Hey not so fast with the "condemnation by faint praise" there Jim. I
clearly remember that the late 1960s Mamiya 35mm SLR cameras were up there
with Exakta as examples of the *real* cameras I aspired to once I could
afford anything more than a Zenit. To be honest, I can't remember *why*,
but that isn't important - because a year or so later the OM-1 was released.
And the definition of "aspirational camera" changed...
Piers
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Lama-Jim L'Hommedieu
Sent: 30 December 2003 19:49
To: Oly List
Subject: [OM] OT: 1st look: Mamiya DSX 1000
I found some M42 (Pentax screw-mount) lenses to use on the EOS body until my
ship comes in, so I figured I'd look at an all-mechanical body as a backup.
I guessed I'd also get a 55mm standard (free) that focuses the "right" way
too, not the Pentax-Nikon-Tokina way. By the way, has Tamron gone over the
"wrong" way with their AF for EOS as shown in all of the pictures of the
28-75 f2.8 I've seen?
The popular M42-mount Mamiya/Sekor 1000DTL had a mercury battery but the
later DSX1000 takes our old friend, the SR44. Anyway, it arrived today and
after I cleaned it up, I discovered that the 55mm had a stuck aperture. I
put a small amount of "Goo Gone" (a light solvent) on a Q-tip (cotton swab),
and daubed it on the aperture pin, then started working the aperture pin.
Then daubed again, worked the pin again. And again... I can't really claim
it was cost effective but I got it working again.
I'm gonna use John's instructions to replace the foam when I get around to
it. The first test roll, I'll be able to try out the old fixed-mount 21mm
Tamron (~$45), the aforementioned 55, and the M42 extension tubes.
This is big geek fun, gentlemen. The M42 lens -> EOS body adapter costs
about the same as a Tamron Adaptall2 mount and there are at least 3
different designs to choose from every week on the bay.
Be warned though, this mamiya has dust gaps ALL OVER the place, unlike ANY
Oly I ever had (pre-MD 1, 2n, plain 4,PC). This is worse than the Miranda
Sensorex by far too. Instead of an everready case, this body needs a
Tupperware box just to keep grit out of the working bits!! It's not the
right tool for shooting desert warfare but as a mechanical backup, it can't
be beat. I don't think I could have bought a body & lens for $43 in the
Nikon mount. There's no such thing in an EOS mount either.
I'm not bragging 'cause I know most of you have FAR nicer stuff, and more of
it, than I do. On the other hand, you'll have to admit that the Canon Elan
II will do E-TTL auto-fill-flash exposures with ANY lens, even these M42
econo-jobs!
All the best,
Lama
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