BRAUN
Braun was originally a German camera company but they stopped making
cameras in the 1960's. They continued to make slide projectors and
other optical goods, but somewhere along the line, the Braun name was co-opted,
and a new SLR camera with the Braun name was manufactured by Phenix in China
-- with a Minolta lens mount. The target market appears to have been
Europe where the Braun name is well known to photographers.
Braun SR2000 MD
(2000) The Braun SR2000 MD is somewhat confusing for people. It is marked on the pentaprism as "BRAUN" and on the front, under the rewind knob, as SR2000. So most people refer to it simply as the Braun SR2000. But on the front of the camera, next to the lens mount it is also marked "MD".
So many people refer to it as the Braun SR2000 MD. But they are actually the same camera. And, as a result of it's marking, some people assume that it has MD capability. But this is not the case. It does have MC capability, however. Perhaps it was named "Braun" because it was intended to be sold mainly in Germany where Braun cameras are well known. FYI, Braun means "brown" in German, and is pronounced "brawn".
It is the exact same camera as the Phenix DC901 and DC20 and, in fact, the Braun SR2000 was made for the Phenix Optical Co., LTD by it's parent company -- the Jiangxi Optical Instrument General Factory. It is a very nice, well-made camera with two special features. First, it has speeds of B and 1 - 1/2,000, hence the designation SR2000.
It has a metal, vertical shutter that, surprisingly, does not need batteries to operate. It also has a super-easy multiple exposure button which naturally falls under the second finger of your right hand. And it has TTL metering with ISO settings from 25 - 3200. Flash synch is at a fast 1/125. It's metered manual exposure mode shows three red and green LED's in the viewfinder. The top LED is a red +, while the bottom LED is a red -. A green LED will light in the middle if the exposure is correct -- by adjusting either the shutter speed, the f-stop, film speed, or a combination. It's fast and simple, but there is no exposure display of the shutter speed or the f-stop in the viewfinder. However, the viewfinder does sport a 45 degree split-image rangefinder, as well as a microprism collar. The camera also has a stop down button, self-timer, hot shoe and PC X-synch plug.
There is no motor-drive option, however.
It is normally seen with a 28-70mm (f3.4-4.8) zoom lens.
The body is available in champagne, silver or black plastic.
The Braun 2000 was also sold with a Pentax K mount in a SLIGHTLY different body style, with SLIGHTLY different features (right, below). Like the Braun 2000 MD, that model is also often referred to as simply the Braun SR2000 -- but sometimes as the Braun SR2000 PK because it is marked next to the lens mount as "PK". Needless to say, this leads to some confusion. There were other Pentax K models of the Braun 2000 PK, as well, such as the Promaster 2500, the Hikari 2002, and the Vivitar V3800N.
The Braun 2000 was also sold with a Contax/Yashica mount in a SLIGHTLY different body style and with SLIGHTLY different features (left below). This version is only referred to as the Braun SR2000Y because it is clearly marked as such. Why it was not marked as "SR2000CY", or why the "Y" was not placed next to the lens mount, we will never know.
| Shutter | Shutter speeds |
Flash synch speed |
TTL meter- ing? |
ISO settings |
Auto expo- sure? |
AE lock? |
View- finder info |
Flash shoe |
Sensa- switch? |
PC plug? |
Multi- expo- sure? |
Cable release plug? |
Stop down button? |
Self timer? |
Mirror lock-up? |
Motor drive option? |
Battery used for |
Film indicator |
|
| Braun SR2000 MD | metal, vertical |
1-2,000 B |
1/125 | Y | 25- 3200 |
N | N/A | 3 LED's | Hot | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | meter | Tab holder |