Fuji STX-2 and the X-mount bayonet cul-de-sac

Fuji Photo Film started up in the 1930s producing film and photographic material. They grew to be Japan’s largest film producer. Along the way, they made a series of cameras, aimed mainly at particular niches, such as (but not limited to) Medium format rangefinders and panoramic cameras. More recently, they have produced APS-C and Medium format digital cameras, again, looking to offer something different and seemingly refusing to compete for the 35mm ‘full-frame’ market.

Originally, they used the name Fujica for their cameras, switching for a while to plain ‘Fuji’ before settling, in recent times, on ‘Fujifilm’. They produced a whole range of analogue 35mm SLR cameras. For a long while they stuck to m42 mount. Like Pentax, Fujica managed to engineer mechanical full-aperture metering. Open-aperture metering delayed their switch to a more ‘modern’ mount, but eventually they, like Pentax and Praktica, switched to a bayonet mount. The new mount had a 43.5mm registration distance.

Fujica’s first X-mount (unrelated to the current digital APS-C mount) was about the last manual focus bayonet mount to be introduced. Although their ‘Fujinon’ lenses were highly respected, they didn’t end up selling a lot of lenses in their new mount.

Keen to support their existing customers, Fujica made sure their cameras could take an adapter that allowed them to use m42 lenses while maintaining infinity focus and utilize their automatic diaphragms.

The camera that is the subject of this review is one of their 35mm analogue SLRs from the early 1980s, produced a few years after the initial introduction of the new mount.

The Fuji STX-2 is a 1980s manual focus, TTL manual exposure model. Similar budget cameras, with manual and automatic exposure, were produced by a number of manufacturers at the time. Other instances I’ve come across have been the Konica TC-X and the Praktica BX20.

The STX-2 is an update of earlier entry level cameras that Fujica brought out with their new line of AX bayonet mount cameras. The more innovative AX cameras (AX-1, AX-3 and the multi-mode AX-5) used cutting edge electronics. The STX line used the same new bayonet, but was based on the m42 mount ST605 series as a tried-and-trusted cheaper option. These cameras used established technology and have aged well.

Ten years earlier, the economy models would be lacking a 1/1000 shutter speed and/or a self-timer and depth of field preview. By this time manufacturers could differentiate by using cheaper materials/manufacturing techniques and leaving off features like viewfinder blinds, exposure modes and autowinder support. The STX-2, had pretty much all the features that you would expect of a decent manual SLR. Metering is open aperture and speeds range from ½ to 1/1000 of a second (I doubt many people will miss the 1 second speed). The Fuji STX-2 has a depth of field preview and a self-timer.

A look around

On the left of Fuji STX-2 the top plate is a conventional rewind crank that also pops the back when it is lifted and a battery compartment that takes two commonly available SR44 silver-oxide batteries. The viewfinder ‘hump’ sports a conventional hot-shoe without extra dedicated flash contacts (note there are no PC sockets on the body for off-camera flash synch). On the right of the top-plate, the shutter speed dial turns easily and incorporates film speed setting. There is a positive shutter lock on the front edge. Because the meter turns on with a half-press of the shutter release, locking the shutter also conserves the batteries. The shutter release itself is quite smooth in operation. A neat little wind-on lever and frame counter complete the package.

On the front we find a self-timer and a depth of field preview button that the photographer can operate with their right hand. The lens release button is over on the other side of the mount and operates by pressing in towards the body of the camera. The STX-2 arrived at a time when the company had rebranded, so the name screen-printed across the viewfinder hump is not Fujica but ‘Fuji’. To my eye, it looks too short for the space, but I am a card-carrying stick-in-the-mud.

The back shows the viewfinder and a window to identify the 135 cassette inside.

The Fuji STX-2 viewfinder shows the selected speed on the left (indicated by a flag on the scale) and exposure LEDs over on the right. Green shows correct exposure, while amber shows one stop or more over or under. My personal preference is for a needle to match, but I understand the attraction of ‘solid-state’. The split image rangefinder in the centre of the screen is horizontal and surrounded by a microprism collar.

The Fuji STX-2 base has a large rewind button and a tripod mount well offset to the left.

A very conventional layout, other than the location of the batteries and the tripod mount, both of which were almost a ‘house style’, inherited from Fujica’s M42 cameras.

The Critics

Criticisms of the Fuji STX-2 tend to centre around the plastics used and the viewfinder. I don’t see too much wrong with the viewfinder. It holds up reasonably to the ST901 for brightness and visibility. Overall build quality certainly holds up to the TC-X and BX20. The edges of the viewfinder hump lack a bit of definition, but the plastics employed seem reasonably high-grade, and, although stuff is screen-printed onto it rather than being engraved, the finish has holds up quite well.

A legitimate criticism, which can’t just be batted away, is based around the mount – not that it isn’t a perfectly decent mount – the bayonet is nicely designed and works well. It cleverly accommodates m42 lenses in a manner that suggests that the company took customer support seriously.

It isn’t that the lenses produced were not good quality either – it is just that most people got a 50/1.9 standard lens with the camera, and probably added a short zoom. Lots of other lenses were supposed to be available, but how many were actually produced? Other than the nifty fifties, these lenses are like hens teeth – and if you can find them, you may have to be prepared to pay.

What you can get are adapters for m42 lenses. Fujica made an adapter that allowed the use of automatic diaphragms on m42 lenses. The one I picked up is missing the bit that does automatic stop-down, but it still allows the use of any m42 lens with stop-down metering.

The lack of availability of decent bayonet primes is a shame, because otherwise this would be a good analogue ‘student’ camera.

The shutter does goes off with a bit of a clang, but this hardly detracts from the capabilities of the camera.

Pictures

Conclusion

The Fuji STX-2 is a perfectly decent camera. It has a nice lens. It can take a wide range of lenses (even if you do need to meter m42 lenses stopped down). What it isn’t is a desirable camera. It is a bit anonymous. It edges toward uninspiring.

An earlier version (the STX-1) had a metal top-plate and a needle to show exposure rather than the LEDs (both of which may appeal), but it also tops out at a 1/700 shutter speed. The m42-mount ST705 ends up looking good in comparison (and the used prices for the 705 suggest this has not gone unnoticed). You pays your money and you takes your choice – or not.

If you really want a fully manual TTL full-aperture metering camera with a horizontal cloth shutter, the Minolta SRT 101 is ubiquitous, bullet-proof, has lots of great lenses available, and offers the same sort of info in the viewfinder. Just recently, I’ve been using a Spotmatic F – no shutter speeds in the viewfinder, but like the Minolta, a camera that inspires confidence and that you want to go out and shoot with.

If you want something more modern, there are cheap auto-exposure SLRs with vertical shutters. Late model entry-level AF cameras from the turn of the century tended to be very capable and the lenses are likely to be cheaper as those ranges were extensive and have just been deleted. I reviewed a couple of the Minoltas here, but there will also be similar gems from Nikon, Canon and Pentax.

The Fuji STX-2 finds itself in a competitive field. It is a good camera, but unless you already have access to the 43.5mm X-mount bayonet lenses you need, there are other cameras out there that are more desirable and a deal more practical.

Where are they now?

I’m very glad to say that Fujica/Fuji are healthy and active under the Fujifilm name. Still involved with film (although, perversely, given the choice of company name, less so in recent years), they are also active in medical imaging, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, stem cells (yea!), Mag-tapes, optical films, optics, photocopiers, printers, and a couple of rather successful lines of digital cameras.

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