denis_pleic

<p>Compact, light and inexpensive? f4 acceptable?<br>

Then the best answer is Elmar C (90/4) or the same lens in Minolta guise (Minolta Rokkor C 90/4).</p>

Just spoke on the phone with the repair person - my M2 is serviced/repaired.

He said it was something about "friction mechanism" on the winding side (?) being out of order.

In short, he says it now winds all 36 shots without problem (or resistance....).

Repair cost: $55

Not bad. I hope this solves the problem completely. The camera is too nice to sit on the shelf :)

A short update:

Yesterday I took the "problematic" M2 to the repair guy I found (the one who used to service Hasselblads).

He has a small repair shop, full of various tools and machinery. He says he can also manufacture replacement gears and parts.

However, I don't think he's into Leicas :)

I had to show him a few things... Luckily, I also brought him a CD with all the material on M2 that I could find, including Tristan's Youtube video (top cover removal), basic repair manual and the US Army service manual in PDF.

He thought the problem rather strange, and said he'd try to find out what's wrong....

I'm keeping my fingers crossed - I guess I'll know in a week or so. Will let you know how it turns out.

Denis

Seeing that I'm not too confident that I could mess with gears without fear of ruining anything, I'll try to find

a repair person, after all. The camera is too nice otherwise (crytal clear VF/RF, correct shutter speeds) to

reduce to a bag of spare parts :)

In the meantime, I've learned that there's a guy in Croatia who was an authorized Hasselblad repairman, so I'll

try my luck with him...

<b>OK - progress update and detailed diagnosis</b>

<p>

<p>Swapping of the doors (from my other, good M2), DID help somewhat this time.

<p>BUT - what happens is that the camera "winds" past frame #36 :)

<p>Discovering that, I follwed what happens carefully. Loaded the camera with film (36 exposures) and closed the door, just like I was about to shoot normally.

<p>Winding is more or less OK until about frame #30 - meaning the winding lever works OK, film is winding, since I'm seeing the rewind knob shaft with two dots turning, as it should be.

<p><b>BUT</b>, when it reaches somewhere around frame #30, the winding shaft starts to slip!

<p>What happens is it starts to wind, meets some resistance, and then slips (the film is not wound an entire frame, but something like 3/4 of the way, and then I feel gears slipping with some resistance).

<p>After that, the winding side just slips and slips - the film is not wound at all, and it can go on forever.

<p>It does work OK up until about 28-30 frames....

<p>

<p>So, the problem is DEFINITELY in the advance gears... It's either misalignment, or as Vick said, totally worn gears :(

Rob,

Perhaps I did not explain it too well in my initial post - swapping the back doors between the two cameras was my

first thought, too - but it did not do any good...

Harry, I'm in Croatia. Shipping ANYWHERE outside of Croatia is a big pain in the beind, besides costing an arm

and a leg. Just shipping the darned camera out of the country will probably cost something like EUR 50, plus a

mountain of papers. Besides, they will probably make me pay the Customs and other dues once the camera returns

from Germany, just to be on the safe side :(

Too much of a hassle. But the camera might be worth it - the shutter speeds are excellent (except for 1/1000,

which is expected...).

Denis

There's a problem with my recently acquired M2.

When I put film in, the winding lever is difficult to wind. I've had another M2 for couple of years, so I know

very well how the camera should function - my older M2 works flawlessly, and works as it should (although the

film advance isn't as "buttery smooth" as on my M3....)

When there's no film in the camera, the winding lever turns (and sounds) just fine. However, when I put film in

it and close the back door, I feel resistance when winding on to the next shot. It becames gradually more

difficult and "jerky", as if there's some gear misalignment or something....

The first roll was so difficult that I tore a couple of sprocket holes on the 35th frame, when I stopped shooting

and rewound the film back (again with lots of resistance).

The problem goes away when the back door is removed - i.e. film loaded properly, bottom plate attached, but with

the back door removed from camera. Obviously, I can't use the camera without the back door attached, so it's not

a possible solution ;)

At first I thought it could be a problem with the back door, but it looks the same as the door on my other M2.

I've even tried switching the doors on those two M2's (the first thing I tried - I thought it could be the

problem with the door...). No luck.

I've even tried swapping take-up spools - again, no luck. Same thing.

I've opened up the camera (removed the top plate), and cleaned the range/viewfinder windows on the top plate

which were a little hazy, but that's all.

I don't think I dare go any deeper, unless it's something relatively simple, which can be done once the top plate

is removed.

Authorized Leica service or at least a reliable repair person is nowhere to be found this side of border, and

sending the camera abroad for repair would cost twice as much as I paid for the camera :(

So, I'm thinking about trying to see what's wrong myself. I think it could be either the winding gear (below the

winding lever) or the take-up side shaft.

Like I said, I've taken off and replaced the top plate, so I'm not new to messing up with cameras and small

screws. I know that the usual warnings apply when trying to do DIY repairs on Leicas - I'm not overconfident in

my repair skills :) - that's why I'm asking here first.

However, since the camera was not expensive, and sending it abroad for repair would buy me almost another

(working) M2

body, I think I don't have other choice. I also have the M2 service manual (US Army, I beleive, the one

downloadable from the Net), but still....

Any ideas?

<I>

<B>JDM von Weinberg [subscriber] [Frequent poster] , Oct 13, 2008; 04:40 p.m.</B>

<p>

Just for the record, this looks PC only, no Mac version?</I>

<p>

The gadget is not OS-related. You should be able to use it on the Mac, too - provided it has mic input.

<p>

Haven't tried it myself, though - I only have an old Quicksilver G4, which (unfortunately) does not have a mic

input :(

<p>

As for selling these, this was our initial idea. But, the postage from Croatia to USA would be something like

$25, which makes it relatively expensive - the projected sales price was something like $50-$60...

<p>

But, the author of the device has got a job again (was unemployed when the idea of selling these came up), and

really has no spare time for such activities. $50 for a couple of hours' work isn't much. It's OK when you're

unemployed, I guess - but he's back in saddle again, and this isn't really a priority. But, I've provided his

e-mail in case anyone wants one built - the price would be something like $50-$60, plus postage from Croatia -

provided the author has spare time and is willing to make one for you.

<p>

Denis

I've finally managed to put up a rather ugly Web page describing the "new and improved" DIY shutter speed tester,

based on the older design. The tester requires a computer with a sound card, a USB port, and some sound recording

software (I recommend the freeware "Audacity").

<p>

Anyway, the link is <B><a href="http://www.hrtranslations.com/photo/shutter_v2/shutter2.html">here</a></B>.

<p>

There are some schematics and photos of the prototype :)

<p>

Those into DIY are welcome to build one themselves...

<p>

It's a lot better than the earlier version I had - it requires no batteries, and has its own light source...

<p>

Denis

Tristan, I've been following your posts with interest... You've put together a nice source of information for us

DIY-ers :) Thank you!

As I'm the author of one of the Web pages you listed for the shutter tester, I also wanted to thank you for that.

Like I said on my page (http://open.hr/~dpleic/photo/Shutter.html), the idea is not mine - I just followed

another set of instructions found on another page on the Web.

However, I wanted to share an improvement on this gadget. Namely, a friend made an improved version of this

tester for me - he's much better with electronics than I am, so he managed to improve the tester in several ways:

1) the new tester does not require batteries - it's powered from computer USB port

2) it also has integrated light source (bright LED pulsing on high frequency)

3) it makes better (more precise) measurements, making it easier to test higher speeds (it also has two

photocells instead of one)

If anyone's interested, I'll provide a better explanation with some photos in a separate thread (sorry for

hijacking this!).

Regards,

Denis

AFAIK, Bessa R2M is an "M-Mount" camera, which means it uses the M-bayonet for mounting lenses - like all "M" Leicas.

<p>You have a "LTM" lens (i.e. "Leica Thread Mount"), which is a 39mm thread - standard on FEDs, Zorkis, etc...

<p>So, in order to mount your Jupiter (LTM) lens to your Bessa R2M (M-mount camera), you need a LTM to M bayonet

adapter. You screw the adapter on the lens, and then you put the whole shebang on your camera.

<p>Check out this link, and everything will be a lot clearer:

<p>

<a href="http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptltm.htm">http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptltm.htm</a>

Thanks for the compliments, Harry.

I have a whole load of photos from Venice. The fog was really magical.

The color shots were mostly just snapshots, but I did some "serious" snapping in B&W with my trusty Rolleiflex :)<div></div>

From my first ever visit to Venice, in February. Took a Leica M2 and a CV21/4 and a small Oly Mju (Stylus Epic).

It was foggy :)<div></div>

Those big scratches are less of a problem than those "cleaning marks" in the center.

The lens will be usable indoors, without strong light sources in the frame, but for well-lit scenes and outdoors, forget it... Had one like that, and it bothered me enough to have it recoated. Luckily, that took care of the "cleaning marks", and the lens now performs as new (much improved contrast). However, it was in a better shape than this one :(

The best way to know is to take some test shots. My guess is the contrast will be significantly reduced, bordering on unusable - particularly when shot outdoors in bright light. Shade will help, but not as much as one would wish...

<i><b>Neil Ambrose , May 29, 2008; 06:39 a.m.</b>

...<p>

Though after you've left the lens cap on once you'll almost certainly never do it again. :-)</i>

<p>I wouldn't be so sure...

<p>I keep on doing it all the time - but never for the whole length of film, though.

<p>It's usually just one exposure (maybe two, if I'm shooting fast, before I notice what I'm doing...)

<p>Between burning a hole in the camera shutter and taking a shot with the lens cap on, I'd rather choose the latter.... However, that's not the issue with the Yashica, so it's best to take the darn thing off and keep it in the bag/pocket until you're done shooting.

<p>Denis

<i><b>Bill Lester , May 22, 2008; 01:39 p.m.</b><p>

How does one know what a 'fourth' version is? Is that the made in Canada examples?</i><p>

Bill, the Cameraquest site is a good resource:<p>

http://www.cameraquest.com/mlenses.htm

Where do you reside, Bruno? If in Germany, my guess is you'll find better deals at home.

Paris is notorious for very high prices, which I was able to confirm about two months ago. Went to a couple of second-hand shops on Avenue Beaumarchais, and the prices were high, to say the least... :(

It's OK for window-shopping, though. Can't say that the offerings are that abundant, but I did spot a few Leicas...

Looks like the prices went up since I last considered getting some (used) Leitz

glass :)

I'm in Europe, and I have a 4th gen. 35/2 'Cron available for about 750 EUR from

a reputable store in Austria... Still, it seems kind of high - a colleague

bought an immaculate specimen of the same 4th generation 35/2 'Cron for about

$800 2-3 years ago (from USA).

I'm aware that the value of Dollar compared to Euro went downhill in the

meantime, but still...

What are the going prices in USA for this lens in good condition?

By "good condition" I mean nice, clean glass, barell may be slightly scuffed...

including the original lens shade.

Going through completed items on eboy doesn't say much. One was sold recently

(Buy Now) for $1,200...

Any ideas on the going rates in US and Europe?

I remember a couple of years back on this forum, when excellent (even brilliant) photos were almost a norm, I saw many 35mm shots - all generations of 'Cron 35/2, and also many 35/1.4 Summilux shots (shot exclusively on film).

From the Web images posted, one could not tell which is which. All were outstanding.

That said, a friend of mine is facing the same dilemma: which 35?

He aims for absolutely the best the money can buy, so I suggested that 35/1.4 Summilux ASPH would probably fit the bill :)

For myself, I'd rather go for 35/2 4th version (the so-called "Bokeh King", if I'm not mistaken)

:)

Denis

Esteban Pastorino Diaz does similar stuff using a DIY 4x5 camera flying on a kite :)

http://www.photographsdonotbend.com/artists/esteban/

Jeff, photos would be nice...

I also have an older Graflex flash, and no intention of butchering it.

I don't use flash, but this sounds like a fun project :)

Denis

42 yr old freelance translator from Croatia. Lived here all my life.

I use my M2 the most, but lately I've been bitten by the LF bug...

Consider it studying king-size bokeh :)

I just wish I had more time to shoot.