Another SLR that RFF could love

[shadowfox]

It's rare that I found a camera that caught my attention these days.
Bucking the trend of going more expensive and "betterer" cameras,
I find myself drawn to the lower rung of the ladder (price-wise).




There isn't any remaining shred of doubt that the OM is a favorite here in RFF.
For an SLR in the sea of RF cameras, that's not bad.
Check this one out. Almost the same dimension as the OM and slightly lighter.
Could this camera be another SLR that captured the heart of the stout RFFers?




Did I mention that this camera has *clean* lines?
No? then let me say that this camera has *really* clean lines.
And I like the cute orange button also, that's for checking the battery (2xSR44).

Where's the shutter dial? Like OM cameras, it is around the lens mount.
Where's the ASA dial? Unlike OM, it's also around the lens mount.
The film advance has a nice short throw. Electric shutter nice and quiet.




One big knock against this camera is the rarity of lenses.
And an ambitious lens mount shared by none.

I managed to get the 50/1.4, 50/1.7, 200/3.5.
And by happenstance (vague ebay descriptions, and a "can't believe what I saw" -moment),
a copy of the rare 35/2.8 is coming in the mail.

Anybody else have one of these?
Stories, photos, do share please.

[xayraa33]

Copal square shuttered camera or its Seiko counterpart ?

[Keith]

I have seen one of these before and it caught my eye straight away ... as you say the lines are incredibly clean.

Hows the viewfinder in comparison to our beloved OM's?

[Peter_wrote:]

never heard of that before... but very handsome indeed. i like this clean look.

i also like the shape of the film advance lever.

but i was just wondering about the thread title. another slr that rff COULD love..? don't we love any damn camera, and secretly sometimes even stroke them a bit?

[dufffader]

I like it already!

[Ezzie]

Very pretty camera. Pity it's not K-mount

[paulfish4570]

or m-42 mount ...

[Greyscale]

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

or m-42 mount ...

Didn't Fujica make a tiny little m42 mount camera?

[paulfish4570]

fujica st series, but not as small as the om ...

[davidtan]

I didn't use to think much of Mamiya's 35mm offerings, as I was only familiar with their bulky M42-mount TL and DTL series. More recently, I've read up on their other SLRs and found them rather interesting. I'm currently courting the idea of buying a Mamiya ZE2; however, the NC1000 looks rather attractive. If the ZE2 turns out to be more plastic than metal, and not very compact, I'll try to get an NC1000 instead. Did your set come very cheap?

[nikon_sam]

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

or m-42 mount ...

That was my guess...M42...that would open this guy up to so many different lenses...
Didn't know Mamiya made this camera in this style...

[nikon_sam]

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

fujica st series, but not as small as the om ...

I've read that the Fujica's had a great viewfinder...
I was looking at them when wanting to replace an old M42 body I have...

[Spavinaw]

Oh my goodness gracious! I have owned this camera for many years. Also a Sears labeled 1000MX Auto CS in chrome. Just Google Mamiya NC1000 and you can find out almost everything about the NC1000. A couple of errors that seem to get repeated here and there are that the NC1000 does not have interchangeable finder screens. Mine does. Also it is said that only Mamiya lenses are available. There is one other that I know of. It is a Varionar 75-150mm lens. Some lens lists also omit the 50mm f2 lens. For the fans of M42 thread lenses, there is an adapter that retains auto diaphragm operation using stop down metering. The original metal one is hard to find, but I think there is a plastic one now available for about $15. Also, there is an adapter to use the Mamiya CS lenses on a Canon EOS camera for about $25.
So how did I happen to own this somewhat obscure camera? It was the 14mm semi-fisheye lens that someone was selling for about $75 new as I recall. Way back yonder there weren't many 14mm lenses available and none for $75 (a deal I couldn't refuse). Quite a bit later I got a body and used metal tape to change it to the panorama format. Amazingly little distortion when you just use the strip across the center of the negative. I have compared this lens to a 16mm semi-fisheye and it has a significantly wider field of view! I also have the 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 135mm lenses. In the past you could get these lenses for under $50 each If you were patient. Anyway, I'm glad to see someone else appreciates this camera.

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by xayraa33

Copal square shuttered camera or its Seiko counterpart ?

It's an electronically-controlled cloth shutter, like OM2.

Originally Posted by Keith

I have seen one of these before and it caught my eye straight away ... as you say the lines are incredibly clean.

Hows the viewfinder in comparison to our beloved OM's?

The viewfinder is remarkably bright and nice.
Definitely above average.
It uses needle indicator on the left-bottom side going vertically.

To answer your real question, no, it doesn't dethrone the mighty OM-1 viewfinder.
I don't think there will ever be one.

And going from memory, aside from RTS (or Yashica FR1), I don't recall seeing a diagonal split-image spot in the middle. Which I rather like.

I think this camera is designed to compete with OM from the get go.
In their ads for this camera, Mamiya boasted about things that "professionals" are used to in their bigger cameras.

Originally Posted by Peter_wrote:

but i was just wondering about the thread title. another slr that rff COULD love..? don't we love any damn camera, and secretly sometimes even stroke them a bit?

Haha...
I don't stroke my cameras.
Carefully display them in cabinets, yes.

Originally Posted by Ezzie

Very pretty camera. Pity it's not K-mount

Wouldn't that be nice.

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

or m-42 mount ...

Ah, here we have something.
Mamiya put out an M42 adapter for this camera that works with those lenses with aperture pins. Quite ingenious, it triggers the pin when the shutter is tripped. I only recall Chinon CE-3 that does this by design, and maybe some other Pentax SP variations. But I've never seen this accomplished via an adapter.

Furthermore, of course these adapters are scarfed up by ebayers and very rarely one came up. Fortunately, there is a clever guy who took it upon himself to get a sample of the adapter, model it in 3D and make it available for us to buy via this nifty website called Shapeways.

I have two of these adapters in order, we'll see how good they are.

Originally Posted by Greyscale

Didn't Fujica make a tiny little m42 mount camera?

The M42 Fujicas are cute. But they don't have shutter speed around lens mount and as Paul said, this guy is more compact.

Originally Posted by davidtan

I didn't use to think much of Mamiya's 35mm offerings, as I was only familiar with their bulky M42-mount TL and DTL series. More recently, I've read up on their other SLRs and found them rather interesting. I'm currently courting the idea of buying a Mamiya ZE2; however, the NC1000 looks rather attractive. If the ZE2 turns out to be more plastic than metal, and not very compact, I'll try to get an NC1000 instead. Did your set come very cheap?

Never had the ZE model. They are rather generic looking compared to this one. On the side, NC mount lenses will work on ZE cameras, but get this ... not vice versa

Cheap is relative, but at $30 it fits my meager collector budget. Plus it still works.

The lenses, however is another story. Rare as hen's teeth (the wider ones) or price-gouged to high heavens. That's why I was so surprised spotting the 35mm (my favorite focal length) completely out of the blue.

Originally Posted by nikon_sam

I've read that the Fujica's had a great viewfinder...
I was looking at them when wanting to replace an old M42 body I have...

Well Sam, you have another contender now.

[lam]

I found one of these at a thrift store with a 50mm macro lens, 35mm and a standard 50mm.. The camera is quite nice. Shutter controls like an OM camera. Unfortunately the film advance was wonky and I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I sold the lenses and body on eBay.

[Greyscale]

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

fujica st series, but not as small as the om ...

It was the AZ-1 that I was thinking about. Aperture-priority M42 body and more compact than the ST series. Still not as small as the OM, few (if any) are.
OM-2 136 x 83 x 50mm 830g

AZ-1 :133 x 87.5mm x 50.5mm 580g

So the AZ-1 is less than a centimeter taller than the OM-2, with the other dimensions being virtually equal.

[paulfish4570]

lighter, too ...

[Argenticien]

Beautiful indeed. It has a model number that they'd surely like here in North Carolina. Will, upon seeing the first pic in the original post, I was going to ask what the orange thing does -- until I read on. But a clarification: is the orange square both the button to press, and the light that lights? Weird if so. Interesting camera, but I tend to shy away from these orphan mounts with limited lens availability.
--Dave

[oftheherd]

Originally Posted by Greyscale

It was the AZ-1 that I was thinking about. Aperture-priority M42 body and more compact than the ST series. Still not as small as the OM, few (if any) are.
OM-2 136 x 83 x 50mm 830g

AZ-1 :133 x 87.5mm x 50.5mm 580g

So the AZ-1 is less than a centimeter taller than the OM-2, with the other dimensions being virtually equal.

I gave up my AZ-1 to my daughter to see if she liked it over the ST 801 I had already given her (she didn't) so I don't have one to compare. Anyway, I didn't think it anything to shout about compared to the 901, other than of course having a dedicated flash and a motor winder as accessories.

But the ST 901, now that is a fine camera. Bright viewfinder, small and light, blue cell auto exposure that is accurate even for black cats in coal bins. Accepts M42 lenses also. I only have 6 Fuji lenses, including their short zoom. They are still difficult to find and expensive when you do. But if you find a good one, they are worth having. There are of course many fine M42 mount lenses that can be used on it.

Mamiya, having such a good line of MF cameras, never seemed to market their 35mm cameras well. They did have some perfectly acceptable 35mm cameras. I wasn't aware of the OP's camera. It looks like a nice user. Shame they didn't expand on it. Looking forward to seeing how you like it as you continue to use it.

[L David Tomei]

I had a wonderful NC1000 with a range of 4 lenses and loved it. My sole complaint was the fact that the little button on the top would release the arm and simultaneously turn on the meter. Many times I found that the button had been accidentally pressed in my bag and the meter was dead. After replacing the batteries several times, I retired the little camera and eventually gave it all to a friend who was interested in learning about photography. Except for this one flaw, it was a fine little camera with an excellent selection of lenses and all very inexpensive.... except for the batteries.

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by Spavinaw

So how did I happen to own this somewhat obscure camera? It was the 14mm semi-fisheye lens that someone was selling for about $75 new as I recall. Way back yonder there weren't many 14mm lenses available and none for $75 (a deal I couldn't refuse). Quite a bit later I got a body and used metal tape to change it to the panorama format. Amazingly little distortion when you just use the strip across the center of the negative. I have compared this lens to a 16mm semi-fisheye and it has a significantly wider field of view! I also have the 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 135mm lenses. In the past you could get these lenses for under $50 each If you were patient. Anyway, I'm glad to see someone else appreciates this camera.

That is just incredible.
I am not a fan of fisheye at all, but if I can get an extra-wide rectangular image out of it, that's cool.

Originally Posted by lam

I found one of these at a thrift store with a 50mm macro lens, 35mm and a standard 50mm.. The camera is quite nice. Shutter controls like an OM camera. Unfortunately the film advance was wonky and I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I sold the lenses and body on eBay.

I wouldn't mind the 50mm macro. But when the 3D printed M42 adapter arrived, I can test it with my Industar 61L/Z which is macro-ish.

Originally Posted by Argenticien

Beautiful indeed. It has a model number that they'd surely like here in North Carolina. Will, upon seeing the first pic in the original post, I was going to ask what the orange thing does -- until I read on. But a clarification: is the orange square both the button to press, and the light that lights? Weird if so. Interesting camera, but I tend to shy away from these orphan mounts with limited lens availability.
--Dave

Dave, that explains the sudden urge to buy when I see a Canon TX (haha...)
The orange square on the top will light up when the orange button is pressed indicating battery status.

Originally Posted by oftheherd

Mamiya, having such a good line of MF cameras, never seemed to market their 35mm cameras well. They did have some perfectly acceptable 35mm cameras. I wasn't aware of the OP's camera. It looks like a nice user. Shame they didn't expand on it. Looking forward to seeing how you like it as you continue to use it.

Yes, I have a Fuji Superia 200 in it right now. My standard test roll so I can see orange streaks if there are any light leaks.
So far I'm happy with the handling, it is surprisingly familiar due to the shutter speed around the lens mount.

Originally Posted by Tony Pio

I had a wonderful NC1000 with a range of 4 lenses and loved it. My sole complaint was the fact that the little button on the top would release the arm and simultaneously turn on the meter. Many times I found that the button had been accidentally pressed in my bag and the meter was dead. After replacing the batteries several times, I retired the little camera and eventually gave it all to a friend who was interested in learning about photography. Except for this one flaw, it was a fine little camera with an excellent selection of lenses and all very inexpensive.... except for the batteries.

Actually it's the reverse.
The round button on top of the film advance lever will pop-up when the meter is on (the lever is at about 30 degrees from the body). If you push it down, it will turn *off* the meter and make the lever flush to the body.

It reminds me of Konica T4 in this regard.

[L David Tomei]

"Actually it's the reverse. The round button on top of the film advance lever will pop-up when the meter is on (the lever is at about 30 degrees from the body). If you push it down, it will turn *off* the meter and make the lever flush to the body." Shadowfox

Your right. The film advance arm on mine released very easily, maybe too easily. Anyway, it's was a very nice camera system and I'm frequently tempted to get one when I see the undeserved low prices- David

[shadowfox]

A little update.
I didn't get to shoot what I usually like to shoot.
So the first test roll is a bust.
I do want to show you one image:



This is the 200mm 1:3.5 lens.
And this is a 100% crop from a typical minilab Noritsu scan (not the usual Coolscan V):



Yes, some of you will focus on the film grain or bird droppings... I notice those as well.
But I also think that this lens is extremely sharp and has an overall nice rendering. And it's smaller than even the OM Zuiko 200/4, and has a built-in hood.

All I can say is, good job, Mamiya.
The 35mm is nice as well, I'll show some pics when I'm done with my second roll.

This kit is growing on me.

[mdarnton]

For those of you who are interested in this kind of thing, my brother and I both worked in a camera store in the late 50s to mid 60s, and we both brought one of everything free home. I'm cleaning house this weekend, and this just turned up in a box filled with similar stuff. Even that early, the plain design aesthetic was there. Note the Canon lens in Exakta semi-auto mount!

[Trius]

Well, there goes the price of NC1000s on eBay!