Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] Whatever happened to Topcon

Subject: Re: [OM] Whatever happened to Topcon
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:28:04 -0400
I have the manual for the "Super DM" which as near as I can tell was 
made from '73 to '76.  It clearly does full aperture metering.  It also 
looks like and weighs like a brick.  Spec says 3.8 pounds with winder.

I don't know about earlier models.  I checked the RE-2 (production 
dates?) and I think it's full aperture metering but the wording in the 
manual doesn't make that perfectly clear as does the Super DM manual. 
The Wiki entry about Topcon SLRs says that were the very first with TTL 
metering but that they eventually ceased to innovate in cameras and 
produced the same stuff for several years.  Sales and quality went down.

Chuck Norcutt


On 10/11/2010 5:24 PM, Bill Pearce wrote:
> Didn't Topcon stay at the stopdown metering table a little too long?
>
> Bill Pearce
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chuck Norcutt [mailto:chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 1:50 PM
> To: Olympus Camera Discussion
> Subject: Re: [OM] Whatever happened to Topcon
>
> It got more complicated than I had hoped.  The donor camera was a later
> model with max ISO of 800 and an f/1.8 lens.  The recipient camera was
> limited to ISO 400 and had an f/2.8 lens.  I can't remember now for sure but
> I think I had determined that I was going to need to add a fixed resistor to
> the circuit to compensate for the differences.  That's when I stopped
> working on it and haven't finished it.  But I had good intentions.  :-)
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
> On 10/11/2010 1:36 PM, Charles Geilfuss wrote:
>>     Hope the transplant was successful Dr. Frankenstein. It's Alive!!
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 1:34 PM, Chuck Norcutt<
>> chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>   wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, I moved some of the metering parts to my own Petri 7s.  But I
>>> still haven't put it all back together.
>>>
>>> Chuck Norcutt
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10/11/2010 9:59 AM, Charles Geilfuss wrote:
>>>>      Right you are Chuck. About ten years ago a friend of mine gave
>>>> me a
>>> few
>>>> old cameras that he had purchased new in Japan when he was stationed
>>> there
>>>> in the Navy. They were a Topcon Uni with a 53mm/f2 lens and a Petri
>>>> Rangefinder (which if memory serves me correctly I sent to you Chuck).
>>> The
>>>> Topcon was in very good cosmetic condition but the leaf shutter and
>>> reflex
>>>> mirror would jam whenever the shutter was released. I did manage to
>>>> find online a guy who claimed to be the last working factory trained
>>>> Topcon camera repairman. It was well made and a real tank of a
>>>> camera but I just didn't need another SLR. I gave it away too but
>>>> kept the lens to use as a loupe.
>>>>
>>>>      Seen here:
>>>> http://www.ken.lyndrup.dk/Engelsk/Tokyo%20Kogaku%20E/Topcon%20Uni.ht
>>>> m
>>>>
>>>> Charlie
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 8:32 AM, Chuck Norcutt<
>>>> chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>    wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I was reading an article in the NY Times this morning<
>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/science/10google.html?_r=1&pagewant
>>> ed=2
>>>>>>
>>>>> about Google's development and testing of driverless vehicles.  In
>>>>> an accompanying photo they show the computer and other control
>>>>> electronics and one of the boxes is prominently labeled Topcon.
>>>>>
>>>>> I remembered seeing the photo of a modern Alpa posted here
>>>>> yesterday so was curious to see whether this Topcon was the same
>>>>> Topcon that used to produce 35mm cameras in the 60s and 70s.
>>>>> Indeed it is.  Camera production is long gone but they are still an
>>>>> optical instruments company.  But it appears that the major part of
>>>>> their business these days has to do with GPS positioning
>>>>> equipment... presumably why the Topcon box is in the trunk of Google's
> Prius.
>>>>> <http://global.topcon.com/about/index.html>
>>>>>
>>>>> Chuck Norcutt
>>>>> --
>>>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>>>> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
>>>>> Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
>>>>> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> --
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
>>> Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
>>> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>>>
>>>
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
> Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
>
-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz