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Post by doubs43 on Apr 24, 2007 12:56:58 GMT -5
My luck buying on ebay has been pretty good.... about 95% or better of my purchases have been in good condition or an easy fix/repair. That changed with my latest buy, although it didn't cost me much.
I won a Praktica IV FB camera with a 55mm f/1.8 Mamiya-Sekor lens for all of $11.50. The pictures looked good and the low price was likely because the previous owner had engraved his name on the baseplate. So, what did I receive?
The shutter works but not properly as the slow speeds don't regulate properly and the second curtain is wrinkled. The film counter plate is gone and it appears that someone has been inside at some point. I'll probably save it for a coming Winter project.
The lens goes past infinity and has obviously been apart and is likely one or two threads off in the helical. The good news is that the glass is perfect and I can likely fix it if all the parts are there. The Mamiya lenses are not easy to work on as I found out with another of their lenses.
That's the story of my latest ebay "find". I hope my next one will turn out better.
Walker
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Post by Randy on Apr 24, 2007 14:40:18 GMT -5
Sorry you got bit, but at that price it shouldn't leave scars. I've got a MINT LTL.... ;D
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Post by doubs43 on Apr 24, 2007 16:23:14 GMT -5
Randy, the LTL in any of it's variations is an excellent camera so I consider you to be well equiped with that camera. Oddly enough, I have TL Supers, a Nova B and an FX2 that are all in excellent or better condition and I was hoping for at least a useable camera and/or lens when I bid on the IV FB. I've read that they are so much smoother in operation than the later Prakticas and wanted to see for myself. It seems smooth enough but the shutter just doesn't regulate as it should. At the price I paid, it'll make a good one to tinker with and maybe learn something.  Walker |
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Apr 24, 2007 19:20:43 GMT -5
Hi Walker,
I think the Mamiya screw mount lens is fairly easy to work on if I recall correctly. Get the name ring unscrewed, then unscrew the filter ring/forward barrel. Three screws facing you hold the focusing ring to the helical and it slides off to the front. Getting the threads restarted properly is the trick. You have three or four chances to get it wrong!
Bill
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Post by doubs43 on Apr 25, 2007 0:58:02 GMT -5
Hi Walker, I think the Mamiya screw mount lens is fairly easy to work on if I recall correctly. Get the name ring unscrewed, then unscrew the filter ring/forward barrel. Three screws facing you hold the focusing ring to the helical and it slides off to the front. Getting the threads restarted properly is the trick. You have three or four chances to get it wrong! Bill Bill, I believe you're thinking of a Takumar lens. I've taken the Mamiya apart and it's nowhere near as simple in construction as the Takumars. This lens is also different than the f/1.4 Mamiya that I repaired a year or so back. At the moment I think I have the helical exactly 180 degrees out. There's an eccentric lug on the side of the optics group that slides in a slot and a lever that actuates the iris blades. As it is now, when I slide the eccentric into the slot, the lever is about exactly opposite where it should be. I also need to figure out how to do a fine infinity adjustment once I have it assembled correctly. As it came to me, the three screws that hold the focusing ring on were loose and one actually fell out when I took it apart. It was obvious from the bunged up screw heads that someone has had it apart before. It'll require some time but I'll eventually get it right. Walker |
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Post by John Parry on Apr 25, 2007 4:16:19 GMT -5
Shame about the IV - they are nice cameras (contenders for the Ugly prize though!). It's a sad fact of life - any Praktica earlier than the 'L' has a cloth horizontal shutter, which is nowhere near as reliable or accurate as the L's metal vertical shutter, but any 'L' or later camera (until the bayonet models) is prone to failure because of the cheap plastic sprockets in the wind-on mechanism. It's called 'spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar'.
Regards - John
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Post by doubs43 on Apr 25, 2007 11:55:30 GMT -5
Shame about the IV - they are nice cameras (contenders for the Ugly prize though!). It's a sad fact of life - any Praktica earlier than the 'L' has a cloth horizontal shutter, which is nowhere near as reliable or accurate as the L's metal vertical shutter, but any 'L' or later camera (until the bayonet models) is prone to failure because of the cheap plastic sprockets in the wind-on mechanism. It's called 'spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar'. Regards - John John, as usual you've nailed it! I have a beautiful MTL3 with a broken sprocket and - unless I'm missing something - the whole mechanism must be taken apart to replace it. If only the plastic parts in the film advance system had been made of metal..... Walker |
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