The Topcon pro camera line was an underdog, but I think they were good cameras, and this one seems like it. Despite it being an almost 40 year old model, the mechanics feel great, and the finder is huge and bright. A big difference from my other cameras of the same age.
"The Topcon Super represented quite an advance when it was introduced. Meters coupled to the shutter speed dial were nothing new. Meters cross coupled to the shutter and aperture already existed on the Contarex, Miranda Automex and Nikon F. Topcon's big advance was combining all of this in the camera body and reading light through the lens. Again, I'll remind you that Topcon did this in 1963. Most other Japanese manufacturers didn't get TTL metering on the market until 1965-66 and for most of them it was a slower "stop down" style system.
These features were combined in a rather impressive body, too. The camera has the look and feel of having been milled from a block of brass, then chrome plated. Indeed, the quality and quantity of the plating would make a '58 Buick envious! The Super is eminently adaptable, too. The viewfinder is interchangeable, a motor can be added to the bottom and a bulk film back can be attached.
The Super was a legitimate rival to the Nikon F in capability and superior in some features."
- article
How about that: in 2003, Voigtlander made a "tribute camera" to the Topcon!
4 comments:
I had one of these once that came from a "smoker's home." Seeing your pictures instantly brought to mind the smell of old tobacco smoke that permeated the one I had....
The thing I didn't like about this camera (aside from the fact that it predated any attempt to control for weight!) was the viewfinder, which is the Achilles' heel of so many older SLRs. Some part of the one I had had gotten loose, and the viewfinder image shifted when the film was wound on!
Good lenses, though.
Mike J.
I got a smokey camera (old Practica) last year. Even after I had cleaned it all over, you still couldn't hold it without getting the smell on your fingers.
What surprised me though was that after a few months, the smell had disappeared.
I like that ding on the top of the mirror housing. "Takes a licking, keeps on ticking..."
Fantasy thought: When the 35mm film-to-digital converter finally comes along (somebody tried that a few years ago, didn't they? a sensor with the form factor of a 35mm cartridge?), then will come the revolution as all these old bones rise from closets everywhere to take care of business, once again!
It would be very cool if you could make it work.
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