What Were They Thinking?
A compendium of classic camera design blunders and omissions
By Jason Schneider
Over the past 180 years or so, a vast amount of talent, effort and thought has gone into designing cameras, and the best ones of any era are masterpieces of ingenuity and craftsmanship that enable photographers to articulate their vision seamlessly, often at a high level of technical excellence. However, nothing created by humans is perfect, and even the best cameras are beset with everything from minor foibles to inherent limitations imposed by their basic design parameters. Some older camera designs (such as the Canon 7 of 1961 to 1964 with its huge clunky built in selenium meter) were limited by the technology of the day, while others reflect questionable decisions made by designers, engineers, and marketing mavens. Herewith a collection of my favorite dummheits (stupidities) and head-scratching omissions, starting with the fabled Kodak of 1888, arguably the first successful mass market camera.
Original Kodak of 1888 with barrel-type shutter. V-shaped pattern inscribed in leather at front of top to aid composition is barely visble here.
The first Kodak and the first Brownie: What—no viewfinders?!
The Kodak of 1888, the first camera marketed by the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Co. of Rochester, New York, is, in the opinion of most historians, the most important series-production camera ever made. What makes this humble-looking box camera so consequential is not its ingenious construction or technical brilliance, both of which are noteworthy, but the idea it embodied— a camera capable of producing satisfying photographs in the hands of ordinary people having no special technical skills. When the Kodak was announced in 1888. photography had progressed from the Daguerreotype and wet plate days when photographers literally had to prepare their own plates, but it was still an arcane pursuit requiring considerable expertise and dedication, particularly in the darkroom. What the Kodak offered, for the then-handsome sum of $25 (equivalent to a staggering $821.93 in 2024 dollars!), was an unintimidating, easy-to use, portable box camera with no adjustments, that was pre-loaded with roll film sufficient for 100 exposures. When you were finished shooting the roll, you shipped the camera back to Eastman in Rochester, along with $10 (a hefty $328.77 in 2024 dollars). For this tidy sum they developed the film, transferred each negative to a sheet of glass for contact printing (because the 2-3/4-inch-wide “stripping film” was mounted on a non-transparent paper backing) made one print from each good negative, reloaded the camera with film for 100 more exposures, and returned it to the owner. In the context of the 19th century, the Kodak was the world’s first successful point-and-shoot, and the camera that really created the modern photofinishing industry.
The Kodak of 1888 (left) and a well dressed Victorian era woman holding the camera in shooting position. Images like this were used in ads.
The Kodak, manufactured for The Eastman Dry Plate & Film Co. by George Brownell of Rochester, New York (who may also have had a hand in its production engineering) is a wooden-bodied box camera clad in Turkey morocco with “nickel and brass trimmings and inclosed in a neat sole leather case with shoulder strap.” Described as “about the size of a large field glass” it measures 3-1/4 x 3-1/4 x 6-1/2 inches and weighs 1lb. 10 oz. It produced circular pictures 2-1/2 inches in diameter on 2-3/4-inch-wide flexible film, had no frame counter (you stopped winding the film-advance key when the rotating pattern in a little round window had gone through one full turn!), and it had no viewfinder—you aimed it with the aid of two lines, in a V pattern, engraved into the leather top. The lens, contained in a unique barrel-type shutter that revolved on an axis parallel to the film plane, was a 57mm f/9 Rapid Rectilinear. Based on the format it was a wide-angle, which gave good depth of field, but image quality in the corners of the field would have been poor, so the corner-less circular format made sense technically. The shutter, which was manually cocked with a pull cord. provided a single shutter speed of about 1/25 sec. The camera also came with a felt plug, in effect a lens cap, which fit into the lens surround on the front of the camera and could be removed and replaced for making time exposures. The shutter-release button was on the left, a tripod socket oddly placed on the top—but with no viewfinder this hardly mattered!
Original Kodak Brownie of 1900 with rare accessory clip-on viewfinder. Camera sold for only $1.00; the viewfinder was 25 cents extra!
Despite its spartan simplicity, ample price, and the inconvenience of having to return the camera for processing, the Kodak was a phenomenal success—about 25,000 were sold in the first year of production—because it was the first camera that enabled anyone to take pictures, and it was aggressively marketed with a brilliant advertising campaign. Eastman’s astute grasp of human psychology and motivation is evident in these quotes from an1888 Kodak ad, “Anybody who can wind a watch can use the Kodak Camera…No tripod, no focusing, no adjustment whatever…A picturesque diary of your trip…may be obtained without trouble that will be worth a hundred times its cost in after years.” In 1889, it was “1. Pull the cord 2. Turn the key 3. Press the button. And so on for 100 pictures.” This was later refined into the greatest photographic advertising slogan of all time, “You press the button, we do the rest.”
Those too impatient to send their cameras to Rochester could buy darkroom-loadable 100-exposure film spools for $2 apiece, and develop and print their own film, or send the exposed film back to Rochester and have it processed and returned with a fresh roll for $10. While The Kodak was certainly ingenious, none of its features, except for the barrel shutter, was unique, but the concept of a stone simple roll film camera, squarely aimed at the middle-to-upper-class mass market and the forward-looking marketing techniques used to promote it ultimately brought photography within the reach of hundreds of millions of people. More than any other single camera, the Kodak helped to create the modern photographic industry by transforming the act of taking pictures into a universal human experience.
An original Kodak Camera, one of the holy grails of camera collecting, now verges on being a museum piece. Early barrel-shutter models in good condition sell in the $4000-5000 range, though a truly pristine and complete example with case and instruction manual could easily fetch much more. Later models with the classic “safety-pin” metal-bladed shutter are worth less but are still scarce and collectible.
The original Kodak Brownie: Still no viewfinder!
Now you would think that 12 years would be sufficient for Kodak to develop a box camera with a real viewfinder, but no. Like the Kodak of 1888, the original Kodak Brownie of 1900 had no viewfinder, only framing lines in a 60° V-pattern inscribed on its top, with the open end of the V pointing forward toward the subject. However, it was a simple, competent, easy-to-use, daylight-loadable camera at the then-unprecedented price of $1.00. And by putting a brilliantly conceived mass-marketing program behind it, Kodak was literally able to motivate millions to buy it. The Brownie’s success was unprecedented—in the first year alone, over 150,000 cameras were shipped, three times the previous record. To get a clearer idea of the impact of the Brownie, check out one of the many timelines of the 20th century and go to the year 1900. Right up there, along with such momentous events as Max Planck’s formulation of the quantum theory and the publication of Sigmund Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams” is Kodak’s introduction of the $1 Brownie camera!
The Brownie got its name from artist Palmer Cox’s whimsical cartoon versions of Brownies--“hard-working Scottish sprites or elves who did household chores” --that were as popular in the 1880-1920 period as Mickey Mouse is today. Some have conjectured that the name was an oblique tribute to Frank A. Brownell, who was responsible for its design and manufacture, but this is not the case. In any event, the Brownie is about as simple and basic as a camera can get—an imitation-leather covered cardboard box, with wooden film carrier, measuring about 3 x 3 x 5 inches. It has a simple fixed-focus f/11 meniscus lens, and metal rotary shutter with a single speed of about 1/35-1/50 sec plus T. However, starting in July 1900, a small clip-on accessory reflex viewfinder was offered for 25 cents! The film-winding key was detachable and often lost, which is why many original Brownies are found with soldered-on, non-standard keys. The first 15,000 Brownies were fitted with a push-on cardboard box lid back that proved unreliable and was soon replaced (March 1900) with a bottom-hinged back with a nice, nickel-plated sliding latch on top. Despite its modest specs, the original Kodak Brownie did score one extremely important historical distinction—it pioneered No.117 film, thus making it the world’s first 2-1/4 x 2-1/4-inch roll film camera. The117 size, essentially 6-exposures of 120 film on a narrower-flanged spool, is long defunct, but the glorious 2-1/4 square roll film format is still very much alive in 120-format. Also, that accessory viewfinder proved so popular that all subsequent Box Brownies had small built-in reflex viewfinders for composing pictures in horizontal or vertical orientations.
The Brownie was certainly the right product at the right time, at the right price with a catchy name. But what really transformed it into an enduring American icon that sired generations of Kodak Brownies up until the ‘70s and inspired countless imitators worldwide, was Kodak’s ingenious and aggressive marketing plan. Brownies were advertised in popular magazines rather than trade magazines. Ads stressed it could be “operated by any schoolboy or girl” and kids were urged to join The Brownie Camera Club, which had no initiation fee, and whose object was “to increase the interest of American boys and girls in matters pertaining to photography.” Kodak ran picture contests and awarded prizes. A roll of film, called a “Transparent-Film Cartridge, 6 exposures 2-1/4 x 2-1/4” cost 15 cents, a box of paper, 10 cents, and a Brownie Developing and Printing Outfit, 75 cents. At the bottom of many ads was a small box with the message “Send a dollar to your local Kodak Dealer for a Brownie Camera. If there is no dealer in your area, send us a dollar and we will ship the camera promptly.” With the arrival of the Brownie, anyone could take photographs of everything from special occasions to everyday life, and to do so inexpensively. The era of the snapshot had dawned, and the world would never be the same.
Today, an original Brownie camera with “shoe box” back cover and accessory viewfinder is a rare bird indeed and a collector’s prize valued at about $2000. The later, improved version with hinged back, also a primo collectible, sells for about $300-500 with original winding key and box. The long-running #2 Brownie (1901-1933), that took 120 film and had a 2-1/4 x 3-1/4-inch format, is a nice user-collectible that sells for $35-50 and is recommended to anyone who wants to experience the joys of shooting with a classic box camera. Despite their modest specs they can take surprisingly sharp, detailed pictures—providing you don’t get closer than about 5 feet from the subject.
Barnack Leicas: Bottom loading Leicas and their discontents
Oskar Barnack was the principal inventor of the original Leica I (Model A) of 1925, a masterfully integrated, 35mm precision miniature still picture camera that was destined to alter the course of photography in the 20th century. His achievement in building a coupled rangefinder system with interchangeable lenses into the Leica II (Model D) of 1932 while maintaining the same size, form factor, and ergonomics of his original masterpiece is nothing less than astounding. Indeed, every screw mount Leica up to and including the coveted Leica IIIg of 1957 to 1960 is a “Barnack Leica” because it incorporates many of the farsighted concepts he had laid down in the ‘20s and ‘30s.
Leica I (Model A) bottom view,, with base plate removed for loading. Note latch with hinged D-shaped handle that opens inserted Leca cassettes when handle is turrned to "closed" locking position.
Leica I (model A) with base plate removed for loading. Bottom loading requires a removable spool, tapered film leader, some manual dexterity.
All Barnack Leicas feature “unibody” construction—the basic chassis is a single piece of aluminum alloy rather than an assemblage of parts. This enhances structural integrity and enables precise lens-to-film- plane alignment, critical in achieving outstanding image quality with the small 24 x 36mm format, which requires greater enlargement to yield standard print sizes of 8 x 10 inches or larger. The basic body structure of all Leicas from the Leica I (model A) of 1925 to the Leica IIIb of 1938 to 1941 was formed by flattening a round metal tube by applying high pressure on 2 sides to achieve the classic slim body shape with rounded ends. The body was then cut to size vertically, machined to precise tolerances to accept the lens mount and internal parts, and covered in leather-textured black Vulcanite. Starting with the Leica IIIc of 1940, screw mount Barnack Leicas used a 3mm longer, one-piece diecast alloy chassis with an integral rangefinder cover, and had upgraded internals, a larger shutter release, and a new frame counter mechanism. The Leica IIId (a rare version of the IIIc), the Leica IIIf black dial of 1950, and the Leica IIIf red dial of 1952 (both with built-in flash sync) were built on the same diecast chassis as the IIIc, and the last screw-mount Leica, the IIIg of 1957-1960 used a taller body casting to accommodate the new larger viewfinder with projected frame lines for 50mm and 90mm lenses.
Leica II (Model D) of 1932 with nickel hardware, 50mm f/2.5 Hektor lens. Integrating an interchangeable lens system with coupled rangefinder into virtually the same minuscule form factor as the original Leica I (Model A) was pure genius. Kudos to Oskar Barnack!
All screw-mount Barnack Leicas use the same pesky bottom loading system that requires a removable take-up spool, a tapered film leader, and some degree of manual dexterity to ensure that the sprocket teeth engage the film perforations properly before you latch the back shut. The fact that bottom loading Barnack Leicas were in production for 35 years proves that the system is workable, but practically anyone who’s ever shot with one of these magnificent machines has complained about loading it. Indeed, countless Leica fans cheered when the Leica M3 arrived in 1954 with a hinged back section that made loading film and loading verification much easier. To give Barnack his due, the one advantage of the bottom-loading system is that turning the hinged back lock key on the bottom of the base plate to closed position causes an internal tab to open the “darkroom door” of an installed Leica cassette, allowing the film to move frictionlessly through the camera. With Kodak’s introduction of the felt-lipped standard 35mm cartridge in 1934, this advantage became far less important.
The Kine Exakta of 1936: A landmark camera with a (nearly) fatal flaw
The Kine Exakta of 1936 was the world’s first commercially successful 35mm SLR—the ungainly but competent Sport (a pioneering 35mm SLR made by GOMZ in the USSR) was evidently announced one year earlier in 1935, but it probably wasn’t marketed until later and then not internationally distributed. Based largely on the VP Exakta of 1933 (which provided a 4.5 x 6cm format on 127 roll film), the Kine Exakta, as its name implied, took 35mm cine film and provided a standard 24 x 36mm format. While it had the appealing look of “precision machinery” and the traditional Ihagee Exakta’s trapezoidal body shape, the Kine Exakta was beset with numerous “inconvenience features” and required a leisurely approach to picture taking. These include a 270°-stroke, left-handed, non-ratcheted film wind lever, a manual diaphragm lens that had to be stopped down to shooting aperture after focusing wide open (later modes had lenses with externally coupled semi-auto diaphragms), and a devilishly complicated system for setting slow shutter speeds using a separate manually wound gear train.
Oriiginal Exakta 1 of 1936 with round magnifier, manual in background. To focus more precisely you had to press the hinged magnifier down onto the viewing screen, obscuring much of the viewing image, which made focusing and composing the picture separate operations. Uncool.
The Sport of 1935, This ungainly USSR-made 35mm SLR with a focal plane shutter, waist-level finder, and a auxiliary optical finder was announced in 1935, beating out the Kine Exakta by one year, but it sold in limited quantities and never achieved worldwide success.
But the crowning dummheit of the Kine Exakta is its waist-level viewfinder, which has the focusing magnifier hinged at the bottom of the finder hood, so you must clamp it down directly over the focusing screen! Not only does this system limit the degree of magnification, compromising its value as a focusing aid, the frame holding the magnifier also obscures a large portion of the viewing image so you can’t really view and focus simultaneously—one if the major advantages of using an SLR! When users complained, Ihagee enlarged area of the original round magnifier, which obscured around 70% of the viewing image, to a rectangular one that obscured “only” 50% or so! They didn’t really address the problem until 1949 by introducing the Exakta II, basically a Kine Exakta with the focusing magnifier hinged at the top the waist-level viewing hood where it should have been in the first place. The only ones pleased with any of these incredible lapses in camera design 101 are collectors—an original 1936 Kine Exakta with round magnifier is a rare collectible worth $600 and up; a clean Kine with rectangular magnifier fetches about $300-$500 depending on lens and condition. If you’re a shooter who wants the vintage Exakta experience without the pain, financial and otherwise, go for an Exakta II which is obtainable for around $100-$150.
The sad saga of the Kodak Ektra: When too much is not enough!
The Kodak Ektra of 1941 was Kodak’s audacious attempt to build the finest interchangeable-lens rangefinder camera the world had ever seen, and they poured an enormous amount of resources into the project. The result, designed primarily by Joseph Mihaly, was technically brilliant, spectacular, and in many ways functional, but it was also extraordinarily complex, expensive to manufacture, and it featured a left-handed shutter release, film-advance crank, and front-mounted focusing wheel! The Ektra’s amazing features include: a 4-1/8-inch-base, high magnification, full-military-spec split-image prism rangefinder, varifocal dioptric viewfinder providing auto parallax compensation with breech-lock bayonet lenses from 35mm to 153mm, interchangeable film magazines with built-in, two-stroke film-advance levers and folding rewind cranks, and a rubberized cloth focal-plane shutter with fast-and slow-speed dials providing speeds of 1-1/1000 sec plus B. Standard lens was a 50mm f/1.9 or f/3.5 Ektar, both superb.
Kodak Ektra with 50mm f/1.9 Ektar lens. You've gotta give Kodak credit for sheer audacity, but the Ektra was a technical and marketing flop.
Since Kodak officially sold only 2,490 Ektras to the public before it was discontinued in 1948 and each one used 667 different parts made of 88 different materials in its construction, Kodak evidently lost a pile of money on the project. Ektras are beautiful on the outside, less so on the inside, and are notoriously unreliable picture takers (the shutter was never perfected and the film backs are trouble prone) but it is a unique and magnificent collectible. Current value with 50mm f/1.9 Ektar lens: $2,500 to $3000.
The Nikon F: Indestructible--except for the prism lock.
The legendary Nikon F introduced in 1959 was the first truly professional caliber SLR, conceived as the basis for a high quality professional SLR system. The Nikon F remained in production, with relatively minor changes, for nearly 14 years, and during that time it established Nikon as the leading professional 35mm camera, a position not seriously challenged (by Canon) until the autofocus era. A handsome, rugged, and reliable camera of modular design, its removable pentaprism and external meter-coupling system allowed the Nikon F to be retrofitted with the latest advances in metering technology by upgrading the meter prism, and its F mount has endured, with some operational changes, even until the present digital era—a remarkable example of non-obsolescence. While the Nikon F is not a technological landmark, it is the camera that really marked the coming of age of the 35mm SLR. Its features include at titanium foil focal-plane shutter (early models had cloth shutters) with speeds from 1-1/1000 sec plus B and T, interchangeable finders and screens, and a removable back. An extensive range of lenses and specialized accessories are available. The Nikon F is a fine user-collectible, and these days something of a bargain—you can snag a clean working Nikon F Photomic with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens for $200 to $300 or even less. Downsides: the prism locking mechanism is not as robust as the rest of the camera (it wasn’t originally designed for large heavy meter prisms) and it ispossible to knock a Photomic prism off a Nikon F if you’re a klutz (don’t ask me how I know). Also, I’ve never been a fan of the clunky external linkage for coupling the lens aperture to the meter prism. Note: Nikon responded by upgrading the prism locking system on the Nikon F2, which added robust hooks at the front of the prism to better secure it to the body.
Nikon FTN with late TTL meter prism and multicoated 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor S.C. lens. Prism lock was dodgy, and reinforced on the Nikon F2
The Leicaflex Standard: The perils of making an SLR for Leica M lovers.
The Leicaflex was the first SLR manufactured by Leitz, the result of a development program dating back to 1958. It was officially released in 1964 and discontinued in 1968, with the introduction of the Leicaflex SL, the first SLR with selective TTL metering. Over the Standard’s lifespan only about 37,500 bodies were sold, perhaps a blessing in disguise since some say the cost of productionexceeded the dealer price! The original Leicaflex Standard was a reluctant entry into the SLR arena, and a great disappointment to many diehard Leica fans that were hoping for a world class contender to go up against the Nikon F, Canonflex, Asahi Pentax and its extravagantly huge and overdesigned German predecessor, the Zeiss “Bull’s-Eye” Contarex. Mocked by some reviewers as “the shotgun marriage of a Leica M3, a Visoflex reflex housing, and a Leica MR meter” the non-TTL-metering Leicaflex Standard was functionally obsolete the day it was released. And when it finally went on sale, the Leicaflex with standard 50mm f/2Summicron-R lens sold for $585, then an astronomical price for a brand new SLR lacking features available on other cameras costing far less.
Leicaflex Standard in black with matching 90mm Elmarit-R lens. Technologically behind the times and beset with an idiosyncratic "rangefinder-like" viewfinder, it was expensive and didn't sell, but it takes great pictures and is now considered a de facto classic.
The Leicaflex Standard is a very conservative camera that has a commendably bright reflex finder, but it only provides a focusing image within a central microprism circle—the entire outer area is a non-focusing aerial image—kind of like (dare we say it?) a rangefinder camera! Geometric shutter speed settings of B and 1-1/2000 sec. are clearly displayed along the bottom of the finder, with the meter needle and lollipop-shaped match-needle pointer located on the right. Neither the back nor the prism is interchangeable, precluding the possibility of adding back-mounted accessories or conveniently changing finders or focusing screens. While the single stroke wind lever has a moderately long throw of about 140° from standoff position, it’s not ratcheted so you can’t wind to the next frame in a series of shorter strokes.
Leicaflex Standard viewfinder focused only in the central miicroprism circle. The outer area was a very bright, non-focusing aerial image.
The Leicaflex Standard was produced in 2 variants: the original Mark 1, identifiable by its fan-shaped exposure counter, and the later Mark 2, which has a round exposure counter and turns off the meter when the wind lever is pressed flush with the camera body. The Mark 1 has no meter off switch at all—you must store it in a dark place or in its case to conserve battery power—a major design oversight one would not expect from a thoughtful company like Leica.
Despite its shortcomings that were obvious even in its day, the Leicaflex Standard, in its own idiosyncratic way, is a timeless classic. It’s exquisitely made and gorgeously finished at a level that few, if any, modern cameras can match. Its highly complex and sophisticated mirror and shutter mechanisms are masterfully executed, quite reliable, and extremely durable. Its viewfinder is very bright even by current standards and the central focusing image snaps into focus with alacrity. Its original line of single-cam R-mount Leitz prime lenses (35-135mm), many designed by the legendary Dr. Walter Mandler, are mechanical masterpieces that deliver breathtaking image quality. Its shutter release and film wind action are silky smooth, and its shutter tops out at an impressive 1/2000 sec. Even its funky, low sensitivity metering system (which has an ugly shrouded CdS port and battery cover on the front of the pentaprism housing) works quite well in reasonably bright light and gives “fat spot” readings roughly equal in coverage to a 90mm lens. However, its CdS cell meter is subject to the dreaded memory effect, and you’ll have to have the meter converted to accept a current 1.5v silver oxide or alkaline cell—it was designed to take a now defunct 1.35v mercury battery. Note: while the Leicaflex Standard works fine with 1- and 2-cam R-mount lenses, 3-cam and ROM-equipped lenses can cause trouble, so beware. If you’re tempted to acquire one these idiosyncratic and underappreciated classics, bodies in clean functional condition are readily available used in the $200-$350 range and you can occasionally snag a nice one, complete with a 1-cam 50mm f/2 Summicron-R for around $500-600. If you decide to take the plunge, make sure yours comes with a no questions asked, full return guarantee if you’re not satisfied-- these cameras can be expensive to fix!
Konica IIIM of 1960 had a big ugly hinged selenium cell meter on top that's notoriously unreliable and (mostly) unrepairable. It's too bad, because the camera provided full and half-frame formats with parallax and field size correction and has a great 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens.
The Konica IIIM: A great camera destroyed by adding a horrible meter!
The beautifully made and attractive Konica IIIA of 1958 featured an unusual, vertically mounted, left-handed, rapid-wind lever, and a magnificent high magnification (1:1) range/viewfinder with true projected, parallax-compensating finder frame lines that also adjust for field frame size (the reduced angular coverage as you focus closer). Other features include: an excellent 50mm f/1.8 or f/2 Hexanon lens, Seikosha 1-1/500 sec MX shutter, rewind crank and self-timer. Despite its beautiful execution, elegant proportions, and advanced features, the Konica IIIA was a glorious technological dead end. The subsequent Konica IIIM (which added half frame capability and a coupled flip-up-selenium-cell meter) was an unreliable dud due to the fragile, unreliable meter call that also spoiled the handsome lines of the camera. About 95% of Konica IIIMs have non-functioning meters, and your chances of getting one repaired are slim to none. The solution: If you hanker for a great Konica rangefinder 35, look for a nice clean Konica IIIA; they’re readily available used in clean working condition for about $200-$250. It is said that the 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens performs a tad better than the 48mm f/2 but the latter is more compact and more in keeping with the camera’s elegant form factor. Either version is a fine user-collectible well worth the current price.
The Minolta CLE: Everything you want, except manual metering.
The Minolta CLE unveiled in 1980 was the first autoexposure M-mount rangefinder 35, a logical successor to the Leica CL and Leitz-Minolta CL that had debuted in 1973, and arguably the best camera to come out of the longstanding Leitz Minolta cooperation agreement. Indeed, its feature set wouldn’t be equaled by any Leica until the Leica M7 of 2002. The Minolta CLE introduced a host of new technologies to the rangefinder 35, including TTL OTF (through the lens, off the film plane) metering, aperture priority autoexposure, and an LED metering display in the viewfinder.
Minolta CLE of 1980 with superb 40mm f/2 Rocker-M lens. Prior to the Leica M7 of 2007 it was the most advanced M-mount rangefinder 35.
In terms of its metering electronics, the Minolta CLE is based on the Minolta XG-series SLRs, specifically the XG-7. The viewfinder has projected, parallax compensating, projected frame lines for 28 mm, 40 mm, and 90 mm focal lengths, an electronic focal plane shutter with speeds to 1/1000 sec, and a through-the-lens, 2-cell (TTL) silicon photodiode (SPD) metering system with aperture-priority automatic or manual exposure, and automated ambient and flash exposure metering that works dynamically, adjusting the shutter speed and TTL, off the film (OTF) flash metering during the exposure. Despite its advanced specs, the Minolta CLE does not provide a metered manual exposure mode like the Leica M7 or Konica Hexar RF—it only offers a choice of aperture priority AE or (non-metered) manual f/stop and shutter speed settings.
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Konica Hexar RF of 1999 with 35mm Hexar lens in M-compatible KM mount. It had AE and metered manual exposure but not TTL OTF flash.
Would it be possible to modify a Minolta CLE to provide a metered manual exposure mode, a working method preferred by many serious photographers? It would require major modifications to the camera’s electronic circuitry and would be very difficult to achieve without compromising the camera’s existing capabilities. Bottom line: if cost were no object, it could probably be done, but as a practical proposition, not so much. You can acquire a pristine Minolta CLE with 40mm f/2 M-Rokkor lens for about $900.00 to $1,200.00. And if you must have an M-mount rangefinder 35 with AE and metered manual exposure, check out the Hexar RF with 35mm f/2 Hexar lens (roughly $600 to $1,000, but prices vary wildly) or a Leica M7 ($3,500 to $4,500, body only)… but only the M7 has aTTL OTF flash metering that’s comparable to the CLE but using the shoe-mount SCA system.
A compendium of classic camera design blunders and omissions
By Jason Schneider
Over the past 180 years or so, a vast amount of talent, effort and thought has gone into designing cameras, and the best ones of any era are masterpieces of ingenuity and craftsmanship that enable photographers to articulate their vision seamlessly, often at a high level of technical excellence. However, nothing created by humans is perfect, and even the best cameras are beset with everything from minor foibles to inherent limitations imposed by their basic design parameters. Some older camera designs (such as the Canon 7 of 1961 to 1964 with its huge clunky built in selenium meter) were limited by the technology of the day, while others reflect questionable decisions made by designers, engineers, and marketing mavens. Herewith a collection of my favorite dummheits (stupidities) and head-scratching omissions, starting with the fabled Kodak of 1888, arguably the first successful mass market camera.
Original Kodak of 1888 with barrel-type shutter. V-shaped pattern inscribed in leather at front of top to aid composition is barely visble here.
The first Kodak and the first Brownie: What—no viewfinders?!
The Kodak of 1888, the first camera marketed by the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Co. of Rochester, New York, is, in the opinion of most historians, the most important series-production camera ever made. What makes this humble-looking box camera so consequential is not its ingenious construction or technical brilliance, both of which are noteworthy, but the idea it embodied— a camera capable of producing satisfying photographs in the hands of ordinary people having no special technical skills. When the Kodak was announced in 1888. photography had progressed from the Daguerreotype and wet plate days when photographers literally had to prepare their own plates, but it was still an arcane pursuit requiring considerable expertise and dedication, particularly in the darkroom. What the Kodak offered, for the then-handsome sum of $25 (equivalent to a staggering $821.93 in 2024 dollars!), was an unintimidating, easy-to use, portable box camera with no adjustments, that was pre-loaded with roll film sufficient for 100 exposures. When you were finished shooting the roll, you shipped the camera back to Eastman in Rochester, along with $10 (a hefty $328.77 in 2024 dollars). For this tidy sum they developed the film, transferred each negative to a sheet of glass for contact printing (because the 2-3/4-inch-wide “stripping film” was mounted on a non-transparent paper backing) made one print from each good negative, reloaded the camera with film for 100 more exposures, and returned it to the owner. In the context of the 19th century, the Kodak was the world’s first successful point-and-shoot, and the camera that really created the modern photofinishing industry.
The Kodak of 1888 (left) and a well dressed Victorian era woman holding the camera in shooting position. Images like this were used in ads.
The Kodak, manufactured for The Eastman Dry Plate & Film Co. by George Brownell of Rochester, New York (who may also have had a hand in its production engineering) is a wooden-bodied box camera clad in Turkey morocco with “nickel and brass trimmings and inclosed in a neat sole leather case with shoulder strap.” Described as “about the size of a large field glass” it measures 3-1/4 x 3-1/4 x 6-1/2 inches and weighs 1lb. 10 oz. It produced circular pictures 2-1/2 inches in diameter on 2-3/4-inch-wide flexible film, had no frame counter (you stopped winding the film-advance key when the rotating pattern in a little round window had gone through one full turn!), and it had no viewfinder—you aimed it with the aid of two lines, in a V pattern, engraved into the leather top. The lens, contained in a unique barrel-type shutter that revolved on an axis parallel to the film plane, was a 57mm f/9 Rapid Rectilinear. Based on the format it was a wide-angle, which gave good depth of field, but image quality in the corners of the field would have been poor, so the corner-less circular format made sense technically. The shutter, which was manually cocked with a pull cord. provided a single shutter speed of about 1/25 sec. The camera also came with a felt plug, in effect a lens cap, which fit into the lens surround on the front of the camera and could be removed and replaced for making time exposures. The shutter-release button was on the left, a tripod socket oddly placed on the top—but with no viewfinder this hardly mattered!
Original Kodak Brownie of 1900 with rare accessory clip-on viewfinder. Camera sold for only $1.00; the viewfinder was 25 cents extra!
Despite its spartan simplicity, ample price, and the inconvenience of having to return the camera for processing, the Kodak was a phenomenal success—about 25,000 were sold in the first year of production—because it was the first camera that enabled anyone to take pictures, and it was aggressively marketed with a brilliant advertising campaign. Eastman’s astute grasp of human psychology and motivation is evident in these quotes from an1888 Kodak ad, “Anybody who can wind a watch can use the Kodak Camera…No tripod, no focusing, no adjustment whatever…A picturesque diary of your trip…may be obtained without trouble that will be worth a hundred times its cost in after years.” In 1889, it was “1. Pull the cord 2. Turn the key 3. Press the button. And so on for 100 pictures.” This was later refined into the greatest photographic advertising slogan of all time, “You press the button, we do the rest.”
Those too impatient to send their cameras to Rochester could buy darkroom-loadable 100-exposure film spools for $2 apiece, and develop and print their own film, or send the exposed film back to Rochester and have it processed and returned with a fresh roll for $10. While The Kodak was certainly ingenious, none of its features, except for the barrel shutter, was unique, but the concept of a stone simple roll film camera, squarely aimed at the middle-to-upper-class mass market and the forward-looking marketing techniques used to promote it ultimately brought photography within the reach of hundreds of millions of people. More than any other single camera, the Kodak helped to create the modern photographic industry by transforming the act of taking pictures into a universal human experience.
An original Kodak Camera, one of the holy grails of camera collecting, now verges on being a museum piece. Early barrel-shutter models in good condition sell in the $4000-5000 range, though a truly pristine and complete example with case and instruction manual could easily fetch much more. Later models with the classic “safety-pin” metal-bladed shutter are worth less but are still scarce and collectible.
The original Kodak Brownie: Still no viewfinder!
Now you would think that 12 years would be sufficient for Kodak to develop a box camera with a real viewfinder, but no. Like the Kodak of 1888, the original Kodak Brownie of 1900 had no viewfinder, only framing lines in a 60° V-pattern inscribed on its top, with the open end of the V pointing forward toward the subject. However, it was a simple, competent, easy-to-use, daylight-loadable camera at the then-unprecedented price of $1.00. And by putting a brilliantly conceived mass-marketing program behind it, Kodak was literally able to motivate millions to buy it. The Brownie’s success was unprecedented—in the first year alone, over 150,000 cameras were shipped, three times the previous record. To get a clearer idea of the impact of the Brownie, check out one of the many timelines of the 20th century and go to the year 1900. Right up there, along with such momentous events as Max Planck’s formulation of the quantum theory and the publication of Sigmund Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams” is Kodak’s introduction of the $1 Brownie camera!
The Brownie got its name from artist Palmer Cox’s whimsical cartoon versions of Brownies--“hard-working Scottish sprites or elves who did household chores” --that were as popular in the 1880-1920 period as Mickey Mouse is today. Some have conjectured that the name was an oblique tribute to Frank A. Brownell, who was responsible for its design and manufacture, but this is not the case. In any event, the Brownie is about as simple and basic as a camera can get—an imitation-leather covered cardboard box, with wooden film carrier, measuring about 3 x 3 x 5 inches. It has a simple fixed-focus f/11 meniscus lens, and metal rotary shutter with a single speed of about 1/35-1/50 sec plus T. However, starting in July 1900, a small clip-on accessory reflex viewfinder was offered for 25 cents! The film-winding key was detachable and often lost, which is why many original Brownies are found with soldered-on, non-standard keys. The first 15,000 Brownies were fitted with a push-on cardboard box lid back that proved unreliable and was soon replaced (March 1900) with a bottom-hinged back with a nice, nickel-plated sliding latch on top. Despite its modest specs, the original Kodak Brownie did score one extremely important historical distinction—it pioneered No.117 film, thus making it the world’s first 2-1/4 x 2-1/4-inch roll film camera. The117 size, essentially 6-exposures of 120 film on a narrower-flanged spool, is long defunct, but the glorious 2-1/4 square roll film format is still very much alive in 120-format. Also, that accessory viewfinder proved so popular that all subsequent Box Brownies had small built-in reflex viewfinders for composing pictures in horizontal or vertical orientations.
The Brownie was certainly the right product at the right time, at the right price with a catchy name. But what really transformed it into an enduring American icon that sired generations of Kodak Brownies up until the ‘70s and inspired countless imitators worldwide, was Kodak’s ingenious and aggressive marketing plan. Brownies were advertised in popular magazines rather than trade magazines. Ads stressed it could be “operated by any schoolboy or girl” and kids were urged to join The Brownie Camera Club, which had no initiation fee, and whose object was “to increase the interest of American boys and girls in matters pertaining to photography.” Kodak ran picture contests and awarded prizes. A roll of film, called a “Transparent-Film Cartridge, 6 exposures 2-1/4 x 2-1/4” cost 15 cents, a box of paper, 10 cents, and a Brownie Developing and Printing Outfit, 75 cents. At the bottom of many ads was a small box with the message “Send a dollar to your local Kodak Dealer for a Brownie Camera. If there is no dealer in your area, send us a dollar and we will ship the camera promptly.” With the arrival of the Brownie, anyone could take photographs of everything from special occasions to everyday life, and to do so inexpensively. The era of the snapshot had dawned, and the world would never be the same.
Today, an original Brownie camera with “shoe box” back cover and accessory viewfinder is a rare bird indeed and a collector’s prize valued at about $2000. The later, improved version with hinged back, also a primo collectible, sells for about $300-500 with original winding key and box. The long-running #2 Brownie (1901-1933), that took 120 film and had a 2-1/4 x 3-1/4-inch format, is a nice user-collectible that sells for $35-50 and is recommended to anyone who wants to experience the joys of shooting with a classic box camera. Despite their modest specs they can take surprisingly sharp, detailed pictures—providing you don’t get closer than about 5 feet from the subject.
Barnack Leicas: Bottom loading Leicas and their discontents
Oskar Barnack was the principal inventor of the original Leica I (Model A) of 1925, a masterfully integrated, 35mm precision miniature still picture camera that was destined to alter the course of photography in the 20th century. His achievement in building a coupled rangefinder system with interchangeable lenses into the Leica II (Model D) of 1932 while maintaining the same size, form factor, and ergonomics of his original masterpiece is nothing less than astounding. Indeed, every screw mount Leica up to and including the coveted Leica IIIg of 1957 to 1960 is a “Barnack Leica” because it incorporates many of the farsighted concepts he had laid down in the ‘20s and ‘30s.
Leica I (Model A) bottom view,, with base plate removed for loading. Note latch with hinged D-shaped handle that opens inserted Leca cassettes when handle is turrned to "closed" locking position.
Leica I (model A) with base plate removed for loading. Bottom loading requires a removable spool, tapered film leader, some manual dexterity.
All Barnack Leicas feature “unibody” construction—the basic chassis is a single piece of aluminum alloy rather than an assemblage of parts. This enhances structural integrity and enables precise lens-to-film- plane alignment, critical in achieving outstanding image quality with the small 24 x 36mm format, which requires greater enlargement to yield standard print sizes of 8 x 10 inches or larger. The basic body structure of all Leicas from the Leica I (model A) of 1925 to the Leica IIIb of 1938 to 1941 was formed by flattening a round metal tube by applying high pressure on 2 sides to achieve the classic slim body shape with rounded ends. The body was then cut to size vertically, machined to precise tolerances to accept the lens mount and internal parts, and covered in leather-textured black Vulcanite. Starting with the Leica IIIc of 1940, screw mount Barnack Leicas used a 3mm longer, one-piece diecast alloy chassis with an integral rangefinder cover, and had upgraded internals, a larger shutter release, and a new frame counter mechanism. The Leica IIId (a rare version of the IIIc), the Leica IIIf black dial of 1950, and the Leica IIIf red dial of 1952 (both with built-in flash sync) were built on the same diecast chassis as the IIIc, and the last screw-mount Leica, the IIIg of 1957-1960 used a taller body casting to accommodate the new larger viewfinder with projected frame lines for 50mm and 90mm lenses.
Leica II (Model D) of 1932 with nickel hardware, 50mm f/2.5 Hektor lens. Integrating an interchangeable lens system with coupled rangefinder into virtually the same minuscule form factor as the original Leica I (Model A) was pure genius. Kudos to Oskar Barnack!
All screw-mount Barnack Leicas use the same pesky bottom loading system that requires a removable take-up spool, a tapered film leader, and some degree of manual dexterity to ensure that the sprocket teeth engage the film perforations properly before you latch the back shut. The fact that bottom loading Barnack Leicas were in production for 35 years proves that the system is workable, but practically anyone who’s ever shot with one of these magnificent machines has complained about loading it. Indeed, countless Leica fans cheered when the Leica M3 arrived in 1954 with a hinged back section that made loading film and loading verification much easier. To give Barnack his due, the one advantage of the bottom-loading system is that turning the hinged back lock key on the bottom of the base plate to closed position causes an internal tab to open the “darkroom door” of an installed Leica cassette, allowing the film to move frictionlessly through the camera. With Kodak’s introduction of the felt-lipped standard 35mm cartridge in 1934, this advantage became far less important.
The Kine Exakta of 1936: A landmark camera with a (nearly) fatal flaw
The Kine Exakta of 1936 was the world’s first commercially successful 35mm SLR—the ungainly but competent Sport (a pioneering 35mm SLR made by GOMZ in the USSR) was evidently announced one year earlier in 1935, but it probably wasn’t marketed until later and then not internationally distributed. Based largely on the VP Exakta of 1933 (which provided a 4.5 x 6cm format on 127 roll film), the Kine Exakta, as its name implied, took 35mm cine film and provided a standard 24 x 36mm format. While it had the appealing look of “precision machinery” and the traditional Ihagee Exakta’s trapezoidal body shape, the Kine Exakta was beset with numerous “inconvenience features” and required a leisurely approach to picture taking. These include a 270°-stroke, left-handed, non-ratcheted film wind lever, a manual diaphragm lens that had to be stopped down to shooting aperture after focusing wide open (later modes had lenses with externally coupled semi-auto diaphragms), and a devilishly complicated system for setting slow shutter speeds using a separate manually wound gear train.
Oriiginal Exakta 1 of 1936 with round magnifier, manual in background. To focus more precisely you had to press the hinged magnifier down onto the viewing screen, obscuring much of the viewing image, which made focusing and composing the picture separate operations. Uncool.
The Sport of 1935, This ungainly USSR-made 35mm SLR with a focal plane shutter, waist-level finder, and a auxiliary optical finder was announced in 1935, beating out the Kine Exakta by one year, but it sold in limited quantities and never achieved worldwide success.
But the crowning dummheit of the Kine Exakta is its waist-level viewfinder, which has the focusing magnifier hinged at the bottom of the finder hood, so you must clamp it down directly over the focusing screen! Not only does this system limit the degree of magnification, compromising its value as a focusing aid, the frame holding the magnifier also obscures a large portion of the viewing image so you can’t really view and focus simultaneously—one if the major advantages of using an SLR! When users complained, Ihagee enlarged area of the original round magnifier, which obscured around 70% of the viewing image, to a rectangular one that obscured “only” 50% or so! They didn’t really address the problem until 1949 by introducing the Exakta II, basically a Kine Exakta with the focusing magnifier hinged at the top the waist-level viewing hood where it should have been in the first place. The only ones pleased with any of these incredible lapses in camera design 101 are collectors—an original 1936 Kine Exakta with round magnifier is a rare collectible worth $600 and up; a clean Kine with rectangular magnifier fetches about $300-$500 depending on lens and condition. If you’re a shooter who wants the vintage Exakta experience without the pain, financial and otherwise, go for an Exakta II which is obtainable for around $100-$150.
The sad saga of the Kodak Ektra: When too much is not enough!
The Kodak Ektra of 1941 was Kodak’s audacious attempt to build the finest interchangeable-lens rangefinder camera the world had ever seen, and they poured an enormous amount of resources into the project. The result, designed primarily by Joseph Mihaly, was technically brilliant, spectacular, and in many ways functional, but it was also extraordinarily complex, expensive to manufacture, and it featured a left-handed shutter release, film-advance crank, and front-mounted focusing wheel! The Ektra’s amazing features include: a 4-1/8-inch-base, high magnification, full-military-spec split-image prism rangefinder, varifocal dioptric viewfinder providing auto parallax compensation with breech-lock bayonet lenses from 35mm to 153mm, interchangeable film magazines with built-in, two-stroke film-advance levers and folding rewind cranks, and a rubberized cloth focal-plane shutter with fast-and slow-speed dials providing speeds of 1-1/1000 sec plus B. Standard lens was a 50mm f/1.9 or f/3.5 Ektar, both superb.
Kodak Ektra with 50mm f/1.9 Ektar lens. You've gotta give Kodak credit for sheer audacity, but the Ektra was a technical and marketing flop.
Since Kodak officially sold only 2,490 Ektras to the public before it was discontinued in 1948 and each one used 667 different parts made of 88 different materials in its construction, Kodak evidently lost a pile of money on the project. Ektras are beautiful on the outside, less so on the inside, and are notoriously unreliable picture takers (the shutter was never perfected and the film backs are trouble prone) but it is a unique and magnificent collectible. Current value with 50mm f/1.9 Ektar lens: $2,500 to $3000.
The Nikon F: Indestructible--except for the prism lock.
The legendary Nikon F introduced in 1959 was the first truly professional caliber SLR, conceived as the basis for a high quality professional SLR system. The Nikon F remained in production, with relatively minor changes, for nearly 14 years, and during that time it established Nikon as the leading professional 35mm camera, a position not seriously challenged (by Canon) until the autofocus era. A handsome, rugged, and reliable camera of modular design, its removable pentaprism and external meter-coupling system allowed the Nikon F to be retrofitted with the latest advances in metering technology by upgrading the meter prism, and its F mount has endured, with some operational changes, even until the present digital era—a remarkable example of non-obsolescence. While the Nikon F is not a technological landmark, it is the camera that really marked the coming of age of the 35mm SLR. Its features include at titanium foil focal-plane shutter (early models had cloth shutters) with speeds from 1-1/1000 sec plus B and T, interchangeable finders and screens, and a removable back. An extensive range of lenses and specialized accessories are available. The Nikon F is a fine user-collectible, and these days something of a bargain—you can snag a clean working Nikon F Photomic with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens for $200 to $300 or even less. Downsides: the prism locking mechanism is not as robust as the rest of the camera (it wasn’t originally designed for large heavy meter prisms) and it ispossible to knock a Photomic prism off a Nikon F if you’re a klutz (don’t ask me how I know). Also, I’ve never been a fan of the clunky external linkage for coupling the lens aperture to the meter prism. Note: Nikon responded by upgrading the prism locking system on the Nikon F2, which added robust hooks at the front of the prism to better secure it to the body.
Nikon FTN with late TTL meter prism and multicoated 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor S.C. lens. Prism lock was dodgy, and reinforced on the Nikon F2
The Leicaflex Standard: The perils of making an SLR for Leica M lovers.
The Leicaflex was the first SLR manufactured by Leitz, the result of a development program dating back to 1958. It was officially released in 1964 and discontinued in 1968, with the introduction of the Leicaflex SL, the first SLR with selective TTL metering. Over the Standard’s lifespan only about 37,500 bodies were sold, perhaps a blessing in disguise since some say the cost of productionexceeded the dealer price! The original Leicaflex Standard was a reluctant entry into the SLR arena, and a great disappointment to many diehard Leica fans that were hoping for a world class contender to go up against the Nikon F, Canonflex, Asahi Pentax and its extravagantly huge and overdesigned German predecessor, the Zeiss “Bull’s-Eye” Contarex. Mocked by some reviewers as “the shotgun marriage of a Leica M3, a Visoflex reflex housing, and a Leica MR meter” the non-TTL-metering Leicaflex Standard was functionally obsolete the day it was released. And when it finally went on sale, the Leicaflex with standard 50mm f/2Summicron-R lens sold for $585, then an astronomical price for a brand new SLR lacking features available on other cameras costing far less.
Leicaflex Standard in black with matching 90mm Elmarit-R lens. Technologically behind the times and beset with an idiosyncratic "rangefinder-like" viewfinder, it was expensive and didn't sell, but it takes great pictures and is now considered a de facto classic.
The Leicaflex Standard is a very conservative camera that has a commendably bright reflex finder, but it only provides a focusing image within a central microprism circle—the entire outer area is a non-focusing aerial image—kind of like (dare we say it?) a rangefinder camera! Geometric shutter speed settings of B and 1-1/2000 sec. are clearly displayed along the bottom of the finder, with the meter needle and lollipop-shaped match-needle pointer located on the right. Neither the back nor the prism is interchangeable, precluding the possibility of adding back-mounted accessories or conveniently changing finders or focusing screens. While the single stroke wind lever has a moderately long throw of about 140° from standoff position, it’s not ratcheted so you can’t wind to the next frame in a series of shorter strokes.
Leicaflex Standard viewfinder focused only in the central miicroprism circle. The outer area was a very bright, non-focusing aerial image.
The Leicaflex Standard was produced in 2 variants: the original Mark 1, identifiable by its fan-shaped exposure counter, and the later Mark 2, which has a round exposure counter and turns off the meter when the wind lever is pressed flush with the camera body. The Mark 1 has no meter off switch at all—you must store it in a dark place or in its case to conserve battery power—a major design oversight one would not expect from a thoughtful company like Leica.
Despite its shortcomings that were obvious even in its day, the Leicaflex Standard, in its own idiosyncratic way, is a timeless classic. It’s exquisitely made and gorgeously finished at a level that few, if any, modern cameras can match. Its highly complex and sophisticated mirror and shutter mechanisms are masterfully executed, quite reliable, and extremely durable. Its viewfinder is very bright even by current standards and the central focusing image snaps into focus with alacrity. Its original line of single-cam R-mount Leitz prime lenses (35-135mm), many designed by the legendary Dr. Walter Mandler, are mechanical masterpieces that deliver breathtaking image quality. Its shutter release and film wind action are silky smooth, and its shutter tops out at an impressive 1/2000 sec. Even its funky, low sensitivity metering system (which has an ugly shrouded CdS port and battery cover on the front of the pentaprism housing) works quite well in reasonably bright light and gives “fat spot” readings roughly equal in coverage to a 90mm lens. However, its CdS cell meter is subject to the dreaded memory effect, and you’ll have to have the meter converted to accept a current 1.5v silver oxide or alkaline cell—it was designed to take a now defunct 1.35v mercury battery. Note: while the Leicaflex Standard works fine with 1- and 2-cam R-mount lenses, 3-cam and ROM-equipped lenses can cause trouble, so beware. If you’re tempted to acquire one these idiosyncratic and underappreciated classics, bodies in clean functional condition are readily available used in the $200-$350 range and you can occasionally snag a nice one, complete with a 1-cam 50mm f/2 Summicron-R for around $500-600. If you decide to take the plunge, make sure yours comes with a no questions asked, full return guarantee if you’re not satisfied-- these cameras can be expensive to fix!
Konica IIIM of 1960 had a big ugly hinged selenium cell meter on top that's notoriously unreliable and (mostly) unrepairable. It's too bad, because the camera provided full and half-frame formats with parallax and field size correction and has a great 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens.
The Konica IIIM: A great camera destroyed by adding a horrible meter!
The beautifully made and attractive Konica IIIA of 1958 featured an unusual, vertically mounted, left-handed, rapid-wind lever, and a magnificent high magnification (1:1) range/viewfinder with true projected, parallax-compensating finder frame lines that also adjust for field frame size (the reduced angular coverage as you focus closer). Other features include: an excellent 50mm f/1.8 or f/2 Hexanon lens, Seikosha 1-1/500 sec MX shutter, rewind crank and self-timer. Despite its beautiful execution, elegant proportions, and advanced features, the Konica IIIA was a glorious technological dead end. The subsequent Konica IIIM (which added half frame capability and a coupled flip-up-selenium-cell meter) was an unreliable dud due to the fragile, unreliable meter call that also spoiled the handsome lines of the camera. About 95% of Konica IIIMs have non-functioning meters, and your chances of getting one repaired are slim to none. The solution: If you hanker for a great Konica rangefinder 35, look for a nice clean Konica IIIA; they’re readily available used in clean working condition for about $200-$250. It is said that the 50mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens performs a tad better than the 48mm f/2 but the latter is more compact and more in keeping with the camera’s elegant form factor. Either version is a fine user-collectible well worth the current price.
The Minolta CLE: Everything you want, except manual metering.
The Minolta CLE unveiled in 1980 was the first autoexposure M-mount rangefinder 35, a logical successor to the Leica CL and Leitz-Minolta CL that had debuted in 1973, and arguably the best camera to come out of the longstanding Leitz Minolta cooperation agreement. Indeed, its feature set wouldn’t be equaled by any Leica until the Leica M7 of 2002. The Minolta CLE introduced a host of new technologies to the rangefinder 35, including TTL OTF (through the lens, off the film plane) metering, aperture priority autoexposure, and an LED metering display in the viewfinder.
Minolta CLE of 1980 with superb 40mm f/2 Rocker-M lens. Prior to the Leica M7 of 2007 it was the most advanced M-mount rangefinder 35.
In terms of its metering electronics, the Minolta CLE is based on the Minolta XG-series SLRs, specifically the XG-7. The viewfinder has projected, parallax compensating, projected frame lines for 28 mm, 40 mm, and 90 mm focal lengths, an electronic focal plane shutter with speeds to 1/1000 sec, and a through-the-lens, 2-cell (TTL) silicon photodiode (SPD) metering system with aperture-priority automatic or manual exposure, and automated ambient and flash exposure metering that works dynamically, adjusting the shutter speed and TTL, off the film (OTF) flash metering during the exposure. Despite its advanced specs, the Minolta CLE does not provide a metered manual exposure mode like the Leica M7 or Konica Hexar RF—it only offers a choice of aperture priority AE or (non-metered) manual f/stop and shutter speed settings.
-Konica Hexar RF of 1999 with 35mm Hexar lens in M-compatible KM mount. It had AE and metered manual exposure but not TTL OTF flash.
Would it be possible to modify a Minolta CLE to provide a metered manual exposure mode, a working method preferred by many serious photographers? It would require major modifications to the camera’s electronic circuitry and would be very difficult to achieve without compromising the camera’s existing capabilities. Bottom line: if cost were no object, it could probably be done, but as a practical proposition, not so much. You can acquire a pristine Minolta CLE with 40mm f/2 M-Rokkor lens for about $900.00 to $1,200.00. And if you must have an M-mount rangefinder 35 with AE and metered manual exposure, check out the Hexar RF with 35mm f/2 Hexar lens (roughly $600 to $1,000, but prices vary wildly) or a Leica M7 ($3,500 to $4,500, body only)… but only the M7 has aTTL OTF flash metering that’s comparable to the CLE but using the shoe-mount SCA system.
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