Medalist viewfinder cracked

<p>The viewfinder on my Kodak Medalist II is cracked. Anyone know if this is special glass, and not plain glass? If not, how thick is it and what is special about it? Anything I need to know about replacing it? </p>

<p>You can contact Ken Ruth at Photography On Bald Mountain in Davenport, CA. He should know.</p>

<p>I have no problem digging into old cameras and sorting them out. Some cameras you are not the owner of, but the caretaker of. If I had a Medalist II, I would sent it to Ken.</p>

<p>Jeff and Matthew, thanks for weighing in. Caution is always good advice. Nevertheless, having done other camera repairs myself and not wishing to wait several months for a pro repair, I decided to do this minor surgery myself, and fortunately found the procedure quite simple. There are only four screws holding the top cover containing the viewfinder and rangefinder lenses to the camera body; two in front, and two behind. Removing them, the top lifted off without difficulty, as there are no physical linkages between the top cover and the rangefinder/focusing mechanism mounted on the camera body beneath it. Once the top cover was removed, I found the front viewfinder -lens-, secure in its own metal frame, can be pushed forward until its clips disengage from the cover, and separates from it entirely. The front viewfinder "glass" is actually a plano-concave singlet lens. As I do not have a parts camera to salvage the front viewfinder lens from, if anyone here can direct me to a source where a good replacement from a parts camera may be had, I will be able to install it myself without problem. Any advice where one may be found? </p>

<p>Just make sure the Distance/DOF indicator disk is orientated correctly when dropping the top back on the body.<br>

Good luck, I hope you can find a replacement VF lens for it.</p>

<p>This is what I would do.</p>

<p>Find a friendly optometrist and explain your dilemma, bring the largest piece of the broken lens so he can measure the negative focal length. He then may be able to order a single 50mm diameter plastic lens (ie. unmounted) with the same focal length. Then it would be up to you to measure and cut, with a razor saw, the size piece you need to replace the VF lens. This would be cut from the center of the lens of course. The lens should come with a small removable mark on dead center. I know that plastic would not be as hard as glass but if you are careful with cleaning scratches should not be a problem. The piece should be cut carefully and slightly oversize. Then trimmed on the edges with 400 grit sandpaper for a final fit. You may use a small tip, black magic marker to blacken the edges of the lens as a final touch before you install the lens in it's frame.</p>

<p>Sounds complicated but might be a lot easier than finding a donor body.</p>

<p>Good idea from John. If you can measure the focal length, check out surplusshed.com - click on the 'lens finder' button and do a search for plano convex lenses.<br>

They have a number there around $4. I'm assuming they're glass, but if it were me, I'd have a go (esp. at that price) and see if I can cut one to size with a dremel.</p>

 

<p>Daryl, maybe you can repair the crack with the UV-curing cement? I bought mine from a shop selling automative repair supplies and have used it for both glass prisms and transparent acrylic.</p>

<p>If you find the right glass lens and need to cut it down to size, best use a water wheel or a wet belt sander. Heat from a grinder might fracture the glass. I got a replacement lens for my Koni Omega range finder window at Edmund Scientific.</p>

<p>Lots of great suggestions! Thank you! As the lens in this Medalist is cracked in half vertically, and is a nice clean break, the glue suggestion is certainly worth a try first, before trying a new lens that would need to be cut down to size. Tonu, this is the same glue as is used by auto windshield repair technicians, correct?</p>

<p>Correct, it's for windshields. It seemed to stay a little soft even after curing. You just make sure there is no air bubbles left in the crack and press the halves together. Then remove the leftover glue with acetone. If the lens has a flat surface, put it on another flat surface and leave it under sun for ten minutes or so. Put a small dot of glue next to it, to check the curing process. <br>

If this is not strong enough or you want to make the crack totally invisible you could also glue both pieces by their flat sides to a thin glass window. The lens becomes mechanically thicker, but optically it stays the same as before.</p>