SLR Systems - Undisovered & Inexpensive Gems?

[Murchu]

Lot of food for thought here, and think I will start reading up on some of those mentioned, and see what suits my purposes best. If anything has not been mentioned, please feel free to add it to the list.

Something with a dead mount, that cannot be adapted to a current full frame camera, would seem to be the best option, at least if it is inexpensive enough to justify it. At some point, it would become feasible simply to buy a Nikon body to gain from cross benefits from my existing Nikon dslr kit, but given the low sums of money we are talking about for some of these systems, I think it is simply more feasible to look at a system where I could get a body and lenses for the cost of a basic Nikon manual body & 50mm lens. The only lens I could use on such a Nikon film body right now, is a 35mm f2 autofocus lens, so there is no great carrot for me to look at synergies in adding a Nikon film body.

Seeing as a relatively fast short telephoto like an 85mm would be one of the reasons behind buying such a camera, I may look and see which systems have the most reasonable 85's out there.

For what it's worth, I would be the sort of guy who would not care about too many bells and whistles, just simple manual controls, a durable metal body, and can live without a light meter if necessary. In fact if the alternative is between a body with a long defunct mercury battery and a meterless body, I would probably choose the latter. Oh, it will be more than likely all b&w I would be shooting on such a camera, should that make a difference.

 

[jarski]

M42 gets my vote, bodies and especially lenses. many then and now big makers like Fuji and Pentax made quality equipment in this mount. there were also many third party Japanese and East Block makers, and those just makes the category more interesting. chances these days of nice surprise is bigger than Nikon, Leica, OM and many other legacy mounts.

 

[zuiko85]

If possible you want to hold, operate and look through as many of the suggestions as you can. Feel in the hand and overall handling are so important, more than just the raw specifications. You mentioned the availability of a fast 85mm lens. Well most of the systems had them but all were expensive when new and current and have stayed pricy on the used market. Even the Russian 85mm f2 in an M42 mount are going through the roof. An alternative is a little longer and slower 100mm or 105mm f2.8 as they are often 1/2 the price used compared to an 85mm lens. The main thing is keep your eyes open and take it slow, don't rush. Deals are out there but you may not find anything for a few months.

 

[btgc]

I'm believer for Ricoh, I mean after-M42 bodies with Pentax compatible bayonet mount. Some of Rikenons are Tokina made (24-40/2.8, to name one), some are Sigma made (18/2.8, 24/2.8, 300mm APO and 500mm mirror are all Sigmas) and some are native (28/2.8 and 50/1.4 and 28-100/4 seem so), yet 200/4 is considered to be Pentax made. Looked down like something unter-Pentax, but it does all I expect from film SLR. XR-20sp and XR-P have nice, bright screens, and I can use lenses, even with Ricoh pin for automation, on istD without any problems (which come from third party R/K mount lenses with longer pins).

85mm...I'm not interested in this FL so can't comment more, but I'm pretty sure you can find them from other makers.

I like feature loaded XR-P which costs about 5-pack of Portra film (or little more, but not much). Hint - some are sold as defective, that's from M.E. mechanism which gets stuck on seldom used cameras (shutter isn't charging). Use it on regular basis and it will be fine. Ooops, have to check mine 🙂

 

[rbelyell]

damien one of the drawbacks of the konica AR system is the price of the 85mm lens is, imo, ridiculous. the 28, 40, 50's, 57 and 135 are all really cheap. the 21, 24 and 85 are all over $300, maybe more now...

if 85 is your goal, as well as cheap and somewhat compact, perhaps think about the fuji st 605 m42 mount plus jupiter 85/2. the cam is very good and very compact. the lens is smallish, but a little fat and a little heavy, but great IQ and about $150.

if you become serious about this combo feel free to PM me as i have both lying around that i no longer use.
tony

 

[awbphotog]

I believe I went through the same dilemma as you a while back, trying to find an affordable system with lots of these 'hidden gems.' I delved into the Exakta system (CZ Flektogon 35 f/2.8...mmm), which I quite liked for a while, as well as the aforementioned Konica AR (Have a 40 1.8 and a 24 2.8, both excellent), though my favorite so far has been the Pentax SMC-M cameras/lenses. The ME Super with a 50 1.4/1.7 is a tiny little package with an excellent viewfinder. If you're interested in trying out the Exaktas, let me know as I'm trying to thin the herd. It's quite fun trying out old systems. Konicas would probably be your best bet for affordable, recreational SLR fun. Good luck!

EDIT:: Just noticed the poster above me mentioned Topcon, which it turns out is compatible with many Exakta lenses, and vice versa. The Topcon Super D is a metered SLR that was used heavily by the U.S. Navy. Great body!

 

[johannielscom]

If your DSLR is Nikon, get a pre-AI 58/1.4 and have it modified for AI.

My 58/1.4 pre-AI was EUR 135, shipping from Spain included. It's a perfect 85/1.4 on my D3100 and no modification was necessary since the D3100 has a totally flat lens mount.

 

[Dirk]

Ditto for the Konica and Pentax screw mount SMC Takumars. The Konica T3n with the 28mm 3.5 Hexanon (the F16, earlier kind, not the F22 version), a 50mm 1.7 (again, the earlier version) and a 135mm 3.2 are inexpensive and superb. Lenses are under $40 each. Color rendition is just beautiful. Or a Pentax ME Super with a cheap Chinese M42 adapter, the 28mm 3.5 SMC Takumar, a 55mm 1.8 SMC Takumar and a 135mm 3.5 SMC Takumar. Glass should be around $50 each, the adapter under $20, the camera under $50. You'll love the IQ (in more sense than one).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Most of them are good, but few are worth repairing. Any good camera for free (or under, say, $40) is great until it breaks. I like Pentax SVs especially.

Cheers,

R.

 

[artscar2]

I would suggest if you are using Nikon digital, a series E 100 2.8. To go with film I like a FE or FE2. EM for absolute lowball price.

 

[c.poulton]

Pentax Spotmatics are relatively cheap and the Takumar lenses are really quite good and relatively cheap if you spend time to look around. Also you can use the many other brands of M42 mount lenses around at the moment.

An alternative is to go for a later K-mount body. I picked up an absolute bargain, pristine Pentax Super-A recently. With an adaptor I'm happily mounting Taks as well as K-mount lenses.

Taking onboard Roger's suggestion - I also recently picked up a dirt cheap S1a (cheaper version of the SV). Lovely build quality. (It's currently having a CLA and a new set of blinds which should see it working again for another fifty years or more).

 

[Bobbo]

Grab a $100 F3 from KEH and get a beater 105/2.5 and be done with it. I also like any of the 50mm (the Series E is very small and nice, but doesn't focus as close), the 28/3.5 isn't bad and you can still use them on your DSLR (use a histogram on review to check exposure if you don't have a Dx00, Dx or D7000).

I'd just stick with the Nikkors, myself, as few bodies from other companies strike me like the Nikon F series. The FM and FE series are also fantastic (An FE with a 50 Series E can be had on eBay for under $50). Sure, they might be a shade bigger than an MX, but they're a lot cheaper (price an MX from a reputable source lately?) and easier to get parts to fix. An FG isn't much cheaper and isn't built as well (but are still usable, so if you find a deal, go for it). You could also grab an N2000 or N2020 and still have a decent camera for under $10, giving more $$$ for lenses.

I've had good experience with older Ricohs (the SLX-500 was my first camera), too. Simple and works well with few special parts (except the fancy 401 model with the eyelevel/waistlevel switching finder). They take all M42 lenses fine and the later ones are K-mount.