66 12 October (^2019) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Testbench LANDMARK CAMERAS
KonicaC35AF 1977
Casualphotographershavealwaysdesired
automationtohelpwithgettingsharp,
well-exposedimages.Autoexposuresystems
werewellestablishedbytheendof the
1960s,butthefirstcameracapableof
automaticallyfocusingitslenswastheKonica
C35AF.Thisunremarkable-looking35mm
compactemployedtheHoneywellVisitronic
AFsystem,a formof passiveautofocus
conceptuallysimilartoa coincident-image
rangefinder.Asif toreassurethe
photographerthatthesystemwasworking,a
smallneedleindicatedthemeasuredfocus
distanceona scaleonthecamera’sfront.
Asidefromthis,theC35AFwasa pretty
conventional1970s35mmcompact.It used
a 38mmf/2.8Hexanonlens,witha CdS
meteringcellmountedabovethefront
elementinsidethe46mmfilterring.Like
mostof itscontemporaries,filmwind-onwas
manualviaa thumblever,andtheflashhad
tobeactivatedmanually.Twoyearslater,
Canondelivereda fullyautomated motor-
wind camera, the AF35M.
MinoltaDynax
70001985
Fewcamerashavehadsuchanimpactasthis
one:thefirst35mmSLRwithbody-integral
autofocus.Launchedonanunsuspecting
worldin February1985,it placedboththe
AFsensorandthefocusingdriveinsidethe
camerabody,resultingin a considerablesize
advantagecomparedtotheprimitive,bulky
autofocuslensesthathadcomebefore.
Minolta’ssystemwasfastandaccurate,
addedlittlebulktothecamera,andworked
witha rangeof lensesevenin totaldarkness
(whencoupledwitha dedicatedflash).
Photographerswerehooked,whilerival
manufacturerswerelefttoplaycatch-up.In
our2 February 1985 issue,wesaid,
‘Minolta’snew 7000 camerais settoherald
a newgenerationof singlelensreflex
cameras.’Thisturnedouttobeanaccurate
predictionwithCanon,NikonandPentaxall
developingAFSLRsin quicksuccession,and
manual-focus SLRs falling out of favour.
CanonEOSD30 2000
Canonwasoneof thetrailblazersin theearly
daysof digitalimaging.TheEOSD30wasn’t
thefirst‘native’DSLRmadein-housebya
cameramanufacturer– thathonourbelongs
toNikon’sD1thepreviousyear– butit was
thefirstwhosesub-£2,000pricetaglooked
remotelyaffordabletoenthusiasts.
Itsspecificationslookmeaslynow,withits
3-million-pixelCMOSsensorofferinga
maximumsensitivityof ISO1600,and
imposinga 1.6xfield-of-viewcropfactor
relativeto35mmfilm.It offeredjust3 frames
persecondcontinuousshooting,anduseda
mediocre3-pointAFsystemborrowedfrom
Canon’sconsumerEOSSLRs.Butevenso,it
showedthatthefuturewasgoingtobelongto
digitaltechnologyratherthanfilm.
Threeyearslater,Canonunveiledthefirst
sub-£1,000DSLR– the6MPEOS300D–
andin 2005,it revealedthefirstaffordable
full-framemodelin theshapeof the13MP
EOS5D.Bythispointit hadalreadylaunched
its last-ever fi lm SLR, the EOS 300X.
KineExakta 1936
Thisbearsthedistinctionof beingthefirsttrulysuccessful35mmSLR
- a designapproachthatallowedtheuseof a muchwiderrangeof
focallengthsthanrangefindercamerasliketheLeica.Theimagefrom
thelenswasreflectedbya mirrortoa waist-levelhoodviewfinder,with
a powerfulmagnifieravailabletoenlargetheimage.AP’sreviewer
marvelledat howthismeant‘thedifficultyof accuratefocusingwithso
smalla picturehasbeencompletelyovercome’(AP 28 July1937).
Whentheshutterbuttonwaspressed,themirrorflippedupforthe
picturetobetaken.Windingthefilmthenresetthemirrorandshutter
forthenextshot.
Anextremelyinfluentialdesign,theKineExaktashot 36 24x36mm
exposuresona rollof film.A focal-planeshutterofferedspeedsfrom
1/1,000secdownto12sec,whilea rangeof lenseswas available up to
250mm. All told, some 80,000 were produced.
Hasselblad1600F 1948Whilemanyphotojournalistsmayhavepreferredthe35mmformat,
a hugeproportionof professionalandcommercialphotographersin
thesecondhalfof the20thcenturyuseda medium-formatSLRas
theireverydayworkhorse.Noneis moreiconicthantheHasselblad:
a camerawhosemodulardesignwassosuccessfulthatit spawned
numerousimitators.
VictorHasselblad’sfirstcreation,the1600Fsported
interchangeablelenses,filmmagazinesandviewfinders,andwas
namedafteritsfocal-planeshutter that offered a top speed of
1/1,600sec.In ourinitial
assessment,APdeclaredit ‘by
farthemostadvancedof itskind’.
Buttheshutterproved
troublesome,andin 1957it was
replacedbya leafshutter
incorporatedintothelenses,to
givethe500C.Thismodel
remainedin continuous
productionforover 20
years,andremarkablyits
finalvariant,the503CW,
wasonlyofficially
discontinuedin 2013.
Famously,NASAused
highlymodified
Hasselblad500Csonits
Apollomoon landing
missions.