Maybe one of the changes in mirror slit patterns made a slight change in behavior. At one of them, Beseler claimed that there was a redesign of the metering circuit, with automatic switching between center-weighting and averaging, but that was complete bunk - the part numbers and circuits didn't change. There were a few restylings of the Super D/RE Super cameras over the years. If I found a Super D or Super DM in good condition and for the right price I would be tempted to get it. The Nikon F2, Nikon FE, Minolta X series and Olympus OM cameras all had a rounder look that what came before them. Most of the other companies went to a more rounded look over time but not Topcon. From an apperance standpoint the best thing about a Topcon is the square look. I have also adapted it to other mounts with adapters. I used it with an Exakta adapter on a Konica bellows on an off brand bellows with a Konica mount. The only lens I have left in that mount is a 105/4 Noflexar bellows macro lens in Topcon mount. I traded my Exakta VX500 and 50/2 Zeiss (Jena) Pancolar some years ago. I have the 12.5mm and 25mm Minolta micro lenses with both the M-1 ad M-2 adapters but the 30mm Topcon lens has a nice lab look to it. They even had the 30mm micro lens with the cone shaped tube. The best collection of Topcon equipment I remember seeing was at the old Foto Cell on 23rd Street in NY. I agree that the Exakta mount made fast lenses more difficult. I think the prettiest Topcon was the black Super DM with the winder and the neat strap. It was an FL mount Fluorite lens with SSC coating. Canon also had a 300/2.8 before most other companies. Nikon's shortest lens was a 6mm, not a 7mm. Canon still has the deepest R&D pockets of any camera company, being such a diversified company. Partly, like many camera companies, they were victims of Canon's electronics revolution in the AE-1. Auto Topcor 58/1.4 lens is as large and heavy as most vendors' 50/1.2 lenses. But the diameter of the mount is very small, making it hard to make fast lenses, and causing vignetting in macrophotography and with long lenses. At the time they started making SLRs, that was a good idea, as there were lots of Exacta mount lenses, and wide use of that mount in scientific applications. Partly they were a victim of their choice to start with the Exacta mount. What was essentially the same camera could not compete by 1978. Only twist was the first "Auto Winder", which was their swan song of innovation. (Probably different enough to not violate Topcon's patents.) īut, after Tokyo Kogaku came out with the Super D, innovation slowed to a halt. This "mirror" metering wasn't really copied until the Nikon F3, and even there is it quite different, reflecting off a secondary mirror to an silicon photo-diode at the bottom of the camera. They put the meter in the mirror, where it measured light through slits in the silvering. They were first with in-camera through-the-lens full-aperture metering, back in 1963. The history of the Topcon brand is that they (Tokyo Kogaku) made great lenses and solid cameras. (Not to mention paying duty.) In those years, if you took something expensive and foreign-made out of the country on vacation, you brought along proof of US ownership. (What was the RE Super in the rest of the world was the Super D in the US.) They also owned the rights to the Topcon name in the US, and you could be required to have the Topcon name defaced on a non-Beseler camera or lens when bringing it into the country. They had the Topcon cameras they imported into the US custom-engraved with the Beseler name, and a custom model. Theory was you got more dealers, since the big ones weren't undercutting the little ones on price. No discounts! This didn't really help them competitively, but they were die-hard adherents until the end. Dealers had to sell all the products Beseler manufactured or distributed at list price. The Charles Beseler corporation had very rigid pricing (until that was outlawed) under what was known as the "Fair Trade" laws. Marc Rochkind who owns many cameras, just aquired an outfit & I'm so envious - Let's see if he chimes in for a vote now that he has one to. (Ball bearing smooth) Picture contains the 4 cameras that got the most mentions IMHO, arranged in order of smoothness, but the Topcon should be way out in front ! I'm telling you, this is the King! something to behold and there's nothing out there like it. (Motor or winder driven cameras don't count) But with out a doubt, the "smoothest" advance is a Topcon #46 Super D or RE. We just recently had a "lively" thread posted where Tony Lockerbie asked about the "best advance", and many candidates popped up. I don't mean in looks the category, I mean in the "smoothest" transport category. Well, I just received my Topcon Super RE, (a.k.a Super D Serial # starting with #46) in the mail and it is just stunning.
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