Cleaning dust from inside Olympus 35SP windows...dumb? Expensive?

[david_mount]

Hi, and glad to be here.

 

I just got my much-lusted-after 35SP, it seems fine, but the years

have left dust (skin? fungus, even?) *inside* the viewfinder,

lightmeter and CdS windows.

 

My first thought is to send it to shutterbugs (they're almost local)

or some other reputable classic camera dealers, but my second thought

is "£50 an hour"...should I just leave it the hell alone, bite the

bullet and pay up, or try to do it myself? (The mere thought gives me

indigestion.)

[h._p.]

I had the same problem with a Yashica Electro and in the end just decided to sell it. Unfortunately, they go for so little that it's just not worth it. Your Olympus, on the other hand is worth a few bob more. You might like to get an estimate from Camerex in Exeter who I've dealt with for years and always seem to me to be very good value. Remember to factor in about £12 for the two way postage.

[david_mount]

Thanks for the recommendation, and the rapid response. I'll get in touch with them as soon as I recover from recent splurging - (like the Canonet QL17 GIII that's hopefully coming from LA, and the £35 I've just blown on macros and lens hoods)...

 

I was mostly concerned that similar gunge might be accumulating in the works; the advance lever seems to behave a little strangely, unless it's *supposed* to hang around half an inch from the rest position after use.

[richard_oleson]

I haven't worked on a 35SP, but i have some sketches for the 35RC posted at http://members.tripod.com/rick_oleson/index-134.html -- the construction may be similar enough for you to get into it. It shouldn't be too hard, just be careful around needles and things....

 

If you don't feel like digging into it, I think it's probably worth paying to have it done. They'll probably give it a general going over in the process, and this is a nicer-than-average camera....

 

rick :)=

[r s]

Congrats, that's one fine camera you got! I just took mine for a spin on the town today and keep being amazed at how much I love the rangefinder focusing.

 

When it comes to the dirt, etc in your viewfinder I guess it simply comes down to if you think the viewfinder is bright enough as it is or if it appears dim/foggy, etc. A clean viewfinder on these RF cameras is, I think, a must in order to be fully content with the operation and final results that they can yield.

 

Your question about the advance lever: after you advance the film the lever does never go automatically fully back to the original position. It sort of rests at an angle out from the body and you simply push it toward the camera body and it's resting place yourself. Manual camera indeed :-)

[david_mount]

Thanks Rick,

 

I had a good look at your site and thought hard about the many similarities, and if I ever got a broken 35RC (or preferably a couple broken in different ways, come to think of it) I'd have a go. But I'm too much in love with the SP to risk it; my internal critic would give me hell for the rest of my life if I screwed up.

 

(Like I just did with an already-dead Lomo...big time...)

 

The really difficult bit is not *so* much going to be the money, though that's no fun when you're unemployed, but finding someone I'd trust with it!

 

8^P

 

.............

 

Richard,

 

"Congrats, that's one fine camera you got!" - I hear you. In a difficult time, it's cheered me up tremendously. I'm not in the least embarrassed about being as excited as a child at Christmas.

 

Good, also, to hear that the advance lever on yours operates the same way.

 

"A clean viewfinder on these RF cameras is, I think, a must in

order to be fully content with the operation and final results that they can yield" - neatly encapsulates my feelings, as well as my notion that the RF system, (not less than the viewfinder or tiny mechanical components), is compromised by the film of gunk over its window. Light - OK, infra-red too - is being lost from the feedback loop.

[r s]

I was meaning to also mention the batteries. Even though the weincells works fine they are however expensive (about 8 dollars/battery cell).

Many people are however using the approx 80 cents hearing aid batteries instead with the addition of a plastic shim - that seems to work just as well and a heck of a lot cheaper :-)

 

There's some threads here on photo.net that discusses that should you be interested.

 

And...there is nothing wrong with being as excited as a child on christmas day when it comes to the 35SP - it's a truly wonderful camera with an outstanding lens! Enjoy!

[david_mount]

Many people are however using the approx 80 cents hearing aid batteries instead with the addition of a plastic shim - that seems to work just as well and a heck of a lot cheaper :-)

 

Cool...that was a 375 type, iirc, with a rubber ring or slice of suitably sized hose.

 

And...there is nothing wrong with being as excited as a child on christmas day when it comes to the 35SP - it's a truly wonderful camera with an outstanding lens! Enjoy!

 

A lovely thing, indeed, and I can't wait to a) give it the CLA it deserves and b) see my first roll back from the lab.