pentacon six frame counter issue

[alinciortea]

i just bought a pentacon sixTL and i've noticed that sometimes when i cock the

shutter the frame counter won't advance (thus the advancing lever won't lock

when i hit the 12th frame and i risk shooting on the black paper if i don't

remeber how many times the counter didn't advance)

<P>

they say that one should never let the advance lever fly back on its own but

nobody says what effects this has on the camera. unfortunately, it happend once

(due to slightly wet fingers) and now i wonder if something broke inside the

camera (although i don't know it's history so the problem could date back a while)

<P>

any opinions of suggestions?

<P>

thank you!

[robert_marvin]

The Pentacon Six frame counter is very delicate. I think mine can be broken not only by letting the lever snap back, but merely by looking at it the wrong way :-)

 

It can be fixed--I've used Eddie Smolov, in Brooklyn.

 

This is one of the reasons why I think a re-worked Kiev 60 is more reliable than a Pentacon Six.

[alinciortea]

Thanks for answering, Robert! :)

<P>

The pentacon was a bargain for 120$ and I've also got a working TTL prism for it (unbelievably, it seems to be as accurate as my 300D). everything seems to work fine except for the frame counter (although sometimes it goes a full 12 frames without problems).

<P>

unfortunately, on one frame on the test film there's some light leak that I can't figure out. It affected only the middle third of the frame on the left side (it also spread onto the space between the frames and slightly onto the previous frame). I'll have to run another film to see whether it was an isolated event or there really is a problem with the camera.<div></div>

[rodeo_joe1]

Check that the camera back isn't bent. If you look at the top right of the back (seen from behind) you'll see a small bump on the top edge. This pushes on a small internal lever when the back is closed to engage the frame counter. When the back is opened, the frame counter is disconnected and self-zeroes.

 

Anyway, a bent back could account for both the light leak and the faulty frame counter. OTOH it could just be sloppy winding of the film. 120 film is easily fogged if the spool isn't wound tightly enough.

 

BTW, I have to disagree with the previous poster about the relative merits of the Pentacon6 and Kiev60. When properly working, the Pentacon is a far superior machine to the Kiev. It actually has a frame spacing mechanism for a start! Not to mention a mirror brake, and a lens mount that doesn't feel like its got a handful of grit in it.

[dweezil]

alin,

this is off topic but would you care to tell us how you 'scanned' the negative with your 300D?

 

regards,

 

Erwin

[alinciortea]

well, i'm placing the negative on a glass that has an improvised softbox aprox 30cm underneath it, i do a manual wb on the softbox as it yelds a yellow cast and then i shoot the negative with the kit lens (as it focuses closest). the camera is always set on manual and i have to do a couple of test exposures before getting it right - most of the times it's smth like iso200, 1/80 and f6.3 for my light source). unfortunatelly the histogram looks pretty messed up because light not only comes only through the negative. the right way to do it is through an inclosed dark box with an opening the size of the frame but i haven't had the time to build one.

<br>

i use this method for indexing purposes only.

[alinciortea]

this is how the histogram looks like after inverting the image (i've selected only the image area and then applied the levels). for a perfect exposure the histogram looks better but far from good. you can imagine what happens when dragging the sliders to correct the histogram...<div></div>

[dan_unkefer]

Alin,

 

I can definitively answer this one. The film back in your Pentacon-Six has a light leak. See the ridged "lines" around the fogged area on your film? Now look inside the P6 and see the same pattern around the film plate. The stray light leaking into the filmback bounces around the "ridges", and creates the distinctive streaking pattern. It's unmistakeable. I got some replacement camera foam on ebay, stripped and cleaned off the old, rotten foam, and put replacements on all my Pentacon Sixes. No more light leaks since then. BTW I think the P6 is better to use than any of my Kiev 6c's or K60.

[alinciortea]

Thanks, Dan!

<P>

I'll take a look after I'm done with the film I have inside now. I have to ask though, if the there's this light leak you are telling us about, then why did it occur only one time in one film? Shouldn't it have happened on every frame?

<P>

I'll post an image with the film back as soon as I finish the film.

[alinciortea]

It seems it was an isolated event (for now, at least). The film plate shows no dents or strange patterns. Perhaps I could have slightly pulled the back door while moving the camera around... (in case it doesn't equally seal the film chamber)