...the yellow triangle is for Autowinder Flash Operation... For using your flash with an autowinder (up to 2 frames per second), the flash will deliver up to 4 flashes in sequence at2 frames per second. Allow your flash 30 seconds to recycle before every sequence..." She wrote more than I've quoted so I recommend you find the thread or come back here if you can't and I'd quote the whole thing.

Thanks! I have both NiCd and NiMh cells so shall try each type (separately, of course). Much obliged.

Thanks! I have both NiCd and NiMh cells so shall try both. Much obliged.

In Britain, a company called Dixons Photographic imported a Japanese TLR that they called the Prinz Auto. It had a three-element taking lens and was fairly modest in specification but the sample I bought, brand-new, was surprisingly good. It handled well and very soon I made a 20x16 black-and-white print that needed no excuses at all. I think that the camera brand was actually Lustreflex. It had Tri-Lauser lenses.

Try the Petri Flex V. Had one from new, 1965. It went to the importer and back so many times in the first six months, I lost count. It was nice when it was working, with a good viewfinder for its day and nice controls. But the mirror didn't rise fast enough and cut off a chunk of the image; the diaphragm re-opened sluggishly; and...! Maybe I just had a bad one but the importer simply could not fix it nor did offer me a replacement.

If it operates similarly to my Yashica Minister III, there's a button at the left-hand end of the baseplate. Push that, and the back cover should pop open. If the cover stays shut, gently(!) press firmer on the button: the mechanism may be sticky from old age. I had a little trouble with my Minister III when I bought it early this year, but a little gentle use cured it.