caused by the slow wiping FP shutters of Graflex large format SLRs from the first half of the 20th century.) Unacceptable distortion (as well as difficulties in precisely timing very narrow slits) had stalled traditional cloth horizontal-travel FP shutters for 35 mm cameras at 1/1000 sec. and 1/60 sec. X-sync for decades. The F's Hi-Synchro shutter provided faster speeds by having its metal blades travel vertically, i.e. along the shorter side of the 24×36 mm frame.Goldberg, Camera Technology. pp. 72–75 In 1982, the Nikon FM2 (Japan) reached 1/4000 sec. (and 1/200 sec. flash X-sync) with a vertical-travel FP shutter using honeycomb pattern etched titanium foil blades, stronger and lighter than plain stainless steel. This allowed quicker shutter-curtain travel time (3.6 milliseconds, about half of earlier vertical, metal bladed shutters) and thereby truly faster shutter speeds. The Nikon FE2 (Japan), with an improved version of this shutter, boosted X-sync speed to 1/250 sec. (3.3 ms curtain travel time) in 1983. The fastest FP shutter ever used in a film camera was the 1/12,000 sec. (1/300 sec. X-sync; 1.8 ms curtain travel time) duralumin and carbon fiber bladed one introduced by the Minolta Maxxum 9xi (Japan) in 1992.Lea, pp. 159–160 1960 Royer Savoyflex Automatique (France): first autoexposure SLR. Had an unreliable mechanical shutter-priority autoexposure system controlled by an external selenium light meter, Prontor leaf shutter and fixed 50mm f/2.8 Som-Berthiot lens.Lea, pp. 224–225Jason Schneider, "Camera Collector: Deutschland discoveries yield cache of cheap collectable classics," pp. 67–68. Popular Photography, Volume 65 Number 6; June 2001. The first autoexposure still camera was the non-SLR Kodak Super Kodak Six-20 (USA) of 1938 with a mechanical system controlling both aperture and shutter speed via trapped-needle method coupled to external selenium photoelectric cell.Schneider, "The 10 most important cameras of the 20th century." p. 87Wade, Short History. pp. 101–102 1960 Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod (KMZ) Narciss camera (Soviet Union; Нарцисс): first subminiature SLR. Took 14×21 mm frames on unperforated, specially spooled 16 mm film. Compact design with interchangeable lenses and removable finder. Subminiature film format cameras (those using smaller than 135 film) require a very high degree of enlargement to make even small 3½×5 inch prints, magnifying image imperfections compared to larger formats; they are mostly used where the small camera size and weight are more important than image quality.Herbert Keppler, "SLR: A multi-featured AF SLR that weighs only 12 ounces? Aw c'mon, who are ya kiddin'?" pp. 21–22,