erik_danielsson

HI! Yes, some progress. We found out that there is a ”hidden” screw that is reached from inside of the camera body. See image on flickr here: ZEISS IKON SUPER IKONTA BX 533/16 However, my friend has had to much to do lately so we haven't got around to actually fix the camera yet.

A friend of mine is trying to disassemble a Zeiss Super Ikonta 533/16 BX, the goal is to clean the viewfinder from inside. For some reason he can't get the top lid off, even though all visible screws are taken out. The left side of the top (seen from behind to front) is moving a bit, but right side is really stuck. Any ideas? Anyone here who has tried to clean and disassemble one of these? Really great medium format rangefinder if you ask me. Se attached images.

<p>Wow! Yoshihisa Maitani invented pretty much all of my favorite cameras, the Pen F, the OM-1/2, the XA and the Stylus / Mju. Incredible.</p>

<p>Ok. The checkerd curtain is clean.</p>

<p><strong>@BeBu Lamar:</strong> Thanks for answering. Regarding film in the camera, I did:<br> <em>- I have tried both with and without film in the chamber. Problem remains.</em></p>

<p>I found a black OM-2n at a flea market today.<br> In <strong>MANUAL</strong> mode it works perfectly. <br> In <strong>AUTO</strong> mode the shutter is irregular.<br />Half of the times the shutter goes off at 1/60s, even though the meter says 1s or 1/1000s (or something else in between). The first 20-30 exposures were all wrong (1/60s), but the more I use the camera the more it seem to to give right shutterspeeds. Hmm...<br> - New batteries are inserted.<br />- I have tried both with and without film in the chamber. Problem remains.<br />- The foam around mirror looks and feels ok.<br> <br />What bugs me is that the irregular speeds always seem to be 1/60s. <br />This makes me think that it's an electronic problem, perhaps an old connector or something... what do you think? <br />I'm not sure I have encountered this problem with an OM-2n before. I have had a few of them through the years.</p>

<p><strong>Body:</strong><br> I recommend the <strong>OM-1n</strong> and <strong>OM-2n</strong>. Always go for the (n)-versions. They are much better built.</p> <p><strong>Lens:</strong> <br> My favorite is the <strong>Zuiko 28mm f/2.</strong><br />Very sharp. Nice bokeh. Good color rendition, but with some chromatic aberration. Super compact lens. Also works very nice with digital cameras as Canon 5D mk II etc. <br> <br /><strong>I also have:</strong><br> 18mm f/3.5 - Super compact. No distortion! Sharpness is ok. Rare and pricey!<br> 21mm f/2 - Compact. Nice bokeh. Sharp! Pricey! <br> 21mm f/3.5 - Super compact!! Very sharp. <br> 28mm f/3.5 - Super compact!! Very sharp. Nice price tag.<br> 35mm f/2 - Don't like it as much as the 28mm f/2. It's a bit soft and a bit boring. Compact.<br> 35mm f/2.8. Quite sharp and quite compact. Ok lens.<br> 50mm f/1.4 Nice bokeh, but not sharp. Very soft wide open..<br> 50mm f/1.8 (Made in Japan). Very sharp. A better choice than the f/1.4. Best bang for bucks.<br> 50mm f/3.5 Macro lense. I don''t use it that much. But it seems very popular.<br> 85mm f/1.8. A bit soft wide open, but I love the bokeh plus it's really compact.<br> 100mm f/2.8 Ok lens. Sharp but boring.<br> 135mm f/3.5 A super boring lens. Don't buy it.</p> <p> </p>

<p><strong>Update six months later:</strong><br> My Focomat IIc is working great. The initial problems I thought I had with the auto focusing was actually caused by a bad grain magnifier.<br> <br />I still have my Focomat Ic up and running besides the IIc. They are both great machines indeed.<br> The IIc is used for medium format and Hasselblad Xpan-negatives.<br> The Ic is used for 135-film.</p> <p>I find the original 4-blade Leitz easel to be ok, but I prefere the Saunders 4-blade easel.<br> They both have the same thickness (2,5cm) and work fine with autofocus on both Ic and IIc.</p> <p>I recently purchased large Ilford Multigrade filters (15,2cm) to use with the IIc.<br> Very pricey, approx. 70 euro, but worth it.</p> <p>Love this machine!!</p>

<p>In fact, my problems are very similair to the one in this thread:<br> http://www.photo.net/black-and-white-photo-printing-finishing-forum/00Nlq4</p> <p>Could it be that I don't have the original holder?</p>

<p><strong>CALIBRATING THE IIC AUTOFOCUS</strong><br /> <br /> <strong><br /></strong>Ok, now I have used the Focomat IIc for a couple of days and I suspect that the autofocus is not working properly.<br /> Both lenses (60mm/100mm) produces sharp grains when magnification is around middle.<br /> But when I raise or lower the head the focus gradually goes off.</p> <p>This brings me to a interesting question. How does one calibrate the Focomat IIC autofocus? It must be possible.</p> <p><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/319/19448634538_dab9151a90_b.jpg" alt="" width="491" height="327" /><br /> <strong>First of all.</strong> There are clips connected both the Focotar lenses, just like on the Leitz Focomat IC:s Focotar 50mm.<br />On the Focomat IC these clips are used when calibrating/setting the autofocus. <br />To me this says that there also should be a way to calibrate the IIC.</p> <p><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3742/19636671005_471e7a7549_b.jpg" alt="" width="549" height="366" /><br /> Looking at the left side of the Focomat IIC I see the two autofocus cams (the "dolphins", marked). <br />These two keep the focus in sync when lowering and raising the Focomat.<br />The upper one is for the Focotar 100mm (medium format) and the lower is for the Focotar 60mm (135mm) .</p> <p><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/293/19610471556_bd35d83420_b.jpg" alt="" width="518" height="349" /><br /> When the 100mm-lens is used a roller mechanism travels along the upper cam, to produce a correct focus curve. <br />I assume that this curve affects how far the bellow is extended.</p> <p><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/278/19014076704_d55b6bcc08_b.jpg" alt="" width="521" height="347" /><br /> When the 60mm lens is selected the upper roller is retracted. <br />What we cannot see here is the lower roller mechanism which now is in contact with the lower cam.<br /> Also notice the little screw underneath the lower cam, as seen in next picture.</p> <p><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3833/19015717673_9b11176088_b.jpg" alt="" width="543" height="362" /><br /> This screw, connected to the lower cam, interests me. The manual says nothing about this. The screw looks very similair to the fine calibration screw on the Focomat IC (next picture). Could this be what I am looking for?</p> <p><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/487/19636863255_4212432cca_b.jpg" alt="" width="545" height="363" /><br /> This is how the autofocus looks on the Focomat IC. Same principle as you can see (or is it?). And upper screw (marked) is the fine calibration.</p> <p>Does anyone out there have any knowledge or recommendations?</p>

<p>Arthur: Yes, I plan to cover the walls/surfaces close to the enlargers in the future. The darkroom is still quite new. Working on it. :)<br> Regarding grain focuser: I have the possibility to buy the Bestwell Grain Focuser for 50 euro, plus shipping. Is that a good buy?<br> http://www.bestwelloptical.com/our-products.html</p> <p>I also got a chance to buy the Focotar-2 50mm... what is a good price?</p>

<p>Thanks (again) Arthur for clearing things up. Will report back here in a few weeks when I have done my first test run.</p>

<p>@Mukul: Yes, but on the Leit Focomat Ic, for example, the auto focus is calibrated in two steps: first focus on a small area and adjust a screw on the lense holder, then focus on a larger area and fine adjust with the "a"-screw.<br> <br />On the Focomat IIc the "a"-screw seems to have been removed. </p>

<p><em>(This is follow up on earlier posts regarding the Leitz Focomat IIc enlarger.)</em></p> <p>Finally, I've found a good looking and hopefully fully working Focotar IIc, the late grey version with the Focotar-2 100mm.<br /> Price was 650 euro including the original Leitz easel.<br /> The machine looks almost unused. The lenses are in perfect condition. All metal surfaces are very clean and free from scratches. The baseboard has some minor signs of use. All mechanical movement seems to be in good condition. The negative holder (6x9 universal 2xAN-glass) is clean and free from scratches, and the masks (24x36 and 6x6) look mint.<br /> A nice bonus is that it came with the original protection cover (last image).<br /> I am the third owner. According to the previous owner it originally was purchased in the 1990's by the University of Lund in southern Sweden. It's been treated with delicate hands since then, apparently.<br /> I have so far found only two flaws on this beauty:<br /> 1. The electrical connection to the back of the magnification scale is a bit crooked and has been fixed with some gaffa.<br /> 2. There is a small dent on the enlarger head, to the left of the Leitz logo. (It's visible in the images.) Strange, since it looks like it comes from the inside out(?).</p> <p>I have not made any test prints yet.<br /> Before that I would like to have some recommendations on what to look out for.<br /> What about the autofocus... how do I make sure it's really working 100%?<br /> Thanks.<br /> <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/333/19290826615_2b9d0f422c_b.jpg" alt="" width="436" height="706" /><br /> <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/255/19103266458_920cbd877e_b.jpg" alt="" width="611" height="407" /><br /> <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/377/19290827225_da20db2620_b.jpg" alt="" width="611" height="406" /><br /> <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/389/19284839652_dd443bf6c3_b.jpg" alt="" width="610" height="406" /><br /> <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/497/18670264273_dd92968653_b.jpg" alt="" width="609" height="406" /><br /> <img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3767/19290826305_1764a0edcb_b.jpg" alt="" width="446" height="668" /></p>

<p>All recommendations are good (for future readers), but I mainly asked for comparisons between the Focotar lenses.<br /> Please don't go too far off topic.<br /> <br /> I have used the V35 and all the IC versions for about six years. I find the construction of the IC superior to the V35, I also find the Focotar 40mm to be a little soft in the corners.<br /> I guess that the condensor light of the IC also is a major reason why I prefer the IC over the V35. <br /> But I would never say that the V35 is a bad enlarger, of course.<br /> <br />I have not tried the Focotar 60mm or the Focotar-2 50mm. <br /> I have read that the Focomat IIC (with Focotar 60mm) is not optimal for 35mm film enlarging. This made me curious how big the difference between the lenses was.</p>