Topcon RE300

Topcon · Exakta mount · 24×36mm (Topcon instruction book) · 1978

via machine translation — corrections welcome

Also known as: Topcon RE300 · Topcon RE 300 · Topcon RE-300 · Tokyo Kogaku Topcon RE300 · Exakta EDX 3 · Exakta EDX3 · Exakta EDX-3 · トプコン RE300 · トプコンRE300 · トプコン RE-300 · トプコン RE 300 · エキザクタ EDX3 · エクサクタ EDX3

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
Topcon RE300, black	Exakta	1978	—	—
Topcon RE300, chrome	Exakta	1978	—	—
Exakta EDX 3 (Ihagee West)	Exakta	1978	—	—

Maker: designed by Tokyo Kogaku and built by its subcontractor Sima Kogaku (シマ光学), which became Cima, the maker of Cimko cameras, after Tokyo Kogaku left the business (Topcon Club; Japanese Wikipedia says everything but the design was entrusted to Sima). Calling the RE300 Cimko-made is an anachronism; Maxifiche says only that bodies of this period were probably built by companies such as Cimko.
Carena KS2: camera-wiki's list of Topcon models and Japanese Wikipedia both pair the RE300 with a Carena KS2 (and the RE200 with a KS1), but no photograph or example of a KS2 is on record. Topcon Club shows only a Carena KSM 1, and a near-identical KSM 2, as renamed Pentax K-mount RM300s, and notes Korean-made Carenar lenses in the RE mount. The KS2 is not listed as a version until one is seen.
Lenses, from the camera's own instruction book: its table of Topcor lenses for the RE200 and RE300 runs from the RE Auto-Topcor 20mm f/4 to the 500mm f/5.6, with the new RE Topcor 28mm, 35mm, 55mm f/1.7, 135mm f/2.8 and 200mm f/3.3, the RE GN Topcor M 50mm f/1.4 and RE GN Topcor 50mm f/1.8, the RE Macro Auto-Topcor 58mm f/3.5 and the RE Zoom Auto-Topcor 87–205mm f/4.7, all with automatic diaphragm and full-aperture metering. The RE Auto-Topcor 100mm f/2.8 is not in the table; it has the same RE coupling, so full-aperture metering is expected but not stated. Its specification page offers the 55mm f/1.7 and both GN 50mm lenses as standard lenses.
Preset and manual lenses meter stopped down: the same table lists the preset R Topcor 300mm f/2.8, the manual Macro Topcor 30mm f/3.5 and the semi-automatic Macro Topcor 135mm f/4 with stop-down metering. The other preset R Topcors (28mm, 90mm, 135mm f/2 and f/3.5, 200mm f/4, 300mm f/5.6) are not in the table; they have the same preset diaphragm, so stop-down use is expected but not stated. The Macro Topcor 58mm f/3.5 bellows head is not in the table either; the book's accessory list includes the auto bellows and a double cable release.
The semi-automatic Auto-Topcors of the Topcon R (35mm, 58mm, 100mm, 135mm) cock and fire their diaphragm from a plunger designed for the front-mounted release of the early bodies; Hugo Ruys says these lenses work on later Topcons only with a shutter-button extension rod, and no source describes one for the RE300, whose release is on the top plate.
F Auto-Topcors (the RII, RIII and RS lenses, part of the Auto-Topcor 35mm, 58mm, 100mm and 135mm families): Maxifiche says their meter-coupling finger turns the opposite way to an RE lens's and that they must not be used on the RE Super, RE-2, Super D and Super DM. It does not name the RE200 or RE300, but these use the same RE coupling (Topcon Club; Hugo Ruys), so the same caution applies. The links stay because the RE versions of those families do work on the RE300.
UV Topcor and Hi-Topcor lenses of the leaf-shutter Topcons fit through the UV mount adapter, with manual diaphragm and stop-down metering (instruction book).
Not to be confused with the Topcon RM300 of 1978–79, the same body with a Pentax K mount (Tokyo Kogaku called it the AM mount), never sold in Japan, and its renamed versions Edixa CX 5, Rony RS1, Carena KSM 1 and KSM 2, Quantaray Delta 2-RZ and Exakta KE 4 and KE 5. None takes RE lenses (Topcon Club; Maxifiche).
No production figures, serial tables or launch prices are published. Topcon Club says many more were made for export than for Japan.

How to tell them apart (expand)

RE 300 plate on the front of the top plate, left of the prism; RE 200 = the earlier body without winder coupling (Topcon Club photographs)
Shutter release on the top plate with a cable socket in it, beside the speed dial; the R series, RS and RE Super line have their release on the front, while the RE-2 of 1965 already had it on the top plate (RE300 instruction book; Maxifiche on the Topcon R; Topcon Club on the RE-2)
Winder coupling disc and contacts on the base, split-image screen (instruction book)
TOPCON on the prism = Topcon RE300; EXAKTA on the prism with an EDX 3 plate = Exakta EDX 3 (Topcon Club)

Topcon RE300, black:

Black top plate and prism with TOPCON on the prism front and a RE 300 in a small recessed panel, the 300 in smaller figures, on the front of the top plate to the left of the prism seen from the front (Topcon Club photograph)
On the base, a winder drive-shaft coupling disc, alignment holes and electrical contacts for the winder, marked as RE300-only in the instruction book's nomenclature
A split-image spot inside a microprism collar in the finder; the RE200 has a microprism spot alone (instruction book; Topcon Club)

Topcon RE300, chrome:

Satin-chrome top plate and prism with TOPCON on the prism front, black body covering, and RE 300 lettered on the front of the top plate (Topcon Club photograph, shown with the Auto Winder II)
Same base coupling and split-image screen as the black body; the chrome RE200 differs by its RE 200 marking and plain base (Topcon Club photographs)

Exakta EDX 3 (Ihagee West):

EXAKTA in spaced capitals on the prism front and a plate reading EDX 3 where the Topcon carries RE 300 (Topcon Club photograph; Commons photograph by Joe Haupt)
Black-finished screw on the self-timer, advance lever and rewind crank; Topcon Club notes this for the EDX 3 when describing the Exakta KE 4, as a difference from the Topcon RM300
Usually with an EXAKTAR 55mm f/1.7 standard lens, engraved EXAKTAR on the front ring (instruction book; Commons photograph)

Topcon RE300, black: The only finish sold in Japan, where Topcon Club says the RE200 was kept chrome and the RE300 black to tell them apart (a black RE200 appeared at the 1978 Japan Camera Show but, by its account, hardly reached the shops there); abroad both finishes were sold side by side. Mechanically the same as the chrome body (Topcon Club).
Topcon RE300, chrome: An export finish: Topcon Club says the RE300 was sold in chrome as well as black outside Japan, and camera-wiki and Maxifiche both give black and chrome bodies.
Exakta EDX 3 (Ihagee West): The RE300 renamed for Ihagee West and sold beside the EDX 2, the renamed RE200; the lenses were renamed EXAKTAR at the same time (Topcon Club). Its instruction book gives the lens mount as the "TOPCON RE bayonet mount" and calls the winder the Auto Winder EX. Topcon Club suggests Ihagee West turned to Tokyo Kogaku after Petri, which had built its M42 bodies, failed in 1977. No source shows a chrome EDX 3.

Specifications

Format: 24×36mm (Topcon instruction book)
Finder: fixed eye-level pentaprism · 91% coverage
Shutter: vertical-travel metal focal plane (instruction book); Copal Square by Topcon Club's account of the RE200, of which the RE300 is a minor change · 1s–1/1000, B · flash sync X at 1/125 and slower for electronic flash, 1/30 and slower for bulbs; hot shoe on the prism and a PC socket (instruction book) · self-timer
Film advance: single-stroke lever, 120° throw with 20° stand-off; Auto Winder II on the base (instruction book)
Back: hinged, opened by pulling up the rewind knob (instruction book)
Meter: CdS, through the lens, centre-weighted, at full aperture with RE lenses and stopped down with preset and manual ones; switched on by half-pressing the release; EV 3.5–18 at ASA 100 with the 55mm f/1.7; ASA 25–1600; two 1.5V G13 silver-oxide cells (instruction book). No automatic exposure. The instruction book and camera-wiki give two CdS cells; Topcon Club describes the RE200's as a single cell above the eyepiece.
Motor drive: Topcon Auto Winder II, Exakta Auto Winder EX (EDX 3) — Six AA cells, single frames only; Topcon Club times it at about 0.3s per frame and finds it loud. Its winder essay gives "about 0.35" and calls the torque strong. The grip has no release button: the middle finger rests on the grip and the index finger presses the release on the top plate. The winder carries a plate with the TOPCON name, which Topcon Club reads as a sign it was designed from the start with export rebadging in mind.
Weight: 580 g
Dimensions: 141 × 91.5 × 50, body only; 141 × 91.5 × 87 and 785g with the 55mm f/1.7 (instruction book). weight_g is the body only. mm
Country: Japan
Accessories: Auto Winder II (Exakta: Auto Winder EX) · Eyepiece adapter with magnifier, angle finder, large rubber eyecup Model III and correction lenses (instruction book) · Auto bellows, macro stand, slide copier, extension tube set, variable and automatic extension tubes, RE Auto-Ring, reverse adapter, microscope attachment Model III and double cable release (instruction book) · UV mount adapter for UV Topcor and Hi-Topcor lenses (instruction book) · Topcon Club says many accessories are shared with the RE Super and RE-2 line

Split-image spot in a fine microprism ring; 91% of the frame; 0.89× with the 55mm f/1.7 (instruction book). Three LEDs on the right edge of the field: red + at the top for overexposure, green in the middle for correct, red − at the bottom for under. Topcon Club finds the green band generous, close to a stop wide. An eyepiece adapter takes a magnifier, an angle finder, a large eyecup and correction lenses.

Where sources disagree

Year

1978 — Topcon Club camera page; Maxifiche; Japanese Wikipedia
1977 — Topcon Club's winder essay, for the RE300 and the Auto Winder II

Better supported: 1978

Hugo Ruys gives 1977 and 1978 for the RE200 and RE300 together; the RE200 is 1977 in every source.

Type

Vertical-running metal focal plane — the Topcon and Exakta instruction books
Horizontal metal focal plane — Kamerastore's product listing

Better supported: Vertical-running metal focal plane

Meter

Two CdS cells — the Topcon and Exakta instruction books; camera-wiki
One CdS cell above the eyepiece — Topcon Club, describing the RE200

Better supported: Two CdS cells

Motor drive (winder speed)

About 0.3s per frame — Topcon Club camera page, timed
About 0.35 — Topcon Club winder essay, which writes 'about 0.35 frames per second', most likely a slip for seconds per frame

Weight (grams)

580g body only — the Topcon and Exakta instruction books
575g — Kamerastore's product listing

Better supported: 580

What reviewers say

Topcon Club (blog) — A frank owner's account: plastic, cheaply made and, with no automatic exposure, behind its time, yet one of the author's favourite cameras for its light, simple handling. The winder is fast at about 0.3s a frame but loud, and steady to hold despite having no release of its own. The RE Topcor N lenses flare and ghost against the light more than the older RE Auto-Topcors, but give the same rich tonality once you allow for it. via machine translation — corrections welcome

History

The RE300 is the last Topcon built on the Exakta bayonet, and the last 35mm camera Tokyo Kogaku sold in Japan. It is a small change to the RE200 of 1977, a budget model built down to a price: by Topcon Club’s account the RE300 of 1978 adds a coupling for a motor winder and, for the first time in a Topcon, a split-image spot inside a microprism ring, and changes nothing else. The two were sold side by side until production stopped in 1980. Tokyo Kogaku drew the camera, and its subcontractor Sima Kogaku built it. After Tokyo Kogaku left the camera business, Sima became Cima, the company behind the Cimko cameras and lenses.

Next to the RE Super and Super DM it is a plain camera, and Topcon Club says so bluntly. The top plate is plastic, the light meter is an ordinary CdS system by the eyepiece rather than the RE Super’s cells behind the mirror, and the readout is three LEDs, red over, green correct, red under, with no needle and no automatic exposure at a time when its rivals were selling inexpensive TTL automatic-exposure cameras that took winders. What it does keep is the RE bayonet: Topcon’s version of the Exakta inner bayonet, with the coupling the RE Super introduced for metering at full aperture. Every RE lens meters wide open on it, and the instruction book’s own lens table runs from the RE Auto-Topcor 20mm f/4 to the 500mm f/5.6, with the RE GN Topcors of the Super DM offered as standard lenses beside the new RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7. Preset and manual lenses, such as the R Topcor 300mm f/2.8 and the Macro Topcors, meter stopped down. The older F Auto-Topcors of the RII, RIII and RS have a coupling finger that, by Maxifiche’s account, turns the wrong way for RE bodies, and the semi-automatic lenses of the original Topcon R were made for a release on the front of the body, where the RE300 has its release on top. The UV Topcors of the leaf-shutter Topcons fit through an adapter, stopped down. The RE Topcor N lenses, redesigned from 28mm to 200mm, arrived with the RE200, and the RE Zoom Topcor 35–100mm f/3.5–4.3 joined them in the RE300’s time. They carry no N engraving. Topcon Club finds them more prone to flare and ghosts than the RE Auto-Topcors.

The Auto Winder II fits to the base and runs on six AA cells, one frame per press of the release, at about 0.3 seconds a frame by Topcon Club’s timing, and loudly. Its grip has no release button of its own, so the index finger reaches over to the top plate. The winder carries a TOPCON nameplate, which Topcon Club takes as a sign it was designed with rebadging in mind, and the RE300 was indeed rebadged. Ihagee West, which had been buying M42 bodies from Petri until Petri failed in 1977, sold the RE200 and RE300 as the Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3, with EXAKTA on the prism, black-finished levers and the lenses renamed EXAKTAR. The EDX 3’s winder is the Auto Winder EX. It brought the Exakta name back to the bayonet Topcon had borrowed twenty years earlier. In Japan the RE300 was sold only in black and the RE200, in practice, only in chrome; abroad the RE300 came in both. Some model lists also name a Carena KS2, but no example has been shown. The same body with a Pentax K mount is the RM300 and its Edixa, Rony, Carena, Quantaray and Exakta KE versions, none of which takes RE lenses.

When buying, check the rewind crank first. It also releases the back, and Topcon Club says the plastic tube that carries its shaft inside the body is notched and often cracks when the crank is pulled up hard, so many cameras have a loose, wobbling crank. The repair is not difficult once the top cover is off. The battery cover opens at a touch and has no lock, and the self-timer lever, once run down, hangs loose even though the timer still works. The meter wants two 1.5V G13 silver-oxide cells, and the LEDs light when the release is half-pressed. With a winder, check that the base coupling turns and the contacts are clean. Topcon Club does not expect high prices and warns against shops that ask a premium for rarity, since far more of these cameras were made for export than were sold in Japan, but the Exakta and other renamed versions are harder to find than the Topcon.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Photographs

Topcon RE300 — Exakta EDX 3, the RE300 for Ihagee West, with EXAKTA on the prism, the EDX 3 plate and an Exaktar 55mm f/1.7 — Joe Haupt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Live listings

【訳あり品】東京光学 TOPCON RE 300 ブラック RE TOPCOR 55mm F1.7 ボディレンズセット e9750 — from ¥6,330 · Yahoo! Auctions Japan · auction 2026-11-12

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