Cameras and watches.

[furcafe]

Yes - I just now looked it up. Wow. These new ones have the Omega co-axial movement. A nice improvement in watch design, but yet another step away from the original.

Mine is from 2000, bought new. It is manual wind and has a display back, caliber 1863. Even that is a few steps away from the original.

The new Speedmaster Pro is nice. The 3861 is more accurate & resistant to magnetism than the 1861/1863 & it hacks. Of course, NASA hasn't actually tested it yet like the older models, but it still does the job for me here on Earth. Not difficult finding 1 used in hardly-worn condition for a significant discount from MSRP, which is what I did.

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

I'm so glad to see that some people are keeping with the "Camera & Watch" theme.
These were my Omegas. Sold them, and I'm good with that. I enjoyed them while I owned and wore them.
The Speedmaster and Seamaster were with me during the first Gulf War while I was on the USS Beaufort (ATS-2).​

From my archive
Image is lower resolution than original​

 

[p.giannakis]

my workforce/ horse Seiko Military/ Field, poor men's Hamilton ( sounds like some apparel brand name, Hamilton Pants...)

'In House'! automatic movement Seiko 7S26, 38mm ( a kind of small now i feel, )


Img by Taipei-metro ( the Asahi Camera Mag Japan is now gone/ discontinue...so Sad )

Panasonic G6
Zuiko 14-42.
Neewer nTTL Speedlight fired

The 7s26 is rather small as a movement and as a result the rotor doesn't go around as easy as other seiko movements. These watches are more power reserve accurate with the more active people.

 

[telenous]

look what the Leader of Free World is wearing ( endorsing ); Omega Moon watch, do you think the fee went to Hunter? or the people of the United States

( the Parnis GMT homage is mine...story later)
>>
> Img by Taipei-metro

Panasonic G6,
Zuiko 14-42

Biden is a true watch enthusiast, more than any other recent president I think. He's been seen wearing most often an Omega Seamaster 2531.80, the Omega Speedy in the photo, a Seiko chronograph and recently (post-inauguration) a Rolex Datejust 41. I would have liked to see him rock the Speedy more often, after all it speaks about a US accomplishment.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Here's a different kind of paring. The camera is, of course, the Pentax K-1 -- it is here because it is Wi-Fi enabled. This is actually not a technology I use photographically. But this sort of little radio-widget has permeated all sorts of other technology - perhaps someone here will chime in on how it is useful.

The watch is a Seiko Coutura and it has fascinating (and a fascinating amount of) technology packed into its frame. For one thing, its battery is solar powered -- 5 minutes in direct sun charges it for a whole day. Charge it for a day and the battery (capacitor, actually, I think) is good for a year. It has a quartz movement, which is accurate to less than a second a day. But the Coutura goes a step further. It has a radio receiver in it that listens for the US atomic clock signal from the Fort Collins transmitting station every night and resets the watch automatically to one of the most accurate clocks in the world. So even granting that a quartz movement is an order of magnitude more accurate than a purely mechanical watch, this particular watch is never more than 12 hours from having been set to a very, very accurate standard. Crazy. So you get out of needing to design a watch more accurate than, say, 0.3 seconds a day by incorporating an unrelated radio technology. I actually purchased it because the color scheme reminded me of the trade paperback edition of "The Golden Compass," but that's another story (although perhaps indicative of the level of irrationality inherent in any collecting activity). So: two radio-enabled devices that have grafted that technology onto "older" modes. What's next? Radio controlled kitchen appliances? Oh wait. . . .

Picture taken with a Nikon D3 and a 105/2 DC lens at f:16, a lens that does such a nice job with portraits that I'd consider backing into the entire Z line of Nikons just to keep shooting with it. . . . But the D3 is perfect for this sort of web posting work. 12 MP, but I don't throw out nearly as much data as with the higher resolution cameras before posting here. Shot against a piece of white paper bent into a mini-cyc to make it look like a fancier studio set up.





There is something else the two devices have in common. For my needs they are both "higher powered" than they need to be. For the camera, I love the files the thing produces with its Sony sensor. They are what I used to call "medium format quality" in the days when I shot Delta 400 in a Hassleblad sometimes. But the first thing I do when I share photos from the dang thing is throw out about 2/3 of the data . . . so the camera has many fine qualities (anti-shake, great low light sensitivity, works with legacy glass) but it is more camera than I need 99% of the time. The watch too. Who needs Atomic Time accuracy? For what? Baking bread? Getting to dinner on time? Most of of live lives at a very different level of temporal exactitude. So another, perhaps more subtle reason, for a paring on this thread.

 

[JeffS7444]

When I purchased it as a birthday present to myself, I figured that Tissot wristwatches were like a Buick or Toyota Camry automobile: You can get fancy ones, but they're basically solid and sensible things. And no doubt I paid too much for mine, but it was a PVD-treated titanium special edition, commemorating Switzerland's Jungfraubahn. I've never traveled by train there, but it was partly a reminder that I might want to.

I wore it a few times, but the chunky case didn't work too well with long sleeves, Apple had made touch screens commonplace, and I found the dial markings at 2:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30 more aesthetic than useful.

The elaborate presentation case with it's multitude of storage compartments and stealth form factor was eye-catching, though it was marked as non-recyclable, and had no other obvious uses except for storing the watch.

I ultimately got less than 1/2 of my original purchase price back in resale, but that was okay, I figured the Tissot T-Touch was a trendy thing whose time had come and gone.

Of course there's a camera involved here, but you can't see it. Olympus Pen-F + Canon 50/3.5 FDn macro lens are my "money" combo. For objects of this scale, it's a comfy and reliable setup which delivers just the right DoF for my purposes. And by shooting at 80 mp, I get a lot of pixels, with minimal aliasing artifacts. I can achieve much the same with a larger sensor, but haven't noted any particular advantages in doing so.

 

[furcafe]

When I purchased it as a birthday present to myself, I figured that Tissot wristwatches were like a Buick or Toyota Camry automobile: You can get fancy ones, but they're basically solid and sensible things. And no doubt I paid too much for mine, but it was a PVD-treated titanium special edition, commemorating Switzerland's Jungfraubahn. I've never traveled by train there, but it was partly a reminder that I might want to.

I wore it a few times, but the chunky case didn't work too well with long sleeves, Apple had made touch screens commonplace, and I found the dial markings at 2:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30 more aesthetic than useful.

The elaborate presentation case with it's multitude of storage compartments and stealth form factor was eye-catching, though it was marked as non-recyclable, and had no other obvious uses except for storing the watch.

I ultimately got less than 1/2 of my original purchase price back in resale, but that was okay, I figured the Tissot T-Touch was a trendy thing whose time had come and gone.

Of course there's a camera involved here, but you can't see it. Olympus Pen-F + Canon 50/3.5 FDn macro lens are my "money" combo. For objects of this scale, it's a comfy and reliable setup which delivers just the right DoF for my purposes. And by shooting at 80 mp, I get a lot of pixels, with minimal aliasing artifacts. I can achieve much the same with a larger sensor, but haven't noted any particular advantages in doing so.

View attachment 4825126

Not familiar w/that Tissot, but the presentation case is elaborate, indeed. IMHO, too many watch companies go overboard w/boxes, though I guess it is "man jewelry" after all.

Speaking of Tissots & boxes, here is my Tissot PRX, a revival of 1 of their 1970s designs, w/my Mike Mandel “Good 70s” box set.

 

[TL7]

 

[Pál_K]

The 7s26 is rather small as a movement and as a result the rotor doesn't go around as easy as other seiko movements. These watches are more power reserve accurate with the more active people.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but because the 7S26 can't be manually wound, they made it more efficient by having the rotor be able to wind the mainspring regardless of rotor spin direction (whereas others typically wind in just one direction).

I have no direct knowledge of the claim - it was something I read on TimeZone decades ago.

But just having the Seiko Diver sitting on my table, unwound, gentle motion for 30 seconds is enough to keep it running for a few hours. The same action with my TAG 2000 has it running for maybe an hour.

 

[p.giannakis]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but because the 7S26 can't be manually wound, they made it more efficient by having the rotor be able to wind the mainspring regardless of rotor spin direction (whereas others typically wind in just one direction).

I have no direct knowledge of the claim - it was something I read on TimeZone decades ago.

But just having the Seiko Diver sitting on my table, unwound, gentle motion for 30 seconds is enough to keep it running for a few hours. The same action with my TAG 2000 has it running for maybe an hour.

That is correct, Seiko devised the "Magic level" system back in the 60s which winds up the watch no matter which direction the rotor moves (bidirectional).

But comparing my 7s26 with my F6922 (Orient movement- Orient has inherited the magic level and the diashock system from Seiko - the are both part of Epson group) the 7s26 requires three complete rotations of the rotor to wind the mainspring barrel by one click compared to the F6922 which requires two rotations. Of course the F6922 is 20 years younger design.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I think that's exactly right. The 7S26 is a pretty durable movement. Introduced in 1996, it was able to be put together entirely by machine, I believe. It was in the SKX series of divers for decades. Currently the mainstay of the Seiko 5, which is what Seiko is currently calling their entry level automatics. It doesn't hack and can't be hand-wound, but it does keep on ticking. Starts the watch with just a gentle shake. I wore one for 10 years every day and never had to worry about it, other than adjusting the time once a month or so.

BTW, the 7S26 isn't particularly small. There are Miyota movements that are dainty by comparison. I'd have said it was a workhorse.

 

[p.giannakis]

I think that's exactly right. The 7S26 is a pretty durable movement. Introduced in 1996, it was able to be put together entirely by machine, I believe. It was in the SKX series of divers for decades. Currently the mainstay of the Seiko 5, which is what Seiko is currently calling their entry level automatics. It doesn't hack and can't be hand-wound, but it does keep on ticking. Starts the watch with just a gentle shake. I wore one for 10 years every day and never had to worry about it, other than adjusting the time once a month or so.

BTW, the 7S26 isn't particularly small. There are Miyota movements that are dainty by comparison. I'd have said it was a workhorse.

Correct. The 7s26 is a proven movement, the NH36 (4R36) is its successor which hand-wind and hacks but there is a bit more criticism because there is more plastic in it. The 7s26 has only a couple of plastic cogs which rotate the day/date disks.

Miyota movements are quite different, the ones in the same price range as the 7s26 are one-directional movements.

I am wearing now a Seiko 5 with the 7s26. I love it.

 

[hap]

When I purchased it as a birthday present to myself, I figured that Tissot wristwatches were like a Buick or Toyota Camry automobile: You can get fancy ones, but they're basically solid and sensible things. And no doubt I paid too much for mine, but it was a PVD-treated titanium special edition, commemorating Switzerland's Jungfraubahn. I've never traveled by train there, but it was partly a reminder that I might want to.

I wore it a few times, but the chunky case didn't work too well with long sleeves, Apple had made touch screens commonplace, and I found the dial markings at 2:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30 more aesthetic than useful.

The elaborate presentation case with it's multitude of storage compartments and stealth form factor was eye-catching, though it was marked as non-recyclable, and had no other obvious uses except for storing the watch.

I ultimately got less than 1/2 of my original purchase price back in resale, but that was okay, I figured the Tissot T-Touch was a trendy thing whose time had come and gone.

Of course there's a camera involved here, but you can't see it. Olympus Pen-F + Canon 50/3.5 FDn macro lens are my "money" combo. For objects of this scale, it's a comfy and reliable setup which delivers just the right DoF for my purposes. And by shooting at 80 mp, I get a lot of pixels, with minimal aliasing artifacts. I can achieve much the same with a larger sensor, but haven't noted any particular advantages in doing so.

View attachment 4825126

somehow I bought, years ago, the Tissot braille model.

 

[Taipei-metro]

yo Movement trackers tell me about Tissot Auto movents...also

Miyota 8215 Vs NH35 Seiko Vs Ming-zu 明珠 2813? i need to make one choice

Tissot, affordable Swiss

Img by Taipei-metro

Panasonic G6,
Zuiko 14-42

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Homage or just a "Copy"?

Well, there's no picture of a camera in this post. I think I mentioned that the venerable Seiko SKX007 had many, many modifications available to it. Kind of like the Barbie's Dream House of watches. But there is also a robust world of "homage" watches out there -- essentially copies of designs that have some prestige, but with an independent maker's label on them. It's not "Psst, Buddy, wanna buy a Rollex (or Seiko or any other particular brand). It's more like, "Psst, Buddy we are copying all the design features and inviting you to pay 1/2 or 1/3 of the OEM price for the real deal because we have all of the value and 92.6% of the styling." And heated Internet drama ensue:, "I would never" vs. "who's gonna know?" Homage? Rip-Off? Six of one?

And you know, what? The "homages" are not quite as good. Oh, the durability and accuracy is there. But the lume on the hands and the indices is never up to par compared to Seiko (which does a great job with these), the homage bands are a bit "meh" compared to the original designs, the brushing on the stainless steel too. But will they function? Yup. Are the movements the same (in this case as a true Seiko SKX)? Often, or the slightly upgraded NH35/NH36 variant -- also made by Seiko as the non-brand version of their own movements. And some of the ones in this picture arrived regulated as well or better than the on-brand counterparts

A lot of these watches are made (I believe) in southern China, or sometimes in the Phillipines and certainly at a price point. I have opened them up and sometimes found surprises. Once I found a bit of vegetable matter (dried leaf) when investigating why the watch in question did not seem to be winding the way I expected (worked fine once the crap was out of the movement).

Left to right:

1) Heimdallr Seiko copy. Seiko NH36 movement, water resistant to 200m. Lume is not great in the dark, but the watch runs well.
2) The real deal. Seiko SKX009, which was my daily wearing watch for about 10 years. Now upgraded with a domed sapphire crystal and an NH36 movement. How many parts can you swap and have the thing still be what it was originally? There is definitely a "Ship of Theseus" problem here that doesn't really exist with cameras. There can also be practical problems of testing water resistance once you start swapping out crystals and backs on these things. That's another story. You can see that the watch wound itself just from my handling it this morning to take a picture.
3) Parnis. I think an all-Chinese copy of a Rollex-y design? Or maybe a Seiko design? Kind of a mash up. Pretty sure the movement is a Chinese copy of the NH36. You can swim in a pool with it (at least I can) and it cost less than $100. Probably won't buy another though.
4)-6) Steeldive. A straight up Homage/Copy of the SKX diver. These run just north of $100 on Amazon and come with sapphire crystals and good water resistance. The watch on the far right is the Steeldive copy of Seiko's Turtle, nick-named the "Capt. Willard" because it's what Martin Sheen's character wears in Apocalypse Now. Copy status notwithstanding, I find this watch extraordinarily comfortable to wear on the wrist. It just "disappears" -- despite its size and the extra metal in the case. I am headed to the beach for a week next week and will probably take one of these Steeldives and a Casio all-plastik-wonderwatch. Just rinse the salt-water off, and you are good to go.



There's not really a comparable "Homage" issue in cameras -- I guess you could make the case that a Zorki or a Fed was a similar sort of copy to the Leica IIIa or Contax. But the intent of the maker (and the market) wasn't really comparable. Or you could say that a Nikon RF was a "knock off" of a Contax, although I think all here would recognize that one is not really intended to be a copy of the other. And both of those camera examples are really about the division of German IP spoils after WWII rather than one brand trying to pass itself off as the other? Splitting hairs?

The interesting question to me is: what makes a particular watch an example of that brand of watch? No question that the styling and work done on the watch face itself is what tends to distinguish one watch from another. But is the Seiko above not a Seiko with an upgraded aftermarket sapphire crystal? I think not. And is the Steeldive a Seiko just because its movement is made by Seiko? Also clearly not, and not just because the profits of making it and selling it are going to a different company. The SKX line has been discontinued by Seiko, with remaining stock selling for over 2x its pre-cancellation asking price. And there seems to be no shortage of companies content to run with the old design, updated in various ways. Not pictured above, and I think maybe the best value even if they are more expensive, are the Islander divers from Long Island Watch Co. The fit and finish on those give up nothing to the Seiko original (except, once again for the lume on the hands and indices, where Seiko is the acknowleged technical king).

Edit: Picture taken with a Nikon D3 and a Leica 90/2.8 Elmarit-R, wearing a Nikon Leitax lensmount conversion. Shot at f:16 on a tripod in Manual mode with +2/3 stop manual correction dialed in to compensate for the white background. The combination doesn't work as well as I had hoped. The Leica 90/2.8 R lens is one of the better corrected short tele's out there and I was hoping, in a general sense, for spectacular results. As it is, I get better results with Nikon's 85's and 105's. At some point I will convert the thing back to the R mount.

 

[KoNickon]

I really like the looks of that middle Steeldive (#5 in the picture). What's the movement? Depth rating? I will have to check those out.

I will confess that I have two Invicta Pro Divers -- 200m rating and NH35 movement -- that I got for around $90 each. Submariner homages, sure, but very solid -- and not bling-y like so many of their watches (though some deplore the Invicta engraving on the case side -- I like that actually). I've been also looking at their 1953 models -- a deliberate evocation of the original Submariner. Similar price and specification. But maybe that Steeldive is a good option, as long as the case isn't too big.

I also have a Submariner replica, a Noob version 3, that's really quite nice. Haven't opened it up or gone swimming with it, but it's pretty darn good. Something like 1/60th of the price of the real thing....

Now -- who's going to post a picture of their Rolex and Rolleiflex? 🙂

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I really like the looks of that middle Steeldive (#5 in the picture). What's the movement? Depth rating? I will have to check those out.

On the case back of that watch it says NH35 and 300M. I guess the 300 meters is a bit academic for me, even if I am a bit skeptical of the claim. If it can handle a good swim, or a dive to 12 feet to get something off the bottom of the pool, and that's enough for me.

 

[Taipei-metro]

Homage....Replica...Copy, all of the above?

German Steinhart Sim Rolex Sub, used to be $650, now $1,050, well, the real Rolex is 'Better' at $12,500

what movement? Steinhart In house? i'd like to get their Milsub, i love their 'design' ( same as Rolex Milsub ) ( Steinhart Milsub, $950, Rolex Milsub $145,000 or more, i think)

 

[Pál_K]

This inexpensive Marcel et Cie manual-wind watch is what I had as a teenager in the late 1960's and early 1970's. I found it recently in a box of developer trays, funnels, and tongs - I last used it to time darkroom exposures and developing times of prints.

When I found it, it could not be wound; I must've overwound it one day.

I took the watch to a watchmaker, but after considerable time he could find no parts to repair it; we agreed to replace the entire movement, so now the watch has a Seiko manual-wind movement. The original movement is shown next to the Leica IIIf.

I've used the black 1934 Leica III as a daily camera on trips to California (I keep it in a small padded side pouch, hence no strap) l Both cameras work great at all speeds, all the slow speeds, the self-timer works, and focus is accurate.

 

[Taipei-metro]

View attachment 4825174

These are pretty Old