Cosina CS-2

The Auto Only CS

Not overly complex in design, the all black Cosina CS-2 has the look and feel of a quality camera. You really cannot go wrong with an all black camera. The design has hard but rounded edges and a slimmer looking camera body to the eye. All text on the camera is a softer white or silver, with a few colored accents of red and a polished shutter button; nothing really diverting your eye from looking at the camera as a whole. The leather is a bit different as well, featuring a different type of grain than the standard. Over time my example has endured some wear, but having a brass body only adds to the charm. A beautiful camera in a style that will never age.

As far as Cosina CS cameras go, this was the lesser model of the group. The CS-2 was an auto exposure aperture priority camera, but that does not mean that it is not capable. You are only missing a fully manual mode, but there are plenty of ways to work around that. This camera will NOT work without the two LR-44 batteries, very similar to the Minolta XG line of cameras. While looking through the viewfinder, the meter will not activate unless the camera is wound and the shutter button is half pressed. On the left side of the viewfinder is the shutter speed scale with over and under markers. Each shutter speed has a red LED and blinks when a Cosina flash is charged. The focusing is done by a split prism with a microprism ring around it.

Starting at the top of the camera on the far right side, there is the frame counter, winding lever, shutter button, the rewind release under that, and the shutter selector/ASA dial. The dial has an AUTO setting for aperture priority with +/- two stop compensations. There is a dedicated X sync and bulb setting was well. The ASA can be set by lifting up the dial and turning to an ASA between 25 and 3200. The shutter can also automatically change the camera into the X sync mode while in AUTO if a Cosina Auto-Strobe is used. A hot shoe is on top of the prism labeled X for the sync. To the left is the rewind lever along with the ON/OFF/SELF dial. On and off is self explanatory, but self is for the self timer. If you look at the front of the camera, on the left hand side, there is a red light that will blink along with the self timer. Under that is the lens release button, and opposite of that on the right hand side of the lens is a cable release socket and the PC sync above. Nothing to note on the back side of the camera, but on the bottom there is the battery holder you can unscrew with a coin and a standard tripod socket. There are also contacts and mounts on the bottom of the camera for the optional Cosina Auto Winder.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - 8 seconds to 1/1000th, X sync (1/60th) and bulb

Aperture - depended on lens

Meter Type - TTL, center-weighted, +/- 2 stop exposure adjustments

Shutter - electronic, horizontal travel, cloth

ASA - 25 to 3200

Lens - K mount

Flash Option - X sync hot shoe, PC socket

Batteries - 2 LR44

Film Type - 35mm

Other Features - Cosina Auto Winder option (2 frames per second), Cosina Auto-Strobe (extra functionality)

The Experience

This was one of the instances where I stumbled across an auction that no one seemed to pay attention to. I believe it only said it was a camera, not sure if working, and I was the only bid. I had very little experience with Cosina cameras before but knew of their reputation for excellent lenses. I took a chance to see if the Cosina glass really held up. The camera showed up shortly after and fired right up. I had no immediate plans for the camera and it was relegated to the backlog shelf for a deeper look at another time.

Over six months passed, and while working on replacing the leather on another camera, I remembered the plastic rubber ring was missing on this lens. It took a couple of tries, meticulously measuring and cutting, but thankfully made it look original. After cleaning the camera a bit, I changed the batteries, took one shot and the camera jammed. I had a good look inside and could not figure the problem initially. The shutter released randomly after some time and I found myself able to take pictures with no problem once again. I took the camera along to visit my parents and had no problems. I thought that it was a one time issue, and I forgot all about it.

A few weeks later, I decided to take the camera out again, and low and behold the first shot jammed the camera again; this time not letting go. This was starting to stump me, but after a lot of reading, I found out the possible problem. Sometimes with these older SLR cameras, the electromagnet after being cycled enough can turn into a permanent magnet. This leaves a residual charge causing the shutter to stick. On other electronic shutters I’ve worked on, a sticking shutter usually came down to debris in the way, oil on the magnet, bent parts, or even a bad capacitor. I had a few tools at my disposal for demagnetization, when I use to work on hand wound watches, but decided that was the last resort. I ran across one last post online that was a simple solution that can fix the stuck shutter magnet, a light hit to the bottom of the camera. I tried a light tap to the knee and the shutter released. I cycled the camera quite a few times after that to make sure this actually worked, and it seems to have fixed it. Sometimes a fix is trivial, or something that you cannot really say what you did to help. Whether it really was the electromagnet or dried grease causing another part to stick, I have not had that problem since.

After all of the shutter problems were resolved, shooting the Cosina CS-2 was a wonderful experience. The lens that came with my CS-2 was the Cosinon Auto MC 50mm f/1.7, and it is a fantastic lens. The roll of color was exposed perfectly and sharp as a tack, but the black and white shots not so much. I found out while shooting landscapes that the infinity focus was slightly off. I tested other K mount cameras and verified it was the CS-2. I opened the top cover of the camera, calibrated the infinity focus, and finally had a perfectly working Cosina CS-2.

It’s very similar to the first real camera I used, the Minolta XG-1(n) in how the camera feels and handles. The aperture priority mode was almost exactly the same, and the motions came back to me instantly. Metering seemed to be spot on and I had no problems with exposure, even using the two stop exposure compensation at times. Like other shutter or aperture priority only cameras, you still have significant control over the exposure, it’s just presented to you in a different way. I was able to work around the limitation, and it really did not cause me any trouble. I would take a fully manual camera over this, but an aperture priority camera is perfectly fine in my book. While working on certain shots, the over and under exposure lights were incredibly helpful. An interesting thing about this camera is there are red LED lights for every shutter speed, including over and under warnings. A lot of the cameras I have shot with only have a slow speed warning, and nothing to tell you there was too much light. Incredibly helpful when you are completely reliant on the meter.

I had no clue that the Cosina CS-2 was uncommon, finding very little information or even sales online. This is true of any of the CS line, and even Cosina branded cameras as a whole. That is truly a shame because I really enjoyed using this camera. The CS-2 has such an incredibly solid feel to it and a beautiful design. I really ended up with a newfound respect for Cosina and will be searching out more of the library of cameras that they manufactured. I highly recommend that you give any Cosina CS camera a try.