matthijs_velsink

<p>Nice photos, Tony, especially number 4. But what struck me as odd, was that these bellows look almost exactly the same as my Fujica bellows for the Fujica X mount. The knobs, the plates for the lens mount and the camera mount, the rails (although mine directly mount to a tripod, without the focusing rail) all look exactly the same. Even the nameplate's location and shape is identical, although mine says "Fujica; Fuji photo film Japan". Could these be re-badged bellows from the same manufacturer, only with different lens mounts? Sounds strange to me.</p>

<p>I have many of the Fujica X cameras, together with a bunch of X-mount lenses. Porst indeed rebranded lenses, sometimes even lenses from Fuji. Porst X-mount cameras are all rebranded Fujicas. The Porst CR-1 is the Fujica STX-1, the Porst CR-3 is the Fujica AX-1, the CR-5 is the AX-3 and lastly, the CR-7 is the AX-5.</p>

<p>I have a Pentax SP1000. The exposure needle on this camera is not in the center when off, but it's about 1 stop under. That is an estimate since the exposure battery is quite empty... I do not yet know if that makes any difference for the photo taken with this camera, I have never used it to take some.<br>

<br />Hope this helped you,<br>

Matthijs</p>

<p>I also thought about a bad CLA, Christopher. But wouldn't a flipped/shifted lens element result in a soft lens at all focusing distances? Because your lens does focus well at closer distances, right?<br>

Gordon might have a point there.</p>

<p>It is unlikely that a worn out lens mount is causing the issue, because that would put the lens closer to the film, resulting in the ability to focus <em>past</em> infinity. Can the focusing mark even reach the infinity mark on the barrel? If not, there is probably something blocking the focusing mechanism. If it can, then there must be something wrong with a lens element.<br>

BTW, isn't it focusing <em>past</em> infinity? Lenses can often focus beyond infinity, in order to compensate for lens expansion due to heat. Almost all of my MF lenses can. I sometimes think I can't reach infinity, just to discover that I'm already <em>beyond</em> infinity.<br>

Please don't use it as a doorstop, you can always send it to me :)<br>

Matthijs</p>

<p>I was there too! It's the biggest (indoor) camera fair in Holland, so I had to be there. The only CMC I bought was a Fujica Compact 35, which turned out to be broken. I did repair it today, however.<br>

Anyways, that Voigtländer certainly looks charming. And for 13 euros, it's a small steal. Have fun with it!</p>

<p>I don't think so, since the rollers that pull the film can't be manually turned backwards, which would be possible if the rewind button had been pushed.</p>

<p>Hi everyone,<br>

Today I went to a Dutch camera fair in Houten. (Anybode else there?) I bought this lovely Fujica Compact 35 in pristine condition and still in the original box. I tested it at the spot, and it seemed to work just fine, but when I got home, the film advance lever wouldn't "catch". I mean, when I try to advance the fake film (it's empty ATM) the lever moves like it should, but the rollers inside don't move. I can turn the lever 180 degrees and back indefinitely, without advancing the film. It's kind off weird, since it just worked, and then suddenly it stopped working. Does anybody here know how to fix this?<br>

I know a thing or two about cameras, so if I have to repair this Fujica, I certainly will.<br>

Thanks in advance<br>

Matthijs</p>

<p>Indeed a nice pair of cameras, Rick. I was there too (ook Nederlands :), in the morning, just after the rain had gone. I don't know what you look like, but I could have seen you somewhere...<br />Only bought one CMC, the Fujica STX-1, to complete my little Fujica collection.<br>

All in all, a great fair, and just like you, next year's fair is already marked in my agenda!</p>

<p>Thank you all for your kind responses. <strong>Colin</strong>, thank you for your bit of background info on the lens. <strong>John</strong> and <strong>Robert</strong>, thank you for your nice anecdote, and although it isn't about the Novoflex lens (I Googled a bit, and it turned out it indeed was Kilfitt who used those glass plates) it's still an interesting tale. <strong>Marc</strong>, thank you for looking up that lens test, it was very useful to me. Now I know that the left knob can also be used for fixing the focus, and that I can screw the lens part off for cleaning.<br>

If there is anyone else who knows something about this lens, please share it with us.<br>

Regards, Matthijs</p>

<p>Hi everybody,<br>

Yesterday my granduncle gave me this <em>Novoflex Noflexar 1:5.6 f=40cm </em>lens. He bought the lens in 1962 for 250 guilders (the Dutch currency back then). He told me that was a month's salary! Anyways, since he cant see very well anymore, he decided to give the lens, and some other photographic equipment, to me. He figured I would make good use of it as a hobby photographer. I tried to find some information on the web about this lens, but nothing can be found about it. I can find tons of information on the newer Noflexar lenses with the pistol grip, but not on this telescopic type of lens. The long, thin part of the lens can be pushed into the thicker part of the lens, making it very compact to store. Focusing can be done by turning the nob that can be seen in the middle of the lens. A mechanical linkage makes it impossible to focus or change the aperture when the lens is in its compact version.<br>

I know quite a bit about the lens now, but I was wondering if anybody else has some experience with this lens, or can give me some more info about it. Thanks in advance.<br>

Regards, Matthijs</p><div></div>

<p>If you pull up the film rewind crank, the back should open, allowing you to insert film.<br />The camera itself is an open-aperture metering all manual camera, released around 1980.<br />A manual can be found <a href="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/pentax/pentax_k1000/pentax_k1000.htm">here</a>, thanks to Butkus.<br>

Feel free to ask more questions.</p>

<p>Graag gedaan! :)</p>

<p>There's also a guy in The Netherlands, who started doing collodion work after he got inspired by Sally Mann. There is an interesting video about how the process works, which can be found on his <a href="http://collodion-art.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. I saw some of his work at a Dutch camera fair, and I must say it looks amazing!</p>

<p>Check out the <a href="http://www.cameramanuals.org/fuji_pdf/fujica_half_1_9.pdf">manual</a> on page 15, the camera can only meter at full stops (25-50-100-200-400), so the 64-bar is for compensating exposure when one is using 64 asa film. The bar is permanently visible, even when you're using film other than 64 asa. As for the selftimer, check out page 19 of the manual...</p>

<p>Well, maybe a stupid thing to ask, but what ASA setting are you using? If it's set to low, you'll get the underexposure warning almost always. I'm almost sure that the screws are just screws to hold everything together, and that they are not for adjusting metering. A thing I always do to check the metering, is to compare the metering from the SLR to my DSLR...</p>

<p>BTW: I have the MTL3, and that meter is just spot on...</p>

<p>Okay thanks, but are the prices good, to low or to high? And what price would you recommend?</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I'm selling my Pentax K2 (mint condition) and my SMC Pentax 50mm f1.4 (also mint condition, without scratches, haze or anything). The lens is not a Pentax-M, it only says "SMC Pentax" on the lens. I figured the price for the K2 would be around 35 euros, and the 50mm around 70 euros. Is that a good price? BTW: Could anybody explain to me what the difference between the SMC Pentax-m version and my version is?<br>

Regards, Matthijs</p>

 

<p>Alan - I also bought this camera at a fair, but at that time I quickly checked the camera and it seemed OK. I should have looked at the camera more carefully. I live in The Netherlands, and Fujica AX-5 camera's are quite rare here. I emailed a guy who services cameras to ask what a CLA would cost for my Fujica AX-5. It costs <strong>125 euros</strong>!! That's not cheap, isn't it? How much did you pay for a CLA?</p>

<p>Alan - Since i'm only 16 years old I don't want to pay that much for a CLA if I can just by a new (well, of course 2nd hand) AX-5 for around 25 euro's. I only have this lenses: x-fujinon 55/1.6, x-fujinar 28/2.8 and x-kominar 135/2.8. Have you ever fixed a Fujica AX camera by yourself? Just curious, but what Fujinon lenses do you have?</p>

<p>I just something really stupid... I dropped a tiny drop of oil (the size of a breadcrumb) on the hinge of the mirror. But guess what! It worked, the mirror flips up faster than ever and I don't see a black bar through the back of the camera anymore. Unfortunately, I already noticed another problem (before I did the oil thing). If I leave my camera for a day or so and than take a "picture" at 1/1000th of a second while looking through the back, nothing can be seen. 1/500th works fine if I try, and when I switch back to 1/1000th, 1/1000th works too. The image I then see through the back is noticeably darker than at 1/500th. Are the curtains sticky or something, needing the shutter to be tripped a couple of times before it really works well?</p>

<p>And how can I solve this "lazy mirror" problem? I'm sure the shutter is working fine, cause the lower half of the film is exposed, but the other half isn't, there the light gets blocked by the slow mirror.</p>

<p>I'm sure its the top of the film, so the bottom of the image. The mirror is obviously not flipping up fast enough, which can be seen trough the back at 1/125th of a second or faster. I also found out that if you keep the camera straight, the mirror doesn't even get to the top (I can put my finger between it and the mirror won't even touch my finger). Could this be fixed?</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I seem to have a problem with my recently bought Fujica AX-5. The mirror doesn't seem to flip up fast enough, causing a not exposed piece on the top of my film. Should I lube the mirror? And how should I do that?<br>

Regards, Matthijs</p>