timothy_moran

<p>Recently found a Kontur 6x6 at a good price at local camera fair. I understand its basic use, but I have a couple of questions for those familiar with using it. I will be using it on a Voigtlander Perkeo IIIe. I have not shot film with it yet, I thought I'd ask these questions first before I waste any. I did do a search before posting this.<br>

<br /> 1) Is the dot in the center of the viewfinder accurate? I ask because it seems to me that if it is designed to be used on numerous cameras, and since I presume that not all cameras are identical vis-a-vis the viewfinder/lens relationship, it won't necessarily be accurate.<br>

<br /> 2) The parallax lines at the top and bottom, do I center the view (i.e., ignore the vertical position of the center dot) using the relevant top/bottom frame lines instead of the center dot?<br>

<br /> Thanks in advance for any help.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help and the links, much appreciated.</p>

<p>I did some testing last night and today that hopefully will give me a better idea of things.</p>

<p>Last night I did the poor man's approach to testing the slower shutter speeds. I have a small Canon digital camera that can record movies at 60 fps. So I pointed it behind the shutter on the inside and recorded movies of various shutter speeds, which I then watched on the computer stepping through one frame at a time and counted the frames that the shutter was open. At 1 sec. it was 77 (28% too slow), at 1/2 it was 38 (26% too slow), and at 10 it was 6 (bang on). Even at 1/50 it seemed to be pretty close even though there was just over one frame to look at. Obviously you couldn't test the 1/100 and 1/300 speeds this way as there was nothing to see really. All in all I thought this was pretty good for a 60 year old camera. However, do you think a CLA by a professional would make things better? My only fear is having it worked on and things becoming worse or suffering damage in transit.</p>

<p>Today I shot two rolls of film testing the meter relative to the lens/shutter. I am sure this is not very scientific, but I pasted the old USAF target onto the brick wall at the back of my house and tested at three distances, (i) 3.5 feet, being the closest that the lens can focus, (ii) at the triangle distance mark on the lens, just over 11 ft. and (iii) at the circle distance mark on the lens, approx. 50 ft. In each case I set the shutter speed on the meter to be 1/60, and then turned the aperture dial until the meter said I had a good exposure. I then set the aperture on the camera to match and shot at three speeds, 1/25, 1/50 and 1/100. When I get the film back I am hopeful that this will show me how the camera does relative to the meter. I used the USAF target merely to test whether the uncoupled rangefinder that is built into the camera functions properly, and I used a tripod throughout.</p>

<p>With the few shots I had remaining I tried using my Vivitar 283 flash for some indoor shots. Seemed to work fine and it will be interesting to see how those turn out.</p>

<p>What I find funny is how easy it is to forget to set something properly. I know the SAFE acronym, but coming from a DSLR environment you really do get spoiled. I have wasted so many shots already just by forgetting to set the correct aperture or shutter speed. Even worse is taking the time to carefully line things up with the rangefinder, only to completely forget to set the lens to that distance.</p>

<p>Sure is fun though and I can already tell from the test rolls that I have had developed that assuming I can learn to use the camera correctly this thing will be able to take some pretty nice photos.</p>

<p>As mentioned in another thread I just recently acquired a Voigtlander Perkeo IIIe and am completely new to these cameras and to MF film so I have a few questions. </p>

<p>The first relates to exposure settings. I have tried to research this but have not been overly successful and I am not an exposure expert by any stretch of the imagination. The Prontor-SVS shutter has settings of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 300. As some helpful people have pointed out here you cannot select an in-between shutter speed with the Prontor-SVS. The VC II meter I will be using with the camera has settings of 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 (obviously the 500 and up are irrelevant for the camera). My question is how do I use the meter effectively to get good exposures when the scales do not match? Should I just use the next highest number on the meter for shutter speed? If I do that, will I be overexposing? Can an aperture change up or down a partial stop nullify the difference?</p>

<p>On a related note, the manual for the VC II meter does not say whether you can pick shutter speeds in between its marked speeds but unlike with the camera I don't see why that would be a problem on a meter. Anyone familiar with this meter know whether you can do that? If you can then that would make things easier because I could set the meter at roughly 50 and then just set the aperature accordingly to get a good reading.</p>

<p>Finally, regarding MF film speed what do people prefer with these old cameras for both b/w and colour, 160 or 400? So far I used 160 and I liked the result but it was a bright sunny day. Is there much of a difference in quality between the two in medium format?</p>

<p>Sorry for asking what I presume are basic questions but most of this stuff is completely new to me. It's fun learning about it all though!</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Rob, I'm in mid-town.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses, most helpful.</p>

<p>Can anyone recommend a good repair person near Toronto, Canada? If there are no local ones, whom would you recommend?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I recently inherited these two cameras and have been having a ton of fun with them, both taking pictures and just reading about them. The Perkeo seems to function perfectly, the Vito has an issue with a sometimes sticky shutter (and on the delayed action setting "V" setting the shutter stays cocked). Both cameras have the color-skopar lenses and Pronto-SVS shutters. I was able to download a manual for the Vito II a and manuals for the Perkeo I and II (couldn't find a IIIe but I think there's enough info in the others for now) and I have read them thoroughly. I have also done a ton of other internet research through Google.<br /> <br /> I still have a few questions though for those who might know (and go easy on me, I have been solely a DSLR user until now):<br>

<br /> 1) Setting aperture. If you set the aperture lever between two stop markings, say between 5.6 and 8, have your set the aperture somewhere between there or or do you need to specifically choose a marked aperature and that's all you get?<br>

<br /> 2) Shutter speed. Similar question to aperture, if you set it between two marked shutter speed settings are you in between or do you specifically have to choose a marked setting?<br>

<br /> 3) Fixing the Vito shutter. Does is sound like an expensive job to have someone fix the sticky shutter? The shutter works fine at all speed settings, even 1 second, but sometimes it will just stick cocked and as I said the delayed action "V" setting does not function.<br>

<br /> 4) Uncocking the shutter. When the shutter sticks, is it a bad idea to help it back down by applying a little pressure? I am able to uncock it when in "V" mode by changing to "X" mode, but in normal shooting if it sticks what is the best method to uncock it?<br>

<br /> Thanks in advance for helping someone new to these old folding cameras.</p>

<p>I just inherited one of these Bewi Zoom-Spots, anyone know where I can get a copy of the manual in English?  I have searched and know there are pay sites but if it is downloadable somewhere a link would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.</p>