peter_chiappini

After a few hours I did get it apart, but the haze seems to be inside the front group of elements. The lens is extremely sharp even wide open regardless, and has a dof of only an inch or so.

Hello, does anyone know how to get the front element out of this

lens? There's a bit of a haze on the back of it that I want to

clean. Thank you, Peter

I tried to change the screen on my srt100 with one from an sr7 I had for parts. I got the screen out of the sr7 after breaking a few things including the piece of glass right above the screen. There are a few screw that let you adjust the screen's position, but they don't come all of the way out, which is a bit of a problem. When they say they aren't user servicable I guess they meant it. You would be better off just buying another one. eBay would definitely be by far the cheapest just make sure you know who you're buying from and ask very specific questions before bidding. Just sell the one you have for parts on eBay, make sure to take really good pictures and you might end up getting more for it if its in really good cosmetic condition than a nice user one would cost.

I have a 10x15cm Zeiss orix that uses a 165mm Tessar, and all of the 10x15cm cameras I've seen use a 165mm lens. I saw an Ernemann Klapp, is this a similar design? with an 165mm f/4.5 Ernotar at: <p>http://www.vintagephoto.tv/e1015klapp.shtml <p>

If you post a picture you might be able to get more help. -Peter

Hello, at the advice of Dan Fromm, I purchased a copy of the Lens

Collector's Vade Mecum. I was reading through the section about

East Germany's control of Carl Zeiss Jena. The desingns in East

Germany were limited because of the shortages of certain types of

glass and lack of computers and newer technologies. Then it

mentions that prime quality was indicated by a "1" encircled by

a "Q," and that these lenses were of extra interest to collectors,

but that collectors do limit the prices realized for such

equipment. I have a 50mm f/2.8 CZJ Tessar for my Practica FX-2 with

such a mark. Does anyone know how much better than an average lens

lenses with this mark are, or how rare or about what percentage they

account for. I'm assuming quality control wasn't exceptionally good

in East Germany, so how did the prime East German lenses compare to

the West German kind? How much more are these worth than the

regular East German lenses? Any information would be greatly

appreciated. -Peter

On eBay the going price is more like $20.00, but some go for less or more depending on the timing and quality of the pictures; if you have the original box you cold probably get a bit more. If you take your friends Nikon for this you might not have a friend for very long, but you will have a nice camera. If you would rather keep your friend I would gladly trade you a jar of jam and some spice girl stickers. -Peter

Hello, the convex surface should be closest to the film plane.

My vade mecum is on its way- thank you again for the recommendation, thats probably the best investment I'll ever make. I think orthochromatic film is sensitive to blue and green light, panchromatic is sensitive to red, but your point about the planes of focus is more than likely correct. Thanks again for all of the replies, Peter.

errr, wait nevermind- I'll give you 100.00 for it

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2986430770&category=15241 <p>

 

Here's a contarex se that ended a few days ago, definitely enough money for a few MF cameras. You could probably sell of a lens or two and keep the camera. I wish I had one :(

A lot. It was the last Zeiss SLR and only 3100 were made. Here's an auction on eBay right now-<p> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3800018940&category=15241<p>

I'd watch and see if it gets bought I don't see any more Contarex SE's up for auction right now, but the Contaflex Super bodies alone usually sell for 1000 in near mint condition. List all the lenses and accessories and someone who knows something will tell you what they're worth. -Peter

I recently bought an Ikoflex 1c TLR camera with a shutter problem-

The cocking lever isn't working properly. The shutter will stay

shut when its in the cocked position; when you put it in that

position the lever stays there, but it seems to just be held by a

bit of grease on some of the gears and doesn't actually cock the

shutter. You can lift up the lever when its supposed to be cocked

into the uncocked position and it opens the shutter, without the

camera being fired. I removed the front plate and I don't see any

loose or broken parts. Does someone know how to fix this (its a

prontor-SVS shutter) or know of a page with pictures of the shutter

disassemled? Thank you, Peter

That does make sense, thank you very much for the information. I'm guessing it could probably also be used like a variable focus to soften the image a bit, although with a lens this old its probably quite soft already.

I bought another lens that I didn't know anything about again,

except that its pretty old and made by Rodenstock Munchen, I think

in Germany unless Munchen doesn't indicate it was made in Munich.

It seems to be a 2 element symetrical design- theres one small

reflection then 2 larger reflections then another small reflection.

Its on a recessed lens board measuring 4x6in. and has a serial#

19718 meaning it was definitely made before 1910. It has one of

those fancy spinning aperture wheels with four settings. The front

portion of the barrel can be extended about a centimeter; when its

not extended the screw that stops it from coming fully apart lines

up with an arrow with the word "Bildaufn.", and when extended it

lines up with the word "Mattsch." Does anyone know what that means

or what camera this would have been originally used on?

Does "bistigmat" indicate that this lens is corrected from

distortion as anastigmatic does, or partially corrected, or does it

just refer to it having two elements? Thank you very much for any

help in advance.

Thank you Patric, I came across that site before but didn't think it was useful for what I needed to do; it turned out to have everything I needed. -Peter

Mike, Let me know what cameras need work, I'm poor and probably can't afford most of those cameras in working condtion, and might be able to fix them and look at them while I'm saving up money for film. -Peter

I recently bought a Goerz Tenax 9x12cm plate camera with a 150mm

dogmar in a coumound shutter; the camera is in really great

condition, but the shutter is only firing at one speed- it sounds

like its the fastest speed. It works fine on b and t. I removed

the speed dial and was able to determine that the pin that attaches

to the air piston to change the speeds was locked up. I removed the

faceplate and tried to free it up by pressing with a screwdriver, I

pushed pretty hard but it won't budge and I can't see anything

obstructing it- so I think I need to clean out the piston, but I

have no idea how to go about doing this. Any help with out to clean

it out would be appreciated. Thank you, Peter

I think I'll have to wait until I'm rich to try shooting on film that large - I'll probably end up using paper negatives and contact printing them with a light bulb in my cellar.

Dan, thank you for the information about the Lens Collectors' Vade Mecum, maybe now I won't buy so many lenses without really knowing enough about them... but purchasing the Boyer wasn't with complete ignorance- you had bid on it, so I at least knew it was a half-way decent lens, but you're right, I wasn't sure it would cover 11x14. The reason I haven't tried any out yet is because I don't have a LF camera to try them on. I'm building an 11x14, but it won't be ready for a while. -Peter

You may want to try j and c photography; they carry a lot of hard to find formats. Here's the link directly to the section with 3 1/4 x 4 1/4, their prices are pretty good too. <p> http://jandcphotography.com/Page2x3and3x4.htm <P>

They're not taking any orders until March 1. -Peter

Thank you for the information.

Thank you for the information, I was thinking it was a tessar derivative, if not a tessar, but I wasn't positive; I'm kind of surprised to hear that it would be good for landscape photography. Do you know if it would cover 11x14? -Peter

Hello, does anyone know what the coverage would be for this lens;

its a process lens of some kind and has a smallest aperture of f/180

and a slot for waterhouse stops. There's a note on a scale that

says its good up to 1:5.6. I haven't tried it out yet, but it

appears to be coated so I think it would be pretty sharp. Is it a

tessar design? Any info would be appreciated. -Peter

Ron, thanks a lot for that idea, I'll definitely check both of those sites for a ground glass back or film holder. I really appreciate your offer to send me one for just shipping! -Peter

Hello, I took apart the shutter on this camera because one of the

aperture blades slipped, I took some pictures of the shutter along

the way, but it was about a month ago and I am starting to forget

things about how to assemble it. While the pictures are helpful I

think I'd have an easier time doing this if someone could direct me

to a sigh with an exploded view and/or directions for assembling

it. I have the model with a Kodak Anastigmat lens and optimo

shutter made by Wollensak. Also, does anyone know how to use the

rangefinder on this thing? Thank you, Peter