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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
5 Hours Ago
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Helical grease is normally used as it is required for proper damping of focus action.
It comes in various grades (thicknesses).
A good source for this and other camera-specific repair supplies is Micro-Tools:
https://www.micro-tools.com/
I once had a lens with objectionably loose focus; I cleaned out the old stuff
and replaced it with a stiffer grease.
Chris
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
1 Day Ago
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Cyrus, had ago at resurrecting some vintage Takumar/Pentax lenses myself. A few successes amongst the carnage, Takumar SMC Macro 100mm f4 + Pentax-M SMC Macro 50mm f4. Admire your patience and skills.
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Forum: General Photography
04-09-2024, 04:49 PM
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Not gonna click through 36 pages to see if this one was posted...
Linda Carter in Wonder Woman with a Spotmatic. Looks like a SP1000, in other photos it doesn't seem to have a self timer.
Attachment 632149 |
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
04-02-2024, 03:09 PM
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I agree with the others. You haven't even gotten going yet. I have that many Pentax SVs alone. They don't all work but they do look pretty. :D
EDIT - Actually that isn't totally true, They do all work as long as it doesn't go below freezing. The shutters on a couple of mine are a little temperamental when they feel too chilly.
I am trying to convince my wife to move to Tuscon, Arizona.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
03-25-2024, 05:41 AM
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voltage rating must be higher than what you need, it defines insulation strength : if it insulates for example 20 volt, it wil work also on 15 volt.
capacitors charge in uF are not so accurate in production, so anything 120 to 150 uFwill probably do....
if it serves pure as battery, even stronger might be okay, but I suspect here charge is linked to bulb flash strength, so keep similar but no need to be exactly 130. Product variation of 15% or even 20% is not uncommon on capacitors. I would not go much lower, rather bit higher, hence 120...150.
just check size, bigger ratings sometimes increase physical size....
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
03-24-2024, 04:48 PM
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I did pick up another that works ... But I would still like to get a capacitor and make the original one work. I think 16v would work. The battery is 15v. The capacitor pictured does come out. It's held in position with clips at each end with a hole in the middle and the capacitor pin slips into. I'll take a look at the links sent. Appreciate it.
Btw...I have about a dozen flash cubes and it's kind cool using them. Shoot the picture, rotate the cube to the next bulb. Also the Konica C35 automatically sets the correct aperture based on the guide number set and the focus distance.  |
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
03-11-2024, 01:54 AM
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The contina ii is such a beautiful thing. There was a Contina (viewfinder version) in a thrift shop but it was not working and a bit expensive. So small and perfectly formed though. I have a beautiful Kodak Retina iic so the Contina ii sits atop my wish rather than need list. Gorgeous camera
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-07-2024, 11:05 AM
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That one looks really nice. Hope it works as well as it looks.
The N90s was a pro level camera in it's day and was often carried as either a main or secondary body by working photojournalists. TTL flash was particularly nice on that body. Daylight balanced fill flash was nothing short of magical.
--Ron
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-04-2024, 07:16 PM
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I just received the Nikon N90s today. Wow. Looks mint and everything works! I'll need to run some film through it though just to be sure. The back of the camera has been polished so no sticky back! I'm amazed some of these are going for almost $100 dollars.
 DSCF4580 by frankweiser, on Flickr
 DSCF4574 by frankweiser, on Flickr
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-03-2024, 07:11 PM
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I've found that most of life's problems can be removed that way.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
03-01-2024, 08:19 PM
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Nice selection of Zeiss cameras. I've got 2 working Continas myself. 6 Zeiss cameras in total.I only keep those that I've run film through and are in good working order.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
02-29-2024, 04:29 PM
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I thought I was getting things under control by focusing on just a couple brands, Pentax and Minolta. Well, then I found an Olympus kit, and then a Konica kit, oh, and an Argus brick with accessories. The last Konica I purchased came with a Nikomat......that led to the purchase of a Nikkormat. A box of stuff I found on Craigslist netted me a Canon A1....
Hoarding? Not me, I exercise one every six months or so. My current problem is finding the one I want when I go looking for it. Hoarding? Uuuuumm, no, "collecting". Yes, that's it..."collecting". I almost forgot....four dslr... 😁
Should I join cameras anonymous, or just keep my cameras anonymous 🤔
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
02-28-2024, 10:07 AM
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Never dismiss anything mechanical if it needs some TLC-99.99% of mechanical cameras and lenses can be made in fully-working condtion again. There may be metering issues, sometimes wiring, and sometimes dead photo cells. If the former, fine it can usually be sorted, if the latter, only if you have cells out of a no longer repairable camera that are known to work.
The usual issues with lenses tend to be fungal related, or deterioration of the glass in often just one element. The former can be cleaned off, but depending on make and coating , can leave residual fungal damage to the coating. This has little effect on images, but can look unsightly and affect resale value. The latter can rarely be fixed, simply because it is a break down of the composition of the glass. This, incidentally, is not limited to 'vintage' lenses. I once had a very expensive Canon 300mm lens to repair, and a number of elements had sufaces that looked like moonscapes! Craters everywhere...and to my surprise, every element was secured in place with spring metal circlips that were nothing more than bent bits of steel wire with sharp , cut ends, and no plastic coating. So any element removed would have been destroyed by the sharp ends of the clips. Not impressed with Canon's assembly methods.
So even if you can't/don't want to repair something photographic, someone out there will-so NEVER bin it!
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
02-26-2024, 01:38 AM
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I made an offer. This is how I get bargains. I will sell the 135mm and canon adapter for more than I paid. So the 50mm f 1.4 will be effectively free.
---------- Post added 02-26-24 at 08:44 AM ----------
It was described well. It had a best offer option, I made an offer and got it. A lot of sellers are not aware of value they just want to move things on. I recently got a model 231 Spotmatic SP, an 8 element 50mm f1.4 and a wide angle Pentacon Electric for £15. I sold the pentacon for £29 so the rest was effectively free.......and I made a proffit. Thats how I build my collection. :). Mike.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-24-2024, 01:07 PM
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Probably the better comparison. The EOS system was a tour de force when released, caught all the other manufacturers flat footed and it took several generations for them to catch up.
Some would say the other players never did catch up to Canon.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-24-2024, 02:32 PM
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The F801/N8008 was a lot better than the N2020, but nothing in the film era focused like EOS…
And the N90 was just a really nice camera. If you’re into Nikon, just go get one… especially with the 24-120 :)
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-22-2024, 04:48 PM
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They just went at it so quickly that "can't be done" was still sleeping 😊
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-22-2024, 01:59 PM
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Thats just the mainstream spyware.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-20-2024, 11:24 AM
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Any lens without an aperture ring won’t be able to be used in manual or Av modes on the MZ-S.
---------- Post added 02-20-24 at 01:28 PM ----------
I just confirmed a da 50f1.8 will properly work on a pz-1. I sacrificed frame of film to test an f8+ shot and it stops down as expected. The dslr-like controls worked as expected.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-12-2024, 08:26 PM
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Just got my Spotmatic F back from Eric H., and he fitted it with a 625A.
---------- Post added 02-12-24 at 09:33 PM ----------
You can see how a Spotmatic meter, where you center the needle in a +/- bracket, is very different from a camera meter where the needle reacts to a light level, and then matched to a “lollipop” follower, like a Rollei 35 (or even a Pentax KX). Battery voltage would make a big difference in the latter.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-12-2024, 11:20 AM
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This seems so logical that it feels like people claiming there is an error have no practical experience with it.
In my opinion a company that would design / build a meter circuit where the results were dependant on the battery voltage seems ludicrous. It would have been easy, even in the 60s, for an engineer to design a circuit that can power a meter that works to power a meter circuit that can be calibrated and works the same within a supply voltage range. The meter would use the output voltage controlled by a light cell which the bias voltage would be powered by the battery but the reading calibrated based on the light cell output rather than the supply voltage. Then the only problem would be as the battery was dieing, it would go below the bias voltage.
Annnnd, I was right. The diagram shows the exact thing with the battery providing a bias voltage and not controlling the meter output, which is dependant on not one but 3 photo cells and not the battery voltage itself.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-12-2024, 06:03 AM
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Having read various sources saying either that metering is impacted or not impacted using 1.55V batteries, I decided to do my own tests.
Setup was an adjustable power supply, set to either 1.55V or 1.35V, with a 15 ohm resistor to simulate a silver cell or a mercury cell.
Results as follows:
1. Low light, f2.0, 1/8 sec @ 1000 ISO (near limit of low light metering of the Spotmatic):
Metering showed about 1/4 stop (or perhaps slightly less) higher with 1.55V compared with 1.35V
2. Medium light: f5.6, 1/15 sec @ 400ISO:
Metering approx 1/8 stop higher with 1.55V
3. Bright light: f1 @ 1/125sec, 125 ISO (near max daylight):
Metering less than 1/8 stop higher with 1.55V
..So the only real impact is at very low light levels, and the error is minimal.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
02-10-2024, 07:25 AM
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If they’re really lucky, they’ll get the ME and the Minolta :)
-Eric
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-09-2024, 10:08 AM
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Hi Chris,
For HP5, I’ve found this to work well: overexpose by 1 stop (iso 200), then develop normally (as if for box speed); use a compensating developer to keep the highlights in check; I use D76 diluted 1+1, and Perceptol also at 1+1. The D76 gives wonderful sharp grain and nice deep shadows. Perceptol gives much finer grain but, surprisingly for such a soft working developer, also shows some punchy tones when used this way; beautiful highlights though. Suggest maybe start by overexposing by 2/3rds stop and see how it works out, then adjust from there. You can do this test on a single roll on the same subject. Watch your metering of the highlights, but TBH this film has so much latitude that it’s hard to blow out the highlights using these developers. Final tip: don’t be tempted to dilute these developers to 1+3 to save money, or you’ll be back to bland tones and all greys. Stick with 1+1.
Yeah, I’ve heard Microphen is great with HP5, but I’ve never tried it. Must do that one day soon. Do you use standard speed, dev times, agitation per Ilford?
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
02-08-2024, 01:11 PM
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That Petri image looks like it. That’s clearer than what I had seen.
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