OFFICIAL I HAVE A NEW (FILM RELATED) TOY THREAD!!

That's the standard Tessar arrangement; four elements in 3 groups.
 
Just an afterthought that I should perhaps have lead with. The name comes from the (classical) Greek for "four" tessares. Tatian's  Diatessaron is a harmony of the (four) gospels.
 
Short answer - that's correct.

The slightly longer answer - with uncoated lenses, the amount of light reflected depends on the refractive index, or more specifically the amount of change of the refractive index at the surface. With two elements without an air space between, the change in refractive indices is much less than at a glass/air surface. Hence less reflection.
 
Cluster said:
I guess that I have a liking for Balda cameras and Kodak Retinas, but as Balda are pretty cheap, I have a bunch of them.
This Baldamatic 1 arrived some weeks ago. It looks in almost mint condition, which helps me to believe that it was faulty soon in it's life and then not used.
The VF had something wrong and the RF didn't work. As it was poor weather, I had a look in there and found one of the mirrors and one RF spot lens adrift.
I fixed them in place and calibrated the rangefinder. The shutter works well at all speeds above 1/8th. It's ready to try out.

I have another like this, equipped with a Baldanar 3 element lens. This has the Xenar 4 element lens, which I understand is a Tessar style of lens.

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After setting up the rangefinder to match the distance scale ring and seeing the negatives, it is clear that the focus calibration is way off. 5ft on the scale is actually somewhere near infinity.
This would explain why the camera is in such good cosmetic condition, as it's not had much use at all.
It's fairly easy to fix, rotate the lens group whilst holding the outer scale ring in place (three grub screws loosened). But, it doesn't want to move and I don't want to mess things up. I will research how this can be freed.
Was fun to use though.
 
Well this arrived today. Another isola but with the faster shutter speed. It's in some strange plastic case. If it's the original then it's doing well for such an age!

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more FED woes...:headbang:

the fully-serviced FED 3(b) flat-top with Industar-61 52mmf2.8 had to go back

shutter curtains were off their ''rails''


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not my lucky day..!
 
Yardbent said:
so - got a full refund from eBay within 48hours...(y)

and bought a FED 3 (a) -- the stepped version

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and that's ALL ( for now) :LOL:
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One of my favourite Russian cameras. Still got one.
For all cameras of this type, shutter fade can be a problem. This is where one shutter runs slower than the other due to a mismatch in curtain spring tension.
As a test, take a photo of the same scene (preferably evenly lit), then another with the camera inverted. The images will show up the problem. Sometimes it's acceptable.
I think I might have a dig around for my FED/Zorki cams.
 
Cluster said:
As a test, take a photo of the same scene (preferably evenly lit), then another with the camera inverted. The images will show up the problem. Sometimes it's acceptable.
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thanks for the info

totally overcast ATM but I'll test asap....and the Zorki 4K too
 
Couldn't resist buying this after it had been thoroughly restored,
Body has been disassembled (including mirror box removal), all mechanical components cleaned and lubricated where needed; internal foam seals and buffers renewed; all wires checked and resoldered; external components thoroughly cleaned; viewfinder system cleaned, old foam completely removed and a replacement (undamaged) prism fitted; camera reassembled, functions checked and external light seals renewed the final cleaning.

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Nikon photographer said:
Couldn't resist buying this after it had been thoroughly restored,
Body has been disassembled (including mirror box removal), all mechanical components cleaned and lubricated where needed; internal foam seals and buffers renewed; all wires checked and resoldered; external components thoroughly cleaned; viewfinder system cleaned, old foam completely removed and a replacement (undamaged) prism fitted; camera reassembled, functions checked and external light seals renewed the final cleaning.

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Stunning, beautiful camera (y)
 
FishyFish said:
The current status is that, of the six cameras in the batch, only two of them work. I thought the Nikon EM was working ok, but then I ran a sacrificial roll through it and found that the rewind button on the bottom of the camera is completely jammed. The Cosina CT-1 (which seemed to work, but with no meter operation), has now locked up completely too.

The Fujica STX-1 works ok - I've shot a full roll with it and have been scanning the results today. The Minolta X-300 also seems to work, but it's possible the power might be slightly dodgy as I occasionally had to switch it off and back on again for it to operate when I tested it with a dummy roll the other day (although it seemed to work fine when I tried it again just now).
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Another update to this. The Minolta X-300 also seems to be in good working order. I've started scanning a roll I shot with it recently and the pictures are all looking good. The camera worked fine with no signs of any battery issues as I'd originally suspected.

I sold the other non-working cameras and lenses on eBay and netted just under £40 for them in total so, in the end, I paid approx. £14 each for a working Minolta X-300 and Fujica STX-1 with relevant official 50mm lenses, both in nice cosmetic condition. A bit of a faff, but not too bad a deal in the end, I suppose.
 
My new Aires 35-IIIc. The lens is fantastic and the camera is smooth and solid. I shot a test roll yesterday - just stuff around the house.

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Nikon photographer said:
Couldn't resist buying this after it had been thoroughly restored,
Body has been disassembled (including mirror box removal), all mechanical components cleaned and lubricated where needed; internal foam seals and buffers renewed; all wires checked and resoldered; external components thoroughly cleaned; viewfinder system cleaned, old foam completely removed and a replacement (undamaged) prism fitted; camera reassembled, functions checked and external light seals renewed the final cleaning.
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That's very nice. A camera I always wanted to own. Very green eyed here.
 
Hadge said:
That's very nice. A camera I always wanted to own. Very green eyed here.
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I managed to track down the Accessory shoe 3, new/old stock, so I can use the later T series flashguns on it, I need to get out the office and put a roll of film through it, as well as the OM2n I bought a few months ago, but at the moment I'm busy restoring a few cameras ready to list on my eBay store.
 
srichards said:
£20 dynax arrived today. Yay. Looks like the 7000AF I found on a shelf is no good so hopefully the 505si will work better. Too lazy to take a photo of it :)
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The 7000 had a common problem with the aperture control motor,
 
Nikon photographer said:
The 7000 had a common problem with the aperture control motor,
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Ah. That would explain it. The LCD display in the viewfinder is also toast. Top panel works ok though.

Just found an interesting thing on possibly how to repair it.

www.photrio.com

Minolta (Maxxum/Alpha) 7000 AF: Aperture issues resolved/shortcut; LCDs, aperture ring, shutter unit replaced; aperture solenoid cleaned

With the Minolta/Maxxum/Alpha 7000 AF Minolta ushered in the autofocus era in 1985. Similar to the Minolta 9000 AF, the Minolta 7000 AF can have problems with the aperture control. No matter what aperture is set, the 7000 always creates the smallest aperture. I suspect that the contact...
www.photrio.com www.photrio.com
 
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Bought this for a real great price, on the outside it looks in great condition, although it needs a good clean, the main problem is the corrosion on the prism, luckily I have a mint condition one removed from an OM30, the light seals need replacing, I'll either keep it after I've done all the work, or sell it on.
 
Well before I bought the OM1, I knew it needed working on, thankfully so far things are going OK, got the top removed, cleaned 99% of the gunk out, and it's nearly ready for the new prism to be fitted, with any luck I'll have a fully functioning OM1 buy the end of it, this one is a very early OM1 MD, they started producing them in 1974, this one was manufactured on the 17th May 1974.
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Another Contarex arrived today. One owner from new and from the last batch of production. The Planar lens is mint too. I can't see any dust spots or fungus.

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moggi1964 said:
Always said I wouldn't get one of these but had a spool I just could not get the leader out with my usual methods.

Worked a treat. Bought some C41 chemicals at the same time.

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Would be very interested in seeing your C41 adventures Morris!
 
Barney said:
Would be very interested in seeing your C41 adventures Morris!
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Me too ;) I currently have 2 rolls of 35mm colour waiting for development so thinking I'll wait till I get another couple of rolls shot and then go for it. I've got the Jobo CPE2 so maintaining temperature should be straightforward. I got the Cinestill kit BTW.
 
New toy 1 - Mamiya RB67 127mm NB F 3.8

I tried several of the gorgeous looking mint Sekor C and kept p***ing about sending them back with obvious flaws and defects, then found this what looked a bit battered for half the price, why not? I didn't realise it was NB . shutter looks good and lens is clear, which is all I care about, not bothered about pretty paintwork I just want it to work. I am finding it incredibly difficult to find good glass for this camera.


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New toy - 2, soup starter kit


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Hope you got the joke. :)
 
FishyFish said:
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I was very generously given this free of charge last week, along with some empty film cartridges.

Now I just need some film...
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Same one as I have and still has some FP 3 or 4 in it....erm must about be at least 25 years old. Be careful to read the instructions as you can scratch the film if loading the film (or whatever by memory) as the last time I used it had scratches on the film (my fault).
 
excalibur2 said:
Same one as I have and still has some FP 3 or 4 in it....erm must about be at least 25 years old. Be careful to read the instructions as you can scratch the film if loading the film (or whatever by memory) as the last time I used it had scratches on the film (my fault).
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Thanks Brian, will do.

I'm probably going to buy a shorter roll of Fomapan for my first attempt as I'd rather run the risk of ruining a £30 roll than over a hundred quid's worth of Ilford or something. :D
 
FishyFish said:
Thanks Brian, will do.

I'm probably going to buy a shorter roll of Fomapan for my first attempt as I'd rather run the risk of ruining a £30 roll than over a hundred quid's worth of Ilford or something. :D
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I still have the instruction leaflet if you are stuck and can do a copy?
 
FishyFish said:
Thanks Brian, will do.

I'm probably going to buy a shorter roll of Fomapan for my first attempt as I'd rather run the risk of ruining a £30 roll than over a hundred quid's worth of Ilford or something. :D
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split a regular roll into 2 x 18 to try it or even 3x12

I often wish that I had shorter rolls sometimes, I like the developing process and hate having to wait to use up a massive roll of 36.
 
Barney said:
split a regular roll into 2 x 18 to try it or even 3x12

I often wish that I had shorter rolls sometimes, I like the developing process and hate having to wait to use up a massive roll of 36.
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I'm out of touch with B/W film but many years ago used to buy cinema film and you also could buy FP4 @ 25ft etc or whatever, so as I had a large? roll of B/W film still in my Watson, used to take a strip to test lenses but got fed up dev negs, last time I used it was about 12 years ago and didn't read the instruction and had scratches/score marks on the film. :headbang:
 
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excalibur2 said:
I'm out of touch with B/W film but many years ago used to buy cinema film and you also could buy FP4 @ 25ft etc or whatever, so as I had a large? roll of B/W film still in my Watson, used to take a strip to test lenses but got fed up dev negs, last time I used it was about 12 years ago and didn't read the instruction and had scratches/score marks on the film. :headbang:
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I will buy it Brian if you no longer need it, PM me what you consider is a fair price.
 
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