colin jackson

I was just removing my 21mm CV finder from the M3 when one of the plastic flanges

crumbled. It has always been a very tight fit in either of my M shoes. This would seem to

be a weak point and the purpose of this post is not to complain about an inexpensive

21mm. lens/finder but as a caution to others with these CV finders.

I have not been abusive to the finder when mounted but it has occasionally been removed/

installed in a hurry and not treated with the kid gloves it would seem to deserve. I have

been sliding it into my Lowepro case with finder mounted which subjects it to repeated

sideways friction as it is a tight fit.

It is my guess that this renders this finder pretty much a dead loss as trying to rebuild the

foot on a tender plastic finder body, duct tape it on top of the camera pointing in roughly

the right direction... You get the idea.

I may soon post a WTB after trying local options and scratching my head for other ways of

mounting the finder. Any ideas out there or similar experiences?

In the meantime I might try some of the frame estimation techniques I have seen posted

here like eyeballing the frame using the finder handheld then shooting for the centre with

the camera finder. Shooting from the hip will be the order of the day.

What does BP black paint have to do with weight? Am I missing something? I bought the

BP/MP 2 years ago new, no regrets, with the 50 and 35 current lenses, black paint but that

has nothing to do with portraits. I use the Hassy for that but I am tempted with the CV

lanthar 90 if not an old 90 elmarit for 35mm portraiture but the concept of BP never enters

into it. My BP/MP .85 or M3 .91 chrome will handle the 90 nicely but BP? What the hey?

Is it the brass vs. aluminum body issue? A few grams? Give me a break!

As kodak says on their website:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4017/

f4017.jhtml#small-tankprocessing(8-or16-ouncetank)

Small-Tank Processing (8- or 16-ounce tank)

With small single- or double-reel tanks, drop the loaded film reel into the developer and

attach the top to the tank. Firmly tap the tank on the top of the work surface to dislodge

any air bubbles. Provide initial agitation of 5 to 7 inversion cycles in 5 seconds; i.e.,

extend your arm and vigorously twist your wrist 180 degrees.

Check the URL for a little diagram.

That's fairly vigorous and since I started following their directions, my results improved. I

have an diffuser head on my enlarger and I found that the fairly brisk agitation they

described helped give a little crispness and density that I was otherwise missing.

When all else fails, follow directions written by those more knowledgeable than ourselves.

Good luck!

My MP and M3 RF images are right on top of each other. Something is out of whack on

yours. The A of CLA stands for adjust which sounds like it wasn't done.

"(and besides, there's no misalignment on it's rangefinder)"

Isn't that misalignment that we are talking about?

In the 70's I sold the M3 I bought in the mid 60's and since regretted it. 2 years ago got a

new MP as a replacement but as wonderful a camera as it is it is not an M3. Nothing is! I

couldn't understand why I still craved the M3 so bought a SN 111xxx M3 on eBay and am

as smitten as you. Yours is even more lovely and later SN than mine. What a treasure!

The MP is the choice, should I have to produce 100% results, (light metering) but the M3

has a magic in the hands. The albeit darker viewfinder, the gutsy framelines, the silkiness

that even the MP cannot quite duplicate the ....MAGIC! You're right!

I sent the MP back to NJ for a tune up once I got my (new) M3 after I realized how the MP

should feel. The shutter button of the MP was not up to the M3 nor the snugness of the

rewind stalk.

I am looking forward to getting my M3 back from what may be its first CLA and will put it

under the christmas tree to open on the day as it ate into my budget for gifts but it is a

gift that will keep on giving. The iPod that my wife has asked for and that I bought for her

is a neat little gadget but I guarantee it will not be handed down through the generations!

Congratulations, Daniel, on your magificent madness!

I have both the M3 and MP .85. In short, the M3 will NEVER flare and the MP can flare in

rare cases. The brighter finder of the MP is a plus. The M3 finder has, by design, (for

contrast?) a bluish tinge and is the darkest of all the M finders as I understand. The MP

framelines are rather wimpy after the M3 and in balance the M3 wins, in my opinion esp.

as I like the higher magnification.

My previous sink was modified from a medical clinic stainless steel sink and my current

one is wood painted with epoxy. The metal sink was noisy when anything was dropped on

it, had slight "wows" in it causing puddling and convected heat so quickly that it had to be

insulated with foam to make it suitable when used as a temperature bath.

The wood is easy to make to exact required dimension, inherently better insulated and

quieter. I do have to refinish the wood yearly which takes an hour or two. All considered

the wood wins.

I was involved in the building of our house in the 60's and I know that there is a grey water

field as well as septic. Laundry, sink, shower waters go into this one and I don't believe

any bacterial action is involved. I know when I dispose of my used chemicals down the

laundry tub sink that they are not going into the septic system. If you know that you have

a grey water field you are safe. Just don't dump them down the toilet.

If you don't know that you have a grey water field you can always put some tracking dye

down the laundry drain and see if it comes out in the septic tank. If not, i would assume

you have a separate grey water system somewhere.

On rereading your question and to clarify, yes, I am talking about the 50mm framelines on

both cameras and have not compared the other frames but the M3 is getting a CLA as we

speak so cannot compare at this time.

Michael: yes there is a little more on the negative than I see in the MP viewfinder but the

M3 is a bit more accurate at moderate distances. There have been many posts on this

subject by more knowledgeable than I but I gather that it depends on how close you are

focussing as to how closely the framelines show what you will get. The little extra I get

with the MP helps take care of the overlap of my easel arms and a little lost under the

matte when framing so it all comes out in the wash and I don't consider it a problem as

long as one knows about it. In other words if you were to frame very precisely with M3, it

would be hard to show the whole shot in a printed and matted frame due to the losses

along the way. I doubt that the difference between the two cameras is more that a few

percent of area and it is not much of a consideration in most Leica style shooting at least

in my case.

I have both M3 and MP .85. The M3 frames are much better defined and continuous. The

MP frames occupy less of the viewfinder due to the lower magnification (.91vs.85) and the

fact that when viewing the same subject, the MP frames show less of the area. The MP

frames are thinner and are broken and don't show the corners which I find makes

composition more difficult. I much prefer the big fat bright unbroken old M3 style.

I have had very fast considerate service from

http://www.vintagebatteries.com/battery.html

for getting replacement zinc-air replacements for my Luna Pro.

After many years with no troubles loading my M3 with old spool system, I got an MP and

had the same problem as you with a couple of my first few films. Then I started winding

off a couple of frames making sure the film was advancing before closing the back as well

as watching the rewind knob turn when I wound off the 2 dead frames to bring the counter

to 1. I can only assume that I was not engaging the film tongue properly into the takeup

tulip. I no longer take this precaution but make sure the film is well into the tulip and also

that the film rides between the rails (doesn't hang partly down over the bottom rail which

leads to off centre frames) which again was not a problem in the M3 for some reason. I no

longer have problems after a couple of hundred rolls. For some reason the MP is a less

user friendly loader than the M3.

Good luck.

Try this URL for the above thread.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DH5e

I replaced my seals with great care on 3 A12's with Hasselblad factory seals and they

leaked when tested in the sun with the dark slide going in and out several times. I tried

the homemade ones with the thicker foam (no cheaper) and they work great. I can't make

them leak. Go figure.

This topic was covered extensively on this forum a few months ago.

I use an MP .85 with the 35 and love it but no glasses (yet). Also the M3 (.91) with the

50mm, a similar combo tho the M3 gives a bit more around the frames. I can't stand the

wide finders having cut my teeth on the M3 in the 60's. The finder for my CV 21mm works

great of course with either camera.

Food do last longer in non-frost free freezers due to

- less freezer burn (no fan to remove moisture that becomes frost)

- frost free means the interior walls heat up occasionally to thaw frost so don't store your

film beside the wall but buried deeper in other items.

In my job I used to store oceanographic samples in a freezer with an alarm attached to the

wall of the freezer. The alarm went off several times a day but samples seemed frozen. A

chart recorder showed a spike at regular intervals to above freezing. It is this cycle that

keeps the walls frost free.

Don't be too concerned with increased grain as the diffuser will hide the grain to a large

extent. I was amazed going from my B22 with condenser to LPL7700 with diffuser at how

the grain and dust seemed to disappear.

Make sure to use Kodaks recommendation for rigorous agitation 5/30 with snappy wrist

action for 5 inversions.

I have the .85 on my MP and I use 35m and 50mm. No problem, but I don't wear glasses.

The 35 framelines have enough space around them for my liking. I got used to the .91 of

the M3 and personally hate the little 50mm framelines of the .72s. Also the precision

focussing of the .85s is great. If possible try one first in a shop and see how it works for

you.

I concur with the LPL/Saunders, in my case the VC7700 for black & white. A pleasure to

work or play with.

Thanks, John, that seems to work fine after several practice tries. I have to learn to think

outside the box, I guess - just so used to the clips...

I just picked up an old Nikor single reel SS tank from eBay but can't figure out how to clip

the film end in to load. I have a no name double reel SS tank and 4 reel Kindermann SS

with clips of their own style but the Nikor has no apparent way to fix the end. There is a

wire wrapped around the 4 posts in the middle leaving one open area but no clip as such.

I find that it is possible to load without clipping but very tricky.

Am I missing something here?

Thanks

This is the last time I am going to humiliate myself on this topic. My "adapted" Hasselblad

parts are shredding the foam strips so cutting them narrower didn't work. I still can't

figure why my genuine Hassy seals wouldn't work for me as directed and DW's puffy foam

strips are working great when installed full width as shipped. Obviously I goofed

somewhere. I intend to get more Hassy seals direct this time and try again in a year when

I renew.

Those are the same ones that are being resold on eBay for $25 buy it now or $20 starting

bid. An entrepreneur at work there! I must admit I bought some of those and also DW's

big puffy ones.

Thanks for the heads up, Ruben.

One warning though. Even with the Hasselblad parts, make sure you test for leaks after

installing. When installed carefully as directed mine leaked in 2 different backs with 2

different attempts before I had some success by altering them. I will not go on about it

again it is covered in a recent post by Paul.

FWIW... In the 60's - early 70's I stored negs in Pixur protectors made in UK that left cross

hatched marks on the negs. These printed out on a condenser B22 and I could not scrub

them off trying several ideas. I gave up on them til recently when I tried printing them on

my diffuser LPL - no more marks! The diffuser just ignored that stuff like it does fine

dust. I don't miss that condenser!