Topic: I just picked up...

[EarlJam]

This photo from the Wikipedia entry on rotary shutters shows the design of a simple shutter. I've forgotten much of what I learned and/or knew about motion cameras, but if memory serves, over-exposed frames at the end of a shot did occur on occasion, albeit infrequently.


(Photo by Ralf Hüls - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15997419)

[02Pilot]

I have always wanted a Mercury II, now O2Pilot has me thinking about it again.  I just sold a bunch of stuff so there’s plenty of cash burning a hole in my PayPal account.

Trade ya even for your Contax T... 

[Bryan]

I have always wanted a Mercury II, now O2Pilot has me thinking about it again.  I just sold a bunch of stuff so there’s plenty of cash burning a hole in my PayPal account.

Trade ya even for your Contax T... 

Sorry, I’ve grow to like that camera, that little lens is pretty amazing. 

[02Pilot]

I have always wanted a Mercury II, now O2Pilot has me thinking about it again.  I just sold a bunch of stuff so there’s plenty of cash burning a hole in my PayPal account.

Trade ya even for your Contax T... 

Sorry, I’ve grow to like that camera, that little lens is pretty amazing.

Can't blame a guy for trying, hopelessly unrealistic as my proposal may have been.... 

[AJShepherd]

Well this just arrived, so now I've got to decide where i'm going to try it.

[zapsnaps]

A Fujica Mini, black paint with black covering dating it to 1965 or later. The camera was introduced in 1964 with a very bright silver wrap, only. I've wanted a half frame for a while and it arrived today. It's a gem, but heavy - had very little use and no wear to the paint. 25mm f2.8. All I need now is some good UK weather over the weekend so I can bang a roll through it and see what it can do. I want to experiment with 2 photos per print, hence the half frame attraction.

[Kai-san]

I think third time lucky is the correct description of my efforts to buy this camera model. The two first ones I purchased were faulty on arrival and had to be returned. This is the "fat boy" of the Contax family, the AX. It's an autofocus camera that works with manual lenses, and it does so by moving the film plane inside the camera. But perhaps the nicest feature is that you can turn any lens into a macro lens by the flick of a switch. It moves the film carriage to the back of the camera, giving the same effect as putting an extension ring on the lens. In this mode you get manual focus, but that is often an advantage in macro work.

[cs1]

The AX is a brilliant camera and a highlight in terms of camera engineering. I'm really looking forward to reading about your experiences with it.

[Indofunk]

Amazing! I've been watching this video on repeat for hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjgV34PzKTA

[Kai-san]

Come on Satish, get a life! Go out and shoot some film. 

[Francois]

Amazing! I've been watching this video on repeat for hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjgV34PzKTA

This is so smooth and quiet....
Sad they stopped producing them.

BTW I too find it sort of hypnotizing.

[Pete_R]

If you want a AX brochure (or, at least, a scan of one) you can get it off my Google drive at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yHeg205UaO05hbELzLXz0QXFv6UzHp2i

[cs1]

I picked up an Altissa Periskop 1:8 and a Konica C35 AF2 at a garage sale for 15 € total. The Konica seems to work and it's in a really good shape (I replaced the light seals) and I also cleaned up the Altissa (the photos were taken before the cleaning). I'm currently shooting a Fomapan 100 in the Konica to see if everything's alright. I've had my eye on the Altissa for a while because it's a 6x6 box and because it has this cool looking viewfinder and it's also otherwise an absolutely stunning looking box. I'm pretty thankful that I found my copy on the garage sale. The Konica is the second version of the C35 AF which is the first mass produced autofocus camera with a Honeywell contrast autofocus system.

[AJShepherd]

I've been toying with the idea of an old Leica for some time, but when I saw this iiif and 5cm f2.8 Elmar on the Red Dot Cameras website I just had to make busy with the clicky.

Now I've got a few days to practice loading it before I take it out at the weekend.

[SLVR]

make sure to cut the leader. Makes loading these things way easier.

[02Pilot]

Yep, cut the leader to 20 sprocket holes and make sure there are no sharp edges. Small curved scissors help for the curved sections. Once you get the film in place, tension the spool with the rewind knob before advancing it; that way you can confirm it is correctly installed by watching the rewind knob turn as you advance.

[AJShepherd]

Been practising with an old roll, and it seems a lot easier than I'd expected. Once I'd figured how to connect the film to the take-up spool I managed to load the film a few times and could see the rewind knob rotating as I wound on, and taking the lens off and using a slow shutter speed I could see the film was in place too.
Might pre-trim a few rolls for the weekend.

[Bryan]

Welcome to the cult.

[Indofunk]

Once you get the film in place, tension the spool with the rewind knob before advancing it; that way you can confirm it is correctly installed by watching the rewind knob turn as you advance.

I've started doing this as a matter of course with all my cameras because I've screwed this up one too many times 

[SLVR]

Might pre-trim a few rolls for the weekend.

I usually keep a small swiss army classic in my bag. Works well for trimming leaders on the go. That way you can trim just before you load rather than pre trimming and having to load it in another camera. I don't think it would really make a difference but I'd rather have something unmodified if I don't have to.

[Jeff Warden]

I think third time lucky is the correct description of my efforts to buy this camera model. The two first ones I purchased were faulty on arrival and had to be returned. This is the "fat boy" of the Contax family, the AX. It's an autofocus camera that works with manual lenses, and it does so by moving the film plane inside the camera. But perhaps the nicest feature is that you can turn any lens into a macro lens by the flick of a switch. It moves the film carriage to the back of the camera, giving the same effect as putting an extension ring on the lens. In this mode you get manual focus, but that is often an advantage in macro work.

Auto focus with manual focus lenses. AMAZING. Thanks for sharing!

[Bryan]

I blame O2Pilot for this.

Mercury II by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[02Pilot]

I blame O2Pilot for this.

Mercury II by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

You're welcome.

[jharr]

ROBOT CAMERA!!! 

I blame O2Pilot for this.

Mercury II by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[Francois]

It's a Mercury II Invasion!

[Indofunk]

I was just gifted a Yashica Mat 124G. The meter wasn't working, so I popped open the battery compartment and although there was a fair bit of corrosion, it's not the worst I've seen, but the battery contact was just rattling around in there. I assume the lead is corroded somewhere in there. It would be very nice to have a working meter on this, but it's probably not worth the expense, is it? Plus, I'm used to my Ciroflex which doesn't have a meter.



Just put a roll of Tri-X through it which is drying now, and the exposure looks pretty far off, but I'm going to blame that on myself I like the shutter and aperture dials, as well as the fact that the shutter button is a *button* not a lever like on the Ciroflex. I can't get used to the focus knob being on the left side though, that's actually quite annoying  The film advance is really fun though, makes me feel like I'm shooting a Mamiya (I wasn't sure where to start the film, so I wasted a good 3 exposures on that).

[02Pilot]

Not sure what you mean by "rattling around in there" - could be it's just the wrong battery (looks like it needs a PX625, which is discontinued, but the 675 hearing aid battery will work). Without cracking it open there's no way to tell where the break in the circuit is.

[cs1]

I can recommend using 675 hearing aid batteries. They work really well with my cameras that normally take PX625 batteries. If the battery doesn't fit properly you can use some tin foil around the + part (the original PX625 had a "saturn ring" around its rim). Make sure not to shorten + and -.

[Francois]

The Mat has for a long time been one of my all-time favorites.

[EarlJam]

I'm not quite ready to feed the Polaroid/Instax beast for my grandson, which I fear would be much like watching a taxi meter run. My local shop had a used but cared for Fuji X100 on the shelf at a price consistent with a year's worth of film and processing, at a couple of rolls a month. If nothing else, a stepping stone to get him ready for one of the Leicas when he's a bit older; at least, that's the plan.

[Francois]

I've got something even better in the mail today!
Well... OK, I'm probably the only one here who gets excited by electronic components but here I go anyway.
It's a 3 watt LED with a spectral frequency of 660nm.
And what does this have to do with photography you might ask? Well it falls outside the visible color range for photo paper, lith film and Direct Positive paper.
All I need is a 1.2Ω resistor, a switch and a two battery holder to turn it into the world's best portable safelight.

[Indofunk]

Not sure what you mean by "rattling around in there" - could be it's just the wrong battery (looks like it needs a PX625, which is discontinued, but the 675 hearing aid battery will work). Without cracking it open there's no way to tell where the break in the circuit is.

There is no battery in there. The lead ... maybe that's not the right word ... the metal part that contacts the battery and brings either the positive or negative pole in contact with whatever wire will bring that charge where it needs to go ... that part is apparently not connected to said wire anymore. Therefore will have a very poor chance of bringing the charge from even a correctly-sized battery to where it needs to go. Could just be a matter of soldering it back onto the wire, or if the wire is as corroded as the battery compartment is, maybe it's a lost cause.

But I know nothing about electronics

[02Pilot]

Not sure what you mean by "rattling around in there" - could be it's just the wrong battery (looks like it needs a PX625, which is discontinued, but the 675 hearing aid battery will work). Without cracking it open there's no way to tell where the break in the circuit is.

There is no battery in there. The lead ... maybe that's not the right word ... the metal part that contacts the battery and brings either the positive or negative pole in contact with whatever wire will bring that charge where it needs to go ... that part is apparently not connected to said wire anymore. Therefore will have a very poor chance of bringing the charge from even a correctly-sized battery to where it needs to go. Could just be a matter of soldering it back onto the wire, or if the wire is as corroded as the battery compartment is, maybe it's a lost cause.

But I know nothing about electronics

Sounds like exactly the problem I found with the Petri we were discussing. The battery acids work their way up the (usually very small gauge) wire and just eat it from the inside. Eventually it falls off. On some cameras it might not be too bad to run a new wire, on others...bad. Where is the battery compartment on the 124G? Is the meter coupled or uncoupled? If everything is up top it might just be that you only need to pull a few bits off.

[Indofunk]

Not sure what you mean by "rattling around in there" - could be it's just the wrong battery (looks like it needs a PX625, which is discontinued, but the 675 hearing aid battery will work). Without cracking it open there's no way to tell where the break in the circuit is.

There is no battery in there. The lead ... maybe that's not the right word ... the metal part that contacts the battery and brings either the positive or negative pole in contact with whatever wire will bring that charge where it needs to go ... that part is apparently not connected to said wire anymore. Therefore will have a very poor chance of bringing the charge from even a correctly-sized battery to where it needs to go. Could just be a matter of soldering it back onto the wire, or if the wire is as corroded as the battery compartment is, maybe it's a lost cause.

But I know nothing about electronics

Sounds like exactly the problem I found with the Petri we were discussing. The battery acids work their way up the (usually very small gauge) wire and just eat it from the inside. Eventually it falls off. On some cameras it might not be too bad to run a new wire, on others...bad. Where is the battery compartment on the 124G? Is the meter coupled or uncoupled? If everything is up top it might just be that you only need to pull a few bits off.

So it turns out there's a larger problem with the camera ... there's a ton of fungus inside the lens. Look at this sample photo:



I looked at the lens and it's definitely in the middle of the lens, so .... not really worth fixing, is it? What with the corroded battery compartment and fungus in the lens? OR, turn lemons into lemonade ... this could make a great soft-focus portrait camera

[Francois]

If the fungus is not too etched in, a good clean could improve things...

[Indofunk]

If the fungus is not too etched in, a good clean could improve things...

But wouldn't that involve uncementing the lens elements, cleaning, and recementing them? I know nothing about lenses or cameras, really 

[Bryan]

If the fungus is not too etched in, a good clean could improve things...

But wouldn't that involve uncementing the lens elements, cleaning, and recementing them? I know nothing about lenses or cameras, really 

Haze usually forms between the elements, mold usually grows on the outer edges of the glass.  You may be able to just unscrew the front lens to get at it.  A 50/50 mix of ammonia and hydrogen peroxibe will get rid of the mold.  Make sure you have good ventilation with that mix. 

[02Pilot]

That lens is a Tessar-type, four elements in three groups: two singles and a cemented pair in the back. Easy to disassemble in most cases. For cleaning fungus, I've found nothing better than moisturizing hand cream. Apply liberally, wait five minutes or so, remove, and clean normally. I am not making this up.

[Indofunk]

You guys are enablers, is what you are. You really want me to take apart a lens? God only knows what will happen. I'll probably end up with a plastic bag full of screws and springs and rings and various other elements that I'll have no idea how to put back together

So .... here goes? 

[02Pilot]

It should be as simple as using a lens spanner to unscrew the front and rear blocks. The second element will probably require unscrewing a retaining ring from the back of the front block. Keep the first and second elements oriented properly (convex front). That's probably all there is to it.

[Francois]

For removing the fungus I've also used some purell. It works fine.
I tend to like it better on some mumbo jumbo science base... I feel the fungi won't like the high alcohol contents...

Usually you also have to keep an eye out for set screws. Most of those don't need excessive force to take them apart. If something won't budge, look for the reason before torquing the heck out of it.

[Aksel]

Happiness comes in all shapes, colours and sizes.
I love the BTZS 4X5 B&W film tube kit, even before I have tested it

As for fungus, it's  one of the few ways still left to make a nice deal, given you are willing to take the risk

[Bryan]

A few months ago I bought a 220 back for my Bronica ETRSi intending to shoot 120 film with it, then this deal came along for some Plus-X.  It was cold stored so it should be good. 

[Francois]

PX was really nice. Probably better looking than TMX, though less contrasty if I remember correctly.

[Indofunk]

So I just recently found out that 220 film is just 120 film with double the exposures? So one can shoot 220 film in a 120 camera and vice-versa?

[Kai-san]

So I just recently found out that 220 film is just 120 film with double the exposures? So one can shoot 220 film in a 120 camera and vice-versa?

Yes and no. Some cameras will take 220, some not. If you have a users guide it should tell you.

[Francois]

On 220 film, there is no backing paper except for lead-in and lead-out. So if the camera has a red window, it definitely won't work.

[EarlJam]

Re 220, there's typically a provision for adjusting the pressure plate as well, since the lack of paper backing requires the plate to be a smidge closer to the gate.

[AJShepherd]

Yeah, I know on my Yashicamat 124G you have to move the pressure plate to a different position to shoot 220.

[Indofunk]

That lens is a Tessar-type, four elements in three groups: two singles and a cemented pair in the back. Easy to disassemble in most cases. For cleaning fungus, I've found nothing better than moisturizing hand cream. Apply liberally, wait five minutes or so, remove, and clean normally. I am not making this up.

Guys!! (and girls) Good news and bad news! The good news is that it was super simple to unscrew the lenses. Like Andrej said, there are just 2 lens groups to actually unscrew, and they came off pretty easily with a lens spanner (I scratched up the metal parts around the lens spanner divets, but I do that with anything I unscrew in general My dad is so disappointed in me ). No set screws, no retaining rings, no nothing. The BAD news is that whatever it is on the lens (the inner part of the back lens group, in case you're keeping score) is IMPOSSIBLE to clean. I tried Andrej's hand cream suggestion, and I didn't have any ammonia or Purell, so I tried alcohol and generic, ammonia-based glass cleaner, and nothing is working. Soaked it in all of the above for minutes at a time. Is there anything else I can try?