My collection started with my first Japanese camera, the Miranda F. Now I have various cameras, mainly Nikons and Minoltas, the favourite makes of my late father.
1957 Leotax F
There were many Japanese Leica copies made after the last War (Nikon, Canon, Nicca, Leotax, Minolta etc.), and of these the Leotax F is one of the best, examples can still be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a Leica.
The Showa Optical Works was started in 1938 by Nakagawa Kenzō, a former engineer of K.K. Konishiroku (later Konica). It was later renamed Leotax Camera Co. in 1957. Based on the Leica III, the Leotax -F as introduced in June 1954 was the first Leotax to have flash sychronization, X or F being selected by the lever on the front. The shutter had fast speeds of 1/25th to 1/1000th and B, and slow speeds of 1 to 1/25th and T. As they offered lenses made by Topcon, Topcon eventually bought them out in the mid 1950s.
This example is fitted with the legendary Jupiter-8 lens, a Russian copy of the pre-war Zeiss Sonnar. Zeiss as a company still exists and is at the forefront of optics in the manufacture of microchips!
1961 Canon 7
This is another camera given to my by Roger Dyson (it was fitted with the Leitz Elmar lens). I bought a more appropriate period Canon lens for it and fitted the Elmar to a Leica III.
The camera was in poor condition so I sent it to Newton Ellis of Liverpool for refurbishment. Although they had it for around a year, they did a really good job. I did intend to use it, but in the end my interest moved to other cameras.
The Canon 7 was a rangefinder system camera with an integrated selenium light meter introduced by Canon in September 1961, the last model compatible with the then ubiquitous Leica M39 lens mount. It competed head-on with the Leica M3, and in the end Canon (along with Nikon,Minolta, etc.) decided to concentrate on SLRs which Leitz weren’t then making.
1967 Miranda Fm
In 1964 this camera was widely praised in by a test report in the AP (Amateur Photographer) by Neville Maude, particularly the quality of the f1.9 50mm lens. This lead to my buying this particular example in 1967 (I still have the original receipt). After Miranda closed down Dixons bought the name and remaining stock.
According to camera-wiki “The 1963 Miranda F was the first of the “modernised lever winders”, comprising the F/FM, G, and Fv. The models used the chassis of the previous DR (the last of the “lever winders” comprising the A, B, C, D/DR), and were designed to accept new lenses with an internal automatic diaphragm coupling. The camera body retained the previous series’ front of body shutter release button used in conjunction with earlier PAD lenses. The F also introduced a new speed selector dial, which did not have a separated high and low speed selection, and didn’t spin when the shutter was released. The F gained an optional screw-in, top-plate located shutter release button facility, via a cable release port”.
1960s Pentax S1a & SV
In the 1960s I was always very impressed by the advertising campaign with the unforgettable slogan “Just Hold a Pentax!” I now have two Pentaxes, a SV body and a S1a with f2 lens; now I can “hold” a Pentax myself – and it does feel special!
The SV was the top model. I bought this body very cheaply as the instant return mirror stuck in the “up” position. There are videos showing how to fix this, by removing the front and lubricating a couple of places. I did this, and it now works properly. It is a very early model (around 1962) denoted by a green “R” on the rewind knob. Later versions had a modified mirror mechanism to take the 1.4 lens – these can be identified by an orange ‘R’. Condition is excellent, better than my S1a, which has a couple of dinges on the pentaprism. The lesser S1a (1963-67) only has speeds to 1/500th and no self timer (although the higher speed is there, it just isn’t marked). The 55mm f2 lens is optically identical to the f1.8 usually fitted to the SV, so the S1a is a good buy.
1973 MinoltaSR-T-303
The SR-T303 is an evolution of the legendary 1966 SR-T101, one of my Dads favourite cameras. Sadly it was stolen, so I was glad to buy this through Mike Williams of Ruthin. Changes include a re-designed and more modern body, an improved film advance lever and the ISO/DIN conversion table is moved to the back of the camera. Inside the viewfinder has seen two evolutions: first, the viewfinder now displays both the shutter speedand the f-stop number, and a split-image rangefinder was added to the centre of the microprism focusing area. The viewfinder of the SR-T303 shows the f-stop number on the top of the finder, the speeds on the bottom, and the two light meter needles are on the right side. Minolta made their own lenses and their quality was legendary! This camera was refurbished for me by Newton Ellis of Liverpool to take modern batteries. A similar camera to this was used by the legendary W Eugene Smith.
1980 Minolta XD
My father owned a camera identical to this (although his was the European named XD-7). Unfortunately it was stolen in 1988 together with his SR-T 101.
According to the Rokkor Files ” the Minolta XD is a magnificent manual focus camera, and a tribute to what engineers were able to create prior to the start of the “disposable plastic” era. The camera was released as the XD11 in the North American market, but as with many of the Minolta models it had different designations in other markets, being known as the XD7 in Europe and the XD in Japan. The camera was developed by Minolta in conjunction with Leica, and the body became the basis for the Leica R4, and later, as the chassis for the the Leica R5, R6 and R7. Leica introduced a more advanced metering system into the body (including spot metering), but most of the other features of the camera are evident in both bodies. When the XD was released in 1977 it was the top of the line Minolta camera of its era, with the exception of the XK Motor, a motorised version of the 1972 XK camera. The XD was highly praised by critics of the time, and is still regarded by many to be the best manual focus body made by Minolta”.
1988 Minolta 7000
My father owned a camera identical to this, purchased in April 1988 (albeit with a 28-105mm lens) from OK Photography in Mold.
It is notable for being the worlds first in-body auto focus camera with motorised film transport. It also introduced a new lens mount, the Alpha Bayonet, which replaced the previous MC/MD bayonet mounts. When Konica-Minolta sold its assets to Sony, they retained this lens mount with their Sony A-mount lenses.
This example is in very good condition, the plastic used has a reputation for deteriorating significantly but mine has lost a bit of its sheen but is otherwise solid. Everything seems to work as it should. I have now put a film through it, and disappointedly quite a few of the shots are very underexposed so the exposure meter is faulty.
As a camera it is quite intuitive to use, with Manual, Aperture or Shutter Priority and Program modes easily selected. Even the autofocus seems reasonably snappy although not up to modern standards.
2000 Canon EOS300
The Canon EOS 300 is a consumer-level 35mm single-lens reflex camera, produced by Canon of Japan from April 1999 until September 2002. Designed under the supervision of Yasuhiro Morishita, the camera was intended as a replacement for the Canon EOS 500N. The Canon EOS 300 won the European Imaging and Sound Association Award 1999-2000. Like other low-priced SLRs of the time, the EOS 300 used a pentamirror viewfinder instead of a pentaprism, and had a polycarbonate body. The autofocus capabilities of this camera were identical to Canon’s much more expensive Elan 7 with six single-line CMOS sensors surrounding a central cross-type sensor. This camera also belonged to my Artist mother who refused to change lenses, instead carrying around two cameras with different lenses!
