by Karen Nakamura
The Fujica ST605 was released by the Fuji Photo Film company in 1977. It was a well designed, compact M42 (Pentax/Praktica) screw mount single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It wasn't particularly innovative -- the only unusual feature is the top speed of 1/700 sec, but it was solid and dependable. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.
The Fujica has stop-down, match-needle exposure metering. You push the button on the right side of the lens mount, which 1) stops down the viewing lens to the aperture you've selected and 2) turns on the metering circuitry. There's a little needle on the right side of the viewfinder that goes from high (too much light, stop down) to low (too little light, open up). What I like about match-needle exposure metering (as opposed to match-diode) is that you can tell exactly how much light you need to add or lose. What I also like about the Fujica is that when you engage the meter, you automagically get Depth of Field (DoF) preview, something that even some expensive contemporary cameras don't have.
Although photography teachers like to recommend the Pentax K1000 and its clones for their students, I think they'd be better off recommending early screwmount cameras. The lenses are excellent and in good supply, the metering is still spot on, and best of all, prices are still reasonable. The Pentax K bayonet mount is excellent, but I still have a soft spot for the screw mounts.
The Fujica takes two SR44 batteries, which are widely available in any drugstore. This fact alone makes them a good replacement for a Pentax Spotmatic, which uses hard-to-find batteries. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.
|
Camera Name |
Fujica ST605 |
|---|---|
|
Manufacturer |
Fuji Photo Film |
|
Place of Manufacture |
Japan |
|
Date of Manufacture |
1977 |
|
Focusing System |
Single-lens reflex with pentaprism eye-level
viewfinder Lens use helicoid focusing |
|
Lens Mount |
Pentax/Praktica screwmount (M42) |
|
Shutter |
Focal plane shutter |
|
Metering
System |
CdS TTL metering (stopped down
only) |
|
Flash |
Hotshoe, PC connection |
|
Film
type / speeds |
135 type (35mm standard film) |
|
Battery
type |
2 x SR44 1.5v silver-oxide batteries |
|
Dimensions
and weight |
|
|
Retail
price |
|
| Note: Using the text or images on this site in an ebay auction without permission is a violation of your ebay Terms of Service. I will report you to ebay if I discover such a violation taking place. | |
My Pentax Screw
Mount Lens Collection
|
|---|
Praktica/Pentax M42 Screwmount
Lenses:
|
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