Difference between revisions of "Sears KS Auto"
(Stub begun with date link, pool photo, features) |
(high price of full outfit) |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
|image= https://live.staticflickr.com/3870/15126490931_e73548c4d8.jpg | |image= https://live.staticflickr.com/3870/15126490931_e73548c4d8.jpg | ||
|image_align= right | |image_align= right | ||
| − | |image_text= A full-featured [[K mount lenses | K-mount camera]] from [[Sears]] | + | |image_text= A full-featured [[K mount lenses | K-mount camera]] from [[Sears]]<br>this example missing its self-timer lever |
|image_by= Paulo Moreira | |image_by= Paulo Moreira | ||
|image_rights= wp | |image_rights= wp | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | The '''KS Auto''' was introduced by US retailer [[Sears]] in 1979,<ref>See them on [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1979-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/1268 page 1268 of the scanned Fall/winter 1979 catalog] from [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ Musetechnical's "Christmas Catalogs & Holiday Wishbooks."]</ref> | + | The '''KS Auto''' was introduced by US retailer [[Sears]] in 1979, joining the [[Sears KS 500 |KS 500]] and [[Sears KS 1000 | KS 1000]]<ref>See them on [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1979-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/1268 page 1268 of the scanned Fall/winter 1979 catalog] from [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ Musetechnical's "Christmas Catalogs & Holiday Wishbooks."]</ref> to become their top-end offering. For the moment, the naming scheme of Sears [[SLR]]s had become a model of logic and clarity: "K" for [[K mount lenses | K-mount]] interchangeable lenses; "S" for Sears, and 500, 1000, or Auto to indicate the shutter variant which differentiate the three options.<ref>Fans of Sears cameras should pause and savor this moment, because after 1980 and the [[Sears KSX]] their naming scheme becomes a puzzling jumble of KSX's and "Supers"; just as the naming of the source [[Ricoh#SLR.2C_focal_plane | Ricoh]] models likewise confusingly proliferated.</ref> As with the other Sears SLRs this is a rebadging of a [[Ricoh]] model, the [[Ricoh XR-2 | XR-2s]] introduced a few months earlier. |
| − | The KS Auto is quite a full-featured camera, surprisingly so for a general-merchandise retailer like Sears. It offers aperture-priority autoexposure via an electronically-timed vertically-traveling shutter. It has depth-of-field preview, a locking ASA dial, a built-in | + | The KS Auto is quite a full-featured camera, surprisingly so for a general-merchandise retailer like Sears. It offers aperture-priority autoexposure via an electronically-timed vertically-traveling shutter over a range from 1/1000 to 8 seconds. It has depth-of-field preview, a locking ASA dial, a built-in eyepiece blind, a self-timer, and an M.E. button on the rear for [[multiple exposure]]s. Both shutter speed and aperture are displayed alongside the viewfinder image, the later using the peepsight on the front of the [[pentaprism]] for a direct view of the aperture ring setting. |
| + | |||
| + | Many of these features would be cut back on subsequent Sears SLRs, perhaps because the price of a full outfit with an f/1.4 normal lens, telephoto, flash, and gadget bag was a steep USD $399,<ref>[https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1980-Sears-Spring-Summer-Catalog/1167 page 1167 of the scanned Spring/Summer 1980 catalog] from [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ Musetechnical's "Christmas Catalogs & Holiday Wishbooks."]</ref> almost $1,300 in 2021 dollars. | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Revision as of 12:36, 7 May 2021
This is a work in progress.
|
| A full-featured K-mount camera from Sears this example missing its self-timer lever image by Paulo Moreira (Image rights) |
The KS Auto was introduced by US retailer Sears in 1979, joining the KS 500 and KS 1000[1] to become their top-end offering. For the moment, the naming scheme of Sears SLRs had become a model of logic and clarity: "K" for K-mount interchangeable lenses; "S" for Sears, and 500, 1000, or Auto to indicate the shutter variant which differentiate the three options.[2] As with the other Sears SLRs this is a rebadging of a Ricoh model, the XR-2s introduced a few months earlier.
The KS Auto is quite a full-featured camera, surprisingly so for a general-merchandise retailer like Sears. It offers aperture-priority autoexposure via an electronically-timed vertically-traveling shutter over a range from 1/1000 to 8 seconds. It has depth-of-field preview, a locking ASA dial, a built-in eyepiece blind, a self-timer, and an M.E. button on the rear for multiple exposures. Both shutter speed and aperture are displayed alongside the viewfinder image, the later using the peepsight on the front of the pentaprism for a direct view of the aperture ring setting.
Many of these features would be cut back on subsequent Sears SLRs, perhaps because the price of a full outfit with an f/1.4 normal lens, telephoto, flash, and gadget bag was a steep USD $399,[3] almost $1,300 in 2021 dollars.
Notes
- ↑ See them on page 1268 of the scanned Fall/winter 1979 catalog from Musetechnical's "Christmas Catalogs & Holiday Wishbooks."
- ↑ Fans of Sears cameras should pause and savor this moment, because after 1980 and the Sears KSX their naming scheme becomes a puzzling jumble of KSX's and "Supers"; just as the naming of the source Ricoh models likewise confusingly proliferated.
- ↑ page 1167 of the scanned Spring/Summer 1980 catalog from Musetechnical's "Christmas Catalogs & Holiday Wishbooks."
Links
- Original Ricoh XR-2s manual from Mike Butkus' OrphanCameras.com
