Asahi Optics film SLR camera eye-level finder design Part 3!
column
camera
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AI-49.png)
at first
I’m sorry
Because we can’t speak english
I am using DeepL translate, so it may be a strange sentence,
but I would like you to understand
Thank you
This is the third installment of Asahi Optics’s eye-level finder!
This time, we would like to look at the eye-level finder design of this film SLR camera released in 1975, comparing it with the SV released in 1962, which we introduced in the previous issue.
ASAHI PENTAX K2 (Reference product)
It is a manual focus film SLR camera with a steel body and black color.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1A-6-1024x652.jpg)
Front.
You can see that the sides are multi-sided.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1-15-1024x857.jpg)
Comparison with SV.
The base surface where the manufacturer’s logo is placed has a completely different shape.
The manufacturer’s mark remains the same, but the font of the manufacturer’s logo has changed.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2-9-1024x786.jpg)
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1-16-1024x857.jpg)
An angle from an angle.
An accessory shoe is attached.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6-11-1024x942.jpg)
Comparison with SV.
Overall, the shape of each surface is different.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/4-2-1024x686.jpg)
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2-11-1024x820.jpg)
K2.
It comes with an accessory shoe that matches the height of the apex of the eye-level finder.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/4-5-1024x779.jpg)
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/5-13-1024x858.jpg)
SV, but at a similar angle toward the rear.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/7-12-1024x735.jpg)
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/8-12-1024x745.jpg)
Top surface.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/10-10-1024x966.jpg)
From the top, the width of the top surface is quite different, perhaps because the K2 will have an accessory shoe.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/5-11-1024x979.jpg)
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/10-11-1024x966.jpg)
This is the back side, showing that the K2 is an eye-level finder with straight lines.
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/12-9-1007x1024.jpg)
The SV is a smooth shape based on a curve.
It was designed in the era when there was no .
![](http://vintageshopjapan.com/jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/14-1-1024x887.jpg)
In this article, we compare the eye-level finder of Asahi Optics’s 1975 K2 with that of the 1962 SV.
The SV of 1962, perhaps due to the molding technology used in the manufacturing process of the body, has a straight line on the front and top surfaces, but a curved line toward the rear end. In contrast, the K2’s design has changed to a mostly straight line design.
In the mid-1970s, the design of the eye-level finder seemed to have lost some of its playfulness, perhaps because of the need to produce cameras in a short period of time.
Thank you again for reading this column.
Our company sells vintage cameras and lenses, anime goods, and boomboxes, so please visit the URL below.
Cameras & Lenses
Animation Goods
Acoustics and others
Vintage Shop Japan Inc. Official Website
Official website (English) URL
Official website (Japanese) URL
facebook URL
Instagram URL
Pinterest URL
Writer Takashi Okumura
#filmcamera
#filmslrcamera
#asahioptics
#vintageshopjapan