Anyone familiar with the Cosina "CT-1 Super"?

[camperbc]

I am wondering if anyone here has any knowledge of the rather obscure Cosina "CT-1 Super" SLR? I recently acquired one, along with a 50mm f/2 and 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, and Hoya filters, all in a nice camera bag, for $40. It is in absolutely pristine condition. (same goes for both lenses; they look like brand new)

After searching online, I have learned very little about this compact SLR. After a quick inspection it certainly appears to be of good build quality and well laid out. Any and all info that any members of this fine forum can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Glen

 

[maclaine]

If I'm not mistaken, it's the ultra-generic camera body that has been the basis of many, many Cosina-made cameras over the years. I had a Ricoh KR-5 Super II for a while that looked nearly identical. It was made by Cosina and rebranded, and had a K-mount. The guts of the camera have shown up in all sorts of other wrapping, from Vivitar to the Nikon FM10. I believe the guts also serve as the basis for both the Voigtlander Bessa line as well as the current Zeiss Ikon ZM. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[camperbc]

Hi Maclaine,

Yes, you are absolutely correct. This is, however, about all that I have been able to learn about this camera... that it was in fact the Cosina company that built many of the much more famous names, based on this CT1 chassis, including the Olympus OM-2000, Nikon FM10, Canon T60, Pentax P30T, Ricoh KR-500 and Vivitar 650SL, among many others.

I can hardly wait to try it out!

Thanks,
Glen

 

[johannielscom]

Had one that I picked up in a thrift store and it caught my attention because of it's small and compact size. That viewfinder housing is particularly low and the whole camera as a result is small. With a pancake lens in K-mount it would be pocketable.

Too bad it was all plastic, I'm a s*cker for metal camera bodies...

Anyway the thing died shortly after and since I had only one K-mount lens at the time, I donated that to a friend and never replaced the CT-1 Super.

 

[maclaine]

My Ricoh was perfectly reliable for the short period of time I had it. I was going to switch to K-mount for my SLR needs, but ended up going with Nikon instead, so I sold the camera, but it was solid enough for me. Yes, it is mostly plastic, but the inside is metal, and the mechanical shutter was right on. I took this on slide film (Provia 400x), and metered it in camera. The exposure is perfect:

 

[p.giannakis]

I was eying one of these in the early 90's, it was quite expensive for my budget, same price as the Minolta X300s with lens and 3 times more expensive than the Praktica BMS that i eventually bought. The review i read back then stated that this was quite a reliable camera that's why there are so many incarnations of it.

 

[ronnies]

If the picture is your camera then the lens is a SMC-Pentax-M 50/2 which has lost the front name ring.

Ronnie

 

[camperbc]

Hi Ronnie,

No, that is just a generic photo; not of my actual camera. My lens (both of them) are labelled "Cosina Lens", "Made in Japan". I have just read that the Pentax 50mm f/2 was a Cosina in disguise.

Glen

 

[ronnies]

Hi Ronnie,

No, that is just a generic photo; not of my actual camera. My lens (both of them) are labelled "Cosina Lens", "Made in Japan". I have just read that the Pentax 50mm f/2 was a Cosina in disguise.

Glen

That's news to me about Cosina making that lens. If it's true then my Petri 50/2 in K mount is probably the same lens too. 🙂

Ronnie

 

[camperbc]

Oh-oh, now I have a big problem! Stupid me... I started fiddling with the camera; tried out the mechanical timer, and for some totally unknown reason I wound the advance lever as the timer was still buzzing down. The timer stopped, and that was that. The shutter will not fire, the timer won't unwind the rest of the way, (it's stuck in place) and the film lever is advanced now, so nothing moves at all! What have I managed to do? Did I ruin it?

Please come to my rescue!

Thanks,
Glen