Fuji STX-2

This Fuji STX-2 is a Japanese SLR camera from the 1980s (the Interweb seems to think it was introduced in 1985). Fuji Photo Film had been making cameras previously under the Fujica name. This is the first camera to be sold under the Fuji name. Previous Fujica cameras used the ubiquitous M42 threaded mount; this Fuji STX-2 uses the Fuji X bayonet mount (which is very different to the modern Fujifilm X-mount!). Most camera makers used the M42 mount at some point in their production but when they made the move to bayonet mounts they felt the need to have their own proprietary mount. This Fuji mount is not so dissimilar to Pentax’s K-mount and it would have made user’s lives easier if Fuji had adopted the K-mount as both Cosina and Chinon (and others) did. Obviously, it is a bit late to worry about that now, but I do wonder what went through designers’ minds.

lens:  X-Fujinon
focal length:  50 mm
apertures:  f/1.9 to f/16
focus range:  0.6 m to infinity
lens fitting:  Fuji X-mount (not the modern digital X-mount!)
shutter:  horizontal cloth focal plane
speeds:  2 seconds to 1/1000 seconds
flash:  hot shoe X synch
film size:  35 mm

The Fuji STX-2 is a capably designed and well made camera with no surprises. I am not going to do my usual detailed description and stick to salient points that distinguish this camera from its rivals. The camera body weighs 480 g without the lens. The camera has a manual exposure system with a TTL light meter which requires the user to set the meter needle to a central position. This suggests a bridge circuit type meter and so the battery voltage will not matter – the meter will remain accurate as the battery voltage drops towards the end of the battery’s life.

Shutter speed is set in the standard way with a shutter speed dial on the top plate. The set speed is also visible in the viewfinder by a needle pointing to a series of numbers. This is entirely mechanical as the meter needle correctly points to the set shutter speed even when there is no battery in the camera.

The aperture is set by a ring on the lens. This is close to the mount and has two scales. The outer scale has larger print and is clearly visible to the user. The second, inner, scale has smaller print and is not readily visible. I assume that some cameras in the range had a window below the pentaprism to allow this second scale to be visible in the viewfinder. This is not the case with my camera.

As exposure is set manually, the shutter will fire correctly at all speeds – if the battery runs out during a session, the user can continue with Sunny 16 (or a hand-held meter if hw has one).

The bayonet mount is a three tab bayonet – much like other bayonet mounts. As this is a pre-electronic system, all communication between the lens and body is mechanical – there are not electrical contacts. There is a lug just inside the mount on the lens which moves in the mount as the aperture ring is turned. This lug engages with and turns a ring inside the camera part of the mount. The degree to which this ring turns is determined by the set aperture on the lens. This tells the metering system the set aperture and allows open aperture metering.

When the shutter release is pressed, there is a lever at the bottom of the mount in the camera which moves sideways, pushing a lug on the lens which closes the diaphragm just before the shutter opens. When this lever moves sideways, there is a ‘needle’ which pushes out of the mount at the same time. With my lens (the kit lens supplied with the camera) this does nothing. I suspect that it is there to allow the use of M42 lenses with an adapter. The diameter of the lens mount is certainly large enough to allow this as is the flange distance to the film (important to allow infinity focus).

Japanese cameras always have foam light seals around the back and a few other places. This camera is no exception but Fuji seem to have used better foam than other makers as the foam is all still in tip-top condition. I can use this camera without doing any work on it at all.

The battery compartment is on the top plate beside the rewind crank. It takes two LR44/A76 batteries, one on top of the other. The cover is a black plastic slide which is easier to use than the more usual screw-on metal cover. The only other thing I am going to mention is the shutter release lock. This is a slide beside the shutter release button and exposes a bright orange flash when the shutter release is locked. This is entirely mechanical and does not prevent the delay timer or cable release from tripping the shutter. However, you are unlikely to use either of those two by mistake.

18-04-18

So, I have finally got around to running a test film through this camera. My usual film – Agfa Vista+ – and my usual lab – Sunny Snaps in Lincoln. The results are fine. No light leaks, shutter is working quite well., light meter is spot on (image density on the negatives is what I would want, even though I cannot show that here). Only slight niggle is that when shooting into the sun, there is some flare.

The LEDs in the viewfinder needed to set the exposure are rather faint but clearly work as they should.

I have included one picture where most of the frame is out of focus to show the bokeh of the X-Fujinon lens.

This is quite a usable camera even though I am unlikely to use it on a regular basis – this is merely because I have better/nicer cameras to use.

This next is a challenging shot for a light meter as there are both very dark and very light components in the picture. I am quite happy with the result.

This next photograph was taken to test the light meter when large part of the image was sky. The subject of the image is the red kites which are exposed very well.

Images	Handling	Features	View -finder	Feel & Beauty	History	Age
8	8	4	4	3	0	0
Bonus	no bonus as this is a very unremarkable camera for its age.
Final Score	27