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What camera(s) are you using this weekend?


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My Leica II finally returned from service, and I can't wait to take it out with film.

This camera started out as Leica IA in 1929. At some point the owner decided to have it upgraded.

These upgrades took place well into the 50's but this camera was upgraded already in early 1933.

"Upgrade" is probably the wrong word because nothing from the original camera body is left except for the serial number.

The only thing remaining from 1929 is the optical assembly of the Elmar lens. We know that because it is shorter than the standard Elmar produced in the 30's and it has no serial number.

The Leica IA was "one unit" so its serial number was for both camera AND lens - when rebuilding an IA, Leica didn't assign a new SN for the lens but just left it unnumbered.

The lens has stamped a "3" on the focusing tab. This indicates its true focal length is 48.6mm, which is the widest deviation from 50mm of the Elmars.

51687263867_e8d7b8502e_b.jpg

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Niels
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KievVolna.jpg

 

Still have a roll of Pan F+ in the Kiev from 2 weeks ago. No plans or inspiration to fill it up yet.

 

The Volna-3b has been apart a few times, as I wasn't happy with the auto-stop down operation. I couldn't get it to run smoothly. I finally removed all the glass and dunked it in the Ultrasonic Cleaner.

Works fine now. :)

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Hi Rick, a quick question about 'deep cleaning' in an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

I have a few camera pieces which could probably do with a few minutes in the cleaner but what what solution / solvent to use.

 

I am wary of using water as the pieces may be hard to dry off with subsequent risk of corrosion. Or perhaps a water based

cleaning solution and then rinse off in alcohol / methylated spirits to allow for quicker air drying?

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks, Martin

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Any recommendations?

 

In this case it was mainly a build up of dirt between the aperture blades that caused too much friction for the auto-stop down spring to overcome.

For the initial bath I used warm water with some detergent. repeated the process for the second bath and finally rinced it with demineralized water.

 

Dried it off as best I could and then used a hairdryer to blow out most of the remaining moisture. Left it on the central heating radiator to dry out fully.

 

Alcohol and spirits would work well as a degreaser/cleaner, but beware that it can attack some types of paint and plastics.

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It's been 15 years since I've used any Konica equipment, but a few months ago I acquired a bundle of gear for cheap (not all of it working) which included this uncommon FP-1 Program in mint condition. Hope to have some test photos in the coming weeks.

 

 

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Edited by m42dave
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I have a half-finished roll of Astrum Foto 100 in this little Nikon F-301 (N2000), fitted with a 24mm Tamron Adaptall II f/2.5 lens, and with a bit of luck I'll finish it this weekend. I like this somewhat neglected Nikon model; released in 1985 it has sensibly-placed controls, a very quiet shutter and a good sturdy feel, despite being one of the earliest Nikons to make extensive use of polycarbonate. It was also the first Nikon to feature an inbuilt power wind and DX code reading for film speed setting. It's sometimes referred to as "The poor man's F3".

 

1765827260_NikonF-301copy.thumb.jpg.42198ede335d6fc2bfda8d3396a8ab92.jpg

Edited by rick_drawbridge
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Rick- I also have a Tamron 24mm f 2.5 Adaptall II lens. It is indeed a fine performing lens. Currently I think I have my Pentax K adapter on it so it may see some action soon on my Pentax MX.

IIRC, the Nikon N2000 shared some common components with Nikon's first AF SLR: the 2020 (as marketed in USA). At the time AF systems were just getting started and there was a certain risk involved in investing too much at the beginning, but with Nikon's extensive line of manual focus gear the risk was minimal I think. Minolta pretty much went for broke with the Maxxum system. I look forward to seeing some images from the combination you posted. FWIW, I sometimes use the 24mm Tamron (via KA adapter) on my Pentax ZX-7 since with manual focus lenses I still have electronic focus confirmation,

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This Nikon FE landed with me in a sorry state as part of a larger purchase.

 

The opening of the back door somehow had jammed. The previous owner must have forced the rewind knob up beyond the stop-point of the back door release latch and thus jamming the rewind knob in the upper position without opening the door and without the possibility to return to the original position.

 

In order to get the film out, the owner had torn (!) off the door hinges - and it was in this state I got the camera; without back-door hinges and essential rewind knob parts.

 

I don't normally take on repair projects besides replacement of light seals, but Nikon FE being my first SLR, I just couldn't throw it out it for emotional reasons.

Fast forward one and a half year:

Having no idea how to approach this, my brick-and-mortar camera shop came to the rescue the other day, with a free FE2 that was ripped for spare parts, except, luckily, the few I needed to make this FE operable.

There's for maintaining a good relationship with your local camera-shop - if you still have one!

 

I was out today trying it out with a roll of Kodak Ultramax and my 50/1.8Ai and recently acquired 105/2.5 - and looking forward to seeing the results.

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Niels
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I am already warming up for next weekend.

This 3.5C (Planar 75mm 1:3.5) needed a second trip to the camera tech and was returned today.

It suffered from an intermittent shutter issue that wasn't fixed completely first time around. It was very disappointing to part with it a second time as I have been looking forward to using it since I bought it in July.

 

Unfortunately it is now dark and gloomy outside and I guess the real tryout will have to wait until spring.

In any case, I do need to test if the issue is really addressed, and if it doesn't rain, I will run a roll of HP5 through it this weekend.

 

51716414647_99828d06ff_b.jpg

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Niels
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I wanted to exercise this 50mm Yashica ML f/2 lens on some B&W film, and decided to use this Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 instead of the more complex Contax or Yashica bodies I might usually have chose. Certainly, it's a nice lightweight camera with simple controls, and this one is a little unusual in that it's skin is still in tidy condition.

 

1669677656_YashicaFX3Super2000.thumb.jpg.ed510d97a4539d83ae68582ae6cf37f1.jpg

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Rick- I also have a Tamron 24mm f 2.5 Adaptall II lens. It is indeed a fine performing lens. Currently I think I have my Pentax K adapter on it so it may see some action soon on my Pentax MX.

IIRC, the Nikon N2000 shared some common components with Nikon's first AF SLR: the 2020 (as marketed in USA). At the time AF systems were just getting started and there was a certain risk involved in investing too much at the beginning, but with Nikon's extensive line of manual focus gear the risk was minimal I think. Minolta pretty much went for broke with the Maxxum system. I look forward to seeing some images from the combination you posted. FWIW, I sometimes use the 24mm Tamron (via KA adapter) on my Pentax ZX-7 since with manual focus lenses I still have electronic focus confirmation,

 

A note: The N2020 is horrible as an auto focus camera, but is excellent as a manual focus AI/AIS camera. And in the USA, far more commonly available and cheaper. Turn the AE modes off, and it's even better.

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The Konica S2 got put on hold while it gets some new light seals for the back door. They were looking pretty frayed and no point in having a disappointing light-struck first roll, right? I contemplated the Canon 7, but my beloved Contax IIa called out to me... after three and a half decades together still my favourite 35mm camera, I must admit.

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In company with my favourite meter these days.

_DSC4994.thumb.jpg.876b064867865c80f3ef158ffae79fab.jpg Choice of HP5 or Delta 100 TBA depending upon weather conditions.

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Rick- I suspect that Electro 35 will sell quickly. When my family had a camera shop the Electro 35 GSN was one of the rangefinder cameras we stocked. We also sold the budget MG-1 (same shutter but f 2.8 lens) and the zone focus ME. These cameras were sold along the time we stocked Konica rangefinders as well. For those new to the Electro 35 the camera used a no longer available PX32, but there is an alkaline equivalent that seems to work well enough. With no battery the Electro 35 defaults to 1/500 second.
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Yashica offered supplementary tele and wide attachments for the Electro 35. The effects were minimal at typical focusing distances, but so were those offered by competitors as well. Tele attachments were basically weak Galilean telescopes and wide attachments were reversed telescopes. If I owned an Electro 35, especially the later GSN I'd seek out the wide/tele set for collectible value rather than practical use. I'm not sure if Yashica offered a close up set for the Electro 35, but likely they did as those were more popular than the wide/tele sets. I had the auto up for my Konica Auto S3 and if I held it in place I could also use it on my Canonet. A tip for anyone wanting to focus closer with fixed lens rangefinders: take a close up lens and cover the rangefinder window with it and focus. Then move it to the lens and take the picture. It worked for my Konica Auto S2 and Olympus XA.
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A friend had found a flash among his late fathers belongings and asked me if I wanted it.

It turned out to be a dedicated Minox 35 flash, and I just happened to own a Minox 35EL, what are the odds?

If it stops raining, I will take it out and see if I can add some brightness to the otherwise grey and gloomy weather.

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Niels
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