paul ron

wow thanks for the info. a real eye opener since so many of us baby boomers own spotmatics n yellow lenses. btw the yellowing of the glass actually boosted the contrast n rendered reds better in old film emulsions back then. elliminated the need to use a yellow filter which was customary then.

does the lens have plastic on the rear cell? im not talking about a lens covering type cap. some lenses have a plastic surround on the rear cell that extends too far in n stops the mirror from moving properly. this cap is more common on 50 mm lenses. with no back on, can you see what the mirror is hanging on? if it does have this plastic cover, just remove it. they are tacked on with a bit of glue or very rarely screwed on. let me see a pic of the lens rear?

and the solution was????? oh, you're welcome!

don't you just love how some people never follow up or even have the common courtesy to say thank you for the help? why bother helping anymore!

take the lens off the camera and mannually fire it several times n see if it intermittantly doesnt open? this is common for a lens thats over due for a doctors visit.

the front cell cant be taken out till the filter ring is removed. it may be possable to unscrew the cell at this point if you can get a grip on the cell under the ring. once you get the cell to unscrew the entire front cone can be removed. i once had a similar problem and my solution was to cut a rubber strip which i inserted inside between the cell and cone, then unscrew the cone applying upward preasure to grip the cell inside. the cell unscrewed nicely... maybe luck but it worked.

<p>Check APUG ofr my reply?</p>

Do you have another back to try? Run a roll of backing paper through... open the back after about 6 frames to see if it advanced? You could remove the lens and mark each frame on the backer with a pencil to see how many frames passed? To see if the shutter is operating.. remove the back, remove the prism... now fire differnt speeds n look through to see light as the shtter fires.

Get the repair manual from butkus and diy? There arent many moving parts in the mamiya tlrs. Cleaning dust off is generaly the only thing they need. I rarely see them come in with problems unless of course its been abused.

Not sure but i do have an extra lens shade that i can check later. If you take the small stop screw out from the side, the eye piece will screw out. Take it with you n size it in the store?

The retainer around the rear cell holds the body together. The rear cell unscrews right out in one piece for better access to the retainer ring. There are also small screws on the side of the body that may be lose but wont cause as much wobble as you describe.

The chimney finder is wonderful for ease n weight but the ultimate is a prism. Yeah its a huge chunk of glass n makes your beast more beastly but the bennifit is image orientation is correct, its brighter as well, no sttray light. Btw, you can make your own eye cup for the chimney using a rubber lens hood. I tear it off the flange n reglue it with crazy glue to the existing old flange on the chimney. Total cost... $7!

You'll enjoy the glow.

You're all set! Nice n sharp no ill effects. But just be aware you may get flare in certain lighting situations. Enjoy!

I've never tried nd filters on my sf 150... But i can tell for certain the discs preform as designed. Read the manual n see if your method agrees? The softness is built into the glass so when stopping down you over ride the edge aberations. The disc itself offers no softness at all. The disc just reduces the effective f stop while the holes allow the edge glass softness through.... But gives you increased dof as well. Is your nd method something you do.... Or an assumption? Oh wait... You're just controlling the amount of light from the edges with the nd? The nd has a hole in the center?... Similar to using a grad nd for sky control??? But it will offer no dof control. Interesting!

Btw, $49, buy buy buy! That is even worth it as a parts lens for me.

The soft focus is designed right in the glass, not a filter. The image is sharp but has a certain glow, mostly in the highlights n whites. It was a very popular playboy magazine lens back in the day. Ever notice how the girls seemed to glow? When the lens is used at full open aperture, you get max softness. Stoping down reduces the softness, and at f-8 there is no softness and can be used as a normal lens. Focusing is the issue with this lens. Stop down to f-8 n use the preview, (screen gets rather dark). The discs are used with the aperture full open, the equivelent f stop is on each disk for exposure calculations. This gives you the option of more dof without losing full softness. And again, stopping down will reduce the softness. So without the disks, you are limited to f-4 for full softness. Do some experimenting n have fun.

Hahahaha yeah i see reading comprehension is your problem once again. Tff! You can't make this stuff up!

Q.G. de Bakker HeroFrequent poster, May 30, 2014; 07:25 p.m. "Mamyia will only clean n adjust that lens" ... so you end up with a clean and well adjusted lens. Hahahaha now I've heard it all! Did you read my entire reply? Please be my customer QG? I'd love to charge you $160 to CLA your lens n return it full of fungus.... But the icing on the cake is how pleased you are about being ripped off! After your responce, just for you QG..... I'd charge you double! In my 45 years of professionally repairing cameras this one proves the old saying there's a sucker born every minute! Priceless! You can't make this up!

Mamyia will only clean n adjust that lens and not replace the rear cell for $160! Your lens will still have the same fungus damage. The rear cell new if mamiya even has one in stock will cost you at least $200 or more just for the part plus $160 for the cla. So go buy another defunct lens n swap the cell. Shims n no shims makes no difference to the naked eye... Only has an impact on OCD photographers with fat wallets who bought the meatloaf n think they got the steak. Are you shooting professionaly or just joy riding? If the fungus doesnt effect your images.... Have fun just be mind full it may cause flare in certain light conditions. Buy extra film with the money you saved. .

For $160 go buy 2 dead 50mm lenes! Yes there are shims but the difference is so slight, you'd need a machine to detect it.

Take the rear cell out n clean it with denatured alchol. It wont get rid of it but will clean some of the dust in there. Keep an eye on keh for an ugly lens, or put out a WTB for a parts lens. Perhaps that fungus wont effect your pix but may contribute to flare under certain conditions.

I still check my regular photography sites almost everyday. I am seeing less newbie questions concerning mf. Maybe alot of people have gone to the dark side? I don't know. You're still here n that matters. Whats more frustrating are help calls ive answered n the op never returns!... This seems to be a growing trend.