Sogal

I've heard so much about the Biotar and that close up pic of flowers is actually "dreamy" like may others have described - i don't think i've had that reaction to any other lens 🙂 (ok, except for an accidental shot with a flare from a Rikenon). I also have a CZJ Tessar on a Werra. To my eyes, the portrait and landscape pics look very similar - shockingly similar in fact; i have to shoot a similar close up with the Tessar at 2.8 and see what comes out. Now that i've got this new toy, i'm looking forward to playing around with them together. Again, grateful to all on this forum!

I got my Varex VX back after a complete overhaul of both lens and body from Andrea Schønfelder. Thanks for @ph. for pointing me to Andrea! There was something fitting for the camera to go back to its birth place to be reborn. Andrea did a wonderful job on resurrecting this very battered camera. I also had very little hope for the Biotar. I am very happy with the results! Thx to @chuck_foreman1, @John Farrell for the tips. Very special thanks for @subbarayan_prasanna for offering to sit beside me and teach me to fix it myself! I just could not be in Bangalore 🙂 Hope you are in good health again.

@SCL 🙂 that's where i was headed next 🙂 Thx!

@ph. I received a response from Andrea Schønfelder saying he is willing to take on the repair, again thanks! I am in the US...what service have you used for international shipping. DHL and FedEx are quoting in excess of $200 for one way shipping...

@Gary Naka, @ph., @John Farrell, @chuck_foreman1 -> many thanks for your suggestions. I was just about to jump into this when I saw suggestions for the two repair shops!

@chuck_foreman1 I've contacted the author at the exactaphile link and have not received a response - hence I posted here. I've also sent a DM to @subbarayan_prasanna and am hoping for a response. Many thx for the other links!! Cheers!

@kmac the camera needs a cla and new shutter curtains. it seems to "work" i.e. nothing feels broken. but who knows what gremlins lie among its complicated innards. i can let this sit - i do not have any exacta specific fetish - but it's a family heirloom that means something to people who mean a lot to me; it would make all of us happy to see this particular contraption brought back to operational status. getting it apart and the harder part of getting it back together again is why i'm looking for the book; that book that anyone who has it swears by, is my last hope for a phoenix!

I have recently inherited an Exacta Varex VX - family heirloom - with a vague instruction to "do whatever you can with it." Convincing my local repair shop in Portland, Oregon, has not been successful; neither has calls to a few out of town shops. I have never repaired a camera, but in general, with instructions and the right tools, I am moderately handy. Do you know of any alternate source for Upton's book? Does anyone here have a copy they are done with and are willing to part with (i'll pay). This camera is destined to sit on a shelf - hoping its destiny can be changed with help from this community.