Pentina - resurrection and life

[chuck_foreman1]

<p>Nice return to Pentina. ( I am the resurrection and the life)  I do recall your previous comparison post with the Nikorrex or what ever it was called. In the previous post the questions was who is imitating who...which came first ..the chicken or the egg. Is imitation the greatest form of flattery ? <br>

A great story of redemption .. returning to an otherwise lost cause and finding paradise. How rewarding! And a passel of good photos to boot. The Tessar turns in a great performance in good hands. The trusty meter was dependable. Your hand was steady. Now all you need is the rest of the lens selection!!  <br /><br />There have been a spate of less than mainstream "between the lens shutters" cameras.  What has God wrought?<br>

 </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>As this post reveals, the synchronicity of the Nikkorex-35 and the Pentina is so striking that I have come to conclude that this is one of those rare instances of convergent evolution.</p>

<p>They seem to both be eggs <a href="http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lay+an+egg">laid</a> by two closely related chickens. In more senses than one.</p>

<p>As for the other lenses in the set? - Shame on you. I'm suggestible enough as it is without help from the P.net gallery. ;)</p>

<p> </p>

[stephen_dowling1]

<p>I bought a Pentina off eBay some years back and was delighted to find it worked perfectly - even the metering was faultless. It's sat in the camera drawer for a couple of years but I'm aiming to stick a few rolls through it while London basks in summery sunshine.<br>

It's one of those cameras that just looks beautifully bizarre - liek the Kiev 10 and Zorki 10.<br>

<br />S</p>

[mfophotos]

<p>Excellent post JDM! I always enjoy your write-ups and so glad that your success with this one translated to some nice results. The front of the camera actually is quite minimalist-looking, sort of a space-age camera. While most of today's cameras look pretty much alike, back in the CMC era, there sure were some interesting designs.</p>

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>Hi JDM, nice post. I had posted about this camera a few years ago. It was passed on by my uncle, who had bought it as a student in East Germany. He had shot slide film and negatives with it.<br>

He expired recently and I have kept the camera in his memory. Mine says Pentina FM and I have the 30mm and 50mm lens.<br>

The focussing ring on the 50mm seems a little shot. The ring turns, but the lens does not seem to come in /or go out.<br>

I have had the lens drop out from the body, turning the lens lockout instead of the focus ring (being used to the Canon EOS system) . I also had the film back coming off.<br>

Currently, I am not sure if the light meter works. It worked before. It does not seem that responsive.<br>

A) If I understand correctly , if exposure is towards overexposure, the needle moves away from the parallel mark in the window. If I reduce the exposure amount, needle will move to the parallel mark (reference) in the meter window?<br>

B) I see two rings - one for setting aperture and another for shutter speed. There is a line on the shutter ring. I believe this mark indicates the set shutter speed and aperture number?<br>

C) When I change the aperture, only the aperture value changes ?<br>

D) When I change the shutter speed, does the aperture also change, as the marking on the ring for shutter moves and points to a different aperture ?<br>

Thanks in advance</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Here is an English website (which is miraculously still up) which answers most of your questions:<br>

http://www.marriottcameras.co.uk/instruct3/pentina/with_pictures.htm <br>

and there is a German original manual at Butkus:<br>

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/pentacon/pentacon_pentina/pentacon_pentina.htm </p>

<p> </p>

[jonathan_ellis2]

Hi JDM,

 

Just want to thank you for your original post here. I had read a lot of negative information about the Pentina and was heading nowhere with one I had bought on an auction site.

Almost word for word my problem with the shutter inside the body was the same as yours. It did not take much to bring this camera back to life.

 

I am left handed and this camera seems to have been made for me. Thank you so much for posting this information.

[JDMvW]

Thanks

 

Some reanimations are better than others, but then I would think so, wouldn't I?

 

Baron JDM von Frankenstein