Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-05)

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LeicaR8
Launched 1996
Guideprice£350-400(bodyonly)
Untilthismodel,LeicaR-seriesSLRshadbeendesigned
in associationwithMinolta.Thiswasthefirstdesigned
fromthegroundupbyLeica.It’sbigandheavy,butvery
stylish.It hasalltheusualmeteringmodesof a camera
fromthiseraandthelensesaresuperb.TheR8canalso
befittedwithLeica’suniqueDigitalModuleR,which
turnsit intoa 10MPDSLR.
Two manual-
focus options
ContaxRTSIII
Launched 1990
Guideprice£250-300(bodyonly)
Aswellastheexpectedmeteringandexposure
functions,theRTSIII featurespre-flashspotmetering
forTTLreadingswithanyflashequipment.It alsosports
a ceramicpressureplatecoupledwitha RealTime
Vacuumsystemthatholdsthefilmexceptionallyflat,
makingtheverymostof thesuperbqualityfromthe
CarlZeissT* lenseswithwhichis it usuallyequipped.
Leica and Contax came up with some
pretty well-featured manual cameras
Canon EOS 3
Launched 1998
Guide price £200-270 (body only)
It’s the autofocus system that defi nes
the EOS 3 with 45 AF sensors and
Eye Controlled Focus. While you are
composing the picture, the system
watches your eye, senses the area
on which you
are concentrating,
and that’s where it
focuses. It’s a genius
system, but it must
be calibrated to
individual eyes
before use. The
viewfi nder is known
for its brightness and
its exposure data
display automatically adjusts to the
ambient light levels.
Exposures are controlled by juggling a
top dial close to the shutter release that
falls under your index fi nger and a large
Quick Control Dial on the back which
is convenient for the thumb. Metering
options include 21-zone evaluative,
centre-weighted average, partial, spot
and multiple spot.
Shutter speeds run from
1/8,000sec down to 30sec
with a 1/200sec fl ash sync
speed. The power winder
shoots at 4fps, or 7fps with
the addition of the PB-E2
power booster. Many of the
controls are customisable.
Canon EOS 3 with
Canon EF 28-80mm
f/3.5-5.6 II lens
Canon EOS 3
top view
The back-mounted
thumbwheel that helps
control exposures
on the EOS 3
Contax RTS III with
Yashica 50mm
f/1.4 lens
Leica R8 with Summicron-R
50mm f/2 lens
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