Voigtländer Vitoret L

The Vitoret L is the economy version of the Vito series of cameras.  Mainly the shutters and lenses were of a somewhat lower quality than those used in the Vito series.  That being said it seems that the definition of economy model has gone downhill in the last few decades.  The Vitoret L does not seem cheap or flimsy in the way that most economy products seem today. 

The L in the name stands for light meter.  The Vitoret L has a meter that is visible in the viewfinder and on the top of the camera.  To get the correct exposure you adjust the settings until the two indicators line up.  The one in my camera seems to work.  I used it to take the photo below.

Although I used a handheld meter for most of the pictures from this result it looks like the meter works well.  So when I use this camera next I will probably rely on the built-in meter more.  Its a fairly easy system to use.

The Vitoret L only has four shutter settings, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, and 1/300. The lens is a 50mm f/2.8 three element Color-Lanthar. Probably the nicest thing about the Vitoret is it's large bright viewfinder.  It is one of the best that I have seen in a camera of this type.  Focusing is by guessing the distance. There are symbols for person, group, and views on the focusing ring that are suggested for quick focusing.  There also is a depth of field scale. 

I am guessing that the Vitoret L originally sold for between $40 and $50. That is based on looking at prices for other cameras in the Vitoret series.  The L model was first made in 1966 and discontinued in 1968. The Vitoret line ran from 1961 to 1971.  Altogether the Vitoret series is estimated to have sold around 700,000 cameras.

The Vitoret series doesn't usually sell for a high price on Ebay. One Vitoret that seemed in excellent shape did go for $73, however most were much less.

I don't find myself inclined to rave about the Vitoret L.  It is a nice-looking well-made competent camera.  Definitely worth picking up if you like the the all-mechanical zone focusing cameras.  

Olympus 35 RC

Weighing 15 oz, the Olympus 35 RC may be the smallest AE rangefinder ever made.  However the Olympus 35 RC is a substantial camera, capable of excellent results.

For me the 35 RC isn't as shirt pocket friendly as the Olympus XA, however it easily fits in a pant pocket. I used the manual mode with the 35 RC since it requires an old mercury battery or its equivalent.  After my first use I am thinking that I may want to work out the battery issue with the 35 RC.  With its small size, quiet shutter, and excellent lens having the auto exposure option would make it a nice walking around camera.

I read that the E.Zuiko f/2.8 lens gives 80+ center resolution at f/5.6 to f/16. From my results I don't find that hard to believe.

I can't think of much more to say about the Olympus 35 RC.  From my experience it is a camera that lives up to its hype.  Here are a couple of links that give more details.
Smallest 35 Rangefinder ever with AE Exposure and Manual Override?
the essence of 35mm photography in a small package

I think that the title of the second link sums up the Olympus 35 RC pretty well. Checking on Ebay the 35 RC has been mostly selling for between $50 and $100 in good working condition.  If you are patient and willing to take a chance on condition you might find one for less.

Mamiya/Sekor DSX 500

When I test some of these older cameras I am so used to the meter being dead or needing a no longer made battery that usually don't check it and just grab my hand-held meter. That's what I did when I took the photos for this post. With the Mamiya/Sekor DSX 500 that was a mistake.  While reading up on the DSX 500 for this post I found that it uses a still available silver-oxide SR44 battery. I also read that to turn on the meter you pull the film wind lever back slightly.  When I did this the needle for the meter responded.  Now this camera came from a bunch of cameras from a defunct photo club.  I would guess it hadn't been used in twenty years.  So I was very surprised that the battery would still be powering the meter after all that time.  I checked the meter with by hand-held meter and it seems to be working okay.

So seeing that the meter was still working and used an easy to get battery was my first surprise. My second surprise was that the DSX 500 offers both spot and averaging metering.  That's something you don't often find on an economy camera.  Selling for around $229 the DSX 500 differed from its brother the, DSX 1000, in having a lower top shutter speed and lacking a self-timer.

The Auto Mamiya/Sekor SX f/2 lens seems to be a good performer.  The SX lenses are unusual in that while they are a M42 lens they also have a locking mount.  There also is a pin in this lens that allows one to meter without stopping down the lens.  You can use non-SX M42 lenses, however with these you will need to stop down to meter.

Weighing in at just over two pounds the DSX is solidly made mid-1970's all mechanical classic.  The DSX 500 with it's two metering modes and easy to get battery would seem like a good option for today's film shooter. Although if you want the 1/1000 shutter speed and the self-timer you can look for the DSX 1000.  Just from a brief look on Ebay there isn't much difference in price and the DSX 1000 seems to be more common. 

My admittedly superficial check of DSX prices got me to thinking that maybe cameras like the DSX 500 were offered in the same way that medium soft drinks are offered.  And that is because for some reason having a choice between small/medium/large seems to increase the sales of the large drink.  At least it seems like more DSX 1000s were sold. 

With a lot of these older cameras I use them out of curiosity, but end up without a desire to use them again.  The DSX 500 falls into the category of one that will get further work.  It may not reach the level of a goto camera like several of my Canons or the Olympus XA, however after a first use I am impressed with it.

I used Arista.EDU 100 for these pictures.  I have never been that happy with that film, however because it is cheap I have kept trying with it.  This time I use a dilution of Rodinal at 1/100 and one hour stand development.  And that finally is a combination that I am happy with. 

I also tried the Auto Mamiya/Sekor SX f/2 lens out with an M42 adapter for digital.  Since the lens doesn't have an auto/manual switch I was only able to use it at f/2.  Here is one of the results.

Ricoh SLX 500

I have a big drawer where I keep some cameras that have problems. Every once in a while I will go through it and see if I can get an idea about fixing one.  A short while ago I pulled this Ricoh SLX 500 out of the drawer and found that it was working perfectly.  I don't remember what got it confined to the broken drawer, however the problem seemed to have cured itself.  Hopefully the other cameras in that drawer will follow the Ricoh's example and fix themselves also.

The SLX 500 is an economy model released by Ricoh in 1975.  Its configuration is common to many economy models sold during that time.  Usually these cameras feature a 1/500 top shutter speed instead of 1/1000.  Also they would be lacking features like a self-timer or depth of field preview.  Most of the time the standard lens would be slower.  In the Ricoh SLX 500 the standard lens is an Auto Rikenon f/2.8.  The Ricoh SLX is the economy version of the Ricoh Singlex.  And like the Singlex it is a solidly made all mechanical camera.  The meter does have the mercury battery problem, however there are work-arounds or you can use sunny 16 or a hand-held meter.

In its day the SLX 500 was probably a good deal at $250.  Today when you can get some of the best film cameras ever made very cheaply it probably falls pretty low on the list of cameras to have.  The standard lens is okay, however it doesn't seem as good in quality as some other Ricoh lenses that I have used.  Still since the SLX 500 uses the M42 mount you have a lot of other options.  And it is hard to find fault with the SLX 500 as a good basic reliable and seemingly durable camera body.














































For B&W I used Arista.Edu 100 developed in Rodinal 1/25 at 3.5 minutes.  I have since found that 1/100 using one hour stand development seems to work much better for this film. 

As another test I put the Auto Rikenon f/2.8 on a digital camera.  Since the lens doesn't have a manual option I was limited to keeping the lens wide-open. I think these images show that the Auto Rikenon f/2.8 does have some potential.

Yashica Auto Yashinon-DX 50mm f1.7

The Yashica Auto Yashinon DX 50mm f/1.7 lens was the standard lens for cameras like the Yashica TL Super.  It was made in the 1960s. The image here is actually of the DS version of the lens.  The DS was a later version. The lens design is the same, however the DS version lacks an auto/manual switch and at least in my opinion isn't as nicely made.  Both lenses are single-coated.  The last version of this lens is the DS-M.  It is the same as the DS except that it is multi-coated. I scanned a booklet I have with all the Auto Yashinon lenses offered by Yashica in the mid-70's.  You can see it in my Google Docs.

Here is what the lens looks like on the camera that it came with.  The images here were made with a Canon digital SLR using an M42 adapter.  I started out doing that when testing these lenses and have stuck with it since it gives me a consistent basis for comparison. I tend to think that these Auto Yashinon standard lenses are one of the great bargains in lenses.  Usually you can pick one up on Ebay for between $20 and $30. 

The images below are all with the lens at f/1.7. 

Sharp Center and Mist Maker

If you were doing photography in the 1950's, 1960's, or 1970's it is likely that you have heard of Spiratone.  The company sold a wide variety of camera accessories and advertised in the photo magazines.  They had a store in Manhattan and did a booming mail order business. The company started from a small photo developing operation ran by Fred Spira and his father in the 1940's.  Spira was one of the first to import Japanese made accessories.  Spiratone came along at just the right time, benefiting from the postwar boom in photography. The company survived until 1990, going out of business just three years after Fred Spira sold it. Fred Spira lived on until 2007. His obit was in the New York Times if you'd like to know a little more about him and his company. A lot of items from Spiratone are still around.  I did a search for Spiratone on Ebay just now and there were 284 results.

I came across a couple of Spiratone filters in a box of filters that I was given. The one used for the image above is called "Center Sharp Lens".  When I put this filter on and look through the viewfinder there is a in-focus center surrounded by a blurry ring. 

This filter seems to do a little more than just make the edges of a photo soft. 

It also seems add a glow to the image.

So far I have just made a few images with this filter, however I think it has the potential to be useful.

The other filter is called "Mist Maker".

To me the Mist Maker seems to diffuse more brightly lighted objects in an image.

Again so far I have just taken a few images with this one and while I think it could be useful it will take more trials to figure out how that can best be done.

Back in the days before Photoshop, filters like these were about the only way to add effects to your photos.  And I know that there are many who would say that such effects are more easily done in Photoshop.  I'm not going to enter into that argument since I don't think there is a right or wrong here. For myself it is still fun on occasion to see what these filters will do, however I am personally aware that Photoshop can yield the same pleasure. 

Kodak EK6 Instant Camera

I don't imagine that anyone would be surprised to hear that this Kodak EK6 came from an estate sale in a box with a bunch of other beat up cameras. Back from the mid-seventies until the early 1980's Kodak made a run at establishing their own brand of instant film and cameras.  Polaroid didn't like this and managed to use the courts to make Kodak stop.  The result was a complete wipe-out for Kodak.  They were forced to shut down their efforts at making instant film and pay reparations.  I think that Kodak offered some kind of refund or trade-in for people who had purchased their brand of instant camera. The Kodak EK6 was part of this commercial drama.

And from the looks of it that is about the only thing that is dramatic about the Kodak EK6.  Other than it was made from 1976 to 1979 I could find little info about this camera.  The thing I notice most about the EK6 is that it is heavy - weighing over two pounds.  Basically, it looks like a simple zone focusing camera.  I think film came out like the Polariod SX-70 film.  The camera here has a film pack in it.  Unfortunately, even if the film still had some life in it, the battery pack that is included in the film pack doesn't.

Throughout its history Kodak appears to have put a lot of effort into putting out films in formats that they could make proprietary. While they had a lot of success for a time with efforts like 126 film, just as often this seems to have back-fired on them such as with their instant film.  Kodak actually made film for Polaroid before the lawsuit, however because of the conflict Polaroid took all their production in house.  So Kodak lost what must have been a pretty good revenue stream back when Polaroid was at its most popular.

So like many cameras it is doubtful that this Kodak EK6 will ever again take pictures with its intended film. Today it is just a humble reminder of a corporate battle that seemed like a big deal in its time.