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Interchangeable Lens Cameras continued

Lens mounts

The lens-to-camera attachment is very important on SLR cameras. It must be easy to fit, light-tight, and link up smoothly with the camera’s controls. There are two basic types of lens mount—screw thread and bayonet. Screw thread mounts: found on the older or less expensive SLR models. Their great advantage is standardization. All screw thread lenses fit any make of 35mm camera body made for this type of lens mount.

Bayonet mounts: this mount is much quicker to use and is supplanting screw thread. Unfortunately, each manufacturer has a slightly different system, but most specialist lens makers can supply adapters to suit the different models and fit them for you.

Disadvantages

There are times when an SLR is not the best camera to have, but these tend to be specialized situations. The focal plane shutter and the movement of the mirror make the camera noisy. During exposure there is a momentary loss of the image in the viewfinder—a problem during long exposures. It has more moving parts and is, therefore, more susceptible to damage from rough handling than a viewfinder camera. The shutter cannot synchronize with flash at high speeds (useful when using flash in daylight).

An SLR outfit is more expensive to insure and does require you to take care of it, but most of the equipment can be traded in at a good price if you decide to change to a newer camera. And, with this system, you can often keep a favourite lens adapted for use with the new camera body.

Although heavier and bulkier to carry around, especially with more than one lens, than the 35mm rangefinder cameras, the SLR is still remarkably compact for its performance. All the accessories, as you collect them, can fit into a purpose-made gadget bag and can bring within the grasp of the average photographer a wide range of subjects previously considered to be confined to the specialist.

Before buying an SLR

* Do you want lenses which screw on to the camera body or which have bayonet mounts? Bayonet is faster, but screw thread lenses are generally cheaper.

* Do you want built-in, through the lens metering or a hand-held exposure meter? It is better to buy a camera with TTL metering and get a hand-held meter later on.

* Do you want to be able to change the focusing screen for a different type, or is the one seen in the viewfinder easy for you to focus sharply?

* Some cameras are heavier than others, some are now very much smaller. The larger, heavier models tend to be more robust, but the lighter, more compact ones are easier to carry with you. Try the camera and controls to make sure they are comfortable and in the right place for you.

* There are two types of focal plane shutter. The modern, electronic shutter works vertically and is often made of metal. It will synchronize with flash at 1/125. The older, rubberized cloth type, although quieter, works horizontally and can only be used with flash up to 1/60. If you are planning to use flash in daylight the vertical shutter is better.

* Is the image in the viewfinder bright enough and easy to focus, and is the exposure information displayed clearly?

Are you going to want to add a motor-drive or autowind unit at a later stage? Maybe you would like to be able to use the camera with a bellows attachment for nature photography or in a laboratory.

Does the camera have a depth of field preview button? This allows you to see the effect of the aperture before the shutter is released.

The Leica M4-2 is a rangefinder camera with a full range of lenses. Leitz produced the first 35mm camera in 1925. Built with great precision, the camera was light and gave high quality results on the motion picture film then used. The design evolved to include a full range of lenses, coupled rangefinder, shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/1000, exposure meter and reflex housing for telephoto lenses. All lenses now feature a bayonet mounting system.

The advantage of this type of camera is that it is small, quiet, robust, and there is no loss of the image during exposure. Some people find it easier to focus in poor light.

The lenses you can buy range from 21mm to 135mm, focused through a coupled rangefinder. Framing marks in the viewfinder appear automatically as the lenses are changed, including automatic adjustment for parallax. Longer telephoto lenses focus through a reflex housing.

There are many earlier interchangeable lens viewfinder cameras still being used today, alongside similar models like the Contax or the Canon. The other cameras made of this type are Russian—the Kiev and FED44—and are available at low cost with lenses from 28mm-135mm.

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