arhphotographic

This appears to be the last 42mm screw mounted camera that was produced by Fuji. While there may not be a lot of information available about this camera, it is definitely worth a look. The three LR44 batteries that power the camera’s light meter and aperture priority mode are housed behind the door on the left of the viewfinder in the image below.

As the image above shows, the right hand side of the top plate is rather ‘busy’. The aperture priority mode is very clearly identified on the dial, as is +2 to -2 (that’s a lot of 2’s) exposure compensation. You also set the film speed, 25-3200 ISO, by lifting up the same dial. This is where we get to the interesting part. If the batteries should die while out using the camera, you do have manual shutter speeds available, and what an interesting choice of shutter speeds! 1000, 250, 60 and bulb.Why only those speeds? I couldn’t find anything in the manual. Is this a limitation due to the mechanics of the camera? An oversight or was it foresightedness, giving you all the shutter speeds you need if you use ‘sunny 16’ rule??

Other nice touches include a shutter button that has a lock, this prevents accidental waste of film and battery. I think is a great feature sadly lacking from many manual cameras. I also like the big film rewind release button on the base of the camera.

So I loaded some Ilford HP5+ and fitted a Fujinon 75-150mm lens and went for a walk.

My first outing with the camera however uncovered a potential problem. On the front right plate where the lens is attached there are three buttons. The Lens lock, self timer and focus preview buttons, making the space very crowded with little space to put my fingers 😦

However there was a simple solution . A half camera case. This allowed me to grip the camera in a much more natural and comfortable way 🙂

The Fujinon lens may not be the fastest at f4, but I must say I like the images made with it… rather a lot!

I then switched to my trusty 50mm f 1.8 Pentacon lens that allows me to get really close to my subjects.

I must say I’m really quite taken by this camera. The only problem I encountered had an easy solution. It got the exposure right , with the exception of two out of a 38 exposures. Of course the lenses played their part and I really want to try out the Fujinon 75-150mm lens again. Having a camera which has aperture priority and a selection of manual speeds as a backup makes for a compelling “Keeper” of a camera.