ricklb55

All my M39 mount cameras, starting at the back row at the left: 1970 Zorki 4 with Jupiter 8 lens, 1985 FED 3B with Industar 61, 1950 Leica IIIc with Canon 1.8 50mm, 1951 Leica IIf with Elmar 90mm and a Leitz finder, 1947 Leica IIIc with a Gossen Sixti light meter (that is dead on accurate!) and a 1953 Canon IIIa with a Canon 3.5 135mm lens and a KMZ finder.

I thoroughly disagree with orsetto's post that the Exakta has "the most inscrutable, convoluted controls of any camera" he has every used. Really? I own multiple cameras that are more of hassle to operate. The Exakta, for a completely mechanical camera, is very simple to use with the fast speeds. It only gets a bit complicated when you need to use the timer or the slow speeds.

I own 15 Exaktas and 1 Exa. I have every major model of the Exakta from the Kine I to the VX500. I have done a CLA on 8 of the Exaktas using Miles Upton's excellent book "Ultimate Exakta Repair" as a guide. I have a good shutter tester and I always test the cameras prior to the CLA. Exaktas that have never been through a CLA will have shutters that run at least 1 full f-stop slow. At least. Lubricating the camera only improves the shutter speeds a bit. Adjusting the shutter mechanism to get accurate speeds is not an easy task even with Upton's book. So much so that I only do it if the camera is not working.

 

I have used Starbrite's Liquid Electrical Tape to seal pinholes in the shutter curtains. Although this does fix the pinholes it also slows down the shutter speeds another 2-4%. So you want to apply as llittle of the Liquid Electrical Tape as you can. However, the LET contracts as it dries and if you applied too little some of the pinholes will return.

I started collecting Exaktas a few years ago and have a complete collection of the 35mm SLRs from the Kine 1 to the VX500. With some duplicates I have a total of 16 Exaktas. Using Miles Upton's book I have disassembled, cleaned and lubed 9 of the Exaktas. I have put film through most of my collection.

 

The film advance function is, IMO, not one of the strong features on these Exaktas. The film advances exclusively by the sprocket gear and it has been my repeated experience that about 1 in 30 shots will not advance a full frame. I am at a loss how this happens. This has happened in Exaktas I have disassembled and verified everything is in good order and in Exaktas I have not disassembled. Any suggestions?

 

As long as I am on the subject of Exaktas:

If you purchase an old Exakta with bad curtains which you intend to replace make sure you are able to remove the two spanner nuts on the camera. The curtains cannot be removed with either spanner nut in place. One of the spanner nuts is in the advance lever mechanism and I have yet to see this spanner nut frozen. The other spanner nut, in the slow speed mechanism, I have found frozen solid on two cameras: a Varex and a VXIIa. Nothing would free it up. I couldn't apply sufficient torque with a regular adjustable type of spanner wrench. I tried soaking the nut assembly in Kano Kroil for days - nothing. Tried applying heat via an industrial soldering iron - nope. The only thing that might work is a custom made spanner wrench with a long handle but I am not going to spend that kind of money.

Right now I have film in four cameras. An Exakta VX1000, Steinhell Munchen lens, loaded with Plus-X 5231. A Voigtlander Bessamatic, Color-Skopar lens, loaded with color print film. An Agfa Isolette loaded with expired slide film. A Diana loaded with Rollei Retro 400.

For September 3, 2017. From my Contina-matic on Kodak Tmax 100 and home developed. Downtown Plano, TX

 

I usually get questions when I take my Bronica SQ-A out for a walk, especially if I have the 250mm lens plus 2X tele-converter plus hood attached. I've had people stop dead in their tracks and stare. Being inconspicuous is not possible.

I recently acquired an Exakta V, serial number 681145. I am attempting to disassemble to perform a clean and lube. I am stuck at the removal of the rewind button - see red circled item in pictures. This button must be removed to access and remove the rewind idler gear shaft, otherwise the camera's shell cannot be separated from the chassis. This rewind button will not pull off. Nothing visible is obstructing it and I have applied quite a bit of force. It moves up and down freely in its normal function. It feels like something is holding it in place but I cannot find that something. I have Miles Upton's Ultimate Exakta Repair but his book is based on the VXIIa version and that version uses a simpler rewind button that just pulls off. I have done a clean and lube on four other Exakta Varex cameras but this is my first V, and that darn rewind button has me stumped. Any advice?

 

In the images below the top image shows the button engaged to allow film rewind, the bottom picture shows the button in its normal operating position.

Rick

From the collection of faults; it sounds like someone has removed and poorly replaced the lens and shutter assembly. This needs to be accurately aligned with the cam or lever that runs from the lens helicoid to connect with the rangefinder. Until and unless this is accurately positioned, twiddling with the prism or mirror angles is futile.

Actually, it is the alignment you are refering to that I don't have a clue about.

Adjusting the rangefinder won't do any good if the lens isn't aligned properly.

 

It's all very well for the rangefinder to look OK through its viewfinder, but the position of the lens may still be a mile off and give out-of-focus results.

 

From the collection of faults; it sounds like someone has removed and poorly replaced the lens and shutter assembly. This needs to be accurately aligned with the cam or lever that runs from the lens helicoid to connect with the rangefinder. Until and unless this is accurately positioned, twiddling with the prism or mirror angles is futile.

 

You need to place a focussing screen on the film plane and check that infinity focus on the distance scale matches with a sharp image of, say, the moon on the focal plane. And that the focus remains good from left to right and top to bottom of the frame. Could you give me a clue how this is

 

Only after that's done and the rangefinder coupling is checked to be straight and true, should you mess with the prism alignment.

You need to place a focussing screen on the film plane and check that infinity focus on the distance scale matches with a sharp image of, say, the moon on the focal plane. And that the focus remains good from left to right and top to bottom of the frame.

Could you give clue how this is done?

Checking around the internet I can find nothing specific to adjusting the rangefinder on Konica Pearl's. So I plunged ahead and removed the top plate and found two screws just behind (closer to the film side) the 45° mirror that is just behind the rangefinder opening (not the viewfinder opening). The screw just behind the mirror adjusted the vertical. The screw behind that adjusted the horizontal. Got it all adjusted at about 8 feet and felt very proud of myself, but then discovered the rangefinder did not converge at infinite. Getting that correct made the close focus off. From what I have read on various forums it seems there are at least two adjustment screws: one for close and one for infinite. But what have I adjusted? Close or infinite? And where is the opposite adjustment screw?

 

FYI, after I complained to the seller he refunded me 50% of the purchase price. Also, with leaving the camera open and allowing the bellows to relax the lense is coming much closer to parallel.

1. Yes, it affects the plane of focus. Check for not fully opened bed/locked bed braces, something may be bent.

2. With the bed closed open the camera back, tighten the retaining ring around the rear of the lens/shutter, it will have notches 180° apart at 90° intervals.

3. Once the lens/shutter is tight and the camera opens with the lens parallel to the film plane check the RF again. The linkage may be loose, bent, or a mirror may be loose inside.

 

I think you paid too much, return it if possible.

 

1. Linkages lock and none look bent. There is a very small adjustment screw and it brought the lens a bit more parallel but not by much.

2. The retaining ring was very loose! Tightened by hand and it now is much better. Thank you!

3. The rangefinder is still way off, even when I manually move the lens to be parallel.

Just acquired the Pearl III. U.S. $190 I have not yet put film through it but so far I am not terribly impressed:

1. The shutter/lense is not quiet parallel to the plane of the film. Is this a significant issue?

2. The shutter/lense is a tad loose. Not really a problem but it just makes the camera feel cheap.

3. The rangefinder is not reporting the correct distance. Anybody know how this is adjusted? I removed the plate the contains the film type dial but it only exposes a screw for the vertical alignment of the rangefinder mirror.

 

The good: very little wear, very clean lense, all shutter speeds are accurate to the ear, no leaks in the bellows, it has a PC synch and it fires a flash.

 

Did I pay too much? Feels like it.

Old photographer, fairly new to the forum. My first camera was a Polaroid 210 when I was 13 and too young to really use it for anything other than Christmas and birthdays. I acquired my first serious camera from my father when I was 17, a TLR Ansco, along with an enlarger. I did mostly B&W and developed my own film and prints. I never really liked that TLR and I bought a second hand Nikkormat when I was 24 and used the heck out of it untill the meter went bad. Repaired it, it went south again, and at that point I kinda hung up my photographer's hat. Then in my late 40s a co-worker offered me a sweetheart deal on some used stuff I couldn't say no to: A Canon A1 and AE1 Program cameras, 5 Canon lenses and 1 other lens, a professional grade flash, lens caps & hoods, and a bunch of filters, all looking llittle used, for the grand total of $100. I was back in the game! But I found myself missing the quality of medium format so about half a dozen years later I went to my first Dallas area camera show and I found exactly what I was hoping for: A fellow wanting to get out of film and selling a single package deal: A Bronica SQA camera with Action Grip, 3 lenses, 2 film backs, caps & hoods, a bunch of filters, and a super nice nylon case, all of it looking brand new, for $400 and he took $375! I popped buttons on the way home I was so happy with the deal. I've since acquired another Canon A1, a Bronica SQAi, Contaflex I, Voigtlander Vito B & Bessa, Mamiya Six IV, Mocba 5, Contina II, Retina IIIc, Bolsey B2, and some extra lenses, film backs and other miscellaneous including a color enlarger so I am back doing all my own B&W developing. Yes, I do have two point & shoot digital cameras but they are not serious cameras to me. My one dislike of analog photography is the process of creating traditional wet darkroom prints. So time consuming! The call of a good inkjet printer to replace traditional prints is very strong! So there you have it. -Rick

Thanks rodeo_joe, that makes sense. However, what I didn't mention is, even if I am firing only one flash having either adapter any where in the curcuit causes the flash to not fire. This is also important because I recently acquired some old cameras that have a PC synch port and a cold shoe and I would like my hot shoe flashes to work on these cameras. These old cameras will successfully fire the Sunpak 544 which does not require the adapter. But not the other flashes if the adapters are used, in any configuration.

Wanting to use my three hot shoe only electronic flashes while not attached to a camera's hot shoe I thought a hot shoe adapter would be the trick, so I acquired a used Hama Hot Shoe Adapter from Ebay, and when that didn't work, a new Medalight Hot Shoe to PC Adapter from B&H. These adapters do not work either way: when mounted to a hot shoe to fire a separately mounted flash (not really what I wanted) or when mounted on a remote flash to receive a flash signal from the camera, either via hot shoe by way of a Nikon AS-15 adapter or PC synch cord. My flash units all work when not using the Hama or Medalight adapters. The Nikon AS-15 works when not using the adapters. It's difficult to believe I received two broken adpaters. My flashes are a Sunpak 544 (no hot shoe), a Promaster FTD 5700 with a Canon base, an Automatic 17-A, and a Diana flash. Am I missing something? Rick

My Bronica SQ-A on rare occasion will fire off with the dark slide in. I think it happens when the dark slide is not fully pushed in. When this occurs I engage the double exposure lever, cock the shutter, pull the dark slide and shoot again.

It is definitely on the film so it is not a result of scanning. No change in the surface of the film. What contributes to this strangeness is that a fourth picture, #9, was taken in the same room, at the same time, under the same conditions and that frame is clear of the artifact. Makes no sense. But this is not a big deal, I'm only curious if anyone else has seen such a thing. The originality the Diana creates is the very reason I acquired it - I enjoy its unpredictability.

I would be more inclined to think its something that occured in the tank during development, something that caused uneven development. I've had my share of light leaks in the camera and this doesn't look like any light leak in the camera I have ever seen. Maybe a defective roll of Tri-X?

Turns out it was the flash unit going south. I removed the flash from the camera, powered it up, and started manually triggering the flash as soon as the ready light illuminated. About every 4th flash the output was noticably less, something you don't notice when looking through the camera's finder because of the mirror flop. So either the flash's capacitor is not fully charging 100% of the time or the ready light is illuminating too early some of the time. Either way the flash unit goes into "the museum". Thanks for all the suggestions.

I home developed a roll of 120 Tri-X in a small plastic tank & reel not long ago. Camera was the plastic Diana. On each of the last three frames from the roll (shots 10, 11, 12) there is a vertical line that turns into a crescent shape that shouldn't be there. The line and crescent start at the top right edge of the image. It is not possible to determine if the unwanted artifact appears off the image area of the negative because the Diana exposes one edge to the very edge of the film. The artifact is the same exact shape and the same exact location on all three frames. It does not appear on any other frames. I have been doing darkroom work off and on for a long time and I have never seen anything like this. It looks a lot lik what you get when there is a crease in the film, but there isn't one. A light leak? Doesn't look like any light leak I've seen. I have attached the three images. Ideas?

 

<p>There was nothing exceptionally bright in the frames so I'm thinking the problem must be within your other suggestions. I will do some testing perhaps on my digital camera to get immediate feed back. An unreliable flash is junk with a film camera.</p>

<p>Fresh batteries - yes<br>

flash ready light was always on before exposure<br>

duration between exposures - less than an hour for all, mostly just a few minutes</p>

<p>Recently had a family get-together. I shot a roll of 220 Kodak PMZ 6216 color film rated at 1000 ASA, all using my flash in a smallish room with low and consistent ambient light. The film had expired in 1999 so I put the ASA setting on the SQ's film back to 250 ASA. Used the same 80mm S Zenzanon lens through the entire shoot. Used 1/200 exposure for the entire shoot. The flash I used was a Promaster FTD 5700 that was mounted on the hot shoe of my SQ's Speed Grip. The chart on the flash indicated I should set the apeture to f8, I set it to f5.6 to avoid under exposure. The chart further indicated the flash was good to 25 feet. The typical distance to my subject was less than 10 feet. When I got the negatives back from the lab I found exactly half the negatives were 2-3 stops underexposed and not in any pattern. The other half were perfect! The one mistake I made was that I set the ASA on the flash to 1000. But that should have resulted in ALL the frames being underexposed. Can this be anything other than a flash unit that is going bad? It is about 15 years old. I've never had problems with this flash on my other cameras. On a focal plane shutter camera I would suspect the X-synch is being inconsistant, but the leaf shutter on the Bronica doesn't care. Color me confused.</p>

<p>I have discovered that what I thought was a poor battery connection is nothing of the kind. A more thorough inspection of the test negatives shows that the blank frames only occurred when using the 150 PS lens I had recently purchased from Roberts Camera/Used Photo Pro. Test firing of the lens on both my SQ-Ai and SQ-A, without a back on, clearly demonstrated that the shutter on the lens does not open under any condition when the shutter is released. This really puts me off future purchases from Roberts Camera. I don’t expect every feature on a used equipment to be tested but to sell me a Bronica lens whose shutter doesn’t work, which is extremely easy to test, is beyond the pale. Fortunately, I’m still within the return period.</p>