subbarayan_prasanna

Excellent pictures as usual, Rick! There is a sense esthetic elation in viewing your pictures. Great show. Thanks! Regards. SP

Lovely , as always. Thank you. SP

I am still very slow. The format for uploading is also new to me. I could not make a thematic group of pictures this time/ Shall try for themes the next time. Thanks for viewing and your comments.

 

Greetings! I am hoping to make pictures again and come back to Photo. Net. Have been in and out of Hospitals for quite some time. Under medication things become very slow. I am a lot better now; no more medicines. Trying to detoxify myself.

Here is a couple of shots of the Praktica LLC I have been using recently. Shall post some pictures taken with that. My old HP Scanner has become dysfunctional. I bought a new Epson V 37/370. Learning to work with it. So the pictures may not be up to Par. Added to that my eye sight is not also very sharp. So please bear with the errors.

I still use Selenium Meters. 1. Old Gossen Pilot. 2. A Soviet Selenium meter very sensitive has low & high ranges. 3. A built in Meter in Pracktica Nova 1B. Still working well after 70 years of Birth! Of course, I do not try shooting in very low light. So these seem sufficient.

Sogal Hi!

I sent you a reply today. Let me know the details. CLA is simple; no problems there.  Fixing new curtains takes some patience and effort, time too. I think that I can do these repairs still, slowly.  Except for the slow speed clock work, I am still enthusiastic about renewing the Exakta VX series.

At 85 years, in and out of hospitals a few times I am at 50% energy level now. But functional and mentally alert, as can be.

Greetings & regards to all at Photo.Net Forum on Classic Manual Cameras. Hope come back with some pictures.

Adios!

subbarayan prasanna

Julio Fernandez said :

 

It's basically one lever, pivoted in the centre like a see-saw. As one side comes up, the other comes down, so you can use the lever from either side of the camera.

 

Thanks for the compliment, kklow! I'll try to remember your words on the days when nothing seems to be going right!

 

Hi Rick! Greetings! Camera looks new! Pictures are sharp and well toned; remind me of my Yashica 124G days. Your technique enhances the pictures as usual. Thanks for the lovely scenes.

beautiful pictures; keep them coming. Thanks SP.

Here is some way that worked for me. Please look into the mirror chamber after removing the lens. To your left on the side wall of the chamber there are levers that operate the mirror. Try and shake their joints one by one. The mirror should come down on its own. In Prakticass and some Japanes cameras like Konica this is a problen due to some wrong alignment or tolerance. Good luck. SP

At one time the Exakta was priced more than the Leicas, after WWII. But the Market value apart I find the Exakta a joy to repair and renew. I learned the repair jobs from Upton's book and Olson's notes, plus my own mischievous instincts. They are built in a modular design fashion much like the VW beetle cars. Even when one of the subsystems fails the camera will work via other routes. Changing shutter curtains and doing a CLA job are quite simple, if one is patient and has hand-eye coordination. Simple hand tools are sufficient. Shutter cloth is available from Japan, pretty low cost! Simple rubber glues will do the job. After the CLA and new curtains the Exakta will work like new for quite a few decades in the future.

I did this for a hobby and renewed quite a few abandoned Exaktas. It made me feel a few years younger, after each renewal.

Encouraging words JDM; best wishes! "ph" you mentioned that you visited IIMBangalore and gave a lecture. May i know your name fully? I was a Faculty member for some 20 years in the founding decades of IIMB. Pioneered many things there including the curriculum of MBA program in Public Sectors of the economy and a lot of campus development. It will be good to know you! Thanks, Subbarayan Prasanna.

Thank you ph and JDM. I am getting better healthwise. Trying to get some new brew ready again. Shall go around with my camera and get some to post and share with you soon. I have missed you all too! Best Regards Jon! Thanks again. Subbarayan Prasanna

Hi! I do not fully understand your problem. However, you had mentioned that one of the curtains gets stuck open. This can happen due to dust or dried up lubricant in the curtain spindle. Try cleaning the spindle's pivots with Petrol [Gas] or Naphtha and work the shutter a few times. Then lubricate with fresh oil drops. Also check for tension in the curtain springs. These are adjusted easily from the bottom with rachets that control the curtain tension. I hope this helps. Best, SP.

Hi Alan,

You would be better off buying a Meyer Lydith 30mm. It is an excellent lens and made sturdily. Your cost of Postage back and forth to India will be around $40 plus. For that amount you could get two Lydiths. I have not repaired Orestegons 29mm. I know Mr Yazdhani of "Kamera Wertke" in Calcutta repairs all these lenses and Cameras. But the expense is not worth it. Best, SP

If there is no etching then you could try the following. Mix Ammonia liquid and Peroxide Fifty-fifty and apply immediately to the glass. It will remove all fungus easily. Mix only just before applying. Romney prescribed this in his Book/Manual. Best wishes. SP

I have several Prakticas of the L-series. All of them have working meters. The meters can also be tuned/calibrated easily. I had posted "how to" instructions long ago in this Forum. I also have some Praktica Nove IBs. They have selenium meters. Made in the early 1960s I think. After sixty years plus the meters are still working. The shutter curtains are still durable. Of course, i must also acknowledge the Helios series. I have some from the old preset type to the latter day automatics. All are excellent picture makers. I think the Helios is a clone of the Zeiss Biotar. The Jena Zeiss gave the design to the Russians when they started making the Pancolars, I believe. Soon, I shall try and make some pictures after the Lock Down is over and post them. Greetings to all. SP.

Beautiful pictures, John! I wanted to go out and hoot some; but the Lock Down here is strictly enforced. Cannot go out except for essentials like grocers, and the Bank. Even the Post Office is a nono! SP

The 1/60 second on the dial sets the camera in mechanical mode. You may try that; though, I am not sure if it will get corrected. But worth trying. Good luck, SP

Lovely pictures Rick! Typical of your class! Thanks. SP.

I would keep the Exakta VX or VX IIa. It works even if some of the subsystems fail. It is designed like the old beetle VW in modules. So easy to repair and renew. has a range of high quality lenses made by almost everyone for Korea, Japan to Germany eats and West. SP.

After cleaning the lens with Peroxide and Ammonia 50-50 solution mixed just before cleaning, I use Boric acid powder to surround the lens. One can dust the metal parts with Boric powder, easily. If the powder gets on the glass surface you may use a blower to clean it away. Boric acid is a good preventive against most fungi. SP

Most FED cameras had them built in , except FED 1. SP

This is Subbarayan Prasanna trying to make a comeback to photo.net I have been in poor health for sometime with Arrhythmia of the heart, Poly Myalgia Rheumatica, etc. I am trying to get better. Have been browsing this Forum regularly. Have not started making pictures yet. Hope to do so soon. Today I tried my old scanner to see if I can still get the routine right. So I searched some older negatives and tried them out on basics. These were made in different parts of the city. I don't recall ever posting them on the Forum.

So here I am posting a few random pics by way of saying Hello! My eyesight is not very good, blurred due to medication. So please excuse me if the scans are poor. All the pictures were taken with a Praktica Nova 1b with a Domiplan lens. Thank you for your patience. Hope to be with new pictures soon. Regards, greetings! SP.