Cameras in this blog are a bit like buses – no camera for months and suddenly four in a row. Two of them were given to me as non working examples so I did not bother putting any film in them but I am happy to share my initial impressions of them. One of them is this Miranda Auto Sensorex EE.
If you have not heard of Miranda before, you are not alone. Many people haven't. The thing is that Miranda cameras are exceptionally well build, with high quality optics and features which pro cameras of their time (that is 60s' and 70s) would be envious of. Take this one as an example, it comes from the very distant 1972 (before the OM-1 era) and offers:
Dual light metering including spot !
Removable prism.
Totally mechanical shutter.
Speed priority automation.
These sound like old school kind of staff but find a better equipped camera of that time. And not only that, the camera is very well build, it weights 930gr with lens on – that is Nikon F2 category – and is made only out of glass and metal.
The engineer boffins behind the Autorex EE, took the decision to implement the light meter inside the mirror (!), the mirror itself is a bit thicker and there is a set of three cables coming out of it. This proved to be the Achilles' knee for these cameras, the cables are subjected to continuous movement and eventually give up. On my sample, average light metering was not working properly, possibly a fault on the cable. But to my surprise, spot metering was... well... spot on.
The viewfinder is reasonably bright but it takes a bit of time to get used to the split focusing screen as you can see the spot metering lines in the viewfinder. I would describe it as distracting in the beginning but you get used to it very quickly. Film advance is relatively smooth but the camera produces quite a vibration when taking a picture.
A couple of things to be cautious about. When the camera is used in aperture priority, there is an interlocking system that does not allow you to select certain speeds. That is because the light meter of that time had a limited metering range. If you try to force the camera and change the shutter speeds, you will end up damaging it. To give you an example, with film 400 ISO the aperture priority works with speeds between 1/15 to 1/1000. You can select 1/8 if you wish too but you need to press the lock button on the centre of the speed dial. Also, once you are outside the effective speed range, the shutter speed is not coupled to the aperture which means that you will get a wrong exposure. Try to remember that and read the manual.
Another thing to remember is that when you remove the finder, light hits the mirror from top. This means that the exposure will be influenced this way if you use auto exposure and result in under-exposure. If you want to use the camera as a waist finder camera, you might want to use an external light meter and avoid the auto-mode in this camera.
Conclusion
This is a first impressions write up, so I cannot really say much more. Miranda cameras are usually well made and the can be quite pricey when in working order. Also optics are first rate so I would recommend buying one if it is in good working order. Just make sure that the light meter works before you hand in your hard earned cash.