Topcon RE Super / Beseler Topcon Super D
The Topcon RE Super is a truly innovative camera. Introduced in 1963, it was the first 35mm SLR to feature coupled, TTL light metering, and it did so in a remarkable fashion. The camera's CdS light meter is affixed to the rear of the mirror mechanism, and the mirror itself is engraved with narrow etchings that allow a small percentage of the light passing through the lens to also pass through the mirror to the meter behind it. Meanwhile, the rest of the light is reflected up into the camera's viewfinder, so that the photographer can compose and focus their scene. For the early 1960s, this design feature was quite an accomplishment and it won Tokyo Kogaku much recognition.
But the Topcon RE Super has a lot more going for it than its innovative meter. In fact, it is likely that you would take the camera's method of metering for granted, if you were to pick one up today. Instead, you would likely be impressed by the camera's heft and feel, or by how smoothly its various knobs and levers function. Tokyo Kogaku obviously built the RE Super with a great deal of attention and care. This would eventually win them a major military contract with US Navy, beating out Nikon and their Nikon F camera in the process. This was no mean feat, given the fame the Nikon F has gone on to earn over the decades.
Other noteworthy features of the Topcon RE Super included a removable prism, use of the Exakta lens mount, a shutter release mounted on the front face of the camera, a mechanical self-timer, and a cloth focal plane shutter running between speeds of 1 second to 1/1000.
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