A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.
A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level.
The Nikon F3 is Nikon's third professional single-lens reflex camera body, preceded by the F and F2. Introduced in March 1980, it has manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed. The Nikon F3 series cameras has the most model variations of any Nikon F camera. It is also the first of numerous Nikon F-series cameras to be styled by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, and to include a red stripe on the handgrip – a feature that would later become a signature feature of many Nikon cameras.
The Canon FT QL is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced by Canon Inc. in March 1966. It has a Canon FL lens mount compatible with the large range of FL series lenses. The FT can also operate the later Canon FD series lenses in stop-down mode, but the earlier R series has a different lens aperture mechanism and cannot be used, although the bayonet fitting is similar. The standard kit lenses were Canon's 50mm f/1.8 ; 50mm f/1.4 and 58mm f/1.2, the body-only option was offered later.
The Olympus OM System was a line of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras, lenses and accessories sold by Olympus between 1972 and 2002. The system was introduced by Olympus in 1972. The range was designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, chief designer for Olympus, and his staff; OM stands for Olympus Maitani.
The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and the first cameras were produced in 1884, but while elegantly simple in concept, they were very complex in practice. One by one these complexities were overcome as optical and mechanical technology advanced, and in the 1960s the SLR camera became the preferred design for many high-end camera formats.
Nikkormat was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affordable than Nikon-branded cameras, but accepted the same lenses as the Nikon F series cameras.
The Pentax LX is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Pentax in Japan. It was introduced in 1980 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Asahi Optical Co., and was produced until 2001. It is the top-of-the-line professional, or "system", camera in the Pentax manual focus range, with manual and aperture priority automatic exposure modes and an advanced light metering system. The LX uses the K mount, which is the Pentax proprietary bayonet lens mount, and has a large body of accessories. The camera has several unique or uncommon features, and compared with contemporary professional camera bodies from rival manufacturers, like the Canon New F-1 or Nikon F3, the LX body is smaller and lighter, weighing in at 570 grams with its standard FA-1 finder.
The Nikkorex nameplate was used for a series of 35 mm film, single-lens reflex cameras sold by Japanese optical manufacturer Nippon Kogaku K.K., as well as a series movie cameras and movie projectors. The models, made by other companies, were designed and marketed as low-cost, feature-reduced equipment for the consumer market.
The Konica F was the first 35 mm SLR camera produced by Konishiroku, released in February 1960.
The Nikon SP is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, rangefinder camera introduced in 1957. It is the culmination of Nikon's rangefinder development which started in 1948 with the Nikon I, and was "arguably the most advanced rangefinder of its time." It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K.. Three other lower featured rangefinder models were subsequently produced on the SP frame, and production continued into the 1960s, but further development of Nikon's professional rangefinders ended with the introduction and success of the single lens reflex Nikon F in 1959.
The Auto-Reflex and Autoreflex is a series of 35mm SLR cameras made by Konica from 1965 to 1988. All these models have the Konica AR bayonet.
Wirgin was a German company which is still known for its brands Wirgin and Edixa, and for its camera types like the Edina, the Edinex or the Gewirette. It was based in the Hessian capital Wiesbaden and made a line of quite inexpensive 35mm SLRs from the 1950s to the 1970s, including the Edixa Reflex and Edixa-Mat Reflex. Wirgin was West Germany's main producer of SLRs with focal plane shutter. It also produced some of the lenses for its cameras, among them several M42 screw mount lenses.
The Minolta X-1 was the professional model in the Minolta SR-mount line of single-lens reflex cameras (SLR), released in 1972 after ten years of development, which was the first X-series camera in the Minolta SLR system; prior to the X-1, specific Minolta SLR models were branded SR-T, and afterward, they included X in the name. The X-1 was the first SLR to combine an electronically-controlled shutter with interchangeable viewfinders.
This article discusses the cameras – mainly 35 mm SLRs – manufactured by Pentax Ricoh Imaging Corp. and its predecessors, Pentax Corporation and Asahi Optical Co., Ltd.. Pentax must not be confused with Pentax 6x7 or Pentax 67 which are 120 medium format 6x7cm film cameras.
The original Miranda T 35mm SLR camera was launched by the newly established Japanese Orion Camera Co. in 1955. It is the first Japanese 35mm SLR camera to have an eyelevel Pentaprism finder. The camera was a success, and after only two years, the manufacturer changed its name to the Miranda Camera Co. The camera stayed in production for two more years while a series of new models designated model A, B, C, D, and S were introduced, based on the original camera. These comprised improvements like a faster shutter with 1/1000-second top speed, a frame counter, wind-on lever, and an Instant return mirror on model B in 1958. In addition, a rare Miranda TII with 1/1000-second top shutter speed does exist.
The Topcon RE Super, or Beseler Topcon Super D in USA, was launched by Tokyo Kogaku KK in 1963 and manufactured until 1971, at which point it was upgraded to the Super D and again to Super DM the following year. General sale continued for several years. These later models have a shutter release lock lever on the shutter release collar. It is a professional oriented 35mm SLR camera that had a comprehensive range of accessories available. It has a removable pentaprism viewfinder and focusing screen. It features the Exakta bayonet lens mount for interchangeable lenses. A special accessory shoe is situated at the base of the rewind knob with a standard PC sync. contact next to it. The release button is placed at the right-hand camera front, but there is no mirror-up facility; this was included on the upgraded versions. The standard lens is the RE. Auto-Topcor 1:1.4 f=5.8cm or the slightly slower 1:1.8 version. A battery-operated winder could be attached to the camera base.
Contarex is a line of 35mm single lens reflex cameras (SLRs) made by Zeiss Ikon. It was first presented at Photokina in 1958 and initially scheduled for delivery in the spring of 1959, but it was not made generally available in the United States until March 1960. The first model is popularly known as the Contarex I, the Bullseye, or the Cyclops, after the prominent light meter window above the lens, in front of the pentaprism. The camera was aimed at the high-end and professional markets; in 1961, the retail price was $499.
The Pentax 6×7 is a SLR medium format system film camera for 120 and 220 film, which produces images on the film that are nominally 6 cm by 7 cm in size, made by Pentax. It originally debuted in 1965 as a prototype dubbed the Pentax 220. Since then, with improvements, it was released in 1969 as the Asahi Pentax 6×7, as well as the Honeywell Pentax 6×7 for the United States import market. In 1990, it received a number of minor engineering updates and cosmetic changes and was renamed as the Pentax 67.
The Minolta SR-2 was presented in 1958 as the first 35mm SLR camera from Chiyoda Kogaku. Popular cameras of this type at that time were mainly from Europe but a few from Japan, including the Asahi Pentax, the Miranda T and the Topcon R. The miniature SLR camera concept was conceived in the 1930s at Ihagee in Dresden, resulting in the 1936 Kine Exakta. Influential cameras designs like that of the 1939 KW Praktiflex, the 1949 ZI Contax S, and 1952 the KW Praktina marked the steady progress toward a perfected SLR. Several features of the latter seem to have influenced the design of the SR-2 although dissimilar in many respects. The obvious similarities are the stepped top plate, the carrying strap lugs, the self-timer lever and some general body features.
Type B, body back open
Type B, with pentaprism finder
Type B, viewfinder removed
Type B, with closed top-viewfinder
Type B, with opened top-viewfinder and loupe
