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Prinz Mastermatic 111

 

The technical stuff:

Camera Type:- 35mm Compact Viewfinder with built in lightmeter (not coupled) 

Lens Type:- Fixed 45mm Anastigmat f2.8 - f16 

Shutter:- unknown make 4 speed + B. 30,60,125,250

 

 

This Prinz camera is fundamentally a Halina Paulette Electric made by Haking for the Dixons Camera Company in the mid 60's. It has a built in selenium lightmeter which uses the Japanese principle in that instead of giving a light reading as such it provides a guide number which is transposed to a window on the aperture ring. The aperture ring, in turn, is couple to the shutter speed ring so that you will always get the optimum speed/aperture ratio n.b the iso rating of the film is also set on the lens body and this compensates the guide number. The camera feels a bit tacky and has a kind of tinny sound when the shutter fires and to be quite honest I think engineering and Halina don't belong in the same sentence. Yet, after over 40 years this camera, which was picked up in a car boot sale and given a clean up has turned in some remarkably good pictures. All the more amazing because apart from cleaning the lens elements and sticking back the leatherette in places I have done nothing to it. Halina have survived for a long time in the camera business even though their products have always been regarded as a poor relation when it comes to quality. In terms of value for money they are hard to beat and their optics are quite surprising. I have a number of their cameras in my collection from this and the 35x through to the model 150 plastic and have yet to be disappointed with the results. In fact I have to confess that my first "real" camera, at the tender age of 14, was a Halina Rolls.

 

 

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