Reunion Tour: Miranda S and Fuji Neopan SS.

Mos6502

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I have posted before about the little forlorn Miranda S I acquired and fixed up a few years ago. Quite a nicely made camera, which after a little cleaning and lubricating, was operating again with perfect accuracy. With it, the Soligor-Miranda 2.8/50 lens, a real oddity in the world of 35mm SLRs, being a 5 element Heliar type. This was the budget lens in the Miranda lineup of the 1950s, and so features a screw mount and a preset aperture operation. The camera and its lens are a glimpse into the state of SLR development in the late 50s, with the S being the old-tech, on its way out, and sold for a discount. No instant mirror return, no automatic aperture stop down, knob wind instead of a lever, and if you really wanted to pinch your pennies you could get one with a waist level finder instead of a pentaprism.

Fuji Neopan SS, was introduced in 1953 and discontinued in 2011. When Kodak killed Plus-X, I purchased a couple of bricks of Neopan SS, as the next best thing. Well, Fuji axed Neopan SS only a few months later, and one of those bricks has been in my freezer since. I had thought I may one day take it to Japan with me and shoot it in the Miranda S, seeking out nostalgic subjects and keeping the theme of vintage Japan. That never panned out, but I wanted to revisit to the old film anyway. On a recent trip to Washington state, I took three rolls from the brick, and enjoyed making every shot.

Strait of Juan de Fuca by Berang Berang, on Flickr

Moss Mountain by Berang Berang, on Flickr

Neopan Woods by Berang Berang, on Flickr

I'm always impressed by how sharp that odd little lens is, and how wonderfully it renders. I wish I had a clue as to who produced it for Miranda, as it would be interesting to know if it was ever offered on any other cameras or mounts.

Neopan SS had a rather dim reputation in the U.S. for some reason. I wish I had bought a whole lot more of it before Fujifilm killed it though. Sure, it's not the same as Plus-X, but it looks a helluva lot better than most B&W films available today. Yes, it is noticeably grainy for a 100ASA film (and no it's age that's done this, what I shot back in 2010 looks the same), but on the other hand it has a certain softness in contrast, without halation, that's rather pleasant, particularly for natural subject matter.

All rolls were developed in D76, 1:1 solution, and printed on Arista VC paper.
 
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Quite a handsome design, this one however came to me covered in verdigris and had plating loss under the worst areas. Still, once cleaned up and oiled the shutter miraculously functioned accurately at all speeds.
 
The tonality of Neopan SS is gorgeous. It’s unlike Plus-X, but beautiful in its own way. It was much easier for me to stop shooting film for personal work after these disappeared.
 
We don't know is the answer. Soligor was probably produced by different factories but put together by Miranda. Later on they I think they were produced in the Tokina factories.
The 1950's PAD (pressure activated diaphragm) Miranda lenses were made by Kowa. However, the 2.8/50 is constructed and finished in a different way from the PAD lenses, so it's quite a mystery.
 
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