stephen_mcateer

@orsetto Thanks for those insights. I've been keeping an eye on medium-format prices on eBay Uk and they do indeed seem to be falling.

You mention Hasselblad: I have a nice 501CM that I don't want to keep. I will list it on eBay in a couple of weeks and see how it goes. There's a specialist V-series repair man in the UK (I forget his name) who might be able to service / repair it but as you say it gets expensive.

I also have a nice (Not perfect) Rollei that I prefer to the 501, but again, it's looking like I might have to send it overseas for repair in future, so I may have to think carefully about hanging onto it. 

The Mamiya TLRs are nice, not-too-expensive cameras that do the job (I have a 330 Pro. Yes I have too much gear.). I've never tried to repair one, but if the shutters are as simple as you say, there's maybe not too much to worry about. And with the relatively low cost of these lenses, I suppose if they break it might be less headache to just buy a replacement. The bodies seems to be pretty bulletproof. And it's a camera that does 90% of what I need / want.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:09 PM, c_watson1 said:

the repair guys retired, died, or moved

That's what's happening here in the UK.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:09 PM, c_watson1 said:

NOS/mint stuff was cheap and plentiful. I bought lots.

Prescient. I sold off all my stuff and went digital, then re-bought it all at inflated prices.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:09 PM, c_watson1 said:

Safe to say buy the newest/best condition film bodies you can afford

I find that I buy stuff, get bored with it and decide to sell it. Usually I break even or make a small profit. Just not so sure about that being the case in future. 

@c_watson1 I have a few film cameras in good condition,but I only really need two. The others are useful now and again but I don't often use them.

Just wondering whether or not to hang onto them. On the one hand, they're not making them any more, so you would expect prices to go up.

On the other, there's an ever-diminishing number of people to repair and service them, so maybe there'll be decreasing demand…

On 4/16/2024 at 2:53 PM, hjoseph7 said:

It looks like it was pressed against a hard object and the pressure cracked the glass...

I think the vendor said it had come out of a storage unit, so anything's possible.

I see that Newton Ellis in Liverpool are shutting shop this summer.

They are perhaps the best-known repairers of analogue cameras in the UK.

As the number of service and repair shops dwindles over the coming years, I wonder if the value of medium-format film cameras will go up or down?

And what do we do with cameras that need repair?

@orsetto Thanks for that information. I decided to pass on this finder, and instead bought a Mamiya 330 F in poor condition, but which was bundled with a prism in nice condition. [I re-sold the 330 F the following day.] So I now have a proper prism finder for my 330 Pro. The cost, all-told, was very reasonable.

I saw lots of Porro finders, which are much cheaper but I did some research and found out what you describe here: the image is smaller and dimmer than the prism.

Cheers.

@John Seaman Thanks John. I decided to pass on this one as it looks to be beyond repair. (I see another on elsewhere that I may bid on though...)

I'm looking at a Mamiya prism on eBay.

The prism looks to have suffered some sort of degradation but I'm not sure what kind. [See pic.]

Just wondering if I could dismantle it and clean it?

Thanks for any advice.

On 3/7/2024 at 3:25 PM, kmac said:

Let me explain that in more detail. When you go past the last frame, the handle free wheels in relation to the counter and film indexing mechanism, they disengage because they are not needed for winding the tail of the backing paper through. But, while the handle feels like it is free wheeling, it's still engaged to the winding gears that turn the take-up spool, hence why you can wind the tail through and complete the winding of the roll. And yes, there should be a minimum of resistance at the handle. So those winding gear are in play, contrary to my assertion that "no other mechanisms come into play"

When you finally get to check for tension after "12" without a film in the camera, be reminded that the winding gears will turn via the handle, constantly with the handle being wound, and they should be very easy to turn.

If there is as much tension on the handle as you described, maybe it would be wise to remove the film in a change bag or a very dark room after you expose No12.

You can of course try the handle sooner if you felt like it. You can remove the film in the dark, roll it up, and replace it after you've tried the handle tension. It's only a matter of remembering the frame you're up to, and wind it back to that frame later. However, if the handle tension is tight without the film, I wouldn't put the film back in, I'd get the camera fixed first, you might do more damage otherwise.

@kmac Thanks for those suggestions.

There was an increase in resistance at the wind-on lever with the last film I put through it, which was TRI-X. However it was not anything like as bad as the PORTRA 400 that I put through it when I got it back from the repairer.

I have another roll of PORTRA 400 in it at the moment, so I think I'll wind this one to just beyond the last frame and see what happens. I can also then remove the film in my dark tent and see how it fares without any film in it at that point, as you suggest. (So two tests for the price of one.)

I'll update this thread once I have this information.

Cheers.

On 3/4/2024 at 4:00 AM, kmac said:

Are you close to the repairer where you got the CLA done ? I'm thinking that maybe you could leave the film in the camera after the last frame is exposed and get the repairer to feel the tension on the winding handle.

I'm also thinking that the repairer, while fixing the "lumpy wind on", something else went amiss during that process, and is causing the tightness in winding handle. Normally, after the last frame, the counter disengages and the winding handle free wheels, I just checked on my C3. Your 3.5F should do the same.

With a film in the camera, and after the last frame, the handle free wheels, but pulls the tail of the backing paper through, with no other mechanism coming into play, no counter, and no resistance from any other mechanism. So it appears that your handle is meeting an abnormal resistance from within the winding mechanism itself, or it could have something to do with the counter, possibly it's not disengaging properly and getting jammed. That is if it's proved that the film is not binding in the film chambers.

Can you remember if there was tension on the handle when no film was in the camera ? Checking this will solve where the problem will be. Without a film in the camera, check the handle tension after 12, (or is it 11). I take it you will have to do this after you finish your current Portra film.

Thanks for those suggestions KMAC.  The repairer is in Liverpool, about 200 miles away, so it's not really practical to drive there. 

You could be right in saying that they might have damaged something while they were repairing the previously 'Lumpy' wind-on. I don't know.

"the handle free wheels, but pulls the tail of the backing paper through, with no other mechanism coming into play," — if that's the case, then there is definitely something amiss here. 

"Can you remember if there was tension on the handle when no film was in the camera" — When the camera is empty, the wind-on lever has almost zero resistance.

"check the handle tension after 12," — Good suggestion. It takes me a while to get through a roll, so might be a couple of weeks before I can try this.

Cheers.

11 hours ago, Niels - NHSN said:

I am assuming those numbers are of the factory rolled films prior to use? 

I am thinking they may be rolled on different assembly lines that may not deliver the same exact tension, and I probably wouldn't give 0.5mm on the feeding spool too much importance.
It I am guessing that differences in the backing paper tension you apply when you load the film onto the take-up spool will affect the final diameter and thus the final wind-on tension to some extend.
Or/and as @kmac suggests; possible variations in thickness of backing paper and film and possible tension introduced by the friction/resistance of various film/backing-paper materials that occurs during film winding. Combined this may result in variations on the take-up spool diameter and potentially affect the total resistance you feel at the end of the film wind-up.

Just speculations.

Thanks Niels. I agree that 0.5mm probably isn't going to make much difference. The roll of TRI-X I test-loaded wasn't too bad as regards the wind-on at the end of the roll. I don't remember how much tension I put on the leader during loading, but I can see that his might affect roll thickness on the take-up side, as you say.

I don't know about thickness of the backing paper being different. SInce they're both Kodak films, I would guess they use the same paper stock. I don't know though.

I now have some Portra in it. I expect it'll take me a couple of weeks to get through it — I'll update this thread once it's finished. (I was thinking about sending it off to be fixed, but I'm only going to do that i the problem re-appears with this roll.)

Cheers.

On 2/24/2024 at 8:59 AM, stephen_mcateer said:

@kmac Yes — it had occurred to me to put my Vernier caliper on a roll of Tri-X and one of Portra and do a comparison. In fact, I'll do that today and post my findings on here.

Cheers.

UPDATE: A roll of TRI-X measures 22.5mm  / PORTRA is 23mm.

@kmac Yes — it had occurred to me to put my Vernier caliper on a roll of Tri-X and one of Portra and do a comparison. In fact, I'll do that today and post my findings on here.

Cheers.

@Niels - NHSN Thanks Niels. Useful suggestion about keeping / using a test roll.

The recent service on this camera was carried out by Newton Ellis in Liverpool. I saw a notice a couple of days ago that they are closing the shop in summer this year, which is a bit of a loss. (They're one of the main analog camera repairers in the UK.)

I'll see how this roll of Portra goes through the Rollei and maybe ping them if there's a problem again.

I've kept the roll of Tri-X for use to re-test the camera in future.

Cheers.

MORE: I put a roll of TRI-X through it and there was slightly more resistance at the end of the roll than there was during shooting, but not as bad as what I experienced with the roll of PORTRA 400.

The wind-on was quite acceptable with the TRI-X.

I'm going to put another roll of PORTRA in it tomorrow & See how it fares this time.

UPDATE: I spoke to Linhof support and they said expanding the back to 25mm can stress and possibly break the retaining springs. So I think I'll just use the Vario back in Graflok fashion.

UPDATE: I got a reply from Harry Fleenor — he says there is probably a problem with the transport.

All I need to do now is decide whether or not to have it looked at, and by whom.

I have a roll of Tr-X in it at the moment — I'll see how it goes with that and make my mind up from there.

3 hours ago, Colin O said:

I predominantly shoot Portra 400 and Gold 200. But I've used other Kodak films too, also Fujifilm and Cinestill and one roll of LomoChrome Metropolis. Never really had any issues, except I actually have had the camera tear the seal off the film - just twice I think, certainly once with a roll of Tri-X - it didn't cause any ultimate problem, but I've been curious why it happened those two times. I also saw someone post somewhere online (can't remember where, but feel it might have been on Reddit) that they had experienced the same thing.

Thanks Colin. I haven't had any problems with the camera tearing the sealing tab off the film. There is a definite problem though. I pinged Harry Fleenor to ask his opinion. If he replies, I'll update this thread. Thanks again.

On 1/23/2024 at 11:14 PM, Colin O said:

My 3.5F does not show any greater resistance after the last frame. I wind on and it feels exactly the same as for previous frames.

Can I ask what film you're using Colin? I've been using Portra 400, and I'm wondering if there's some specific aspect of this film that's causing this problem.

UPDATE: The repairer said the camera was winding on correctly when they tested it after the CLA, and that the problem will be due to either the spool, or the film being used.

@dan_fromm2

Thanks very much Dan for that information. (2.5cm is thicker than I had imagined.)

I just tried it though, and it looks like the gap will be big enough. (Just.)

Cheers.

I purchased a Sinar Vario film back on eBay for my 4x5 Linhof Technika.

It hasn't arrived yet.

I am just wondering if it will work with my Technika — the vendor said yes, but I know nothing about these backs.

Thanks for any info.

The falloff from centre to the edges looks to me to be about 2 stops.

I think, on balance, you will need bright light to really see what you're doing / for composition.

(I have daylight at my tabletop studio, also fairly bright LED bulbs as an alternative, so this setup is workable for me personally.)

UPDATE: I received the 90-degree viewer today.

It's perfectly usable without the fresnel.

The corners are a little dim, but not terrible.

(I might try and take a photo through the finder to illustrate how it looks.)

1 hour ago, Colin O said:

Yes, under the first roller and over the other two is the correct way to load.

In the process of finalising winding the film onto the take-up spool, is the camera by any chance tearing the seal off the film?

Thanks Colin. I don't see any irregularities with the film once I'm finished shooting it. It looks undamaged. Cheers.