5 Frames with a Fujica ST605N and a Vivitar 35mm f2.8

Stuart Jenkins recently posted an article on Fixing the Fujica SLR lens compatibility problem. The problem being that a design issue prevents some M42 lenses being used wide open because the pusher bar depresses the aperture pin when the lens is fully screwed home. As I commented at the time this revelation sent me scurrying to the cabinet to try a selection of M42 lenses on a Fujica ST 605N that lurks at the back. My results were similar but interestingly not necessarily the same lens for lens.

Be that as it may, this little exercise reminded me that nearly three years ago I ran a film through that camera with a view to writing a 5 Frames post. For some reason I never got round to it then but, after revisiting the photos, here it is now.

The Fujica ST605N

Those of you who may have read some of my previous posts will not be surprised to learn that my ST605N was a charity shop find. Nor that while I had no intention of acquiring (yet) another camera I succumbed to temptation as usual.

The ST605N succeeded the ST605 in 1978, the only thing ‘new’ being a needle at the side in the viewfinder to indicate the set shutter speed. As far as I’m aware apart from this they are the same camera. They are very much products of the seventies and I thought at the time that they looked a bit ‘flashy’, probably because of the go faster stripes along the bottom of the top plate. Think glam rock, lager and lime, scampi in a basket and tightly crotched 12 inch flares and you’ve conjured up their era.

In looks and layout they are similar to but slightly smaller than a Spotmatic. So to continue the seventies analogy, if a Ford Capri looks like a Ford Mustang, but isn’t, so this Fujica looks like a Pentax, but isn’t. One quirk is that the fastest shutter speed is 1/700 sec, which is probably Fuji being honest. I wonder how many mechanical shutters are actually as fast as their indicated 1/1000 sec.

They usually came with the Fujinon 55mm f2.2 which is of mostly plastic construction and now that bokeh is a thing has acquired a goodish reputation as a ‘character lens’. Sadly the copy that came with mine had very sticky aperture blades and the aperture selecting ring was cracked and no longer engaging properly. A prime candidate for dismantling were it not that there doesn’t seem an obvious way of doing this: it appears to be held together by recessed pins rather than screws.

The camera itself needed new light seals. Fuji’s designers had done a real belt and braces job here because there are a lot of them, more than I’d come across before. I fitted a new battery but the meter wasn’t working. It took me a while to realise that the long dead battery that it replaced had been put in round the wrong way and I’d followed suit with the new one. Once I’d corrected this, the meter sprang into life, albeit erring towards under-exposure.

So far so good and probably enough tongue-in-cheek waffling from me.

The 5 Frames

Paired with a Vivitar 35mm f2.8 and loaded with FP4+ I took the ST605N for a ride around a couple of local parks and back via the church on one of my vintage bicycles.

Concluding Thoughts

As you may have guessed I was predisposed to be a bit underwhelmed by the ST605N. As it was I found it pleasant to use, in particular the stop-down button for metering was much more to my liking than the slider on my Pentax SP1000. For sure, it doesn’t have quite the same build quality as the Pentax but nonetheless it seems robust enough to feel confidant about it. Strictly speaking it is surplus to my requirements and may very well end up with my son in Australia.

For the record, I didn’t encounter an aperture problem with this particular Vivitar lens and the film was developed in Rodinal.

Finally, I know there are some bicycle aficionados out there so for those interested the bike is a WW2 Raleigh ‘Utility Model’ fitted with a 1948 Sturmey-Archer 4-speed hub.

Thanks for reading.

Share this post: