markus.berndt

<p>$34 is a steal for this camera. It looks like a Ikoflex Favorite, which usually goes for more than $200 on Ebay, I'd say go for it.</p>

<p>The Medalist II has a Series VI thread, and yours still has the ring that holds the filter in if you don't want to use a hood. The front element should not move at all with the bezel removed. You can simply replace the bezel with a hood when needed.</p>

<p>I've tried respooling with a Foldex and it did not work for me either. You're better off respooling by hand in a light tight bag. There are plenty of good instructions online.</p>

<p>Maybe you got lucky with your J8, see Dante Stella's page for more detail:<br>

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/compat.html</p>

<p>Russian LTM lenses will not focus accurately on a Leica standard camera such as the Bessa. Russian LTM cameras have a rangefinder that is a copy of the Contax rangefinder, and Russian LTM lenses are designed to work correctly with that. With a Jupiter 8 you'll probably only notice it at f/2 and maybe at f/2.8 when focussing close. (I notice a discrepancy of a couple inches when using my J8 wide open on my Leica IIIf at close focus distances). At smaller apertures and mid to far distance there will be no problem. To make a Jupiter 3 useable wide open at f/1.5 it will have to be shimmed/adjusted for close focus.</p>

<p>The Hesper is a four element lens. I know because I once disassembled a Hesper and recemented its rear group.</p>

<p>Just bought an Olympus FL-36 from keh.com in EX condition for just over $100. It's a great flash and works well on my E510. With your E420 you'll ger wireless capability with the newer FL-35R.</p>

<p>Quite the nice wide angle rig (a Balda/Biogon hybrid)... <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/DIY-Hasselblad-SWC-Zeiss-Biogon-38mm-4-5-6x6-camera_W0QQitemZ270466253100QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item3ef90b812c">here</a></p>

<p>With a TLR you can shoot hand held down to very slow speeds since it hangs from your neck (I've managed sharp shots at 1/20 sec). Attach a string to the tripod socket, step on the string and pull on the camera with your neck in the neck strap, and you hold the camera almost as steady as when putting it on a tripod.</p>

<p>Try racking the focus in and out and jiggle the shutter release button.</p>

<p>My Flexaret IVa had a completely stuck focusing helicoid, and after a complete strip down I baked just the brass helicoid in the oven at the lowest temp. After that it unscrewed easily (I had to wear mittens, the thing got really hot) and when it was cold I cleaned and relubed it. Your hair dryer method would probably have worked, too.</p>

<p>John might be right, but the crud you see in picture two might also just be dirt sticking to the ground glass. In any case, I agree that it would be a good idea to take the hood off to clean the area around the mirror a bit. Just stay away from the mirror. I guarantee that if you try to clean it, you'll make it worse. Just clean around it, the back of the lens, and the bottom of the ground glass. If it actually is fungus on the back of the lens, you can use a lens tissue with some vinegar on it to clean off the fungus. Then use some lens cleaning fluid to clean the glass.</p>

<p>I have some TLRs with mirrors that look worse than yours and they are still very usable. The image on the ground glass will be somewhat dimmer, and if it gets worse it'll get a bit more difficult to focus. When you decide that you want to fix this, the cheapest option is to buy a used Polaroid One Step instant camera (the ones that pop up). These have a mirror in it that is silvered on the front and not the back, just like the mirror in your TLR. You can disassemble this Polaroid, take the mirror out and cut it to the correct size using a glass cutter and the TLR's mirror as a template. Then just swap it in for the old one in your TLR. These Polaroids are cheap, I once bought one for $3 at a thrift store and the mirrors are usually in tip top shape.</p>

<p>As long as they make Schottky diodes, those old cameras can be upgraded to use the 1.55 silver oxide batteries and such an upgraded meter should operate with about as much accuracy as one operated with a zinc oxide battery. So I'd say bring on the death panels... (I am kidding, of course).</p>

<p>Great photos! My favorite is the smoking corporal, it has that war correspondent feel to it.</p>

<p>I had no idea that people in Germany do WW2 reenacting as a hobby. A lot must have changed since I moved from Germany to the US in 1994. I will have to show these photos to my dutch father in-law, who will certainly find them interesting.</p>

<p>I would go for the Autocord, no question.</p>

<p>Most Graflex 22s were sold with the 3 element 85mm lens. You'd have to try to find one with a 83mm 4 element lens to get glass that is similar to the Minolta's. I don't own an Autocord, but I hear that it has one of the best Tessar type lenses on TLRs. Another plus for the Autocord is good light baffling inside the camera that helps prevent flare (please someone correct me if this is wrong, I'm pretty sure that the Autocord has decent baffles). The Graflex 22 on the other hand has no baffling to speak of. I have the Ciro Flex, which is what the Graflex 22s were called before Ciro Flex was bought out. That camera has no baffles at all and actually somewhat shiny hardware right next to the light path, which can cause flare (and has). Most importantly, the Graflex has the little red window in the back to position the frame correctly for each new exposure, while the Autocord will do that automatically.</p>

<p>I would look into a step up ring to a filter size that is perhaps 25mm more in diameter. That way the rim of the much larger filter would not cause vignetting.</p>

<p>I use circlip pliers for removing these kind of screws like the one on the advance lever. They can be found at your local hardware store for less than $10.</p>

<p>If you want to make large poster size prints from medium format film, you will need to spend a lot of money on a film scanner. The Nikon LS9000 will set you back US$2000. That one will allow you to scan at honest 4000 dpi. For US$500 you can get the Epson V700 wich can perhaps resolve half that (maybe better with a dedicated film holder for another US$100).<br>

Considering that the cost of a vintage medium format camera does not look so high. I have a Mamiya C33 and the 55mm, 80mm and 180mm Super lenses. It cost me more than what a restored folder would have cost, but the lenses are fantastic.</p>

<p>I felt the same way about the high cost of the Nikon and high end Minolta scanners, so here is what I did.<br>

I scan my 35mm film with a Minolta Quickscan 35 which cost me about $25 on Ebay. I goes for that little since it has no ICE which I do not need for my B&W work and the software that it comes with does not work on modern versions of Windows. It has a SCSI interface, so I had to get a $10 SCSI card, and I also purchased Vuescan Pro for $80, a software that supports a lot of older scanners with built in driver, including the Minolta.I am quite happy with this scanner.<br>

I also have an Epson 4490 that I use for medium format. That one I bought refurbushed for $100 from epson.com. My home developed 35mm B&W film usually isn't very flat and that gives me problems with the Epson film holder.The Minolta film holder will only allow you to scan one frame at a time, but it keeps the film very flat. The true resolution of the Epson scanner is maybe 1200dpi, while the Minolta's is about twice that.<br>

For medium format, the Epson scanner is quite adequate. I have medium format prints from my digital files as large as 16 inches squared and they look fine to me. For putting photos on the internet a flatbed is certainly perfectly up to the task.<br>

See my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/wakingsky">Flickr page</a> for example scans.</p>

 

<p>Actually, perspective control is not really possible with a Mamiya Press. The back movements are pretty much limited to tilt. From my own experience, shift which is needed for persepective control is not really possible. While the back can be nudged a bit in either direction while parallel to the film plane, it is very difficult to lock it in place with anything but a very minor shift.</p>

<p>I do not own this lens, only the 65mm f/6.3 on a Press Standard 23 with a movable back. As far as I know you cannot use back movements with any lens, except the 90mm f/3.5 or 100mm f/3.5 (the version that can be retracted). You have to first retract the lens into the mount to move the focal plane back far enough that you can establish infinity focus with a retracted back. None of the other lenses retract.<br>

Of course, you can use non retractable lenses to do extreme close-up work.</p>

<p>Number five is my favorite, but they're all great shots. I've been having a heck of a time with my Vitomatic IIa. The rangefinder had separated and actually come apart into two pieces. I had to cement them back together and after much hassle the rangefinder now works again. After seeing your shots I think it's time to take it out for a spin again...</p>

<p>Thanks Kozma for the information. We'll see if I can fanagle something with one of my Russian colleagues :-)</p>

<p>Kozma, I got to enlist one of my Russian colleagues for getting me some gear in Moscow. Where do you shop for old camera when you're in Moscow?</p>