*Cameras courtesy of Zoilo “Yet” Andin.

1. SEAGULL 203

This is another offering from the Seagull Camera factory.  Like the more common Segull TLRs, this folding camera is a conglomeration of the best designs found in other folding cameras made by other manufacturers.  Its basic shape follows that of the Agfa Isolette and similar folding cameras.  But unlike the Isolettes, the Seagull 203 has coupled rangefinder focusing.   Zeiss also brought out folding cameras with coupled rangefinders, but they used separate wedges which stuck out off the lens board.  The Seagull used a far more compact and elegant system.

The Seagull 203 uses 120 film, and gives an option to select 12 6X6 or 16 6X4,5 exposures.  Film advance is by a lever, but there is no automatic stop.  Instead,  there are two red windows on the back to show how far to reel the film and  line up each frame.   The film gate has hinged masks to reduce the 6X6 cm square frame to 6X4,5 cm.   In some models of the Seagull 203, there is an exposure dial on the top plate to figure out exposures.

The lens found on this camera is the same as the lens found on the Seagull TLRs- the triplet “Haiou” 75mm.   However in this camera, the lens uses ‘front cell’ focusing (only the front element turns during focusing).  The focus is from 1 metre to infinity.  Fstops 3,5 to 22.

The shutter is a Compur-inspired three-blade leaf shutter.  Like the shutters found in many Chinese cameras, this one is timed to give exposure times of 1/300 to 1 second.   It also has a self-timer,  marked with a “V” on the shutter speed ring (the V mark follows the German style of indicating this function).  The advance lever is coupled to the shutter release to prevent double exposures.  The shutter has to be cocked manually before the shutter can fire.

The folding design allows the camera to fold into a neat package.  Its main weaknesses  are the potential loss of film to lens parallelism (the lens board is held up with metal struts which extend and collapse everytime the drawbridge door is opened or closed) and the potential of the cloth bellows to develop holes.  These are not unique to the Seagull- just about any folding camera is prone to these faults.

2. HONGMEI HM-1

This is another folding camera.  It has the same physical specs as the Seagull 203, and has the 12/16 exposure option too.  But the Hongmei (Red Plum) HM-1 is simplified.  No rangefinder, just an optical viewfinder. The shutter speeds range is 1/200 to 1/10 sec only.  The shutter has to be cocked manually before it can be fired.  There are also more visible plastic parts.

The optics is also a triplet, front-cell focusing lens.  Many have expressed concern about front cell focusing and say that it is inferior.  However, with cameras like this, sharpness is probably the least of concerns when using them.  This was the typical family camera in China in its day.

Its similarity with the Seagull is not surprising.  A lot of cameras manufactured in China were made by different factories.  These factories probably worked on the same  designs supplied by a central design bureau;  this resulted in cameras which were virtually alike, or else had the same specifications but with some modifications.

3. PEARL RIVER TLR

China made a lot of TLRs.  Most were patterned after, if not the exact clones, of the Seagull.  These were made  bydifferent factories. The Pearl River however is different.   Its features are significantly different- they were simplified.  There were several Pearl River cameras made.  This is the simpler one.

The lens used is also a  75mm f/3,5 Triplet.   There is absolutely no internal coupling between the film advance and the shutter. Each action has to be done separately and completely noted.  Just like with most of the camera which date from up to the 1930s.   The lack of coupled controls meant that either blank, or double exposures can result if the user forgets to wind or forgets that he forgot to wind, respectively.

The shutter is cocked by a lever before it can be tripped.  The shutter range is simplified- 1/250 to 1/25 sec only.  Film is advanced by knob, and has two red-film windows for  12 and 16 exposures.

4. SEAGULL -DF

Seagull started making 35mm SLRs in the 1970s.  The Seagull DF series was based on the Minolta SR-2 of 1958.  It used the Minolta bayonet mount, the same cloth focal plane shutter, and even the take up spool is the same. The DF even has a 58mm normal lens- a focal length popular for normal SLR lenses in the 1950s It is said that Minolta released the design to the Chinese in the 1970s.

Even the font used for “Seagull” on the logo appears to be similar to what Minolta used in their original logos.  ”DF” may stand for ‘dongfang’ ( “东方“）or “East”.

This camera will take in any Minolta MD mount manual focus lens. It is meter-less and do not require batteries to run.  Its shutter range is 1/1000 to 1 sec.  And uses FP and X PC connectors for flash as there is no hot shoe.  Make sure to select X when using modern electronic flash!.

The quality of this camera is rather high.  The operation is smooth and shutter is relatively quiet for mechanical SLR standards. The finish is quite fine and the fittings are perfect.  The viewfinder is also quite bright and snappy.

Seagull still make 35mm SLRs.  Their current crop are exact copies of the Minolta X350/X700 series.  Same lens mount, but lots of plastic body parts.  These newer Seagull has AE shutter priority feature.

Many Thanks to Yet Andin for allowing his cameras to be photographed and featured in this page!

Related Posts:

• No Related Post

虎年
with Chinese cameras.
Made in China.

中国 制造

1. GREAT WALL DF-2 ( 长城 DF-2 CHANG CHENG)

Made by the Beijing Camera Factory.  The Great Wall DF-2 was a basic SLR camera whose design was based on the 1930s KW Pilot-Reflex. It was intended to be an inexpensive but slightly advanced camera for the common masses.  It is constructed of steel and has a very basic mechanism.

The Shutter is a basic rotary guillotine type- the reflex mirror is part of it.  Non-instant return, with four basic speeds (1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/200) and “B”.   No flash synch.  The shutter has to be tensed by winding the shutter dial before each exposure. 

Film Advance is by knob wind.  The frames are positioned by lining up the printed numbers on the film backing paper in the red window behind the camera.  Two formats possible:  12 exposures 6X6 cm or 16 exposures 6X4,5 cm.  The latter requires the use of an adapter mask (missing from this camera).  No double exposure or blank exposure prevention.

The lens is a 90mm Tessar type (real four element/ three group, against the common Triplet types prevalent in Chinese cameras).  Front-cell focusing, from 1 metre to infinity.   The lens is removable, but there appears to be no extra lenses made for the Great Wall.  The mount is standard Leica Thread M39.  This was perhaps done as a means to allow the lens to be used in the enlarger for printing.

Viewing and focusing is done through the hooded screen on top. 

2.

SEAGULL 4-B1 (海鸥 HAI OU)

The Seagull TLR is perhaps the best known Chinese Camera.  The Seagull is made by the Shanghai Camera Factory in Shanghai, China.  The model shown here is the most basic of the Seagull TLR family.  This model “4-B1″ is rarely seen outside China.  It lacks the automatic features of the 4B (semi-automatic film frame positioning), and 4-A (automatic frame positioning and crank advance), but otherwise, everything else is the same.  Same Triplet type 75mm f/3,5  “Haiou” lens, same 1-1/300 sec shutter speed range.  Picture quality should be the same in all three models.  Only the efficiency and ease of shooting change accordingly.

Film advance is by knob winding.  The frame is positioned by centering  the backing paper’s numbers on the red windows on the camera’s back door.  Two windows for 12 6X6 cm and 16 6X4,5 cm exposures respectively.  A simple cutout metal mask is inserted on the film gate for making 6X4,5 cm exposures.

The non-automatic Seagulls seem to be the better user types.  There are less parts to fail unlike in the automatic versions.

3. SEAGULL-205 (海鸥 HAI OU 205) and PHENIX-205 (凤凰 FENG HUANG 205)

Fixed-lens, leaf shutter coupled-rangefinder 35mm cameras.  Exactly similar cameras (note same model designation, “205″) but made by different factories:  Seagull by the Shanghai Factory, and the Phenix by the Jiangxi Camera Factory.  The Jiangxi Phenix appears to be made after the Seagull 205 was released.  The 205 appears to be a copy of Minolta or Konica rangefinders from the 1960s.

The lens is a 50mm f/2,8 three-element in three groups “Triplet” type.  It focuses from 1 m to infinity.  The shutter is a leaf type similar to one found in the Seagull TLR and folding cameras.  Same 1-1/300 range, with X flash synch and self-timer.  The leaf shutter is really quiet.

I think the best feature of the 205 is its combined rangefinder/ viewfinder.  It has a projected floating (for parallax compensation) frame line showing the 50mm field. It shows a LIFE-SIZED image, rivaling the Leica M-3 in terms of brilliance and magnification.  The short-base rangefinder is accurate enough for the 2,8 lens.

The 205 is light and quite easy to use.  It is very suitable for street photography.  It has no built in light meter though. 

Even as exact twins, there are some styling detail differences:

Between the two “205s”, the Seagull-205 feels to be heavier and more solidly built.  Its parts also seem to mesh and fit better.  The Phenix-205 feels more tinny and light, but build is clean.  Picture quality -wise, both cameras deliver the same.

4. SHANGHAI-58 II (上海-58II)

The Chinese Leica copy.  The “58″ in the model designation refers to the year 1958, when the “Great Leap Forward” campaign started in China.  The serial numbers of these cameras start with “58″ but they were made until around 1963 or so.  Four variants were made; those shown here belong to the third and fourth.

Made by the Shanghai Camera Factory (as the Chinese characters on the top plate say), which became the Seagull factory.

The first variant is an exact copy of the Leica IIIa.  Separate VF and RF, shutter speeds from 1 to 1/1000 (split at 1/20)  in separate dials, strap lugs, etc.

Then the camera evolved towards simplification.  The VF and RF were combined.  The strap lugs disappeared.  And flash synch was added. The camera borrowed elements from the Canon II and III rangefinders (external styling) and FED and Zorki cameras (internal mechanism).  The combined RF/VF optics were similar to those found in FED-3 or Zorki-5.  The follower cam for the rangefinder was similar to the teardrop shaped cam of the FED-1.

The difference between the third and fourth variants is the accessory shoe style.  In the third variant, the shoe was a spring loaded plate (similar to the Leica IIIc shoe) of about 4 components, and fastened with four screws to the body.   The fourth variant had a simplified shoe- single plate, no loaded spring tabs, and fastened with three screws only (similar to the Leica II or FED-1/Zorki-1 accessory shoes).

The lens (and appears to be the only lens made by the factory to fit the camera) is a 50mm collapsible in standard Leica Thread M39 X 1 mount.  It appears to be coated with a light blue Anti-Reflection coating.  It has a collapsible barrel, lever-set aperture, and locking focusing tab, all similar to the Leitz 3,5/50mm Elmar.  But the similarity ends there, since the lens is a three-element TRIPLET and not a four-element Tessar type.  The diaphragm layout is similar to the Elmar’s though. 

The lens mount will accommodate all other Leica and Canon, as well as Russian LTM 39 lenses.  Unlike the FED or Zorki,  the Chinese workers were more careful in milling the mount- resulting in consistent thread entry points, which in turn lead to a more uniform lens mounting.  The FED and Zorki were so lose in this quality concern.

 Many of these cameras were bought in Beijing, China.  In Beijing there is a sprawling camera shopping mall where all sorts of camera equipment, both new and old are to be found.  Lots and lots of them, at the best prices.  It is located at the Wukesong district:

More detailed articles about these cameras to follow soon.

Related Posts:

• No Related Post