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A Gallery of Topcon Equipment
Page 7
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The Rarest Topcor ?
Probably the rarest, and in my opinion the most beautiful, of all RE Auto Topcors--the RE Auto Topcor 500mm, f/5.6. Also shown with the lens is its leather lens case and metal cap. This lens keeps the RE Auto Topcor tradition of a rubber focusing band, but in this case the band is thick, slightly rounded and with widely spaced 'teeth'. The finish is the same satin black used for the black finished camera bodies--not the matte black finish of the last generation of RE Autos. The tripod socket is attached to a rotating band to allow the camera, and lens, to rotate for vertical format pictures. The chrome finished knob locks the rotating band at the selected format.
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A Case for a Heavy Camera
The Super Dm, with lens and Autowinder, is a heavy camera. Carrying this setup with the normal strap soon tires the neck muscles and the photographer finds himself (herself) slinging the camera under one arm and then the other, and then back to the front. Topcon realized this problem at the start and, not wanting poor ergonomics to retard sales, brought out a special carrying case named 'Box Case for Supreme I & II'. And while the normal Eveready case will hold a camera and lens, it will
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not accommodate the Autowinder.
The top image shows the camera and case (with cover closed). A wide strap with a large pad supports the camera and case from the shoulder. The lower image illustrates how the camera fits into the case in a vertical position with the hand strap and Autowinder at the top. It also shows that the cover opens to the front.
This is a convenient arrangement, the top is opened away from the body and the hand slides nicely under the hand strap to grasp the Autowinder motor housing. The camera is now in the normal shooting position. Returning the camera to the case is just as easy, it seems to just drop into place, and the cover is snapped closed.
Inside the case is a little extra room for maybe a few filters and a spare roll of film.
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A Large Hood for a Large Lens
The R Topcor 13.5 cm F/2 lens is large, with a 77 mm filter ring. As was usual with Topcon, they offered a lens hood for this lens. When the hood is mounted to the lens the assembly is striking, making the camera body seem small by comparison.
Topcon engineers seemed to always have had the user in mind and to offer a little something extra. This hood is an example of one such effort. The hood is large--stepped from 80 mm (3.15 inches) where is screws in to the lens filter ring up to 98 mm (3.86 inches) at the end. It extends the length of the lens by 63.5 mm (2.5 inches). How is the user to store a hood this size when the lens is not being used? Topcon's solution was to adjust the inner diameter of the hood--at the small end--to match the outside diameter at the front of the lens. Thus, the hood can be reversed and slipped over the front of the lens making a much more convenient package for storage. As an added touch, the metal hood for the lens now fits over the exposed end of the hood, protecting the front glass surface of the lens. As with their lenses with telescoping lens hood, Topcon added a band of velvet on the hood where it slips over the lens. This not only holds the hood in place during storage, it also prevents metal-to-metal contact that could mark the black finish of the lens. The cap also utilizes a velvet band for the same purpose.
Shown below, to the left, is the lens with the hood attached. To the right is the lens with hood reversed and stowed, with the lens cap in place over the end of hood.
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The image to the left shows another curiosity concerning this lens. Note that the engraved calibrations on the aperture ring are linear--equal spacing between the F-stop progression. This is unusual for a preset lens since most non-metered coupled lenses have non-linear calibrations. All of the RE Auto Topcor lenses do have linear calibrations, a requirement for coupling to the metering system. To achieve linear operation, the RE Auto lenses incorporate a circular cam that couples between the diaphragm actuation ring and the aperture setting ring. But since this lens does not couple to the meter I can think of no reason for adding the extra mechanical complication. All the other R Topcor preset lenses have the more normal non-linear calibrations.
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