Show us your SLR ..... WHAT?

[peterm1]

Ok,
As others have been talking about the Flex's, this is probably the most scarce. The Tower 24 was a re-badged Asahiflex IIB badged fr the US Market. Towards the end Asahi ran out of IIB shells and a few were made using some leftover IIA bodyshells with the slow speed dial hole blanked off.

Kim

I am seriously impressed with these early Pentaxes. I do not have any as early as this one - my earliest is a Pentax K with the slow speed dial on the front. Mine would date to the late 1950s from memory and was one of the early "pre-spotmatics" that followed the Asahiflex models and were the begining of the M42 revolution - not quite the beginning perhaps since some late Asahiflexes used this mount also. The quality of the lenses is terrific and they are still nice cameras to use.

A very good link here to info about early Pentaxes and their lenses:

http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Pentax_Takumar_e.html

 

[peterm1]

This is copied from the following web site:

http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Pentax_Takumar_Collection.html

and shows why I like these early Pentax cameras and lenses. To my way of thinking they are quite beautiful. In fact I have just realised that if you look at my avatar you will see that I am using one of thiese cameras shot in a mirror to take my own picture.

 

[Abbazz]

This is copied from the following web site:

http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Pentax_Takumar_Collection.html

and shows why I like these early Pentax cameras and lenses. To my way of thinking they are quite beautiful. In fact I have just realised that if you look at my avatar you will see that I am using one of thiese cameras shot in a mirror to take my own picture.

Certainly the best website about these old Pentax cameras and lenses (actually about a few other things too!).

I have an Asahi Pentax SV, which is also a pre-Spotmatic M42 mount SLR. These cameras, as well as the Asahiflex series, feel much better in the hand than the Spotmatic and subsequent SLRs. The build quality seems better and the commands run smoother. The shutter release and film advance of the Asahiflex are a joy to use. The mirror (so tiny) and shutter operation are very quiet. The film advance, as there is no ratcheted lever, it is also completely silent. It's the Leica of SLRs 😀

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[peterm1]

These cameras, as well as the Asahiflex series, feel much better in the hand than the Spotmatic and subsequent SLRs. The build quality seems better and the commands run smoother. The shutter release and film advance of the Asahiflex are a joy to use. The mirror (so tiny) and shutter operation is very quiet. The film advance, as there is no ratcheted lever, it is also completely silent. It's the Leica of SLRs

I could not agree more. I think this era of Pentaxes produced some of the nicest looking and best functioning camera bodies of the mechanical SLR camera era. There were also not a few very good lenses as well many of which got better with time. But there is something about having to cock the aperture mechanism on an early semi auto lens that really brings a nice sense of nostalgia...... ahhhh nostalgia, they just dont make nostalgia like they used to!. ;^)

If you look at the shape of say an Asahi Pentax SV or S1a you will see that its body (excluding pentaprism) has a more or less similar aspect ratio to the screw mount leicas which contributes to a feeling in the hand that is reminiscent of the early Leica cameras. The Spotmatics were competent cameras in their days but these earlier cameras were outstanding in my opinion.

 

[Kim Coxon]

It had to do with trade regulations etc at the time. Later on Pentax tied up with Honeywell and the Pentaprism models were sold under the Honeywell label rather than the Pentax one. As far as I understand it, the tax situation was different if a US company imported goods and sold them rather than a foreign company importing them from outside. As a result many companies tied up with a US one to avoid it. Some of the Early Canonets were also sold under the Honeywell name. I am not sure whether it was protectionism or how much it had to do also with goods coming from Japan not long after WWII.

Kim

Trivia: Anybody know the significance of the brand name "Tower?" 🙂

 

[ChrisN]

OK - who else has one of these? Too cute to be evil. Another flea-market find, with soft case, instructions and flash, all "mint". $8.

 

[amateriat]

Chris: Ah, yes, the first-generation Minolta 110 Zoom: "The Toy Grows Up", as Minolta's first ad for the camera exclaimed. Cute, and decent to boot. Just hope you can find film for it where you are!

- Barrett

 

[shadowfox]

OK - who else has one of these? Too cute to be evil. Another flea-market find, with soft case, instructions and flash, all "mint". $8.

Somehow, that camera looks a lot like the Millenium Falcon 🙂

 

[David Goldfarb]

My grandfather had one. I remember using it for a while as a kid, probably when I was around 10 or 12 years old.

 

[wlewisiii]

When I pick up a SLR of late it's one of these two. Both quite fun but really rather ... different ... from each other. 😀


William

 

[bkrystad]

Bonus of parents downsizing this year -- the Minolta X700 they took with them while "empty-nest" traveling in the eighties. No use for it now. I ditched their Tokina zoom and picked up a trio of Rokkor primes. Result: my first SLR. Proving to be a fun little kit.

 

[spysmart]

Experimenting with the dark side

Experimenting with the dark side

Got my first ever DSLR last week - I'm not yet convinced it's progress.

 

[ltketch]

The lens is bigger than the body!

 

[nikola]

and what a hood! this is not right! 🙂

 

[mllanos1111]

I still love these guys and use them every day.

 

[venchka]

The best kind of SLR...

The best kind of SLR...

...a gift! One of 4 SLR bodies I use.

 

[ltketch]

My ever expanding Minolta SLR collection

 

[Keith]

OM-1 and Winder

OM-1 and Winder

After months of searching for one at a decent price I finally got a black OM-1 ... and better still it came with a winder which really makes the handling better for my size hands. It's just used and worn enough to have oodles of charisma ... I love it and can't believe how boring my SLR life was before I discovered OM's. These look so cool with the winder ... and the sound as someone pointed out is pure seventies paparazzi! 😛

 

[edho]

this is my F3 bought 17 years ago.🙂