Classic SLRs

There are hundreds of classic SLRs. However, I will only list some the most notable from the 1960's, 1970's and into the early 1980's.

Asahi/Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic - Found as either Ashai Pentax or Honeywell Pentax (sold only in the USA), the Spotmatic was made in three generations, the Spotmatic, Spotmatic II, and Spotmatic F. These use the older Pentax screw-mount lenses. The first Spotmatic came out in 1964 and are far hardier than their predecessors. They are still good cameras although the screw-mount system is less desirable. They used TTL systems and usually came with a 50mm f/1.4 Super-Takumar or 55mm f/1.8 lens. The Spotmatic II had the addition of a flash hot shoe and exposure meter settings were increased. The Spotmatic F brought manual full-aperture TTL metering in 1973. These cameras can be found at reasonable prices and are reliable, somewhat hardy SLRs.

Ashai Pentax K1000 - The K1000 brought bayonet-mount lenses to Pentax, which became known as the "K-mount." Lenses with this mount are known as SMC Pentax lenses. The K1000 arrived in 1977 and were similar in size to the Spotmatic. Its production lasted until 1988 and is still in demand by collectors and users. It is a very reliable camera and lenses can be found for it by a number of manufacturers, as well as original Pentax lenses. This is the most desirable of all Pentax SLRs to collect and use.

Canon FT & FTb QL - Introduced in 1966, the FT fast became a much-loved camera. The QL stood for Canon's effective quick-load system, which removed the need to thread the film into the take-up spool. An improved FT came out in 1971 called the FTb QL.

Canon F-1 - The F-1 was Canon's 1971 venture into the professional market. An improved F-1 was introduced in 1976, with another introduced in 1981. It was a black, heavy camera with interchangeable screens, alternative prism, waist-level and high-viewpoint viewfinders and a motor drive more user friendly than Nikon's of the time. It is a very rugged and dependable camera.

Canon AE-1 - Production began in 1976 and is still a very popular model. Like Konica it is a Shutter Priority system. The AE-1 is noted for having introduced the dedicated flash system.

Leicaflex SL - The SL was introduced late in 1968 as a TTL replacement for the older Leicaflex SLRs, and was a totally redesigned system, although similar in look to older models. A good camera and lenses designed for it are excellent. A SL2 was introduced in 1974, but the following Leicaflex R3 is basically a Minolta XE-1, Leitz having gone into partnership with Minolta.

Minolta SRT 101, 202 & 303 - The SRT101 was introduced in 1966 and won considerable and well-deserved success. The 202 was made for the American market, while the 303 was made for Europe and other markets. A reliable camera.

Minolta XE/XE-1/XE-7 - Launched in 1973, the XE-1 was the first Minolta SLR to offer a choice of fully automatic or manual exposure settings. It uses the same Rokkor lenses as the SRTs.

Nikon F - The Nikon F was launched in 1959. The F was a well engineered, all-metal SLR with an interchangeable viewfinder system and a reliable titanium-foil focal-plane shutter. The first 1,000 Fs are numbered 640,000 to 640,999 and of those that followed, the first two digits represent the year the camera was made. A CdS metering system was added to the F in 1962. So popular was the F that it was produced well into the 1970's.

Nikon F2 - The F2 has come to be regarded by many as the best SLR ever made. It was introduced in 1971, and because the previous F model was so good and respected, the F2 was only slowly accepted. The F2 had a rounder appearance and shutter speed was increased to 1/2000th second. Like its predecessor, the F2 could be equipped with a simple pentaprism without meter, its own development of the Photomic head or, from 1973, the solid-state metering head (DP-2) which provided meter readings from illuminated diodes rather than swing needle.

Nikon F3/F3AF/F3HP/F3T/F3P - Others regard the F3 as the best SLR ever made, and, indeed, it and its variants was in production longer than any other 20th Century Nikon SLR. Production began in 1980 and ended in 2000. Nikon FE2 - The FE2 was probably Nikon's best mid-range SLR. Produced in the 1980's, it was still in demad going into the 21st Century. High sync. speed of 1/250 second, fast shutter speed of 1/4000 second, TTL flash and its dependability has made it a favorite.

Nikon F4/F4E/F4S - The F4 is both an autofocus and manual focus camera. Although its autofocus is slow, it is probaby the best manual focus camera ever made. Although not introduced until 1988, it deserves mention here.

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