Vintage Original 1957 Asahi Pentax AP - Ex. Condition Start Price USD 250.00 Current Price USD 250.00 Time Left - Bid Count 1 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, August 17, 2008 End Time Sunday, August 24, 2008 Location New Haven, Connecticut See more about 'Vintage Original 1957 Asahi Pentax AP - Ex. Condition' Description Near Mint Vintage Original 1957 Asahi Pentax “AP” in Excellent Condition. Description: This original 1957 Asahi Pentax is in superb working and cosmetic condition. Serial number 148357. There are no dings, dents, or scratches on the body. The leather is clean, secure, and without cuts or mars. There is no black paint loss on the trim. The film chamber is very clean and the cloth shutters are without wrinkles, pinholes or significant discoloration. The shutter speeds operate as they should. Shutter speeds range from Bulb to 1 second to 1/500th of a second. The film advance winder is quite smooth, and the film counter works as it should. The film rewind button and rewind work fine as well. The flash ports work fine on this camera. The lens is a period correct Takumar f/2.2 55mm in very good condition. This lens was standard on this camera and is a very fine lens. The optics are clear and clean, and the optics are without scratches, fungus, haze or other defects; the aperture blades are clean. The focus is very smooth and light to the touch. The lens works flawlessly. Cosmetically, there are no dings or dents or other kinds of damage to the barrel. It does show some paint loss commensurate with age and use, especially on the focus ring. Max aperture is f/2.2, minimum is f/16. Overall, the lens shows to be in Very Good condition. The negatives for this camera are: The eyepiece shows a little paint loss on one corner. There is a 1mm ding just to the right of the viewfinder. There is dust inside the viewfinder. The latter does no effect picture quality. While it has minor flaws, this camera is exceedingly clean, well-cared for, and in well above average condition. It is certainly VERY collectible and it is a great user. Overall it shows as being in Excellent condition. This camera is from my private collection, which I am narrowing a little. I want to stress that this camera is a "user" and has not been idle. Everything works and I have exercised it regularly. Please look at the last two photographs in this auction. These were taken this year by this camera. This is one of 19,546 units made, and all of those were made during the span on one year in 1957. It is not easy to find working examples of this camera in this condition. In terms of its collectibles, this particular model is very important in both the history of Pentax and in the history of SLRs generally. In May 1957 Asahi Optical introduced their first SLR, and it was called simply "Pentax." The design won a Japanese national prize and the name Pentax became so well known that later the company adopted the name PENTAX. It was this model, therefore, that was responsible for the name Pentax as a camera company name. It was the first SLR with a film rewind crank and fast lever advance, and it had an instant return mirror. It was not the first SLR with a pentaprism but it has a brighter finder. At the time it was the smallest, lightest, best looking and ergonomic camera available. It was the first Japanese SLR camera with M42 screw mount, for which more than 300 lenses were available at that time. The prism and finder of the Pentax were by far the brightest and best of all SLR cameras available in 1957, and the camera has a very attractive look which became a standard for SLRs. This camera is widely recognized as one of the pivotal SLR designs of the 20th century. The form and layout of the Asahi Pentax exerted tremendous influence over the next 30 years of SLR design, and some elements are still recognizable in today's SLRs. For more information on this important model, please see: http://www.concentric.net/~sherfy/special2.html Thanks for looking! Buyer must contact Seller within three (3) days of the close of the auction with respect to Payment; PayPal only. ALL payments, including Paypal eChecks must clear prior to shipment of the goods. Shipping will be via USPS Parcel Post or Priority Mail in a secure box with Delivery Confirmation to CONUS. A tracking number will be sent upon shipment. Buyer assumes all risk of loss or damage to goods, so if you are concerned, please purchase insurance. International buyers please contact seller for postage quote before bidding.                 Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. Place a Bid!