michael_mish
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Posts posted by michael_mish
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Thanks for all the information!
My main areas of interest have typically been landscape and candid street photography.
With the knowledge that the lenses are interchangable across the body models in question, I am thinking my plan will be to continue to work with my Rolleicord and keep an eye out for a solid example of an early Bronica with an emphasis on the condition of the actual camera more so than the specific model.
-Mike
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Hi everyone,
I am getting back into MF photography after initial experimenting
with a Rollei TLR, and I am thinking that an older Bronica system
might be right for me.
I have been reading the archives here and they have been very helpful
but there have been so many models over the years that I am hoping I
can ask some narrowly focused questions that I still have.
I would like an older Bronica that is usable with the Nikon optics, I
prefer old fashioned metal construction to plastic, and AE or even
TTL metering isn't needed as I am happy with the handheld gossen
meter I have been using for some time now. I'd also like a body that
has mirror lockup and has compatability with a polaroid back and the
potential for adaptability to a digital back (I have seen some
mention that adapters for the Hasselblad digital backs exist for some
Bronica models). Finally, my preference is for the 6x6 format.
So my question is, is there some model of Bronica that fits the best
with this laundry list of preferences, hopefully at a cost of under
$750 for body, back, lens and finder (if not, please advise how much
I should budget for all this stuff)?
Thanks!
Mike Mish
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<html>
<img src="/photodb/image-display.tcl?photo_id=34858&size=lg" height=380 width=369 hspace=10><BR>For the sake of anybody contemplating a similar hands-on experience with their Xenar lens, I am posting this picture. I took it on Kodak E100S using the camera that I took apart and cleaned. f8, shutter speed within a stop of 1/25th of a second (I love how steady and quiet these leaf shutters are). All 12 of the pictures didn't have any problems with sharpness or focusing problems due to misalignment of the lens. I was able to clean both surfaces of the front element, the front surface of the second element, and the back surface of the third element. That still leaves 2 surfaces uncleaned, but the fungus/fog was the worst on the front element. The sharpness and shadow detail in the slide are actually a lot better than what I present here, the quality is limited by the Agfa DuoScan T1200 I have access to, my skills with the scanner and my skills with Photoshop. My purpose in posting the image is to show that it's possible to craft your own spanner wrench, disassemble the lens, clean it and put it back together and not wreck the camera. Note that I am not going to guarantee your results with this method, though. I wish I had a 'before' picture to compare it with, maybe it was a lot better (but I doubt it)!
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Christian,
Yes. I used methanol based on Bob Atkins' recommendation.
"I clean optics as part of my job. Laser mirrors to be exact. They
are coated (in fact that's all they are, dielectric reflectors). If they
aren't 99.999+% dirt and oil free, lasers don't lase very well.
Standard cleaning uses Kodak lens tissues, acetone first
followed by methanol. You don't get more "showroom clean"
than that."
-- Bob Atkins, January 21, 1999
If the coating is very different than the ones Mr. Atkins describes,
then maybe there were problems. But it looks fine. Besides,
keep in mind that the coating that I did remove with methanol
was an opaque layer of fog and crystalline traces of fungus.
Trust me, the amount of light transmission through the element
was improved by the process given the circumstances.
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I recently bought a Rolleicord III which is cosmetically and
mechanically very solid. I didn't notice that each of the lens
elements was fogged (I inspected the camera in medium
strength interior lighting prior to purchase). Based on improvised
tools, I was able to remove the front element, which cleaned up
beautifully with methanol. So did the front of the second element
and the back of the fourth element (counting the front element as
number one). But based on my improvised tools, I couldn't get
any farther in. Can anyone advise me as to what set of
screwdrivers/wrenches would be needed to get at the remaining
lens elements (I realize they will need to be small but are there
specific designations for the exact sizes) ? I know many of you
will tell me to send it to Harry Fleenor or to Dusseldorf or
wherever, or that I need an optical bench, but I would really rather
make this a do-it-yourself because I have another TLR that
works great and I feel like learning how to do this on my own
would be worth the price of the Rolleicord. Also, if anybody has
the repair manual pages for these steps (even for similar but not
identical Rolleis), I would be happy to reimburse you for the time
it takes you to fax/email me a copy. Alternatively, is anybody
willing to share their TLR self-repair horror stories ?
Thanks,
Michael Mish
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FWIW : I have an Autocord with a standard screen which is much,much brighter at the edges as compared to a Rolleicord III that I also own. I would hesistate to replace the relatively bright standard screen with one that is comparable in price to the camera itself. BTW, where is this reportedly abundant supply of "Rolleiflex MX's with bright screens in perfect [10?] condition" for 200 dollars ? I have my checkbook ready.
Decisive Moment
in Street & Documentary
Posted
I am not entirely sure how this impacts the above discussion -- but Cartier-Bresson's <i>"Behind the Gare St. Lazare"</i>, which I really do think is a great photo, is only about 30% of the negative for that frame.
<p>It may mean that the image we are presented with is the decisive 30% of the shot. Or that the other 70% was decisive enough, only at some other moment.