riccardo_mottola

All my Miranda sensorex/automex lenses need repair. I don't know how to open them, I woked

form the back, removed two circular pieces but that is all, I'm mroe accustomed to older lens

designs where you could unscrew blocks quite easily. If possible I do want to retain infnity settings

and touch the lenses as less as possible. I had to completely open and then focus (finding the

correct screw thread) for a pancolar once and it was a pain.

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I have a 5cm 1.8 and a 50mm 1.4 which both suffer from sticky diaphgram. One even has clean

blades so the problem is on the linkage. I want to remove as few pieces as possible.

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My 28mm lens seems fine, but the diaphgraph blades leaked oil to one inner elements so that one

is hazy and needs cleaning too.

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The worst is the 135mm: it seems working but it doesn't focus to infinity, thus I never really used

it. Probabably it was wrongly re-assembled. ALso some lenses inside need cleaning.

personally I think your requests are a bit contrasting. In 6x6 and 6x7, 3.5 or 2.8 are

considered pretty fast... and lenses apart the 50mm equivalent get much slower; all

rangefinder (35mm and medium format) tend to be more cumbersome or impossible

to use in close-up. The 35mm SRL is popular for some precise reasons, after all. It

does a bit of everything. Thus I would think about

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<li> stay with 35mm but try to make your neegatives of higher quality: choice of film,

developer, care in use and exposisiton help. Improve the printing process.

<li> use a MF rangefinder. My father gets stunning result with a Plaubel Makina (new

type, Japan made) which is no longer manufactured though. Folded, it is incredible.

Older cameras can have good results (old zeiss ikons and russian cameras) but are

slower to use, often have only a view finder and not a range finder

<li> learn to handle a box camera fast (rollefilex SLR come to my mind... ther is even

one with autofocus)

<li> use a TLR. Fast to handle. Excellent quality. Very steady, so you can compensate

lens speed by handling a 1/30 or 1/15 without aid. Works well on a monopod. The

only drawback is focusing closer than 1m: not possible without accessories which

may be cumbersome / hard to find / expensive.

I have a couple of suggestions too. I shoot Leica muself and love Rolleiflex, so we

might have similar tastes. After years I started investigating SLRs too. In my opinion

they are very different in handling, appeal and usage, but will yield quite similar

results. I never had an Alpa in my hands and although I read good things, there are

some details that leave me perplexed and anyway, way out of budget. When I went

into SLR I did it also for expermenting with some equipment that is not easy or even

impossible to have on a rangefinder. Thus I left leixaflex / leica R out of the game

too, even if they are not that expensive.

Bear in mind that you have your leica and contax and will continue having them, sinc

eyou don't seek a replacement, you can look for something which expands your

horizon and not a a something which provides you wool, milk and eggs.

A nice thing, and pretty a bargain, are Canons. I love the original canon FT, the father

of the F1 and updated FTb. A professional camera, sturdy with craftmanship up to

german standards, really. Although many choices differ in design and optimizations.

Mine has a noisy shutter, but it is SLR anyway. Mirror lock-up. Nice feeling. Wonderful

lenses, witha touch of leica feeling sometimes. FL lenses were great and you can

mount FD without trouble, but FL have that "old feel". 50mm 1.4 and 1.8 are both

excellent lenses, different in taste (think a bit about summilux vs. summicron). The

135/3.5 is a splendid sonnar type.

Then I'll get into more exotic choices, that nobody mentioned.

Exaktas. They are wonderful. You often find some with troubles unfortunatley, so

better get them from a store, not 'bay. Test the shutter, some are old and have

wrinkled, other were badly serviced. It has a unique feeling, but it fits well, doesn't

vibrate. Tons of lenses available. Extreme flexibility, macrophotography to

architecture, portrait and microphotography. The waist level finder is a good school.

Unique sound of a mechanical shutter with up to 12 seconds.

They aren't really fast shooters, not in today's sense at least. Back then, Gianni

Berengo Gardin started doing street with one of those. I would advise a postware

model, but with the classic body shape (not the 1000, but it is taste). The VX has

almost the original exakta look and the Varex. The Varex IIb is a very beautiful and

unique camera (same actual features of the VX), unfortunately mine broke. These are

the european names, I'm not so well informed about some renamings that happened

in the US.

THen another choice which many left out: Miranda. Early models look sexy, the

Sensorex series has everything you need, very good lenses, solid body, nice finish

and a shutter that is reminescent of germany. Reasonably fast to use too, battery for

meter only. The Automex has an non-ttl selenium meter but coupled the same way,

lenses are compatible, no battery at all. And they both quality as pre-1970.