martin_vanmeter1

<p>+1<br>

Eric fixed three of my older film Pentax cameras (one a Honeywell H3v from the 1960's - my first "real" camera) and I am extremely pleased with the results.</p>

<p>shutter problems are quite common on cameras with age and use like yours. I highly recommend Eric Hendrickson at http://www.pentaxs.com/index.html for a complete CLA and seal re-foaming.<br>

Mr. Hendrickson completely returned to life two Pentax H3v cameras I had...one my first "real" camera from the mid 1960's and the other a basket case I purchased for parts only. Both were returned looking great and working extremely well, CLA'ed, shutters lubed and adjusted, and re-foamed seals ! Very reasonable pricing.</p>

<p>I purchased a Mamiya 645 Pro TL off "the bay of the E", added a metered prism finder off another auction and a left side grip with shutter release on another. Added additional lenses as they became available on the "bay" or KEH. <br>

Fabulous setup, fun to use, resulting negatives are excellent and scan easily on a Canon flatbed scanner (will move up to an Epson when funds allow). If you don't like the "bay" than KEH is an excellent source.<br>

I have both a C220 and C330 (with added prism finder for eye level shooting), but they are mostly collector's items now that the 645 has displaced them.</p>

<p>my first venture into the world of 120/220 film cameras was a "Mamiya 645 Pro", and what a sweet heart ! Got a metering eyelevel prism and Mamiya bracket handle off eBay and it was even better. Also got an RB67 off ebay and what a beast. It is definately a tripod queen.<br>

Along with the other fine 6x4.5 cameras mentioned, consider the Mamiya 645 Pro or newer as a starter.</p>

 

<p>Nicholas,<br>

I'm glad you contacted Eric....and he does know what he is doing ! Two of my cameras had "sticky" focal plane shutters and he fixed both. My MX had a flakey light meter (LED's in the viewfinder) and he fixed that as well.<br>

Now, if I could just find someone as knowledgeable and helpful for some of my Nikon collection, I would be really happy.</p>

<p>I have had 3 of my Pentax SLR's "cleaned, lubricated, adjusted" and the foam lightseals replaced by Eric Hendrickson in Tennessee. One of the old H3v cameras was almost a "basket case" but Eric revived it and it works fine now. Very reasonable pricing.<br>

A camera as old as your ME Super is long past due a CLA and lightseal replacement.<br>

<a href="http://www.pentaxs.com/index.html">http://www.pentaxs.com/index.html</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>it has been mentioned in previous posts, but "eSATA" is your friend. Few, but the newest, computers have eSATA built in, but it is easy to add as a PCI-e card. The beauty of eSATA is the extremely fast read/write ability of the interface. Your external SATA drives reads and writes and tranfers data at the same speeds as your internal drives. Much, much faster than USB 2.0 or Firewire. SATA hard drives are inexpensive, use several, and just consider them the "CD/DVD type" backup for today's large internal hard drives. After a few years, swap out the external SATA drives for new ones....they will still be perfectly good, but for peace of mind, the recopying to new drives is good insurance.</p>

<p>the Asahi Pentax "S" series was sold in the US as the Honeywell Pentax "H" series. If my failing brain cells get this right....the Asahi Pentax SV was sold as the Honeywell Pentax H3v and used the clip on meter. If it is an SV, then it is a very robust camera body and Eric Hendrickson of <a href="http://www.pentaxs.com">www.pentaxs.com</a> can repair it, if needed. He returned my H3v (first "real" camera I bought in 1965) to great shape. </p>

<p>Eric Hendrickson of <a href="http://www.pentaxs.com">www.pentaxs.com</a> serviced my MX and did an excellent job for a very reasonable price. He also serviced my old Pentax H3v (my first "real" camera) and brought it back to life. Highly recommended !</p>

<p>another thing Hoya is not telling us .... was that a true division operating loss, or a loss when all the expenses and loan payments of the acquisition piled on top of any operation profit or loss. When a firm is acquired, as a division of the new company, it may be profitable, but when you pile on ALL the costs of the acquisition, something many companies do, there is no way they can cover all of it.</p>

<p>as implied by several reply posts.....your contract is with the "daughter", only she can cancel it and you must make sure she does it in writing. To a court of law the mother is not party to the contract and has nothing to do with the services you provide to the daughter. If the daughter does not cancel the contract, you will be in breach if you do not follow through and shot the wedding as contracted. It can be a sticky mess, but you must keep the legal aspects "clean" if you do not want to suffer further losses.</p>

<p>back in the pre-historic past, when I worked part-time for a daily city newspaper, this type of photography was "stand'em and grim'em".....the very least desirable form of capturing an image and usually resulted in a brief one-way discussion with the chief photographer. 8-{<br>

To call it anything other than quicky, expendible photography is over generous. With the big O's political savy, I find it hard to believe he approved this crap.</p>

 

<p>Probably the highest failure rate in older camera's, Spotmatic's for sure, is a badly corroded battery compartment. Someone leaves an old battery in the camera, puts it in a drawer for 10 years, and finds the battery has completely failed, leaked caustic goo all over the battery compartment and ruined a once nice camera. Camera's on eBay are famous for this. Make sure the seller specifically warrants the battery compartment is clean and the screw on cap is present and operable.</p>

with reference to the "James Lai" post.

 

I have sent 3 cameras to Mr. Hendrickson at www.pentaxs.com with GREAT results. I sent my first real camera, a Pentax H3v (keeping it working was a sentimental thing) and a second H3v "beater" I got off ebay for parts to him, along with a Pentax MX. I expected to just get the MX and my original H3v back.....wrong, I got all 3 back in great working order. Turn around was relatively quick for 3 cameras and for todays market, inexpensive. I recommend him highly to anyone considering CLA's or more major repairs to older Pentax cameras.

for outstanding service and the really through CLA your camera probably needs, please consider Mr. Hendrickson at www.pentaxs.com

 

I sent an MX and two older H3v Pentax cameras to him and he did a fantastic job on all 3. Fixed minor problems, re-foamed, and CLA'ed them. I thought one of the H3v's was a "basket case", but he brought it back to life. Highly recommended

 

PS: and the price was very reasonable !!!

I will give a second "thumbs up" for Eric Hendrickson at www.pentaxs.com as mentioned above. He repaired and CLA'ed three cameras for me, two Honeywell H3v models and a MX. All came back working like clockwork and the fee was "very" reasonable. Send your cameras in, they will come back ready for 20 more years.

I second the recommendation on the Pentax MX. I have had mine for over 25 years and just recently had it overhauled by Eric Hendrickson at www.pentaxs.com for a VERY reasonable fee. It will now go another 25 years.

 

It is not "needle match", instead using LED's in the view finder - very nice in low light.

 

A truly great full frame, but small Pentax manual SLR. Probably fine one for a reasonable price on eBay, just go with sellers with very good feedback and you should do OK.

I recently had a Pentax MX (same family as the ME, but manual only) repaired by Eric Hendrickson at www.pentaxs.com ( email pentax27@aol.com ) He did a great job on my MX at a very reasonable price. Highly recommended.

you might contact Erik Hendrickson of www.pentaxs.com for a repair estimate. He repaired 3 Pentax cameras for me, two older H3V's and an MX - all extremely well done at VERY reasonable prices. Highly recommended

when you throw 4x5 into the mix, the "right" solution gets a little harder to define.

 

Two excellent flatbed scanners are the Epson 4990 and the Canon 9950F

 

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson%204990/Page%201.htm

 

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Canon_9950F/page_1.htm

 

If you have a large number of 35mm slides/negs to scan, the Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED is a very good choice. Many will recommend the Konica/Minolta scanners, but they are in limbo now that Sony bought the KM line and you may end up with an unserviceable unit that no one can or will repair.

I had 3 Pentax cameras CLA'ed by Eric Hendrickson of www.pentaxs.com. 2 were H3v's and one an MX - he did a great job on all 3 for about $65 each. They came back very clean, functioning great and even the 40 year old H3v's have new snap in their focal plane shutters. Very satisfied with the service and reasonable prices.

I just got the upgrade for $89

Capture 4.x "must" be registered with Nikon

 

http://www.nikonmall.com/captureupgrade/

August issue of Shutterbug has a review of the 2400UF. Not an in-

depth review, just a first use 2 page review, but the author was

reasonably impressed with the scanner.

I am tempted to order a lens from Robert White Camera in the UK. For those who have dealt with this firm, what are the import duties into the US for a $600 to $800 camera lens? Thank you for any replys.

 

<p>

 

Martin VanMeter

Lexington, KY

New scanner will be on the market in 2 months, look promising at

the "market price" Canon D2400uf with carrier for transparencies up

to 4x5

 

<p>

 

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/scanners/csd2400uf/index.html