58 year old fresh

[Thomas V]

While out on a walk around, I typically bring a camera. Whether digital of film, it's normally on the smaller, lighter end of my collection. A great fit for these walks is my Konica Autoreflex A, circa 1965. As with many of my cameras this was an eBay find in essentially new condition. My guess is that it was a Christmas gift to a non-photographer therefor I'm starting fresh.

 

[webestang64]

Nice find. I have a few Konica's in my collection. Only item I would worry about is the light seals. I bought a "shot only 2 times in its life stuck in a closet" Pentax ME and the light seals had to be replaced. No big deal as it cost only $60 and came with 4 Pentax lenses and a AF160 flash.

 

[cgw]

Nice find. I have a few Konica's in my collection. Only item I would worry about is the light seals. I bought a "shot only 2 times in its life stuck in a closet" Pentax ME and the light seals had to be replaced. No big deal as it cost only $60 and came with 4 Pentax lenses and a AF160 flash.

Nice to find those "birthday cameras" that lived in a closet except for Christmas, Easter, July 4. Great fun cracking these with a year's worth of shooting and a few left on a 24. Got a Minolta XE-5 last decade with some "interesting" shots of an attractive neighbor/wife/ friend on an unfinished roll. Agree that time is unkind to light seals but almost always replacing the film door hinge seal(easy)banishes those pesky leaks. Build quality of that vintage of Japanese cameras is legendary.

 

[Brooklyn Albertan]

Would love to have one from the mid to late 60s.

My late 70s C35 AF was a fine looking camera, but the motor to advance the film was wonky, causing double, even triple exposures.

I'd love to find another. Hopefully...

 

[cgw]

Would love to have one from the mid to late 60s.

My late 70s C35 AF was a fine looking camera, but the motor to advance the film was wonky, causing double, even triple exposures.

I'd love to find another. Hopefully...

Not to be dour but clean working 60s-70s slrs, much less advanced p&s cameras, are thinning out dramatically. Very few service options available today which complicates things. In some ways, the more mechanical the better. Dead or iffy meters or meters requiring battery hacks are best bypassed with a quality handheld light meter. Given film and lab costs in 2024, these are truly worthwhile investments.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I got this as a gift from someone whose father got it and promptly shelved it for a long time. They asked if I could use it. Of course I said. Got it and shot a roll. Some shutter speeds were off so I sent it to Gus Lazzari (TLC Camera Repair) for restoration. 2 1/2 years later I got this back. Wonderful camera.

Mechanical shutter-no batteries needed. Meter needs one but camera will operate fine w/o it. Put a Series e 50 f1.8 on it and it'll almost fit in a pocket.

 

[Thomas V]

I got this as a gift from someone whose father got it and promptly shelved it for a long time. They asked if I could use it. Of course I said. Got it and shot a roll. Some shutter speeds were off so I sent it to Gus Lazzari (TLC Camera Repair) for restoration. 2 1/2 years later I got this back. Wonderful camera.

Mechanical shutter-no batteries needed. Meter needs one but camera will operate fine w/o it. Put a Series e 50 f1.8 on it and it'll almost fit in a pocket.

Nun or infrequent use of the shutter mechanism spells trouble. Congratulations to you having yours back now.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Yeah Gus does great work but everyone knows it and you will wait. Knew that going into it. In fact you'll wait to actually be able to use his service. He's not accepting new work right now.

 

[Brooklyn Albertan]

Not to be dour but clean working 60s-70s slrs, much less advanced p&s cameras, are thinning out dramatically. Very few service options available today which complicates things. In some ways, the more mechanical the better. Dead or iffy meters or meters requiring battery hacks are best bypassed with a quality handheld light meter. Given film and lab costs in 2024, these are truly worthwhile investments.

I'm on the same page - going to get the MyLightMeter Pro and also may get a rangefinder app, the latter hopefully for free!

 

[cgw]

I'm on the same page - going to get the MyLightMeter Pro and also may get a rangefinder app, the latter hopefully for free!

With respect, get a real meter that can read incident/ambient. You won't regret it.

 

[Thomas V]

I'm on the same page - going to get the MyLightMeter Pro and also may get a rangefinder app, the latter hopefully for free!

My traditional meters stay as a "what if" backup but my iPhone app has more features and it's lighter being a multi-use tool.

 

[cgw]

My traditional meters stay as a "what if" backup but my iPhone app has more features and it's lighter being a multi-use tool.

Will take my little Sekonic 308 any day over an app "meter."

 

[Thomas V]

Will take my little Sekonic 308 any day over an app "meter."

Oh yes, Sekonic produces great meters. Being retired now I try to maximize what I have so a phone being needed for many other things right now an app fits well.

 

[cgw]

Oh yes, Sekonic produces great meters. Being retired now I try to maximize what I have so a phone being needed for many other things right now an app fits well.

As always, you get what you pay for.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

My Weston Master II w/Invercone rebuilt by George Milton before he ran out of cells and retired. Reflected and incident. Will likely outlive me.