subbarayan_prasanna

<p>Congratulations! You will love restoring this camera and using it. In my sample the gears had worn out a bit. So, I could restore it up to the speed of 1/500 second. The 1/1000 sec does not work. I would rarely need that. The subsystems and the way they are integrated is a marvel of engineering. I am not surprised that <strong>JDM</strong> would be tempted! Good luck with the machine; hope to see many pictures from that. SP.</p>

<p>Very nice crisp images, <strong>Rick</strong>! I have an older East German Beltica of similar pedigree with a Cludor shutter. Makes very good pictures with its Tessar lens. But the sub-systems in that are not integrated. The film advance does not cock the shutter! Etc., etc. One has to do these as if they are independent operations. I think the Balda separated after the war and went West, leaving some older parts in the East. Thanks for the post; I did not know that you had a Race Course so near your place. sp.</p>

<p>Hi <strong>Nick</strong>! I would simply use it as is. It is a well designed camera and makes good pictures. It is possible that the locking mechanism has slipped out of gear or rachet. It has a good shutter too.<br> Just make sure that you hold the shutter button down until the exposure is fully completed, especially if you are using an auto diaphragm. In Prakticas of that age If you release the pressure on the shutter button the lever that keeps the aperture in position will also retract.<br> You may not notice this at higher speeds. But try a few dry runs at slower speeds it will open the aperture ahead of time and you will be able to notice the same. If you are lucky, your sample may not do this. Best. sp</p>

<p>Try wiping the black paint with Xylene or other Nitro-Cellulose thinner. These are available from your local paint shop or Super Market. Most paints other than Powder Coating will come off with Xylene or NC thinner. Be careful to do this in a well ventilated place. These solvents are highly inflammable. SP.</p>

<p>I clean all my USSR purchases with a generous dose of Petrol [Gas] and let them dry. Then I apply Sodium Bicarbonate powder with a puff and leave it for a couple of days. Most of the smell will be gone by this. You can also leave it in direct Sunlight for a few hours after cleaning with Petrol. You can brush off the Bicarb powder and polish the leather with KIWI or other shoe polish. Best of luck. SP.</p>

<p>Get well soon <strong>Walter</strong>! The lens can wait. There are many such available. Best wishes for your recovery. SP.</p>

<p>Good pictures for a half frame size. May display even better in B&W. Please do post more of these. Thanks sp.</p>

<p>Lovely pictures <strong>Rick!</strong> as always. I like the last one the most for its tones and light & shade effects and the perspective. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>Lovely period look to the images, <strong>Rick</strong>! Boxes had their own charm when people paid more attention to rendering than sharpness per se. Thanks for the post. sp</p>

<p>Welcome <strong>Jon! </strong>Interesting post. I have not used any mirror lens. My knowledge of them is restricted to college physiscs. Hope to see a post or two from your workshop experiences in India, soon. Thanks. sp.</p>

<p>Thanks <strong>Rick</strong>! I was expecting this post. As you know the MTL3 and the Lydith are among my most favourite pieces. Lovely tones in your pictures. Except the usual "glow" [for want of a better word] is missing. May be it is the light angle, etc. The house and little gate are quaint. Have some period significance. Thanks again. sp.</p>

<p>Nice, sharp lens <strong>Rick! </strong>Even the Bokeh appears good. Perhaps a Sonnar by design. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>With a good CLA job and new curtains both Leica and Exakta will work for another 50 years, easily. I would think that Cameras are to be used well to make pictures. The showcase will be a by-product, as Rick Drawbridge demonstrates, consistently on this Forum. sp.</p>

<p><strong>Rick!</strong> I perceive the typical Tessar quality sharpness and the even tonality in the images. I was pleasantly amused at your caption to one of the pictures as "urban still life". I felt that almost all your pictures have that unique quality of still-life-art. That is very special; I tried to get that in my pictures several times without much success. Thanks for the post; love the pictures. sp.</p>

<p>The lens on the right end looks like an M42 electric Meyer Oreston for the Praktica L-series, LLC, PLC, VLC, etc. On the other lenses it is difficult to figure the thread size from a picture. sp.</p>

<p>I like all the pictures. The Umbrellas blown in the wind is an esthetic message! Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>Lovely pictures! capture the ambiance of the period. The colors still remain vivid. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>Both Cameras look very elegant, and I believe make excellent pictures, equally well. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>Boyd's Tower is a crisp shot. The Boiler shows the Oreston's characteristic in rendering the OOF planes. I have found the Oreston/Pentacon's performance to be as good as those of the Pancolar and Biotar. Thanks <strong>Tony</strong> for the post. sp.</p>

<blockquote> <p>The shutter in the Exa is unique. The mirror housing itself swings to act as the shutter. Fully mechanical and no curtains.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Don</strong>, what I said above applies to the original Exa series by Ihagee and the Exa 1 series made by Certo. The Exa 2 that you have has focal plane shutter with cloth curtains in vertical travel mode. The Exa 2 was also improved to Exa 500 by adding 1/500sec speed to the same. Sorry about the mix up. Regards, sp.</p>

<p>The shutter in the Exa is unique. The mirror housing itself swings to act as the shutter. Fully mechanical and no curtains. They last a long time with less to go wrong. I did some massaging of your images in Picasa and found that the Domiplan and Zeiss images are equally good. You may want to test them again in bright sun light to check the sharpness/contrast. Thanks for the post. sp</p>

<p>I like the second picture with the clouds. The alleged softness gives character to the clouds. Some lenses are great for the atmospherics they produce, similar to the rendering produced by some others, such as the Pentacon/Oreston. Keep them coming and don't get tired, please! sp. </p>

<p><strong>Paul</strong> and <strong>Tony, </strong>I am attaching a picture of my "work bench"; really it is a " make believe" for a work bench. I converted one of my Drafting tables into this form. Some day, I would love to have an organized work bench. I work only with hand tools; so the present arrangement is good enough.<br> Thanks everyone for the kind references. Thank you <strong>Rick</strong> for the opportunity and the nice write up.</p><div></div>

<p>Great pictures on the ferry. I am nostalgic for the many years I spent in Seattle at UW. The Fed- 2 is one of the more durable cameras from the Soviets. I have several of those Fed-1 s and -2 s. Easy to repair too. Good work <strong>Brad; </strong>kepp them coming. Thanks. sp</p>

<p>The pictures look really sharp and colorful in my monitor, <strong>John</strong>. It must be a very good lens, triplet or Tessar! The name of the camera does not matter, really. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>