Fixed lens SLRs?

archeophoto

archeophoto

I love 1950's quality
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What fixed lens SLRs do you know?
I only know the Zeiss Contaflex I. It had a fixed 45mm 2.8 Tessar. I like that it is a very compact SLR.

Are there any others like this?
 
Mamiya made the Nikkorex for Nikon, one version of which had a fixed 43-86 zoom on it... The worst of all possible combinations I think.
In my semi-respectable collection I have a Savoyflex: a nice and fairly scarce 1960 ish camera with a SOM-Berthiot lens and prontor type shutter.

David
 
Mamiya Auto-Lux and 528TL. There were several other leaf-shutter SLR cameras that had fixed rear elements and interchangeable fronts, the Topcon Unirex comes to mind.
 
Yashica Samurai half-frame and Yashica/Olympus/Chinon fixed zoom bridge SLR's. These are zoom lenses, but are fixed relative to cameras.
 
archeophoto said:
What fixed lens SLRs do you know?
I only know the Zeiss Contaflex I. It had a fixed 45mm 2.8 Tessar. I like that it is a very compact SLR.

Are there any others like this?
Click to expand...
The Contaflex II was similar to the original SLR with the addition of an uncoupled light meter. The lens arrangement was the same, a 45mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Tessar. A portrait accessory, the Teleskop was available to boost focal length up to, off the top of my head, around 75 or 80mm, but was fitted to the front of the standard Tessar of the I & II models with the addition of a supproting bracket. (It's said to perform reasonably well.)

Greyscale said:
Mamiya Auto-Lux and 528TL. There were several other leaf-shutter SLR cameras that had fixed rear elements and interchangeable fronts, the Topcon Unirex comes to mind.
Click to expand...

Later Contaflice models from the III to the S featured interchangeable front components with centre and rear lens groups either side of the shutter, integral to the camera. The front components were reasonably sophisticated, I have the relevant brochure, and in some cases featured up to an additional five discrete elements to ensure the entire array was well corrected for the total focal length. For a design with certain theoretical compromises these "Pro Tessars" as they are known for the most part perform surprisingly well.

A similar approach was taken with some of the cheaper Pantar lens models. The early Kodak Retina Reflexes also used the same approach as the later Contaflex with a mix of interchangeable front components and fixed body lens groups. Later Retina Reflexes went with the same design as the Voigtlaender Bessamatic used, Ie. behind the lens shutter with completely interchangeable optics.
Regards
Brett
 
"Lea's Register of 35mm SLR Cameras 1935-1981" by Rudolph Lea lists thirty seven SLR's with fixed lenses and twenty SLR's with fixed rear element and interchangeable front elements.
 
archeophoto said:
What fixed lens SLRs do you know?
I only know the Zeiss Contaflex I. It had a fixed 45mm 2.8 Tessar. I like that it is a very compact SLR.

Are there any others like this?
Click to expand...

I used to have Olympus something something... more than 10 years ago, I think. One zoom lens, permanently attached.
 
Contaflex 1st model prospect

Contaflex - Zeiss complete program 1955

Contaflex - Zeiss complete program 1956
 
btgc said:
Yashica Samurai half-frame and Yashica/Olympus/Chinon fixed zoom bridge SLR's. These are zoom lenses, but are fixed relative to cameras.
Click to expand...

Also from that era and of that type, the Minolta 110 Zoom and 110 Zoom II models were fixed zoom lens SLRs.

Also, the Nikkorex models included one interchangeable lens model that took standard F-mount lenses. The other models were fixed lens, including the zoom model.

I don't think the original Exakta model should be considered a truly fixed lens camera, but it comes close. The focusing helicoid is fixed but the lens head is removable. I have yet to find any indication whether this counts as disassembly or whether other lenses were made.
 
Greyscale said:
I have seen this camera sold as a "Tashica".
Click to expand...

The names I know of so far, in sort of order of appearance:

Hanimex Reflex 35
Naigai SRF
Fujica ST-F
Aviva PF-1
Yumica PF-1
Bell and Howell RFX-1
Great Wall PF-1
Continental TXL

It was shopped around quite a bit.

PF
 
my parents used a Chinon Genesis 600 for almost a decade.

zIFINJD.jpg


I almost miss that camera.
 
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