Was an OEM M42 camera ever manufactured with mirror lock-up?

[Steve Roberts]

The most common problem with the K2, though, is that the ASA dial (which actually surrounds the entire lens mount) tends to get sticky and can be very hard/impossible to change the ASA setting. .

Beware - many have fallen for the fact that the K2 won't let you change the ASA setting if the exposure compensation is set at anything other than 1x. (I obtained a K2DMD very cheaply because of this this perceived fault that was actually not a fault at all). Even if the ASA dial does get stiff (which they do) it's a fairly easy DIY fix and not a fortune to get done professionally.

Despite my aversion to auto-anything, the K2 offers the best of all worlds, and with manual or automatically selected speeds to 8 seconds may be a good choice.

Steve

[toadhall]

Yashica TL Super, Yashica TL ELectro and probably a couple of other Yashica's that I cannot recall off the top of my head.

Richie

The Yashica TL Electro X, the TL super have the mirror lock up, the TL Electro doesn't. The Yashicas that have mirror lock up have a chrome dial with a knurled edge on the left side of the mirror chamber (as you hold the camera), in the same approx. location of the meter switch on a Spotmatic.

Toadhall

[richiedcruz]

The Yashica TL Electro X, the TL super have the mirror lock up, the TL Electro doesn't. The Yashicas that have mirror lock up have a chrome dial with a knurled edge on the left side of the mirror chamber (as you hold the camera), in the same approx. location of the meter switch on a Spotmatic.

Toadhall

Sorry. Yashica's names can be confusing

Richie

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

The Cosina Bessaflex has a mirror lock-up when you use the self-timer, à la Nikon.

[walter23]

Does anybody know of an M42 mount camera that incorporates mirror lock-up? I do know that a few Pentax Spotmatic samples were modified by Honeywell, USA to incorporate this feature but they are rare and very, very expensive.

Canon EOS has the right kind of lens mount distance to incorporate M42-EOS adapters without an extension-tube effect, so it's pretty straightforward to put an M42 lens on a canon EOS body with a $10 adapter from ebay. Look into something like an EOS 3 or one of various other possibilities, for example the dirt cheap elan II or the A2 / A2E.

Other historical EOS cameras:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography.../eos/index.htm

Of course there are brand new ones, but I'd imagine you wouldn't want to spend the money on one of those when old ones can be had for nothing on ebay.

[Andy K]

The Cosina Voigtlander Bessaflex flips the mirror when the self timer is used, and it is an M42 mount. They have recently been discontinued but there are still a few for sale new.


<edit> Oops! Just saw Michel's post. Just ignore me, it was a hard day at work.

[DannL]

The Vivitar 250/SL locks the mirror up with the self timer set. It's a good solid brass body, and generally nobody wants them. I like mine gobs. If I recall I gave $6.00 for it. (That's why I like it) ;-)

Fully Manual
B + 1-1000
ASA 1600 Max
TTL Metering
Shutter button lock
M and X sync
Vertical-running metal shutter

Other m42s can be found at the following link . . . though they don't mention the mirror lock-up features.
http://anusf.anu.edu.au/~aab900/phot...as/cameras.htm

Foto below shows mine with a Mamiya/Sekor right angle viewer and extension tubes, on a tripod with the center column inverted.

[aldevo]

I resolved the matter by acquiring a Yashica TL-Super on E-bay. It cost me all of $26, including insured shipping.

FWIW, the TL-Electro (cited above) is not equipped with a true mirror lock up, though it may well lock up the mirror when the self-timer is engaged.

[Chan Tran]

The KX is something of a collector's item and tends to be relatively expensive in good condition ($200USD). The K2 also has a MLU, but it is about the same price I think. However, there is a cheap K2 on KEH at the moment, apparently because the plastic tip is missing from the ASA dial tab. The most common problem with the K2, though, is that the ASA dial (which actually surrounds the entire lens mount) tends to get sticky and can be very hard/impossible to change the ASA setting. Are you using an external meter? Maybe the ASA dial won't matter for your purposes.

I have to disagree with you. While the KX is an excellent camera it often fetch less than the lesser K1000 because of all the hype about it on the web. It's rather rare but whenever I saw one for sale it's less than $100.

[elekm]

The older Contax (Zeiss Ikon) and Pentacon cameras could lock up the mirror using the aforementioned tap on the shutter release.