Smallest M42 body?

Oren, the ST801 is a tad smaller than the SV. It's borderline: the ST801 is 5mm taller, but 8mm less in width than the SV.

And the ST605 and ST705 are actually a bit smaller and lighter than the ST801. Maybe not enough to be worth spending the money if you're happy with the ST801, though.

Hope you have some fun with that Industar!
 
Thanks Pan, splitimageview and Oren. I really don't know anything about Contax D, Pentacon, or others of that era; I guess that's why I asked. I've heard of them of course, but wouldn't know anything about their relative sizes. From what I've heard of the Pentax adapter, I think I'd trust one, although for price I could probably get another body of some sort. The one on the ME looks beautifully made, as you would expect of Pentax. I'll keep an eye out for alternatives, but am happy to use the bodies I have at present. As I thought, I'm not going to get anything that would challenge a Barnack for size. Here's a couple of pics of the Industar on the ST801 body. Thanks everyone.
 

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How does meter work with Pentax screwmount adapter on me super?

Works in stop down mode. You do lose the auto aperture so have to have the lens set to manual. Not a problem with an industar 50-2 which is manual aperture only anyway.

Ronnie
 
Here is mine - you can notice the similarities with the older contax rangefinders. It is a small camera (for SLR) - i am not sure how it compares to the 801 though.



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The Yashica Fx 3, Fx 7 have crossed my mind. All mechanical, based on a Cosina platform and c/y adapters are easily available. They are small, light and have bright focusing screens.
 
Here is mine - you can notice the similarities with the older contax rangefinders. It is a small camera (for SLR) - i am not sure how it compares to the 801 though.



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That is a very pretty camera! It doesn't look bad with the Heliar on, either - having looked it up, at least as good as it gets with a period lens on it.
 
The Contax Ds, Pentacon Fs etc are great cameras. Unfortunately, more often than not the curtains need replacement.
 
Here are my Fujica ST705 and the Cosina CSM for a quick comparsion.
The Cosina is tack smaller and lighter, the Fujica taller because of the bigger prism housing.
My R3 runs for giving an impression of general size relation.
 

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Here's a size comparison of my m42 cameras.

The Pentacon is the lightest in this group but has the dimmest plain ground glass VF. The ST801 has the brightest VF with split image focus aid and the light meter works with a modern A544 6V battery. Just watch out for the stop down pin in the ST801 lens mount which can jam certain m42 lenses.
 
I think the Fujica ST 605/1 is the smallest of the Fujica series. It only goes to 1/700th of a second, but other than that is a decent little camera and can be purchased pretty inexpensively. I also have (and prefer to use) a 705W, but it is a little bigger I think.
 
I think the Fujica ST 605/1 is the smallest of the Fujica series. It only goes to 1/700th of a second, but other than that is a decent little camera and can be purchased pretty inexpensively. I also have (and prefer to use) a 705W, but it is a little bigger I think.


All the Fujica STs I had were the same size. Only the 801 is a little taller.
 
The Chinon CE-3 / Revueflex AC1 is one of the smallest native M42 bodies -- and it is one of four cameras (the others being the CE, CE-II, and Cosina Hi Lite) that can autoexpose every single M42 lens with an automatic diaphragm capability. The CE-3 is barely bigger than a Contax Aria and definitely smaller and lighter than a Spotmatic.
 
Thanks Axel, Je and David. Very useful information. I really wasn't aware of the variety of M42 bodies and I'm glad I asked the question. In the past I've had Nikon, Olympus, Contax etc, but in recent years have become more interested in manual bodies and 'character' lenses, hence my little collection of M42 bodies and lenses. Thanks to all.
 
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