nhchen
Nathan
Yes on the Australian eBay. its packed in a box somewhere, I'll have to go and dig it up later. I thought it might be cool to put other lenses on, but the exakta ones one fit completely due to the different aperture linkages on it.
Rare Mystery SLR.
- Thread starter tunalegs
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 37
- Views 3K
Yes on the Australian eBay. its packed in a box somewhere, I'll have to go and dig it up later. I thought it might be cool to put other lenses on, but the exakta ones one fit completely due to the different aperture linkages on it.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
Will they not mount? Or is it just incompatible with the aperture lever thing? I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
bucs
Well-known
So I got curious and searched for information on the web. That camera has only two shutter speeds? 1/125 and B?
Perfect for iso 100 film and sunny 16 🙂
Perfect for iso 100 film and sunny 16 🙂
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
If you look at the instruction manual, the exposure settings are basically just a chart showing sunny 16:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/firstflex_35/firstflex_35.htm
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/firstflex_35/firstflex_35.htm
johnf04
Well-known
Chris Sherlock has one:
http://retinarescue.com/firstflex35.html
http://retinarescue.com/firstflex35.html
nhchen
Nathan
I just checked again, I got it the other way around. The exakta lenses I have do mount it, but its lens doesn't mount on the exakta slr. I also tried with a topcon lens, it almost mounts but the tab doesn't click in completely to secure the lens.
Here's my one:
Firstflex 35
nathan
oftheherd
Veteran
Nice find!
ChrisLivsey
Veteran
You must have missed this UK one then, or was this the one?
http://mwclassic.com/product/firstflex-35mm-slr-chrome-45mm-f2-8-auto-tokinon-exakta-mount-lens/
£49
http://mwclassic.com/product/firstflex-35mm-slr-chrome-45mm-f2-8-auto-tokinon-exakta-mount-lens/
£49
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
Interesting.
The known lens numbers run from the 10XXX range into the 13XXX range, which also suggests around 3000 units. I have to wonder why production was so low, given how long these cameras appeared in catalogs.
Nhchen, I'm hoping the lens will at least mount in my exakta-canon adapter so I can try it out on digital. If the camera functions well enough I'll probably shoot a roll of film through it as soon as I can too.
The known lens numbers run from the 10XXX range into the 13XXX range, which also suggests around 3000 units. I have to wonder why production was so low, given how long these cameras appeared in catalogs.
Nhchen, I'm hoping the lens will at least mount in my exakta-canon adapter so I can try it out on digital. If the camera functions well enough I'll probably shoot a roll of film through it as soon as I can too.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
this Tokiwa Seiki Pentaflex camera has a behind the lens leaf shutter and not a focal plane shutter.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
Well it is here today. It is basically functional, but both lens and camera need some minor attention. It might take a while to get the lens together again because a filter ring dent is complicating disassembly (some ham-hand apparently tried to take it apart before hence why it needs fixing in the first place).
nhchen
Nathan
The lens also didnt fit into my exakta to the original Pen F mount.
Nathan
Nathan
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
Ok, so here we are. First day with the Firstflex 35.
Pentacon 3.5/30 mounted:
Pentacon 3.5/30 on Firstflex 36 by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Fits just fine. I have to imagine that the Tokinon lens's one-way compatibility was probably planned. Exakta lenses, and T-mount lenses could be mounted on the Firstflex, but Firstflex lenses can't be mounted on Exas/Exaktas.
Firstflex 35 shutter by Berang Berang, on Flickr
The shutter works just like the shutter in an Exa. The mirror swings up, and is followed by a capping section, which then fits against the back of the mirror sealing light out. Only in this case, both swing back down automatically.
Then it was time to do some cleaning:
In pieces by Berang Berang, on Flickr
The viewfinder was filthy with haze and specks. The exposure counter didn't work. The viewfinder was easy to take care of. I just had to clean all the crumbling foam out of the pentaprism housing. I replaced it with strip of packing foam for now. Blew out the focusing screen and cleaned the pentaprism's glass surfaces and the eyepiece.
The exposure counter doesn't seem to be repairable. There is too much "slop" (for lack of a better term) and no apparent way to adjust it out, not even in the primitive Exa way of just bending the linkage until play is removed.
Tokinon 2.8/45 lens. by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Lens was quite fiddly. It is a front element focus Tessar (I think? the rear element is pretty thick if it's only a single element). Somebody had absolutely wrenched the front off, pulling one of the stop screws out. But I got it cleaned up and put back together.
Frustratingly this lens also won't fit on my Exakta-Canon adapter. But it will fit on an Exakta extension tube, which can then be fitted to the adapter! So I took some close up photos with the thing.
Tokinon 2.8/45 test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
tokinon 2.8/45 test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Not too bad for what is either a three or four element lens shot wide open!
Sparkly boke' quality:
tokinon 2.8/45 boke by Berang Berang, on Flickr
I'll be running a roll through as soon as time permits.
Pentacon 3.5/30 mounted:
Pentacon 3.5/30 on Firstflex 36 by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Fits just fine. I have to imagine that the Tokinon lens's one-way compatibility was probably planned. Exakta lenses, and T-mount lenses could be mounted on the Firstflex, but Firstflex lenses can't be mounted on Exas/Exaktas.
Firstflex 35 shutter by Berang Berang, on Flickr
The shutter works just like the shutter in an Exa. The mirror swings up, and is followed by a capping section, which then fits against the back of the mirror sealing light out. Only in this case, both swing back down automatically.
Then it was time to do some cleaning:
In pieces by Berang Berang, on Flickr
The viewfinder was filthy with haze and specks. The exposure counter didn't work. The viewfinder was easy to take care of. I just had to clean all the crumbling foam out of the pentaprism housing. I replaced it with strip of packing foam for now. Blew out the focusing screen and cleaned the pentaprism's glass surfaces and the eyepiece.
The exposure counter doesn't seem to be repairable. There is too much "slop" (for lack of a better term) and no apparent way to adjust it out, not even in the primitive Exa way of just bending the linkage until play is removed.
Tokinon 2.8/45 lens. by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Lens was quite fiddly. It is a front element focus Tessar (I think? the rear element is pretty thick if it's only a single element). Somebody had absolutely wrenched the front off, pulling one of the stop screws out. But I got it cleaned up and put back together.
Frustratingly this lens also won't fit on my Exakta-Canon adapter. But it will fit on an Exakta extension tube, which can then be fitted to the adapter! So I took some close up photos with the thing.
Tokinon 2.8/45 test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
tokinon 2.8/45 test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Not too bad for what is either a three or four element lens shot wide open!
Sparkly boke' quality:
tokinon 2.8/45 boke by Berang Berang, on Flickr
I'll be running a roll through as soon as time permits.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
I'm going to take a break from RFF for a little while, but I thought I would update this before then. After the various minor repairs and cleaning above, I loaded a roll of Ektar and went out for an afternoon of putting the Firstflex through its paces. I looked high and low online for examples of photos taken with this camera or its lens, and found just a couple of underexposed low-res shots on flickr. In the entire world, that seemed to be it. So I was curious what I would get.
The lens is pretty much what you'd expect for a Japanese made 2.8/45 on any typical fixed lens RF coming out of the country at the time. Decently sharp from f/5.6 down, but noticeably soft in the corners at larger apertures. Plenty of contrast, and some slightly swirly boke' complete the package.
there by Berang Berang, on Flickr
dog line by Berang Berang, on Flickr
rust in the sky by Berang Berang, on Flickr
saab by Berang Berang, on Flickr
pole by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Tokinon Test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Tokinon 2.8/45 boke' by Berang Berang, on Flickr
cycling by Berang Berang, on Flickr
There is a slight light leak coming from the bottom of the camera, I'll have to figure that out, then I'll probably shoot another roll of film.
The fixed shutter speed limits one's creativity with DOF somewhat, but I guess that just makes it bit more straightforward to shoot with since you really only have to think about the f/stop when exposing. It's a pretty fun experience, though the lack of strap lugs is rather annoying (what's left of the everready case I trust even less than my hands for carrying).
The lens is pretty much what you'd expect for a Japanese made 2.8/45 on any typical fixed lens RF coming out of the country at the time. Decently sharp from f/5.6 down, but noticeably soft in the corners at larger apertures. Plenty of contrast, and some slightly swirly boke' complete the package.
there by Berang Berang, on Flickr
dog line by Berang Berang, on Flickr
rust in the sky by Berang Berang, on Flickr
saab by Berang Berang, on Flickr
pole by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Tokinon Test by Berang Berang, on Flickr
Tokinon 2.8/45 boke' by Berang Berang, on Flickr
cycling by Berang Berang, on Flickr
There is a slight light leak coming from the bottom of the camera, I'll have to figure that out, then I'll probably shoot another roll of film.
The fixed shutter speed limits one's creativity with DOF somewhat, but I guess that just makes it bit more straightforward to shoot with since you really only have to think about the f/stop when exposing. It's a pretty fun experience, though the lack of strap lugs is rather annoying (what's left of the everready case I trust even less than my hands for carrying).
Thanks for the update... Nice project refurbishing this rig, and the results look pretty nice. 🙂
johnf04
Well-known
Good results! Come back soon.
Similar threads
- Article
- Article
