stuart_pratt

Yes, but is it more than, based on the knowledge that the shutter speed is the reciprocal of the film speed in full sun, guessing what it is for other lighting conditions?

It has often puzzled me when people recommend using the Sunny 16 rule as an exposure guide, what they are really advising. The kind of question on metering some or other specific subject, usually produce a range of responses; ‘use an incident reading’, ‘use a reflected reading’, ’get a good spot meter’ or ‘just use Sunny-16’. This is often thrown up for people new to photography, or for those who have old, or broken film cameras with no meter. It’s all well and good if it’s sunny. And really sunny at that. What use is the sunny-16 rule if it is miserable overcast day in December (I’m in the UK, we have lots of those). My own rule for ball-park numbers in these conditions is ‘wide open at a 30th’. Sure if it’s not quite full sun, or a full sun day but the shadows are getting a bit long, you can knock a stop or two off, but is that really practical if you are new to photography and have no real idea of what a stop’s difference in light intensity might look like? Perhaps ‘just use Sunny-16 and only take pictures in full sun’ would be more appropriate. Or move to Timbuktu. For my money, it gets you out of a hole if you have no meter and you are experienced enough to know what the range of ‘normal’ daylight exposures are, but ‘aint much help if you are inexperienced. Thoughts?

Like most things, you can spend what you like. I expect as others have pointed out, you can get something almost free of charge if you look around. Sure it might not have all the bells and whistles that a Pro model may have, but if you have a decent lens, and keep the negative carrier parallel with the paper, you're most of the way there. I have a Kodak Precision, made just after the War, that I bought at least 25 years ago, with all the neg carriers, measuring cylinders focus finder etc. for about 25 quid if memory serves. It does everything up to 6x9, and I've never felt the need to change it. It's a bit antiquated, but built like a tank and I get satisfaction from using something older than me that was built to last. The prints I produce and good enough for me. My Grandfather produced half decent prints too, using the lens from his Contax in an enlarger he built from the body of a vacuum cleaner.

Actually there were other pictures of the battery chamber in

If you're in the UK, I can send you the tool I have

The tripod socket catch is a square drive socket situated at the bottom of the tripod socket. You might be able to see it , just, with a torch. It has a 'left handed thread', that is, you need to turn it clockwise to undo it (I just checked this, and it's definitely correct). There is a picture below of the tool I used, it's a square-drive decking screw bit- you should be able to get one in a decent tool shop, or in desperation, they come free in larger packs of decking screws with the correct drive socket - across the flats at the tip on mine is 3.3mm. You'll need to undo the two tiny screws in cups either end of the bottom plate too. This should get you inside. There is a picture below of what it looks like once you have the battery chamber out, and the body-side of the tripod socket catch removed (you shouldn't need to do that, hopefully, your catch will be easy to undo). Removing the battery chamber itself was, from memory, straightforward by removing two or three small slot head screws. Sorry no picture of it with the battery chamber in. Then it's just a case of unsoldering and then re-soldering the four wires (the two orange ones, the red and blue one), replacing the battery chamber, and soldering them back (in the correct places - take a photo of what you have before, and label the orange wires so you know which is which). I also taped the wires to the camera body before unsoldering them so they didn't disappear into the camera body never to be seen again. The wires will be brittle and fragile after all these years, so don't play with them any more than you have to or the joint may fail at the other, non-battery end. In respect of the bottom orange wire, the non-battery joint is within the camera body somewhere, so if that comes off you've had it! . The wires are TINY, so if you have no experience in soldering, get someone who has to do this for you. The SL is supposed to use a 1.35v mercury cell which are no longer available. There is an awful lot on-line about what to do about this problem, which is common to many cameras of this age; maybe use a 1.4v hearing aid cell, or a modern 1.5v cell and ignore the variation in metering, use a voltage converter or make one yourself. I was lucky, my camera meters perfectly with a 1.5v cell, so must have been converted at some point, or has lost/gained sensitivity just to the correct amount to be correct now! There is a wiring diagram here SR44 voltage regulator PX625 mercury battery replacement (v2.0) of how to make a voltage converter if you are so inclined and have the skills. Best of luck and let us know how you get on

Hi Yes I did, but it was a bit more involved than I first thought. You have to remove the base of the camera, which was a real problem for me as the catch within the tripod Mount had seized. I had to cut round it and remove it that way, buy a junker camera and rob the battery chamber from that, unsolder the old one and put the new one in. It’s all now good, and we’ll worth it, but it was a bit hairy at the time. You need a square drive tool to undo the catch that sits within the tripod socket. I used a square drive screwdriver bit, which fit perfectly. I’ll measure it later and send you the size and a photo. When you get inside, it’s a simple job to remove the battery chamber. If you are handy, you might well be able to fashion a new tab, rather than get a whole new battery chamber. I have some photos of inside somewhere, I’ll look them out. Do you know if the meter actually works?

Thanks Greg, John, Q.G. So there is a code, thanks. That follows what he said as a 6 x 6.

Thanks John. Armed with at information I think I’ve found what it was, Super Ikonta 534/16. Not sure why he confirmed it was a Nettar when I asked? Looks like these are a bit more pricey too. Why 534/16 and not 12?

On holiday, I bumped into someone with a few film cameras and struck up a conversation. He had what I thought was a Nettar, but possibly it was a Nettax? Shooting 6x6, it had a coated tessar f3.5 75mm lens and an uncoupled light meter he told me was working and accurate. Now I want one! A brief search on the net hasn’t revealed much other than lots of Nettars with Novar lenses, which I think is a three element lens. Can anyone provide more information?

I’m really no expert in meters, but what I do know is that it is important what you point your meter at. If you plan on B&W landscapes, I would get something sensible and reliable and put your time and energy into learning how to use it properly. If weight isn’t a problem, and you have one, take a DSLR camera instead. Matrix, centre weighted and spot, all in one at no additional expense. If your’e lugging around an RB67 in any case, you’ll barely notice the extra load!

Hammer time.

I wouldn't describe the noise mine makes as a 'clunk' more of a 'tick' but there is a noise. Did you drop yours in a rock pool and not notice for 20 seconds? I did, but after a trip to the airing cupboard, it came back to life and has worked flawlessly ever since!

Thanks for that link. Would you believe the Automat is the only model not listed! It would get me a part number but I suspect I'll need exact dimensions, thread pitch etc. The idea at the moment is to remove a screw from the other spool end (assuming they are the same screws, which isn't a given) measure it exactly, and see if I can find replacements online somewhere. I'm hoping where I send it for service might have the screws, but its probably a long-shot. Thanks

If I manage to find the right screws for the original knob, and the counter comes off OK, it’s yours for the postage. Screws look like they might be a challenge though (the ones holding the counter are different to the original knob) and despite a lengthy internet search, I can’t find any details for them other than they are oval head countersunk and tiny!

Thanks. Seller informed me it functions as normal for 120 film so with some research I might be able to change the film counter for the authentic knob. I found a guy in the Netherlands who can supply the knob, sadly not the screws, which are different to the ones which hold the 36 counter. I’ll have it serviced so maybe they’ll have suitable screws? Otherwise it could be a challenge to find the correct ones!

I did go for it and it’s coming soon. I wasn’t so much interested in using the Rolleikin, more removing the counter and replacing it with the original one. I agree though, I’d probably not bother using it as a 35mm camera and won’t be looking for the rest of the Rolleikin kit.

Im looking at buying a Rolleiflex Automat and I’m currently considering an MX-EVS with good glass and no fungus (allegedly!) which has at some point been converted to 35mm with a Rolleikin adapter and retains the film counter on the outside LHS. I’m told it otherwise functions as a normal 120 camera and a normal take-up spool is present. There are adapter kits on eBay which include the normal/regular sprung loaded film spool ends which look simple enough to replace (3 small screws). Back and screen look normal. Is there anything else I should be wary about due to its previous conversion, and are the sprung loaded film spool ends a standard part, or did they change between models (i.e would I need one specific to the Automat if I wanted to get the camera back to factory finish?) Thanks very much for any assistance you can give.

Wow, that was a big job, impressive work!

Top drawer shots as ever.

Run a roll through with normal exposures, rewind it onto the original spool and then eBay it as ‘pre-exposed film’ to a hipster who wants multiple exposures for ‘artistic effect’. Seriously, I’d be interested to know what it would go for.

In the UK, Robin Gowing at Harrow Technical. Did mine some years back including the meter, still running well.

Nice gallery! I particularly liked the snowy roof shot and ‘101’.

I love optimism, but some people need a reality check: Perhaps he put the decimal point in the wrong place? Kodak photographic paper | eBay