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I have a lovely Ensign Autorange that I'm hoping to repair. There's a tiny piece of metal broken off the Epsilon shutter so I need a broken

shutter to cannibalise a replacement part from or a working shutter that I could just use in place of mine. Any help would be appreciated.

<p>You seem to have a bit of a personal issue with this developer, Nicolas, so I'll not say anything else to upset you. If it works for you, then I'm very pleased. </p>

<p>Sorry, Nicolas, but I think we're talking at cross purposes here. I'm not saying Atomal is "bad": it's just OK and nothing special, IMO. I could get perfectly decent results from this developer if it's all I had. It just wouldn't be my first pick. Or second, or third. I've been using film for almost 40 years and I know what works for me. Still, it doesn't stop me trying other materials just for the experience. </p>

<p>Hi Nicolas,<br>

There may not be a silver bullet but there are certain film/developer combinations that just sing and I was hoping that the Adox combo would be like that. I'm thinking of Tri X in D76, Tri X in Diafine, HP5 in Perceptol 1+3, APX 100 in Rodinal, Delta 100 in Spur Acurol-N - I'm sure you could add a few of your own to that list.<br>

I agree - and said so above - that one roll isn't a lot on which to judge a developer. And yet, I only needed one roll of HP5 in Perceptol to know it was special. So, yes, it's maybe unfair of me to start drawing conclusions this early but it's not unheard of for a particular "team" to click right from the start.<br>

As a long time Atomal user, what's the secret to getting the best from the developer? I shot the CHS 100 II at box speed and there is plenty of shadow detail so there's no need to give more exposure. Of course, if you live in a sunny country with deep shadows that might work for you. I live in Scotland and like to shoot in dull, stormy weather where the problem is getting enough contrast into the negs.<br>

Bruce</p>

<p>I wanted to try Atomal in conjunction with Adox CHS100 II to see if there was any magic in the combination but I'm a little disappointed. Atomal is a nice enough developer but it didn't seem to bring anything special to the table. And yet, there are some photographers who absolutely love it. I've only shot one roll of film with it so it's maybe something that takes a bit of getting used to. I've written it up here:</p>

<p>http://www.theonlinedarkroom.com/2014/01/adox-chs-100-ii-in-atomal.html</p>

<p>I'd be interested to hear what others who have used it think of it. Maybe I've just not given it enough time?</p>

<p> </p>

Thanks for the replies guys. I got the camera for a really good price. The shutter on the lens is sticky so if I can get it going it will be a

bonus. The camera came with a repeating back for taking two quarter plate shots on a half plate sheet and I reckon the Lustrar was used

for that format. Wish it had been the 203mm Ektar that was standard on the Model 2!

I'm due to pick up a Kodak Specialist 2 half plate camera this week. It comes with a 135mm f4.8 Wray Lustrar. I'm guessing it's not going

to cover half plate but would anyone know for sure?

Thanks, Sevad, for the link to the

review on my website.

 

The new Adox film is freely available in

the UK but I don't know about the rest

of the world.

 

I think the supply of Adox films in the

US is patchy at best.

 

Bruce Robbins

www.theonlinedarkroom.com

Thanks Juergen. Sadly, having been out of work for a couple of years, my budget is vanishingly small. I used to go

through the normal holiday rental channels but they are very expensive and I thought I'd cast the net wider to see if I

could find something a little more affordable. I'll follow up your suggestion, though.

This is a longshot but I'm looking to rent a two bed property with a pool in the south of France and thought it would do no harm to ask

here. I've got a project on the go photographing circulade villages and would like to add to my "collection". I'd love to hear from anyone

who can help or who knows someone with a villa to rent.

 

Bruce

Thanks guys. I think the 50mm macro might be the first one to be converted then. It's a great lens but it just doesn't suit the OM bodies.

It'll balance well on the Nikon, though.

Have any of you pioneering types tried Zuiko lenses via a Leitax adapter on the D700? I've got a few choice Zuikos - 24mm, 50mm f2

macro, 35-80mm f2.8 and the auto tube/135mm f4.5 macro combination - and I'm wondering if they'd be as good on the Nikon as they

are on an Olympus film camera.

 

Total cost to convert all four would be around 250 euros which isn't bad. The D700 and 35-80 could be the highest quality standard zoom

combo for any Nikon. And the 50 f2 macro, which is too large on an OM2, would be the perfect size for the beefy D700.

 

I probably wouldn't do it, though, if the optical quality of these lenses didn't, for whatever reason, transfer over to the DSLR. Any thoughts

or experiences?

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply, Michael. I've had some success in the past after taking the base off a jammed

camera and freeing it up but this one is a puzzle.

<p>I've got an FA that won't fire in any of the auto modes or in the manual B or 1/250th. There are no LEDs lighting up in the viewfinder and the mirror is locked up. It's not stuck with mirror damper foam and it won't come down with some gentle persuasion. I think that even if the electronics are dead the camera should still fire with one of the two mechanical speeds. Any ideas anyone?</p>

Thanks guys. I've had a look at the exploded diagrams but they just confuse the hell out of me! Maybe time to ask Mr Hermanson for

some help...

Thanks Stephen. My experience of Kyphoto is that I very seldom get an answer to a repair problem but I'll give it a go.

Using my spanner wrench I've managed to remove the first two elements of this lens but I need to go further in to clean a little fungus. I'm

baffled as to how to proceed. The next visible element (looking from the front) seems to be hiding behind a protruding lip but it's not a

retaining ring as far as I can see. I can't figure out what has to be removed to free this element. Is there something hiding beneath the

sliding lens hood that would aid the cause - maybe a few grub screws? Any help would be much-welcomed.

<p>I remember reading some good things optically about the Angenieux zooms when they came out all those years ago but what put me off them, apart from their very high price at launch, was their plastic bodies. I felt that if I was going to pay that much for a lens then it should at least be metal! Of course, I don't mind plastic (polycarbonate or whatever) so much now in photographic equipment as it's proved quite good over the years but I still maintain you can't beat brass and glass. :-)</p>

I'm a little surprised that it's smaller than the XA2's but I suppose the bottom line is whether or not it's easy to frame the shot. There's no

substitute for experience, though, so I'll have to try one out.

<p>I've been thinking about buying a IIIC but I haven't looked through one yet and I'm concerned the viewfinder (I'm not too bothered about the rangefinder window which I believe is pretty good) might be so small as to be difficult to use. Just how useable is the viewfinder? Can anyone compare it to the likes of an Olympus XA2 or a Mju (Stytlus), two cameras I am familiar with.</p>

<p>Bob,<br>

Not sure where you read that but it's not the case. The 6604 and 13139 bulbs are not interchangeable. They are completely different fittings and require different bulb holders. Yes, the specifications of the bulbs in terms of voltage and wattage are the same but that's it. You cannot fit a 13139 into an enlarger designed for the 6604. If you were able to use a 13139 on an enlarger meant for the 6604, you must have modified something in which case I'd love to know what you did.</p>

<p>Hi Anthony,<br>

I'd give you £20 for the bulb. I might have paid a bit more before I came up with this fix. I've got a big Durst that does everything from 35mm to 5x4 so the V35 is something that's nice to have but not essential. That's why I didn't fancy paying $175 for the adapter that would let me use newer bulbs. I'm in Carnoustie, by the way.</p>

<p>I've figured out a simple way of 'repairing' the original Philips 6604 bulb from the V35 that is no longer available anywhere on the planet a far as I can tell - and hasn't been for many years.<br /><br />I've been all over the internet to see if anyone has done this but can't find any evidence of it. It might just get your Leica V35 up and running again if you haven't been inclined to spend $175 on a specially-machined part so that you can fit a more modern bulb.<br /><br />The process is explained on my blog so please take a look and let me know what you think. It works fine for me and I'd be interested to know how you get on if you decide to give it a go.<br>

<a href="http://www.theonlinedarkroom.com/2012/10/leitz-v35-original-bulb-fix.html">Leitz V35 original bulb fix</a></p>

 

Many thanks, Dieter. That's just the info I needed. It looks as though my camera has an electrical problem as it doesn't

always work the way you say it should.

Hi,

 

I have an SL66E but no instructions for it. I was able to download a set for the SL66 which is fine for the basics. However, I'm not sure

how the E's meter is supposed to operate. Sometimes I see the meter lights come on in the viewfinder (45degree prism finder) when I

lightly depress the shutter release. Sometimes this does nothing but then the lights will show up immediately after an exposure. The

battery is fine and the camera was serviced by Brian Mickelboro about 16 months ago when I bought it. I tend to use a handheld meter

anyway but I'd still like to know how to use the E's meter. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Bruce