CosteaM

Hi Ben, I have one in good condition from what I remember. I have to check it out when I go home tonight and will let you know. It came with one of my Nikon F cameras and I hated the thing from the day I saw it. I got an eye-level prism to replace the monster.

I have FB prints done almost 30 years ago exactly how glen_h indicates above. They look as good now as back then.

All good answers above. I have both and I use one or the other based on what subject I plan to shoot. I will not take the Hassy for a street shoot but I would take it for urban architecture for example. Also I would rarely use Leica for landscape. Sure there are exceptions but you have to consider what you shoot more often and how you shoot in order to make the right decision. You know what, why not get both and save the headache:)

I use Pyro with good results for 120 or 4x5 film. If you don't like mixing powders I suggest using HC-110 it is concentrate, you just dilute, use and discard. Very economical too and still available on the market.

Terrible news, great loss for our community. I will miss his ever talented presence on PN and APUG. Sincere condolences for his family.

<p>Gents, I fixed the problem and I will post here the solution so it can be of use to other people. Funny that one of the PN members addressed this issue back in 2006 and got the right solution from a gentleman by the name of Gary E. so I give full credit to Gary E. Apparently cameras made by Kyocera around that time ( mid '80) like Yashica FX-3 and Contax RTS II had the mirror applied in the frame with some glue that softens in time allowing the mirror to slide down and ultimately interfere with the lens when the lens is mounted on the camera. Since you cannot push back the mirror in place (glue is soft but not melted) I had to apply heat to the back of the mirror using a hair dryer (keep the mirror up on shutter B). In about 30 sec the glue softens to the point where you can easily push the mirror back in place. Once the mirror cools down it will stay in place and the lens can be mounted and working normal. If the glue will give up and let the mirror slide again that is another issue, I was thinking to apply little spots of fresh glue on the side of the mirror to stick it to the frame but I was afraid not to damage so I'm OK for now and see how it behaves after I use the camera for a while. I'm really happy I was able to bring this camera back to life and look forward to run some film through it. Thank you PN</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your input. I will check again after work this evening. <br> John, the lever on the lens was the first I checked and it travels easy and snaps back into place fast. thanks</p>

<p>Over the past week-end I found a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 at the Thrift Store in town for $19 (body only). It was responsive at all shutter speeds, even the timer was working. The winding lever was wobly but still in place so I decided to buy it. I fixed the lever quickly but it bothers me that it won’t work with my CZ Distagon 35mm/ 2.8. I'm not familiar with this camera but from what I read it should work with the CZ lenses in Contax mount.<br> The lens mounts just fine but after I press the shutter the aperture on the lens closes at the preset position but the metal shutter is not opening. This is sort of a locked position.<br> I can take out the lens the normal way and then camera works well again. I’m probably missing something or camera has a problem that I cannot figure out. Any ideas of what can be wrong?<br> Thanks</p>

<p>I asked myself the same question as I'm looking at many old cameras that have chips in the paint or even lacking the paint on some areas. I was watching some TV show where technicians are custom painting metal parts on old cars or motorcycles using airbrushes.<br /> The results are stunning.<br /> I'm thinking to try removing the old paint first and then re-paint using the airbrush and masking the parts that don't need to be touched.<br /> Any cons or better ideas?</p>