Topic: I just picked up...

[02Pilot]

The Jupiter-8 is an excellent Sonnar-formula lens. The only reason I don't use mine more is that I made the speed jump to the Canon 50/1.5.

[MiguelCampano]

My girlfriend picked me up this on eBay for $10 + free shipping: Fuji Fujica Compact 35






Any experience/advice regarding this little thing? Seems pretty interesting, and I think I'll like it as I was looking for something cheap and compact to throw in my commuter pack.

Sorry if the pictures are too big, they are from the eBay ad.

Thanks,
Miguel.

[cs1]

I got this in a trade with James.  Fed-3 with a Jupiter-8 lens.

Very nice looking camera. If you want to buy one, what are the weak spots of the FED-3 that you have to be aware of? Are there any particular things that you have to look for?

[Bryan]

I got this in a trade with James.  Fed-3 with a Jupiter-8 lens.

Very nice looking camera. If you want to buy one, what are the weak spots of the FED-3 that you have to be aware of? Are there any particular things that you have to look for?

Since it was made in the Soviet Union the entire camera is a weak spot.  Don't expect to get a reliable camera but they do have good lenses.  I have had good luck buying on eBay from the Ukraine, just make sure that they state that it is in good working condition.  I have a Zorki I that I got in another Filmwaster trade that works pretty good but the shutter tends to stick a bit in cold weather.  I purchased a Zorki 4K from the Ukraine that is in great working condition.  If I was to recommend one it would be the Zorki I.  It's almost a direct copy of a Leica so they didn't put as much Soviet engineering into it like they did with later versions.  It's nowhere near the build quality of a Leica though. 

This site is a great resource for Soviet cameras and lenses:
http://www.sovietcams.com/

[02Pilot]

The (very) general rule when dealing with Soviet cameras is that the later the build, the looser the tolerances and the more suspect the workmanship. The 1950s and early 60s seem to be about as good as it gets, with things declining precipitously by the late 1970s and 1980s. Unless you know it's been CLA'd, assume it's full of gummed up lubricants and other crap. There are a number of good design improvements in some models over the Leica template, but the build quality never approached the original.

The FED-2 is the one I would recommend - most of the good original bits are still there, but with a combined VF/RF and a long base RF for accurate focusing. Coincidentally ( ), I may be selling mine soon - it just doesn't see enough use these days.

[Francois]

Nice, It's even got strap lugs!
(my Fed 5B doesn't have any)

[Francois]

I was pretty hesitant on this one. Post here or in the fixed section...

So, yes, this is my new 5.25$ Minolta X-370s. I got it at a garage sale this morning. The owner wanted much more for it but the mirror was stuck in the up position... So, I offered him 5$ for it and he accepted. But when I went to look in my pocket for some change (we have metal 1 dollar and 2 dollar coins in Canada), I accidentally dropped a quarter on the ground... and his pit bull thought it was a really interesting thing to eat......... For some reason I simply didn't want to offend the dog 
And using a dollar's worth of Purell just to clean a quarter completely covered in dog drool didn't seem like a good deal.

So yeah, I got the camera with a 28-70 macro zoom that can focus darn close. It's missing the decorative tag but I don't care much, though I might eventually cut a replacement disk for it.

The mirror was stuck in the up position, but I knew that these cameras are quite easy to repair. When this happens, the first thing to check is if the LEDs light up in the viewfinder with fresh batteries. If they don't, the capacitor on the bottom is dead. If they do like on mine, that means something is grabbing. It's always a long fork that's spring loaded and that straddles a round pulley like part right under the wind lever. You play long enough with all the visible levers in that region and you'll figure out the correct sequence to get it working flawlessly. No need to dig in further.

Here's the new toy

[cs1]

Francois, great technical beta! I have a Pentax ME super here that also has the mirror stuck in the up position. It could be the same issue. I'll try fixing it tomorrow.

[Francois]

I don't know if Pentaxes are as simple to fix as Minoltas. One of the things I love about every minolta camera I've had so far is that most of the important mechanical elements are just under the base plate. I just love having to remove only four screws to get to the heart of the problem

I tried repairing a Chinon before and their cameras put everything under the top... nightmare to access.

[cs1]

Interesting! I need to check out your technical articles in the "Articles" section if there're any. I just got into repairing cameras and lenses and I find it quite interesting, especially if there's not a lot of info on the web about that particular procedure.

[jojonas~]

Francois, great technical beta! I have a Pentax ME super here that also has the mirror stuck in the up position. It could be the same issue. I'll try fixing it tomorrow.

don't pentaxes often have a spring that often get gunked up? atleast the spotmatics did. I've seen some guides online on how to get to it a bit from the baseplate

[Sandeha Lynch]

Francois, great technical beta! I have a Pentax ME super here that also has the mirror stuck in the up position. It could be the same issue. I'll try fixing it tomorrow.

don't pentaxes often have a spring that often get gunked up? atleast the spotmatics did. I've seen some guides online on how to get to it a bit from the baseplate

Yep, there's a lot of key stuff under a Pentax baseplate, and a probe and a squirt can often sort it out.  If you look into the sides of the mirror box you may see gaps where some Ronsonol can go which could resolve the mirror problem directly.   I forget which slr I once did this to.

[Indofunk]

I have a SRT that was stuck mirror-up as well. It was literally just a matter of playing with the levers and springs (gently!!) until it popped down. Easiest repair ever

[cs1]

Thanks for all the good hints. I'll try fixing the Pentax on the next occasion.

[jojonas~]

I have a SRT that was stuck mirror-up as well. It was literally just a matter of playing with the levers and springs (gently!!) until it popped down. Easiest repair ever

sometimes it's the bumper rubber getting sticky. I'm pretty sure I have a minolta slr with the end of the mirror covered from the sticky foam

[Francois]

This also happens.

[jharr]

For a dollar per roll? Sure, why not?

[cs1]

I found an Agfa Synchro Box w/ leather case in a good condition for 3 €. Cleaned it up a little and it works nicely. It's dated post WWII (~'50s). It's a brilliant experience to shoot with it. Photography can be so simple...

[Francois]

Photography can be so simple...

That's one of the things that keep drawing me to photography. You make it super simple and it works; you make it super complex and overly engineered and it still works.

[Kai-san]

........ from Russia (with love), a nice Leningrad rangefinder with Jupiter 8 and Jupiter 12 lenses. I was a bit worried about the accuracy of the rangefinder as it did not quite correspond with the reading on the lens, but as you can see from the test shot it looks ok.

[cs1]

Kai, nice looking rangefinder. It looks like it's in a really good shape.

[02Pilot]

I've always been intrigued by the Leningrad, but a little concerned by the complexity combined with Soviet workmanship. How's the spring-drive working on that one?

[Kai-san]

The spring drive is working flawlessly, but I'm careful not to wind it too far. The only problem I had during the first roll was setting the shutter speed, but it seemed to get better towards the end of the roll. It might possibly just need some action after having been sitting on a shelf (I guess) for some time. The rangefinder on this one is really complex, the smallest frameline is stationary and the other framelines move when you focus. It is sort of a 3D split image focusing, quite impressive.

[jojonas~]

wow a working leningrad? that's really cool what else was there to watch out for with these? don't they jam up if you dry shoot it without film (or was it lens?)

[Kai-san]

There are many things that can go wrong with old Sovjet cameras, but I don't think I've heard about that one. Mine is an early one from 1959, they were produced between 1956 and 1968. The Leningrad was not a copy of any western camera, and it was used on the early Sovjet space missions.

[jojonas~]

I've only ever heard about it at length by listening to the pdexposures podcast wherein Tony talked about it, so I could very well be wrong

[Kai-san]

If you want to see someone who has not been so lucky with his Leningrad purchase, you can watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2OCG0rnrTE

One of the odd things about this camera is that the take up spool is a large drum (with the spring inside), and this means that the distance between the frames increases as you get closer to the end of the roll. You will probably get only 34, maybe 35 frames out of a 36 exp. roll. The fans of this camera claims that this is a feature. 

[jojonas~]

ooh, as it has no sprocket wheels then you could use unsprocketed film with it

[Bryan]

Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.7 in a Graphex shutter.  It won't give me much movement but that's ok for most of what I do with 4x5.  It came mounted on a nice shiny lens board.  A touch of Ronsonol got the shutter working great. 

[Francois]

A graflex lens board... nice

[jharr]

I have the 135mm version of that lens in an older version of that shutter. It does good up close wide open.

[rpmdrd]

My girlfriend picked me up this on eBay for $10 + free shipping: Fuji Fujica Compact 35

Any experience/advice regarding this little thing? Seems pretty interesting, and I think I'll like it as I was looking for something cheap and compact to throw in my commuter pack.

Sorry if the pictures are too big, they are from the eBay ad.

Thanks,
Miguel.

used this one before. compact as the model states. not a rangefinder though. very nice 2.8 lens. nothing major to rave about or rant about it. very solid shooter.

[MiguelCampano]

My girlfriend picked me up this on eBay for $10 + free shipping: Fuji Fujica Compact 35

Any experience/advice regarding this little thing? Seems pretty interesting, and I think I'll like it as I was looking for something cheap and compact to throw in my commuter pack.

Sorry if the pictures are too big, they are from the eBay ad.

Thanks,
Miguel.

used this one before. compact as the model states. not a rangefinder though. very nice 2.8 lens. nothing major to rave about or rant about it. very solid shooter.

I have a roll of Kodak Gold 200 on it right now, will develop once I finish it... Hopefully, some of the shots are in focus 

Also, today I picked up a roll (the last one) of Rollei Chrome CR200 slide film, and I googled it and apparently it gives a very yellow, warm tone. Any tips as to how/when is it best to use? I'm thinking beach shots as the blue could compensate for the warm tones.

[Kai-san]

I've shot some rolls of the CR200 and I was quite surprised to see that the film base itself is yellow. Do not use it on overcast days, it loves the sun. Otherwise it's ok, but I will not buy any more of this film. It's just too special.

[02Pilot]

Got this little pre-war gem a few weeks ago:



It's a Tenax I, a tiny (think Rollei 35 with rounded ends) viewfinder camera shooting in 24x24 square format. It's pretty unique mechanism, with the plunger on the left cocking the shutter and advancing the film in one motion (my Konica III is similar, though it requires two strokes). Novar uncoated triplet, with an insanely rare yellow filter attached. Aside from age-related issues, the biggest flaw is that the rewind knob is either incomplete or has been replaced with a piece from something else; I was willing to overlook this when I bought it because it came with the filter (and a case). It's a J-code, dating it to 1938-9; I found markings in the case indicating service on 15 Dec 1945.

I cleaned and lubed everything and got it running fairly smoothly. Unfortunately, I had to replace the front body covering - the old leather fell apart as soon as lifted it to get out the screws to access the shutter. It was shrinking pretty badly around the edges anyway; I might do the back too, but we'll see.

[cs1]

O2Pilot, I also own a post WWII Zeiss Ikon Tenax I (from the former GDR). It's such a lovely camera, you'll enjoy it tremendously. Also, being able to take 50 (!) photos on a 36 exposure 135 film due to the 24x24 is really nice. I always found it astonishing how small this camera was, you can easily pocket it without any problems. The amount of exposures it can get onto a single film and the small size make it an ideal travel camera. Congrats on the lovely yellow filter, what a nice catch. You did a nice job with the covering.

[Bryan]

I found a thrift store near where I'm working right now that seems to have great deals on cameras almost every time I go there.  This time I got a Minolta Hi-Matic F for $3 and an Olympus XA2 for $2.  I already have Minolta Hi-Matic F but this one is not getting power from the batteries so it may need some work.  If I can get it working I may just sell it.  The Olympus XA2 seems to be working good plus it came with the flash attachment.  I have read good things about the XA2 so I'll have to run some film through it to see how much I like it. 

Olympus XA2 by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[Pete_R]

I already have Minolta Hi-Matic F but this one is not getting power from the batteries so it may need some work.

Usual problem with them is the wires have corroded from the gases given off by the mercury batteries so the wire that goes from the battery holder will be open circuit. It's a pain to replace IIRC. And for some reason I always had a problem soldering onto the battery contact, like it had become coated with something that just stopped the solder from flowing.

Pic attached so you know what you're getting into.

[Bryan]

I already have Minolta Hi-Matic F but this one is not getting power from the batteries so it may need some work.

Usual problem with them is the wires have corroded from the gases given off by the mercury batteries so the wire that goes from the battery holder will be open circuit. It's a pain to replace IIRC. And for some reason I always had a problem soldering onto the battery contact, like it had become coated with something that just stopped the solder from flowing.

Pic attached so you know what you're getting into.

I wont be getting into that mess.  I did notice some corrosion where the wires connect to the battery compartment so I may try to re-solder them.  If that doesn't work I may keep it for the rangefinder beam splitter, it's a perfect fit in a Kodak Signet 35. 

[cs1]

Bryan, Peter: it seems like you have a lot of experiences with repairing cameras. I got a Voigtländer Vito CL Deluxe this week for 3 € + pp. It's in a pretty good shape, however, the light meter seems to be dead. Do you happen to have any advice how to replace it?

[Pete_R]

Bryan, Peter: it seems like you have a lot of experiences with repairing cameras. I got a Voigtländer Vito CL Deluxe this week for 3 € + pp. It's in a pretty good shape, however, the light meter seems to be dead. Do you happen to have any advice how to replace it?

It's probably a dead selenium cell. If you Google 'selenium cell replacement' you'll find a lot of info. But I have no specific experience with that camera.

[cs1]

Thanks for the hint, Peter. I'll try my luck. It looks like the metering is not too deeply integrated with the rest of the mechanics (shutter, aperture etc.). So I suppose that even if I fail to repair it it shouldn't have a negative impact on the functionality of the camera.

[Bryan]

Bryan, Peter: it seems like you have a lot of experiences with repairing cameras. I got a Voigtländer Vito CL Deluxe this week for 3 € + pp. It's in a pretty good shape, however, the light meter seems to be dead. Do you happen to have any advice how to replace it?

Sorry cs1, I have no experience with that camera.  It should still be a good useable camera without the meter if everything else works on it. 

[cs1]

Sorry cs1, I have no experience with that camera.  It should still be a good useable camera without the meter if everything else works on it.

No worries. Yes, you're right, it does work without the meter. However, a strange "sportsman's" interest makes me curious whether or not I can repair the meter.

[Francois]

A few weeks ago I got a bulk loader from a garage sale but haven't had time to actually look at it. All I know is that it still contained some mystery stored in the desert film so I had to get it
It turns out it still had 5x30 exp. rolls in it!
Now the loader had a masking tape written Tri-X on it and an Ilford made sticker that said HP5...
Now the bulk loader itself is quite interesting. While it looks like a Lloyd's from the front, it's actually an LPL Dayloader and is much more sophisticated inside. You clearly see that this was made and designed in Japan!
It's got a roll meter counter so that you know how much is left on the roll. It's also got a frame counter that gives you five extra frames for the leader. The felt trap is actually a pressure plate and in the thickness of the lid there is a locking system to prevent putting the crank in while the cover is open. Very ingenious.

[Bryan]

I picked up this Eastman Kodak Rainbow Hawk-eye No. 2 Model C at a thrift store.  It's very basic, even for a box camera.  It has one shutter speed, one aperture and one tiny portrait viewfinder.  The mirror is in pretty bad shape so it's very difficult to see what you're shooting. 

Eastman Kodak Rainbow Hawk-eye No. 2 Model C by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

At the same thrift store I picked up a Bolex 18-5 Super 8 movie projector.  It needs some work but I have worked on this model before so hopefully I can get it running. 

[Kai-san]

....... a new member of my Contax family, the N1. Shown here with a Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.0 which is the normal lens for the Contax 645, attached with a Contax NAM-1 adapter.

[Francois]

Contax were always superlative in every way. Too bad Kyocera pulled the plug.

[Aksel]

....... a new member of my Contax family, the N1. Shown here with a Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.0 which is the normal lens for the Contax 645, attached with a Contax NAM-1 adapter.

Thats one fine pice of kit! Being reminded of the wonderful world of Contax slr´s, not sure if it´s a good thing for my GAS. To date I have never had a better feeling holding a camera then the RX, I bet the N1 are similar.

[Kai-san]

Aksel, I totally agree about the RX, it's one of the nicest cameras in my collection. The N1 is quite similar with some added features pluss it's "real" autofocus. The only letdown is that the shutter is a bit more noisy, more of a slap than a whisper.