Chinon CP-7m (1986)

A K-mount SLR with three program modes, a 1/2000 top shutter speed, and a price that makes the big brands look silly.

Overview

Chinon's CP-7m arrived in 1986, when the major Japanese makers were busy convincing buyers that autofocus was the future. The documentation can't agree on whether this one played along. Kamerastore describes it plainly as a manual focus 35mm K-mount SLR, while NH Camera's listing calls it a "feature-rich autofocus SLR from the late 1980s." The manual says nothing on the matter. The mount is not in dispute: Chinon's universal bayonet, which takes K, KA, and RK lenses. That makes the CP-7m interesting to anyone with a drawer full of Pentax glass, because the camera will mount all of it.

The body is black plastic and measures roughly 153 x 89 x 50 mm. Weight figures run around 510 to 530 grams depending on who's weighing and whether a battery is installed. Kamerastore says 530g, and OldCamsByJens lists approximately 510g body-only. Either way, it's a light camera for a motorized SLR. A 1986 instruction pamphlet ran 86 pages, so Chinon expected owners to actually read the thing.

The shutter is the headline number. It's electromagnetically controlled, with a vertical metal focal plane, stepless from 8 seconds to 1/2000 in automatic mode, and 15 discrete speeds across the same range in manual. Kamerastore and the manual agree on the 8s-1/2000s spread. OldCamsByJens lists "1/2000 to 2s, plus Bulb," which conflicts on the long end. The manual is the more authoritative document, so figure 8 seconds is the real number. A 1/2000 top speed in 1986 put the CP-7m on equal footing with cameras costing considerably more.

Key Features

Three-Stage Programmed AE (P, P-Action, P-Creative)

Most program-mode SLRs of the era offered one auto-everything setting. The CP-7m gives you three. Normal "P" handles everyday shooting, with the camera picking both shutter speed and aperture for what it thinks is the best exposure. Press the mode selector again and you're in "P-Action," which biases toward faster shutter speeds for moving subjects. Press it once more and you get "P-Creative," which opens up the aperture for shallower depth of field.

K/KA/RK Universal Bayonet Mount

The manual is explicit: the camera accepts all interchangeable lenses with K, KA, or RK bayonet mounts. That means Pentax K-mount glass, and a lot of it. The KA variant adds aperture-priority capability when the lens supports it. Blue Moon Camera notes the camera has "an aperture priority mode when used with PK-A lenses."

Motorized Film Advance at 2.5 fps

Integral motorized film advance was still a premium feature in the mid-1980s, and the CP-7m has it. Continuous shooting is available at up to two and a half frames per second.

TTL Metering with Silicon Blue Cell

The CP-7m uses through-the-lens metering. NH Camera calls it "reliable TTL metering," which is about as much as you can say without bench testing. Film speed is set via DX code, covering ISO 25 to 5000, which takes in slow slide film and high-speed color negative alike. The available documentation doesn't mention a manual ISO override, so DX-coding is presumably the only option.

AE Lock and Multiple Exposure

Two features that separate a serious camera from a point-and-shoot: double exposures and intentional blur, both possible without the guesswork of manually cocking the shutter.

Flash Synchronization

X-sync is rated at 1/100 sec. with Chinon dedicated flash units, and slow sync is available at 1/60 sec. or slower in manual exposure mode. That 1/100 sync speed is modest by later standards but normal for a vertical-travel focal plane shutter of this era. The manual describes the flash system as "unique" and "simple," which is marketing language, but the practical result is that fill-flash and slow-sync work without a lot of menu-diving.

Historical Context

Chinon Industries was established in 1948 and incorporated in 1953, starting as a camera components manufacturer before diversifying into optical equipment and computer peripherals. By the mid-1980s the company was making complete cameras. Kamerastore puts the CP-7m at 1986, and an eBay listing agrees, saying "introduced by Chinon in about 1986." OldCamsByJens and NH Camera both place it in the late 1980s, which is close enough for a camera that probably had a multi-year production run.

The CP-7m appears in Chinon's own manual index alongside the CP-9AF, which the index describes as supporting "Auto focus or manual lenses." That suggests the CP-9AF was the more advanced model, with the CP-7m positioned below it. Whether the CP-7m itself has autofocus is unclear. The sources contradict each other, and the manual doesn't settle it. The camera was also sold under at least one other name: an eBay listing states "It is also sold as the Revueflex AC 5," a rebadging arrangement that was common for Chinon in European markets. That relationship isn't corroborated elsewhere, so treat it as likely but unconfirmed.

Collectibility & Value

The CP-7m is not a collector's camera in the sense that a Nikon F3 or Canon F-1 is. It's a user's camera, the kind you buy to shoot with, not to display on a shelf. Camera Market in Spain listed one at €59 with a six-month guarantee, which is about the going rate. OldCamsByJens included new batteries and a lens cap with their listing, and one variant came with a 35-70mm f3.5-4.8 zoom lens. Camera Concepts offered a bundle with a Pentax 35-80mm f/4-5.6 AF lens, an odd pairing given the autofocus question, but it makes sense if the camera is being sold as a K-mount body for whatever glass the buyer has on hand.

Build quality gets positive mentions. Camera Concepts describes the CP-7m as "well-built and sturdy, typical of Chinon cameras," and notes that their example maintained "its well-built sturdiness and classic charm" despite "slight signs of age and discoloration from use." That's a fair picture of a 1980s plastic-bodied SLR: it'll work, but it won't look new. Lens condition on used examples varies. One listing noted "very clear with regular amount of dust," which is typical for a 35-year-old zoom.

No common failures or repair information surfaced in the research. The battery situation is a mess. The manual specifies four 1.5V "M" alkaline batteries or one 6V lithium (2CR5 type), Blue Moon Camera says "four AA batteries," and OldCamsByJens lists "2x CR123A." The manual is the authoritative source, so plan on AA alkalines or a 2CR5 lithium.