Pentax Class of 1975

 

Pentax introduced the K-mount fifty-one years ago, and these three SLRs were the first K-mount bodies. The Pentax KM - a fully manual SLR with the ability to operate without a battery for the meter. It is basically a Pentax Spotmatic F, and far better than the K1000 that replaced it later. The Pentax KX uses a match-needle in the viewfinder to choose the appropriate shutter speed, and is also fully manual. There is a small window above the lens to show the aperture in the viewfinder. The K2 is quite different from the other two. It's an Aperture-Priority camera with manual exposure, but requires a battery to function  properly. For some reason, the designers at Pentax placed the ISO selection in a ring at the base of the lens mount. The camera also has a metal-bladed vertical focal plane shutter - the first Pentax camera to feature this.  

I purchased the KX at Monument Camera in Tucson in October 2025.  The K2 was an eBay purchase, back in March of this year.  I have had to lubricate the ISO ring several times, as it seizes up.  The KM, also an eBay find, was purchased in late August.  I'm still testing the KM, and it appears to work perfectly. I think it will become my favorite of the three cameras, with the KX coming in second.  The K2, aside from its flakey ISO ring, works well, too, and the exposures have been spot-on.  

These three cameras represent a milestone for Pentax, as it moved away from the M42 screw-mount.  The K-mount was able to accept the M42 lenses with an adapter, allowing users access to their old Takumars.  The K-mount lenses are pretty much identical to the SMC Takumars that they replaced.  The K-mount also allowed Pentax to add more electronic features as new technologies evolved and were incorporated into the bodies. 

Later SLRs from Pentax incorporated more electronic controls and smaller bodies as seen n the M-series, such as the ME.  However, I think that if a manual K-mount body is something you want, the KM, not the K1000, should be on your list. It has all the features that you may need.

I'm still working on my M42-Spotmatic book, but I have put it aside for a while. The text is done, and it's just a matter of layout and design. Of course, the question is will it be an e-book or a printed volume?  

The Chinon CS-4, Revisited

The Chinon CS-4 features a vertical metal shutter, uses modern LR-44 cells

A decade ago I wrote a post about a very good example of a M42 camera body, the Chinon CS-4. Like many cameras that I have owned, it was a thrift shop purchase for $10 with a couple of lenses. At the time, I already owned a Spotmatic F and didn't need a second M42 body, so I sold the CS-4. Some of you may know that I am writing a book on Pentax Spotmatics and other M42 mount cameras and lenses. I was going through back posts on this blog, and realized that the CS-4 information belonged in the book. I also decided that I needed another one to try out, now that I have a lot of M42 lenses. So, off to eBay I went, and snagged a decent example for $35 + shipping. The camera arrived today, and I spent an hour replacing the nasty old foam of the mirror bumper as well as the rear door seal. I cleaned the battery cover contact, and the meter sprang to life. As you can see, the camera is in great condition. The aperture blades on the Chinon 50mm 1.9 lens are oily and slow to operate, but I have many other lenses to use with this excellent compact SLR from the early 1980s. 

Standard layout - the meter switch is next to the lens mount on the left.

I'll note here that the eBay seller did not use the eBay option of letting AI write the description. For those people that use the eBay AI for the description, I say piss-off. I'll not be buying your shit if you cannot write the description yourself. 

The Yashinon-DX lens has "character"

As you can see in this photo, I have attached a Yashinon-DX 50mm/1.4, which is a wonderful nifty-fifty with the promise of making art. It's one of those lenses you should own if you want to explore what you can do with different lenses of the same focal length. It's not as weird as a Helios-44 lens, but it has a distinct aura, if you want to call it that.

Anyhow, I'm in the stage of assembling the images and text for the book, and I realize now that I will have to learn Affinity Publisher to put it all together, since it's more complex than what I can do with Open Office. I'll keep you posted as to my progress on the Spotmatic Book. 

Now, to also get some decent weather to go out and shoot with my newly-acquired Chinon CS-4!

The Nikon N75 SLR

The N75/F75 SLR with a 35mm f/2 AF-D Nikkor

Cheap and good are rarely found together, but in the case of the Nikon N75 (F75 outside North America), they coexist.  Introduced in 2003, the N75 was Nikon’s last consumer-level AF 35mm SLR, and it replaced the N65.  It sold for around $300 with a kit lens when first introduced, and it apparently was also sold as a body without a lens for less than $200.  To put things in perspective, the Nikon D100 was introduced in 2002 and cost about $2000 for just the body.  Guess which one of these cameras can be used today to produce quality images with the least amount of fussing about?  The N75.  Just put in two CR-2 batteries, a roll of film, and you are ready to shoot with this lightweight SLR that has the most features of any camera in its class.  

The control layout is the typical one for Nikon SLRs

Uncluttered controls

The N75 is definitely more compact than the Nikon N80, but the major difference between the two is that the N75 only uses the DX code on the film cassette to set the ISO, whereas the N80’s ISO can be set manually.  If there is no ISO code on the cassette, the default ISO goes to 100.  That’s going to be a limitation if you are accustomed to using low-ISO films with no ISO codes, or using hand-rolled film. However, for many users, that’s not going to be a problem. The N75 replaced the N65 and N55, which are consumer-grade SLRs with similar control layouts and features.   The N75 is also the only Nikon SLR that automatically winds all the film out of the cassette at the beginning, and pulls the exposed frames back into the cassette as you shoot. This is commonly done in Canon’s AF SLR cameras,  but is a novelty with the N75.  I actually like the feature, since it cuts down on the rewind time.  The N75 was discontinued in 2006, making the Nikon F6 the last AF film SLR produced by Nikon.  There is an excellent review of the N75 by Thom Hogan, so go to his site to learn more.  

The N75 has most of the features found in the N80 and F100 (with the above exceptions). It’s small, inexpensive and light, yet it also takes most Nikon AF lenses.  Like the N80, and similar consumer-grade Nikon AF SLRs, the N75 does not meter with manual lenses.  You can use them, of course, but you will have to shoot in Manual mode, dialing in the shutter speed and aperture manually with no meter.  That’s always been the disappointing thing about Nikon’s dumbing down of non-pro AF bodies, both 35mm, and digital.

However, the N75 is a delight to use.  It has excellent 25-segment matrix metering, as well as center-weighted and spot metering.  I use mine primarily in Aperture-Priority, but it has all the PSAM modes as well as 6 special exposure modes.  When I pair the body with either the 50mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/2 AF-D lenses, it becomes a high quality "point and shoot." It’s only a tad over 13 ounces without a lens, and with the CR-2 batteries, it should be good for many rolls of film.  It definitely is noticeably lighter than my N80, and a LOT lighter than my F100, and has most of the features of those models.  Best of all, these cameras are plentiful and inexpensive.  I have a black-bodied F75, and to me, it looks a lot better than the silver-looking N75 that we typically see.  Paired with a good flash like the Nikon Speedlight 80DX, you can do flash photography and know that your exposures will be pretty much perfect.  

The SB-80DX flash on the camera

While the N75 does have a pop-up flash, which certainly works for fill flash, I recommend using a full-featured TTL flash that will give better results in a variety of situations.  In my case, I use a Nikon SB-80DX speedlight, which is as full-featured a film camera flash can be.  The only drawback with that flash is that it won’t work with your DSLR, as it only works with the 35mm SLR Nikons.  They sell for less than $40 used now, which is a pretty good deal for a modern TTL flash unit.

I often see a lot of love for the low-cost Canon Rebel series as entry to using film cameras, and of course, they are pretty decent low-cost AF SLRs.  I’ve used quite a few of them, and yes, they are inexpensive.  Some of the earlier Nikon AF SLRs that are now inexpensive are just a bit clunky, such as the N60, which is much larger than the N75 and N80, but loud and slow.  The N75 has just that right combination of controls where I want them, ease of use, and the ability to control your exposures to a very fine degree.  Online, I see prices for N75 bodies typically less than $40.  The nice thing is that these cameras are relatively young, are very mature in the control layout, and will accept most AF Nikon F-mount lenses.  It’s a great camera for travel, as it takes up less space and weight than even a DSLR. I highly recommend a lens like the 24-50mm AF-D for travel, but the 35mm f/2 AF-D is a great lens and doesn’t weigh you down.

I recommend the N75/F75 SLR to anyone that wants a lightweight, inexpensive 35mmm SLR.   Pair it with a prime lens, and you’ve got yourself a great little camera for street photography, travel, and hiking companion.    

Here are some examples from the N75.

SHD 100 film

SHD 100 film

SHD 100 film

Ilford FP4 film

Reflx Lab 200T film

Fujifilm Superia 200

Fujifilm Superia 200

Fujifilm Superia 200

Fujifilm Superia 200

Fujifilm Superia 200

Kentmere 100

Kentmere 400

Kentmere 400

Kentmere 400

Appreciating a Classic Lens - Nikon’s 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H

My Nikon FE with a factory AI'd Nikkor-H

Over the years, I have had lenses come and go in my “toolkit” and some lenses become favorites for a time, to be replaced by another another focal length that fits my photographic practice.  Early on, it was always a 50mm lens of some sort on whatever camera body  you can imagine, and I have used an awful lot of different “normal” lenses.  In the Nikon ecosystem, there have been 50mm f/2, f/1.8, f/1.4 and f/1.2 lenses.  While I love the 50mm f/1.4 for a lot of things, the old, old, Nikkor-H 50mm f/2 has been around for the Nikon SLR since day 1, and it’s a lens that I know will always render a scene very well. Sure, it’s not the fastest of the bunch, but as a do-it-all 50, it’s at the top. Why?  

Above - the front and rear of an early non-AI 50mm Nikkor-H. This one lacks the 
rear of the lens held in place by 5 screws, meaning that it cannot be factory-
adapted to the more modern AI mount.

For one, it’s one of those lenses that has had many iterations as technology and camera bodies improved.  The original 5 cm Nikkor-S  came out in 1959, and it was a 7 element lens with 4 groups.   In 1964, the lens was changed to a 6 element lens with 4 groups, and renamed the 50mm Nikkor-H.  That lens became the sort of de-facto normal lens for many years, until 1974, when Nikon replaced the silver and black barrel with the 50mm f/2, an all-black barreled lens with a rubberized focus ring.  In 1977, the AI (auto-indexing) 50mm f/2 came out to be included with the Nikon FE, FM, Nikkormat EL2 and FT3, all of which were no longer required to use the old non-AI f/5.6 “double twist” to set the maximum aperture for the metering system.  The Nikon 50mm f/2 was dropped in 1979, and replaced in the lineup with the 50mm f/1.8, which has also had a number of iterations, but I won’t delve into them.

Above - The last iteration of the 50mm f/2 with an AI-mount.

Second, the 50mm f/2 has a very flat field with little distortion.  Perhaps that’s partly due to the f/2 maximum aperture, but in my experience, it’s sharp at all apertures, but especially so at f/5.6-f/16.  I’ve used it to copy documents on a copy stand, as a macro-lens with a bellows, and of course, general photography.  The lens was briefly given the H.C designation in 1972, to indicate improved coating surfaces.  For more information, see this account on the Nikon site. 

Real-world tests, not the sharpness of brick walls, indicate how a lens performs.  Lately, I have been using a 50mm Nikkor-H that was Nikon modified to be an AI-mount.  I don’t exactly remember when I started using it - probably last fall, but I have come to appreciate its performance with my Nikon FE, F3HP, and FM3A bodies.  In the past few months, I have been using the lens on my Nikon FE with various color films, and am really pleased with the results.  Is it any different than the last AI version of the 50mm f/2?  Probably not, but I love the classic look of the lens, and the knurled focus ring feels right.

Last and earlier versions of the 50mm f/2. The lens on the right was 
factory modified to be an AI lens.

Today, 50mm seems to be out in favor of expensive zooms, or, wide-aperture prime lenses.  I’ve certainly used  the 50mm f/1.2 Nikkor, and it has a special use for low-light or really shallow depth of field situations.  Overall though, as an all-purpose normal lens, the 50mm f/2 is one of the best lenses you can own.  The Leitz and Zeiss fanboys will probably disagree, but price-wise, you’ll not find a better 50mm lens.  It’s an SLR  lens that’s been around for over 60 years, and untold thousands have been used by photographers in all sorts of situations.  On a full-frame body such as my Nikon Df, or on a Nikon F or FM3a, the results will be excellent.  The AF equivalent would be the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D Nikkor, which is a pretty common lens and often overlooked in favor of the faster f/1.4.  However, with higher ISO settings on a DSLR, the f/1.8 aperture is not limiting.  

Old with the new 

The lenses one decides to use should be based on how they perform in the types of photography that you do.  Some times a prime lens or a set of them will be all one needs for a majority of his/her photography, and other times a zoom lens in a certain range fulfills one’s requirements.  While I have my share of zoom lenses in manual and auto-focus versions, I find myself using prime lenses most of the time.  There’s a lot to be said for using a single lens for many situations, and one photographer’s choice of say, a 24mm lens for many situations will result in quite different compositions than another photographer’s choice of 50mm, or 85mm.  You can “zoom” with your feet, if necessary, like many did when all you could afford was a single lens — the one that came with your camera, and it was most likely a 50mm prime lens.  

The Nikkormat FTN and 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H
A perfect match!

As I posted previously, I find that a 35mm lens is perfect for when I am on the street or traveling.  Often, I find myself packing one Nikon body with the 35mm f/2 and black and white film, and another Nikon body with color film and the 50mm f/2, and a 24mm and 85mm in the bag.  Those pretty much cover my needs for a lot of what I shoot, and that many decades old 50mm Nikkor-H f/2 has never disappointed me.

The more modern 50mm f/1.8 is a tad faster than the f/2, and is capable of slightly
closer focus. It's also an excellent normal lens.

My factory AI'd Nikkor-H has slotted screws on the back, vs the
Phillips screws on later versions. Those knurled sections are very
satisfying to the touch.

A few very recent results from that 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H with the Nikon FE and various color films.

Wassaic, NY. FPP Color 125

Amenia, NY FPP Color 125

Millbrook, NY Reflx Lab Pro 100

Amenia, NY Reflx Lab Pro 100

Kent, CT, Fuji Superia 400 at 200.

Don’t Over-think!

For the past few weeks, I have been scanning in 35mm slides from the 1970s.  These are not found images from the antique store, but from my camera, from 1975-1980.  One of my goals this year is to scan all my slides (or at least the best ones) from my early days of photography, and in the process, remove the slides from the clear plastic sleeves in binders, and transfer to metal storage boxes.   My scanner, my trusty Epson V700, does an excellent job with scanning in these colorful little windows to the past, and much more efficiently than using a digital camera to transfer the analog into  a digital image.  Trust me on this, as I have been scanning slides and negatives in various formats for as many years as we have had scanners available.  I also have all the equipment I need to copy via a DSLR. The workflow and the results via the Epson V700 are superior.    

The simple SLR that started me on my journey

Okay, let’s put the scanning aside, and have a conversation about the photographs, which is the real subject here.    My first 35mm camera was an Ihagee Exa 1a. Why?   As a gift for a teen interested in photography, it was possibly the cheapest new SLR available in 1974 from a NYC camera store, and I was thrilled with receiving it.    The downside with my Exa 1a is that it had a waist-level viewfinder, no meter, and a limited range of shutter speeds (1/30, 1/60, 1/125 and 1/175 sec. ).    In addition, the Meyer-Optic Domiplan 50mm f/2.8 lens is not what I would call a "great lens."  It was obviously good enough for a teenager learning about photography.    My only photography guide was the Kodak Pocket Exposure Guide, which I still have.    I did not have an external meter.  So, as I learned to photograph with this camera, I relied on that Kodak Pocket Exposure Guide for my settings.    I shot b&w film, color print film, and transparencies.    

fits in a back pocket

As I think back, I had to wonder why I shot slides so often after 1975, and my wife reminded me that it was probably the cost.    Believe me, the 70s were the last time a person with a low-income could live pretty well,  and I was a student with not much money.    As it turns out, it was cheaper to shoot slide film back then, as the film and processing was less expensive than color prints. I checked with a 1979 issue of Popular Photography, and the price to process and mount a 20 exposure roll of Ektachrome was less than $2.00, and the price of a roll of Ektachrome was probably around the same price. Some places offered a 20-exposure roll Ektachrome 64 for $3.65, including processing; about the same price as Kodachrome 64.  Since I was not in tune with the best offerings via mail (hey, no Internet then!!), I am pretty sure I purchased my film at the local drug store, Woolworth’s or K-Mart, and sent it out for processing.  In today’s dollars, that $3.65 translates to just less than $15.00, which would be pretty damn cheap now for a roll of film and processing!    

Feb. 1975. The view from the house I grew up in, Parishville, NY
Ektachrome.

In hindsight, I am happy that I chose to shoot the majority of my images on slides -- the colors have kept pretty well from those 1970s images, and because I didn’t have a lot of extra money, I didn’t shoot like I do now. However, it is also true that I was not a trained photographer with a plan.  In looking in these scanned images, I also realized one other thing - I did pretty damn well with the limited equipment that I owned, and my exposures were pretty much on target most of the time.  That means I used sunny-16 and intuition for all of my shots.    

That brings up the title for this entry - "Don’t Over-think." If I could use a really simple SLR nearly 50 years ago, with slide film, no meter, and 50mm f/2.8 lens, how is it that today, so many people are obsessed with the smallest details in exposures? I see newcomers to photography, especially film, needlessly obsessing over how much to adjust for a given exposure. While my Kodak Pocket Exposure Guide gave me the fundamentals, there is no absolute in photography.  Discerning the nuances in light and exposure, especially in landscapes, comes down to experience, but there is always the element of "luck."  Maybe I was just lucky many times, and certainly cannot attribute my results to experience.  The thing is, I didn’t over-think what I was doing. I believe that over-thinking is what kills creativity and the moment. As I look over these images from 1975-1979, I certainly find ones that could have used more exposure -- and the Exa 1a had a limited number of shutter speeds, including B, and I did not own a tripod.  Perhaps if I’d been given a camera like a Praktica SLR with a prism and a full range of shutter speeds, I would have been even more on target, but there’s no way to know that now.  

Feb. 1976, Syracuse Univ. dorms. A typical winter scene in
Syracuse, but with less snow. Kodachrome 64.

Maine, summer of 1976. Kodachrome 25

Amenia, NY, Jan. 1977. Ektachrome

Ice storm, Syracuse, NY. It was so bad we could skate on the
sidewalks. Feb. 1976, Kodachrome 64

When I replaced that Exa 1a with a Pentax MG in the early 1980s, I finally had a camera with an exposure meter -- but guess what?  Relying on that aperture-priority only camera also gave me some bad exposures, because I relied on the camera to get it right, instead of my intuition. Overall, it was a trade-off. Today, I am a much better photographer, and know when to adjust for a given lighting situation.  But still, in those spartan days of photography, my youth and  inexperience also allowed me to take a chance without worrying about failure. Sometimes I got it perfectly right, and sometimes I didn’t. For example, the photo taken at the SUNY ESF Woodsmen’s event in the fall of 1975 shows me that I wasn’t afraid to get close to the action - the couple on the 2-person crosscut saw with the wood chips flying towards the camera is captured pretty well. I’ll show some other examples with commentary, as well, but those old slides are also peeks back into the 70s of my college years.

SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry fall Woodsmen's
BBQ in Tully, NY.  Oct. 1975, Ektachrome.

October 1975, Chittenango falls, NY. Kodachrome 64

Syracuse Univ. football game at the old Archbold Stadium,
October 1975, Kodachrome 64.

So, my advice for those folks getting into photography is to shoot what you know - and learn from it. You don’t have to travel to exotic places for great photographs - everyday activities and your immediate surroundings will mean much more the farther removed you are from them. As I look over these old shots, I realize that I was living in the moment, and photographing what was important to me at the time. I didn’t do it for posterity - though now those images have value in seeing people and places at another time, I did it for me.    

Speaking of in the moment... Fall 1976, Syracuse, NY, Ektachrome

Overthinking your photography is a cruel blow to serendipity.    Be in the moment, trust your instincts, and don’t fret if your camera is one-stop off, or you don’t have the best lens money can buy, None of that matters.  People obsess over details that don’t matter in the long run.   If you have a photography exhibit, nobody will care what lens and camera you used, what film (if it was film), filter, or other attribute used to make the photograph. It’s all about the image. 

Algonquin Mountain summit, Adirondacks, NY
Summer 1977, Ektachrome

In high school, I wanted to be an entomologist, and that’s what I ended up becoming, and doing for 40 years. Nobody told me that I could have been a photographer - and had I taken photography seriously as a profession (which I never thought of), the 1970s would have been the most perfect time to be an aspiring photographer.    So, it was never my dream to be a photographer - I just enjoyed it. I look back at those images from the 70s and I am amazed that I did as well as I did with so little knowledge.    

That's me, summer of 1977, in the Adirondacks.
My camera, taken by my buddy, Dave Rosher. Ektachrome.

January 1977, Twin Lakes, CT. Ektachrome.

So, perhaps the lesson here is that not only should you not over-think it, but shoot for yourself.    Don't worry about what others might think.  All too often I see posts by people on places like Reddit (r/photography) who are unsure if they are good enough, or are afraid to take up photography because they lack knowledge.    You can’t get better without actually using your camera. Today’s digital and analog wonders will outperform what I used in the 70s by a huge margin. You already have tools at your disposal that will make a perfect exposure 90% of the time.  The part that makes the difference is YOU. Get out there and shoot everything that interests you, and over time you will discover what really motivates your photography, and what you enjoy the most. That’s the direction you’ll go.