Kowa H

Kowa H image by Tony Kemplen (Image rights)

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The Kowa H is a 35mm SLR with a fixed lens and leaf shutter. Introduced in 1963, it was the first SLR equipped with the "Electronic Eye", which refers to the the prominent selenium photocell on the front of the prism housing. The meter is always on, with the reading shown both inside the viewfinder and in a small window on the top cover.

The camera can work in either automatic or manual mode. In auto mode, the meter controls both the shutter speed and aperture size according to a predetermined program curve. In manual mode, the meter is decoupled, but the meter reading in the top window gives information about proper exposure parameters.

Being a budget model, it has moderate specifications: 48mm f/2.8 lens (4 elements in 3 groups), Seikosha GLA shutter with speed from 1/30 to 1/300 second. The bottom-mount film advance lever is operated by pulling with left hand fingers and folds flat when not in use. The mirror mechanism produces a unique "chime" sound when the shutter is released.

Links

• Kowa H user manual at Mike Butkus's OrphanCameras.com Camera Manual Library