[revdocjim]

I've added another lovely screw mount body to the stable. I came across this SL in the junk bin and brought it home with me. The mirror was sticking once in a while so I lubed it and promptly took it out for a stroll in very cold weather. By about frame #5 the mirror froze up again so I shot a few more just by guess work and called it a day. The results were not all that bad. Now I have lubed it again with lighter oil and hope it will hold up. I'll be testing it out again soon.









As you can see in my sig, it joins the 110, SV, SP, ESII, 645N and 67ii. Such a happy family!!!

[Dangermouse]

I cannot believe that ended up in a junk bin, it's very tidy apart from a few rubs and chips.

If lighter oil isn't enough then try using lighter fluid (as in Zippo fuel) followed by light oil. That should dissolve old solidified oil and help move it out of the mechanism, after which you can replace it with fresh.

Yeah, it actually feels a lot like an Espio/IQ Zoom 200. All plastic, but very well made and durable except with all the benefits of a SLR. Like you said, perfect for when I don't want to risk a nicer camera. (like travelling to North Korea) Seriously though, it should make a great backpack beater.

You say that, but the chassis is all metal on the P30 series. The panels and grips are plastic and rubber, but everything underneath from lens mount to tripod screw is diecast, just like the earlier bodies.

If I see a cheap P30t I'll probably buy another one. I had one but gave it to my cousin who wanted to try film, so I've been keeping my eyes open for another. The P30n I've acquired since is almost identical but given how cheap they are I'll probably complete the set.

[revdocjim]

Thanks for the helpful tips. This was the first one I had ever removed the bottom plate from. Just googled "stick mirror, pentax" and found some good directions.
The store I visit most frequently has a huge junk section, with at least 100-200 bodies on any given day. You can usually find at least 10 Pentax screw mount bodies and often 1 or 2 of them work just fine without any major problems.

[Jonathan Mac]

Thanks for the helpful tips. This was the first one I had ever removed the bottom plate from. Just googled "stick mirror, pentax" and found some good directions.
The store I visit most frequently has a huge junk section, with at least 100-200 bodies on any given day. You can usually find at least 10 Pentax screw mount bodies and often 1 or 2 of them work just fine without any major problems.

What passes as junk in Japan is gold in other places perhaps.

From what I've seen, Japanese camera shops are the Mecca of those who love old film cameras.

[hks_kansei]

So today I picked up an MX because it was cheap.



I bid a low amount expecting to be outbid (to be honest, I should have been outbid)

Anyway, for under $100au I walked away with a Sunpak flash, and a chinese M42 zoom lens ( who cares about them), but most importantly, a Pentax MX body with fresh curtains (within 10 years ago), a genuine Pentax M42-K adapter, and a Pentax-M 50mm F1.4

very happy, and tomorrow I'm attending the Geelong Revival (classic car rally) so I'll be bringing the pair showed in the pics (ME with a 28/2.8 and the MX with a 50/1,4, both loaded with Ektar100)

[IHS]

^^^Great camera, great lens, great film and a great DEAL!! Hard to beat that...Congrats!!!!

[hks_kansei]

^^^Great camera, great lens, great film and a great DEAL!! Hard to beat that...Congrats!!!!

That's why I grabbed it.

I bid a small amount expecting to be outbid by a great amount, but for some reason I wasn't (the description didn;t really make it clear that the lens was a 1.4)

I shouldn;t have spent the money if I;m honest, but I figured that rent is paid up for a month, electricity/gas bill is paid, I can live frugally until next pay :P

[revdocjim]

What passes as junk in Japan is gold in other places perhaps.

From what I've seen, Japanese camera shops are the Mecca of those who love old film cameras.

Yesterday I played with two Spotmatic F bodies, both in relatively good condition. One was the silver top, the other was a black top. Silver was 1500 yen (US$13) and the black was 2000 yen. I don't have an F in my collection so I was sort of interested but ended up passing on both. The finder was super clean in the silver while the black was a little dirty. Both had good mirror action. But even though I don't own an F yet, it really isn't all that appealing to me as far as bodies go...I also saw an S2 body which is a bit more interesting to me, but the mirror was completely stuck and the body was really rough so I passed.

[Dangermouse]

The S2/H2 is an interesting little thing.

I paid £5 for a tidy but jammed one on ebay UK a couple of years ago, got it firing with liberal application of lighter fluid, and then spent a bit longer cleaning and oiling until it stopped capping at 1/500. They're very simple to work on as you can take the front off with four screws which gets you full access to most of the mechanism. A test roll came back perfectly exposed. It's the early version without the notch in the shutter speed dial to index the clip-on light meter. A pretty camera and I'm keeping my eyes open for more Auto Takumar lenses, as I only have the 55mm f2.2 which would originally have been on an S1.

The only weakness is the mechanism for stopping the lens down. On the early S2 (and maybe the later one too) the paddle is directly connected to the shutter button and only stays up for as long as you press the shutter. WIth a Super Takumar or later lens it's therefore possible to have a situation where you don't press the button down fully, so the lens doesn't stop down fully. With longer exposures there's also the danger of the lens not being held stopped down for the whole exposure. I shot most of the test roll with a Super Takumar 35mm f3.5 (one of my favourite M42 lenses) and used it as a preset lens with the A/M switch, to avoid any potential problems.

With the Auto Takumars this body was designed for there's no problem, as just touching the trip pin will cause the lens to stop down and stay stopped down until you press the lever down to re-open it.

The SV and later bodies have a different mechanism which holds the paddle up for as long as the shutter is open.

[revdocjim]

So I played with two S2 bodies today, both priced at about $17 (2,000 yen). One was very rough looking but appeared to be in working order. The VF looked especially bad, as if coating had scratched off the focusing screen or something and I could see some mold. The other one was almost unbelievably clean and beautiful... but it didn't work. Not only was the mirror stuck, the shutter wouldn't even fire and I couldn't feel any spring tension when actuating the winding lever. Also I could see thru the dark VF that the focusing screen is cracked in the bottom left corner. But the body really was in amazingly clean condition both inside and out. I was almost tempted to by both and try to combine parts... but didn't.

So my question, is a stuck shutter as easy to fix as a stuck mirror?
Secondly, how hard would it be to replace the focusing screen? Are replacements available? Could I pull one out of a different camera like a spotmatic or something similar?

[arnold]

Secondly, how hard would it be to replace the focusing screen? Are replacements available? Could I pull one out of a different camera like a spotmatic or something similar?

I wouldn't try it. I know the mirrors are not the same as a Spotmatic. If you can get the camera repaired properly, when the initial cost is almost free, why not save a piece of history. I have done this many times myself, where the repair is the true cost.

[Dangermouse]

It depends on why the shutter is stuck. Mine was a simple case of it having jammed, luckily nobody had tried to force the winder lever so I was able to use my standard "lighter fluid and gently prodding with a screwdriver" technique to free it. It's not always successful, as the clean but very broken S1 on my desk will attest to!

If they were both the same variant (remember that there are early and late models, I'm not sure if they're identical aside from the notch in the shutter speed dial) then I'd be tempted to buy both and combine the good bits. You will struggle to find any spares though, other than by buying complete cameras from the bargain bin. I was incredibly lucky in that my H2 didn't need any new parts, just some cleaning and oiling.

Just swapping the focussing screen might be difficult, as I don't know what Pentax did to fine-tune the position of the screen. Obviously if this isn't perfect your focussing will be out, and it's not easy to repair it without specialist hardware (or alternatively the camera on a tripod, a piece of ground glass taped in place of the film, the shutter locked open, and a lot of patience until the viewfinder image is in focus at the same time as the image on the ground glass).

This is also why attempting to replace the screen on a Super A/Program A, ME F or MG with another one from the same camera is doomed to fail. They have three tiny grub screws which adjust the distance between the screen and the mirror, which will have been adjusted for that specific body. Transplanting one to a different body without adjusting these is likely to cause a lot of out of focus images.

[FlannelSpoon]

My *ist came in the mail today and I am so excited. I thought my ZX-5n was pretty small, but this thing is crazy small. I really want to get a DA XS 40 for it now.

[Jonathan Mac]

My *ist came in the mail today and I am so excited. I thought my ZX-5n was pretty small, but this thing is crazy small. I really want to get a DA XS 40 for it now.

Very cute.

[revdocjim]

It depends on why the shutter is stuck. Mine was a simple case of it having jammed, luckily nobody had tried to force the winder lever so I was able to use my standard "lighter fluid and gently prodding with a screwdriver" technique to free it. It's not always successful, as the clean but very broken S1 on my desk will attest to!

If they were both the same variant (remember that there are early and late models, I'm not sure if they're identical aside from the notch in the shutter speed dial) then I'd be tempted to buy both and combine the good bits. You will struggle to find any spares though, other than by buying complete cameras from the bargain bin. I was incredibly lucky in that my H2 didn't need any new parts, just some cleaning and oiling.

Just swapping the focussing screen might be difficult, as I don't know what Pentax did to fine-tune the position of the screen. Obviously if this isn't perfect your focussing will be out, and it's not easy to repair it without specialist hardware (or alternatively the camera on a tripod, a piece of ground glass taped in place of the film, the shutter locked open, and a lot of patience until the viewfinder image is in focus at the same time as the image on the ground glass).

This is also why attempting to replace the screen on a Super A/Program A, ME F or MG with another one from the same camera is doomed to fail. They have three tiny grub screws which adjust the distance between the screen and the mirror, which will have been adjusted for that specific body. Transplanting one to a different body without adjusting these is likely to cause a lot of out of focus images.

OK. My better judgement tells me to just wait. It's just that I'd never seen a pre-spotmatic body that clean before. Just plain immaculate!