rmeskill

<p>Well I'm a bit of a impulsive buyer, but I picked up an absolutely gorgeous M6 for a very reasonable price. I figured if I was going to spend $500-700 on a clean CLA'd M2/3/4 why not just spend the extra couple hundred and skip the interim step? Now the question is to sell the IIc or to keep it around as a second body. Unfortunately I'm left hanging for a couple days until my LSM>M adapters come in, so I don't have any usable lenses for the time being. All I can do is drool at how sexy the M6 is and wait...</p>

<p>Almost forgot-the serial's 441xxx, so it's right in the realm of what should be a IIc...</p>

<p>So I bought a IIc on ebay a couple weeks ago and it just dawned on me that it has a flash sync port when it presumably shouldn't. I opened it up, and there's a wire connecting it and although I don't have a sync cord to test, the seller insisted the sync port worked. If that's the case, is this a modified IIc, a special/different factory-issue one, or a fake?</p><div></div>

<p>I think you're all right-I'm probably going to end up with an M4 or M6 at some point, but might bridge the gap with something less expensive while I accumulate some lenses. Though Mark-what's a Canon L1-that's the first I've heard of that one...</p>

<p>So I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do here. Recently I purchased a IIc screwmount with a 3.5cm f3.5 Elmar lens. Unfortunately it has a bit of a pinhole problem in its first curtain (<a href="../leica-rangefinders-forum/00W5r5">http://www.photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00W5r5</a>), but otherwise it works well. So I'm in a bit of a pickle. I like the compactness of the III series, but I love the functionality of the M2/M4/M6 for their auto framelines with multiple lenses. Unfortunately I'm a bit daunted by the sheer price of most M-series lenses, and while I know I can get adapters for the screwmounts the only screwmount lenses I have are that 35mm Elmar and a 50mm f2 Jupiter for my Zorki 4. I'm willing to spend a bit of money to get into the system as I just sold an old camera and have roughly a grand to make it happen, but I'd rather not back myself into a corner one way or the other-either with outdated and decaying iii bodies/lenses or by not having enough money to get the lenses I'd like for the M series.<br>

So if I keep the IIc I'll need to have the curtain replaced, which I think I can get done for ~$150. I might try to apply some liquid electrical tape first to see if that helps, but I'm betting it's going to be a new curtain for me. I generally like fast lenses, used mostly for available light shots, indoors and out, so I'd probably want at least a 35mm and 50mm, with perhaps an upgrade to a 28 or wider and maybe a 90 or a 75 for portraiture. I like the collapsible Elmar 50 in screwmount-it is just about as small collapsed as a lens will get with a Leica, but granted only as fast as 3.5 or 2.8. I'd like to keep the system as compact as possible as I'd like to use it primarily for discrete street photography. Ok, I've rambled on enough-thanks for everyone's help in advance, and I know this is really a personal preference call, but just wanted some help on it...</p>

<p>So my two loaders came in today. Cut a short strip off each end in my darkroom and loaded into the bottom of a dev tank. Put in Rodinal 1:50 and souped for ~10 minutes, stopped and fixed, and revealed just the end of a description on one of the films: ic X Film. While I didn't know what ic X Film was, it was definitely B&W and I've found that a ~60 minute stand dev at 1:100 dilution in Rodinal will almost always be spot on, so I rated it at assorted speeds (from 25-1600, though I imagined it would be on the lower end of the ASA scale) and shot through ~20 pics. Souped for 60 minutes at 1:100 with one quick flip at the 30 minute mark, stopped and fixed and ended up with surprisingly some surprisingly good negs! The film, as it turns out, is Kodak Panatomic-X, at what I figure is 32ISO since it looked roughly right between 25-50. I had no idea how much I had to go with, so I just started loading and ended up with 4 36exp rolls and 1 12exp roll.<br>

Now I have a couple questions: there barely seemed to be any fog, and between 25-50ISO seemed spot on, but should I still rate lower, maybe 25 or so just to be safe and push through any potential fog? Also, the fixed film seems to have a yellow/brown cast around the sprocket holes. Not really an issue since it's not in the images, but just something I thought I'd mention. The other film didn't soup properly and seemed to be stuck to itself when I tried to load a sample roll, so it might be dead. But either way, 4x36exp rolls of Panatomic-X for essentially free is exciting!</p>

<p>Aha-found the button, messed with it a bit, and got it to pop out. Opening and closing the back cover after some advancing reset the counter-must have just been stuck from lack of use and seems to be good again. Thanks all for the help!</p>

<p>So I just purchased two 35mm bulk loaders on eBay which apparently come loaded with film. Not sure if the seller opened the loaders to find out, nor how long the film's been in them for, but I thought it'd be neat to try and shoot it and see how it turns out. I imagine if it's bulk loaded film odds are it's black and white, though I guess that's not necessarily true, but does anyone have any idea how to figure out what it is? I was thinking of just fixing the film-that should clear the film and reveal the manufacturer markings, wouldn't it? Do I have to develop it first to show those markings, and would Kodak Rapid Fixer clear even on color negative or slide film? If I figure out what film it is I figure I'll load a pair of short rolls and see how stale it is...</p>

<p>Thank you both, but I guess I wasn't clear enough in the beginning. The film is definitely advancing-I checked it before I closed the back and the rewind knob is spinning as I advance. The frame counter, however, is sitting at 38+ and will move a half-frame and then reset to 38 every time I advance the film. I'm used to cameras automatically flipping back to 'S' when you open the back, but I can't figure out a way to move the counter back at this point, including trying to spin the takeup spool and advance teeth/wheel backwards (a long shot, I know, but worth a shot). So I have a camera which will advance and (presumably) take pictures just fine, it just won't show me the number of frames I've taken.</p>

<p>My dad just gifted me his old Konica Autoreflex T from the early 70s, and while it could probably use a good CLA I thought I'd take it for a spin first. Only issue seems to be the frame counter does not seem to be working. It's sitting past 36 and won't rewind no matter what I do. At present I'm just shooting a roll without knowing how far along I am, but does anyone have any idea if the frame counter sticking was a common thing/how to fix it?<br>

Thanks,<br>

-Ryan</p>

<p> </p>

<p>So I just ran the first roll through my new IIc, and I think I have pinholes in the shutter curtain. I'm not getting consistent leaks, and none at all on some frames, but consistently enough and only in the image frame, so I can't think of anything else it could be. Has anyone had success with any sort of home repair? This is my first Leica/rangefinder, and I'd like to get it working to see if I like the format before I invest in a new shutter curtain. That, and if I get a full CLA and new shutter, would it add to the value enough to make it worthwhile if I was considering selling it? <br>

I read elsewhere on here that there's liquid electrical tape that apparently works pretty well, and my local hardware store apparently has a flexible silicone paint/liquid that could work too-thoughts?<br>

Thanks!<br>

-Ryan</p><div></div>

<p>A little oil went a long way-used a q-tip to apply it to the outside of the ring and worked it in by moving the aperture back and forth-not *easy* to move, but easily done with a finger and not a fingernail, so I'm happy. Thanks all for the help!</p>

<p>I recently bought a Leica IIc with a 35mm, f3.5 lens and although it works just fine and the focusing is smooth, the aperture ring is *very* tough to turn. I can move it and the blades move with no issues, but it's almost break-a-nail difficult to spin. I don't think the hanging is in the blades themselves, just likely that it needs a good lubrication around the outside of the ring. Is this something I can do without taking it apart? That is, can I just lube up the outside of the ring and move it back and forth a bunch of times until hopefully some works its way in there, or would that be potentially dangerous? If I have to take it apart, any suggestions to make sure I don't mess it up? <br /><br /> Thanks,<br /> -Ryan</p>

<p>Hey all-I have a M39 Jupiter 8 lens I got for my old Zorki 4 and would like to use on my new IIIc (coming in the mail tomorrow), but it has an annoying problem: the aperture ring is not aligned properly. It moves freely from one end of the range to the other, but at its widest aperture it is actually *beyond* f2 and at f22 it sits somewhere between f16 and f11. I imagine it just needs to be readjusted, but when I took out the 3 screws holding the ring in place and tried to readjust them I found there were actually holes into which the screws were placed, meaning (presumably) that's where the ring was supposed to be. I suppose I could just manually Sharpie on a new line, but I'd like to do it right, and, for that matter, I can't get one of the screws back in. Has anyone seen issues like this/know how to fix them? I can post some pictures once I get home tonight...</p>

 

<p>Do you think this might have something to do with the Paterson 5 (3-reel 120) system versus the old Paterson 2 (1-reel 120) tank I was using? It's difficult to get a true 'inversion' in one of those huge tanks, since I'm worried I'm going to spill out all the dev, so I've just been swirling/using the included agitator spin stick. Your answer makes sense, I'm just not understanding why it's not consistent across all the shots and why it's affecting multiple reels within the same soup-shouldn't it only get the top/bottom of the top/bottom rolls, respectively?</p>

<p>So I've noticed these lighter bands around the outside of my Hasselblad shots. I've only noticed them in outdoor shots, so I'm wondering if it might have something to do with my internal lightproofing/dark baffles not being sufficient. I don't think it's a true light leak, as it's not necessarily consistent from roll to roll or even shot to shot, but I'm also thinking it could be a development issue. I'm using almost exclusively Fuji Neopan 100 (Acros) or 400 with Rodinal 1:50 @ 20 degrees and 10 second agitation per minute. I did just switch to a new 3-roll Paterson tank (full of 3 rolls) and it has seemingly affected multiple rolls per batch, on both sides, so I'm leaning away from a dev issue.<br>

Is there a way to test or confirm an issue with my internal light baffling on the walls of my body? I've noticed the inside is heavily cracked but I never thought it would be an issue, especially so consistently. Any help would be greatly appreciated!</p><div></div>

<p>Crisis averted (albeit mysteriously). I've seen the sticky shutter/mirror issue before, and found that switching to B or X would fix it, but when I went to do that this time the shutter had miraculously finished its travel and the advance lever went without an issue. No idea what caused the issue, but all is well now and I'll be avoiding the self-timer in the future! Thanks for the help, though, Mike!</p>

<p>My Minolta XE-7 just jammed today and I can't seem to free it. I accidentally cocked the self-timer, which, although slow and not terribly reliable, has never caused any issues before. The camera was off at the time, and I didn't think to turn it on in the interim, but when it tripped, the mirror went up, shutter fired, and didn't reset. The shutter won't trip, the advance lever won't move, and I can't seem to find a way to get the shutter to finish its travel and reset the mirror. I've tried recocking the self-timer, and it will wind down, but ultimately just makes a half-trip sound, and nothing happens. Does anyone know how to reset it?<br>

Thanks,<br>

-Ryan</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Update from the field: I decided to take just the Hasselblad and the 50 & 150 lenses. Left the 80 and the Minolta at home and haven't regretted it one bit. The 150 has actually been my primary lens out here, though I probably could have done roughly as well with the 80 if I had to. Though the 50 has been useful in its own right, I've found far more use in the 150. The tripod may have been a mistake-I've taken a few night shots, but not enough to justify the extra weight, but perhaps that's just because I've been enjoying myself far too much in the evenings ;) Thanks all for the advice, though, it's been a great trip so far-already shot through ~30 rolls of film in ~3 weeks.</p>

<p>Hey all-<br>

So I'm in Florence, Italy and was wandering past a storefront and saw a Rollei in what looked like great condition. I walked in and, upon further inspection, it turned out to be a 3.5f serial 2,818,xxx (should be Type 4) but in absolutely MINT condition. Slow speeds hang and the meter doesn't seem to be functional anymore, which isn't surprising, but otherwise she's in PERFECT condition, which caught me off guard. Not a scratch on her, original leather case, manual (in German and Italian), glass is perfect, all the gears and advances seem to work as expected. The shop owner wants 800 Euro for it, and while I'd love to play around with a Rollei of my own (I primarily shoot Hasselblad), I'm not sure if it's worth the ~$1,100 it'll cost, both to me and potentially to resell later... Does anyone have any thoughts?<br>

-Ryan</p>

 

<p>I have what I think is a Voigtlander Bessa I and while it works great I can't figure out where I'm supposed to set the aperture to for the appropriate F-stop. The manuals I've found online aren't clear, the aperture dial goes past both f4.5 and f16 and I'm completely lost. Attached is a picture of it somewhere between 5.6 and 8-it will either cover up 16 or go past 4.5 by a little bit. Does anyone out there have any idea what the deal is?<br>

Thanks in advance!<br>

-Ryan</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Thanks everyone for your responses! I think the suggestion to drop the Minolta's a good one, and since I'll be losing that and a couple lenses I think I'll take everything and just take the 50 & 80 when I'm going shooting and leave the 150 back unless I have a specific thought in mind for it. Now I'm trying to figure out whether to take the tripod... I would like to take some night shots while I'm there, and f2.8/4 just isn't going to cut it on those handheld, but I'm trying to figure out if the extra bulk is worth the few shots I might get from it. I've never taken a tripod on a trip before, and I'm unlikely to carry it around during the day, saving it for just night/twilight shots that I've thought through ahead of time...</p>

<p>I'm heading to Europe for a 3-week backpacking trip in February. I want to bring along my Hassy (503CXI), but can't decide what lenses to bring. I own the 50, 80, & 150 and generally I shoot with just the 50 and 150. In Europe I'll be doing mostly outdoor scenes and city streets, with the occasional indoor shot. Last time I went I took my Mamiya C330 and shot mostly 100ISO, so I doubt I'll need the extra stop the 80/2.8 gives me. But I'm really torn-do I take all three and just go out with the 50 and the 150, do I leave the 80 at home entirely, or do I figure that, because I'll be doing mostly outdoor, environmental/cityscape work I won't need the 150 at all and leave that at home? The glass on the 80 is much lighter than the 150, but I don't really want to leave behind that flexibility, it's just a matter of weight since I'll be carrying everything on my back. I'm bringing my Manfrotto 190XDB, too, (probably plus a small Minolta 35mm setup), so weight is certainly becoming an issue...</p>

<p>I have a Bay 60 > 62mm adapter, so I know that exists, but I get slight vignetting around the corners when I stack it Bay 70 > Bay 60 > 62mm filter. Without the filter or (I imagine) without the extra Bay 60 > 62mm adapter I'd be fine. What I'm looking for is a Bay 70 > 62mm adapter... Not even sure if it would solve the vignetting, but I imagine it might...</p><div></div>

<p>I recently bought a 50mm CFI (FLE) f4 lens for my 503, which by default takes Bay 70 filters. It also came with a Bay 70 > Bay 60 adapter with the caveat that I could only use one Bay 60 filter without vignetting. I already had a bunch of 62mm filters, and have Bay 60 > 62mm adapters for my other two lenses (150 and 80) and I'd rather avoid having to invest in Bay 60 or 70 filters due to their high cost. <br>

I did some research but couldn't find any Bay 70 > 62mm adapters, as I imagine that'd let me get one filter on the lens without vignetting. Does anyone know if these exist and, if so, where I could get one? I guess my other option I just to use the Bay 60 adapter and buy a full set of Bay 60 filters?<br>

Thanks,<br>

-Ryan</p>

<p> </p>