Chinon CS

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The Chinon CS, also sold as the GAF L-CS, is a 35mm SLR camera made in Japan by Chinon. The model identification, CS, stands for Chinon Screw, the Chinon designation for the universal M42 Praktica/Pentax screw thread.

Description

Like a vast family of m42 SLR's from the mid-late-60's and to some extent the early 70's, the CS is designed for stop-down metering. The lenses do not communicate their aperture to the camera. Instead, the metering is taken with the aperture closed. The meter indicates whether the exposure is correct at the current aperture and shutter speed.


Meter

Metering is activated by the same switch that closes the aperture on automatic lenses. This locks down unlike on many similar cameras, but can be pushed back up. It will also automatically unlock and move up when the shutter is fired. This allows a smoother operation and is especially convenient with non-automatic lenses that also have to be stopped down by hand.

The meter indicator is a needle at the right of the viewfinder that will be centered between two brackets, marked "+" and "-" to indicate over- and underexposure. It resembles the viewfinder display of the Nikkormat FTn fairly closely.

A notable feature on this camera is that a red flag will rotate out behind the meter needle if the combination of shutter speed and film speed is likely to be outside the center's accurate range. Moreover the needle will be mechanivally raised if the user turns the dial past this point, as if to indicate that the value is a certain number of stops out of range.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder is large and bright with sharp corners, and features a circular ground glass zone and a microprism focusing patch. The eyepiece has threading for diopters and eyecups, similar to but not matching standard Nikon threading.

Shutter

The shutter is of the metal-blind Copal Square type, mechanically-timed, as on such cameras as the Nikkormat FT. This gives it a high sync speed of 1/125th, and is less delicate and less apt to distort fast-moving subjects than a slower-moving rubber-cloth shutter with a significantly longer travel time at the same shutter speeds.

Battery

The Chinon CS was designed to be powered by a 1.35 volt PX13 mercury cell providing a constant power source. These could last months or years due to the fact that the meter on this camera is usually on for only a few seconds at a time.

Due to environmental reasons, mercury batteries are no longer readily available in many countries (they remain available in much of the former Eastern Bloc) . Suitable replacements include a 1.5 volt Alkaline battery (together with an adjustment in the camera's film speed setting), a 1.35 volt WeinCell zinc/air battery, or a number of other PX13/PX625 battery substitutes. None of these have the longevity of a mercury cell or the fairly consistent voltage over time.

Specifications

  • Type: 35mm SLR
  • Image format: 36x24mm on 35mm film (full frame)
  • Lens Mount: M42 screwmount with automatic aperture
  • Shutter: Focal plane shutter, vertical-travel metal blind type, mechanically-timed
    • Shutter speeds: 1/1000th s.-1 second.
    • X-sync maximum speed: 1/125th s.
  • Flash Sync: Hot shoe (X), PC sockets (X, M).
  • Film transport: manual, lever-wind
  • Viewfinder: Pentaprism, fixed, fresnel screen with ground glass collar and microprism patch
  • Exposure: manual (metered)
  • Metering: CdS cell, center-weighted, stop-down, center-needle indicator in viewfinder.
  • ASA/ISO range: 25-800 (special indicator when exposure value out of accurate metering range)
  • Self timer: mechanical, approx 15 seconds
  • Battery: PX625 Mercury 1.35v.


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