Throwback Edit Version: I edited this in March 2025, checked the links and converted it to the new WordPress blocks format if needed.

This is another camera I got on my recent travels and again, it cost $5. It looked clean on the outside, the lens looked free of fungus, the shutter fired, and the battery compartment did not have any residue. So far so good. The rangefinder ghost image was still quite visible, but the seals were shot. It only needed them near the door hinge, so that was a quick easy fix. There must be something wrong with it at that price??

Originally from 1966 (a great year) it had a 45mm f1.7 Rokkor lens. It used the defunct mercury battery which powered the automatic modes, but it worked perfectly well in manual without a battery, sweet. It had speed settings from B to 1/500th and aperture settings between f1.7 and f16. If that wasn’t enough there was an EV setting scale, which I am getting to like. The ASA settings ranged from 25-800, but there is an ‘off’ setting in case you want to go fully commando (I mean manual). There was even a tiny hole on the back that lets you know there was a film inside. I read the “easy-flash” is due to the flash gun scale on the lens barrel. The only slight issue I found was the film wind-on crank. It went through the biggest movement I have ever come across. Seriously it feels like a full 360. BUT did it work?

Apart from the one shot which I think was the strap, it WORKED!!! I loved it. I have tried a later version of this camera, but this one is so much better in terms of aesthetics and the f1.7 aperture choice.

Sell or Keep: I think I have to keep it…but number of cameras?? OK, I will keep it until a friend reads this and reminds me I have too many cameras and they are a super friend and deserve a present.