Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Late mechanical ⚙️ SLR

Since the 1970s, the all-electric control SLR has gradually sprung up, and the number of mechanical SLR cameras has been decreasing. By the 1980s, the all-electric control SLR has become the mainstream. Although there are some hybrid shutters, machines like the X700 have dominated the rivers and lakes.

In this context, many manufacturers no longer produce mechanical SLR cameras, but some manufacturers go against the current and create the final chapter of the mechanical SLR story. today, let's take a look at these late mechanical SLRs and see what kind of charm they have in the automatic era.

CONTAX S2 1992

Since Zeiss partnered with Jasika and Kyocera, they have all launched electronic SLRs, only this S2 is a mechanical camera. It went on sale on the 60th anniversary of the birth of the contax camera, and the name S2 is very meaningful.

The contax s was launched by Zeiss in 1949, but the series was later produced by Zeiss in East Germany. S is the starting point of Zeiss 135 SLR, so this camera is named S2 to commemorate the development of S camera and the whole Zeiss SLR camera.

CONTAX S2 is also an outlier in CONTAX DSLR, it is almost an out-and-out Japanese camera, and the top layout and operation are different from CONTAX series DSLR. In order to retain the Zeiss feeling in the past, the CONTAX series SLR has a shutter disc on the left, while this camera uses a separate shutter disc on the right.

The shutter is also the most popular shutter at that time, the synchronized 4000 COPAL longitudinal walking steel shutter, which uses the same shutter as Nikon FM2 except for different materials.

There is a rumor that Kyocera does not have the ability to make mechanical cameras, which are assembled by COSINA because COSINA also makes Nikon FM10, Olympus OM10 and so on.

Although the appearance is different, the operation of CONTAX S2 is not much different from Nikon FM2. It uses the YC port of Yashika and Zeiss, and the aperture ring is also very difficult to twist.

CONTAX S2 produced a S2b, gray fuselage with different photometric methods up to 1999. S2b even measures light in the same way as Nikon FM2, but there is only a difference in appearance and use of the lens.

The ability to use Zeiss lenses is a big advantage of CONTAX S2, but later, after the ZF lens, Nikon cameras can also insert Zeiss manual lenses, this advantage is also lost.

LEICA R6 1988

R6.2 1992

In 1976, Leica began to cooperate with Minolta in Japan to launch the R series of SLRs. R3Magic, R4, and R5 are all cooperative products, which also runs through a series of events such as the change of ownership of Leica and the establishment of new brands.

After Leica became independent from Leica in 1988, they designed and built a mechanical camera, the Leica R6, and then upgraded the R6.2 camera in 1992, which has been in production even since the launch of the Leica R8. Because of their mechanical properties, Leica R6 and R6.2 are even more expensive than R8, especially R6.2, which can reach the price of R9. The second-hand prices of R3 and R4, R5 and R7 are all very cheap (relative to the price of Leica M).

The R6 uses a metal longitudinal shutter, but the speed is not fast, rising from 1000 to 2000 to R6.2. The camera has two photometric modes: averaging and electric metering.

The operation and appearance of the fuselage basically continue the style of the R series, because it is a work after the founding of Leica camera company, the fuselage is all LEICA logo, while the early R series are LEITZ logo.

The R series is the creator of the red dot.

Its shutter button is in the shutter ring, retaining the SL design, but the film wrench is still independent, the overall style of the camera is simple, and the operation is simple.

It naturally uses the R series Leica port, as we have introduced before, this series of lenses is not very good, and this R series is not so good, so even for mechanical cameras, the prices of R6 and R6.2 are far lower than those of M cameras. Compared with other mechanical cameras and old lenses, the R series is much more expensive.

After all, it's Leica. Red dots are magical.

Bessaflex TM 2003

COSINA is definitely an inspirational legend in the camera industry, more or less the company collapsed, only it took off against the trend, not only did not fail, but also more and more things.

This Bessaflex TM is the last pure mechanical SLR in the Japanese camera. It was born in 2003 and is an M42 screw SLR camera designed and manufactured by COSINA to promote the SL series SLR lens head.

A real one.

The operation, shutter, and even the whole fuselage of the BESSAFLEX are the same as the BEESA R side axle, except for a SLR system and a new disk for sensitivity.

In order to be retro, the fuselage uses a full-pointed pyramid top, and there is also a flat-top version of the homage TOPCON RE. Although the appearance of the two fuselages are poles apart, the performance is exactly the same.

Because each M42 lens has some other devices, not all of the BESSAFLEX can be used, and it mainly comes with COSINA's own 8 SL series lenses. In fact, although the quality of those 8 lenses is just like this, they all have their own personality.

On the whole, the BESSAFLEX is a very clear retro, nostalgic, old-lens camera with a clear positioning and a very cheap price of only 50,000 yen that year.

I think if the film supply crisis is over and film production resumes, more and more people will play. According to the urine property of COSINA, film camera production will definitely resume. Since many brands have closed down now, it is hard to imagine what strange bayonets COSINA will launch at that time.

OM-3 / 3Ti 1984/1994

If you look at Olympus OM-3 alone, you will think that this is also an electronic camera, after all, these inherited buttons near the shutter were standard by the designers of the 1970s and 1980s.

However, the Olympus OM-3 is still a mechanical camera with shutter rings connected to the lens, which is the unique design of the series.

Olympus released OM-4 in 1983, and then designed OM-3 based on its fuselage foundation after OM-4, continuing the lightweight and small features of the OM series.

One reason for the release of OM-3 is that electronic cameras are difficult to use in cold weather. Indeed, it is quite cold in Japan in winter. OM-3 's shutter system is very special, it is integrated at the bottom of the fuselage, which is why this camera can reduce the size. While various companies are scrambling to use the vertical walking steel shutter invented by COPAL, Olympus is still using a horizontal walking curtain with a speed of 2000 because of its special shutter design.

But OM3 production stopped soon after it was produced. In 1994, with the retro trend in Japan, Olympus restored the OM3, using a titanium fuselage called OM-3Ti, and produced it until 2003.

Finally, there are Nikon FM2 and FM3A, because these two machines are so famous that they will not be introduced here.

This article is from the official Wechat account: film fan club (ID:jiaojuanmi), author: Shanghai Old dirty Turtle

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