The Chinon CS and CX II cameras are both made in the 70s and uses M42 lens mount. They are mechanical cameras with shutter speeds from 1/1000s to 1s and B. They do use batteries, but only to power the meters. The CS and CX II only differ in the way they operate the light meter. In both cases, they meter stopped down using match needle in the viewfinder. The CS uses a stop down switch on the right side of the lens, where as the CX II stops down and meter when the shutter button is half pressed. Under the skin they are almost the same. The meter on my CS does not function and I use it using sunny 16 rule or with an external light meter. However, my CX II's meter actually work. Since the camera was designed for mercury 1.35V battery, I set the film speed 1 stop over to compensate for the different battery voltages. As a side note, these cameras were sold under different names in different countries. In the UK, they were also sold a Prinzflex by Dixon chain of shops.
Chinon CS with Helios 58mm F2 lens. Note the stop down metering switch on the left of the lens.
Chinon CX II with Fujinon 55mm F1.8 lens. Metering is performed when the shutter button is half pressed.
In term of focus aid, they have micro prisms on the ground glass but no split focus screen. It would be good to have both. With bright lenses, I find the screen to be bright and easy enough to see through for most conditions. In dark environments, the match needle can be hard to see. But then the Cds light cells are not that sensitive in low light anyway. Both cameras have hot shoes and also flash sync sockets for FP and X sync flashes.
Both cameras are quite old now. Even though they are working well, I did remove the bottom plates and lubricated all the moving parts with light bicycle chain oil. They were notably smoother after. All the light seals and mirror bumper have disintegrated. I bought new light seals from eBay and cleaned and replace the seals. Both cameras are light tight now. Hopefully, they will work for another 40 years.
One thing to note is these cameras are heavy! Construction is solid and almost everything are made of metal. Shutters are also quite loud. They are not stealth cameras. These cameras have vertical travel metal shutter with a flash sync speed of 1/125s, which is double of the horizontal travel cloth shutter can achieve. Due to the higher flash sync speed, they have become my studio camera of choice, especially the CS, as the meter does not work.
Would I recommend these cameras? That is a definite yes! They are cheap, reliable and easy to use. They are readily available on eBay, so I would not pay over the top price for them. Even if the meter is not working, they are great cameras to shoot with with a light meter app or using sunny 16 rule. If you use them in the studio, you will have a flash meter anyway. Here are a few more photos from the last shoot using the CS with Fujinon lens shot with Kentmere 100 film
No comments:
Post a Comment