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Post by Peltigera on Jul 3, 2012 14:11:51 GMT -5
I managed to sell two photographs this week for £45.00 each - both taken on my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex II (1937 version). It seemed to me to be appropriate to buy two more cameras in celebration, so I did. This is the first one to arrive in the post - a Braun Paxette. It has an extinction meter which is not quite easy to use (the instructions tell me to look at the meter for 20 seconds before taking a reading - a VERY long time) but it agrees quite well with my Zeiss Ikon Ikophot meter so perhaps I shall get to appreciate it eventually.   I also have a Voigtlander Vito BL coming, hopefully tomorrow. |
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jul 3, 2012 15:06:15 GMT -5
That sounds a good deal. I don't know which to congratulate you the more on - the sales or the purchases.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Jul 4, 2012 0:20:17 GMT -5
That Paxette was my first 35mm camera after my Zeiss Tenax fell overboard and took up residence with Davey Jones.
Its extinction meter taught me the value of the Sunny 16 rule.
Mickey
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jul 5, 2012 2:38:21 GMT -5
The little monkey!
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Post by Peltigera on Jul 5, 2012 9:37:15 GMT -5
The shutter release is VERY sensitive. On my first roll of film, coming on for half are mistakes. I am going to have to learn to wind the film on just before I want to take the next picture.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jul 5, 2012 13:21:00 GMT -5
Certainly with some cameras it was a mistake to wind on immediately after the previous shot was taken. I remember one (? what) that said in the instructions you shouldn't wind on until needed as to do so weakened the shutter spring.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Jul 5, 2012 14:12:27 GMT -5
Who am I to criticize the manufacturers.
I always wound on immediately after taking a picture so that I might be ready for whatever came along.
But my camera was always put away at the end of the day with the shutter not cocked.
I also store the camera with all focus and zoom settings at their shortest positions just in case the lens was banged.
Mickey
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Post by grenouille on Jul 5, 2012 15:33:29 GMT -5
My camera is charged only when I'm ready to shoot, guess I'm a sticker for instructions, manufacturers are always correct.
Is the Paxette a I or IM
Hye
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Post by nikkortorokkor on Jul 5, 2012 22:30:54 GMT -5
Yes, the Paxettes' shutter releases were always "hair triggers". I have plenty of nice "full bokeh" shots to prove it. My method with later Paxettes, all of which had idiosyncratic winding levers which needed to be thrown twice, was to throw the lever once after taking a picture and once again before taking the next. The short throw could be accomplished as the camera was coming up to my eye. It got to be habit quite quickly.
Even more strange was the rewind lever, which seemed to require an age of ratcheting to rewind a film.
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Post by Peltigera on Jul 6, 2012 5:48:17 GMT -5
My Paxette does not have any model number on it, so I assume a I. Looking on the Interweb is a bit confusing as the combination of features mine has doesn't get mentioned at all - lever wind, Prontor SVS shutter and non-interchangable Pointar lens.
I shall try Nikkortorokkor's tip of partly winding the film only. It will be nice to get at least half a roll of pictures out of the film!
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Post by Peltigera on Jul 6, 2012 16:43:15 GMT -5
Mentioned in the OP that I was also getting Voigtlander Vito BL. It was advertised as having a broken shutter - I took a punt on it merely needing a film in the camera. Turns out the shutter is broken.
However, I shall take this apart carefully - I have nothing to lose - and see if my engineering skills have improved while I've been sleeping.
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Post by nikkortorokkor on Jul 18, 2012 9:47:30 GMT -5
Vito BL - my first "serious" camera. It's exactly 10 years older than I am, and inherited from my uncle via my mother. 3rd hand! Lovely build quality (superior to paxettes), but I could never get on with the very vague viewfinder. Not good for a left-eyed shooter.
Have you started in on the shutter yet?
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Berndt
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Post by Berndt on Jul 18, 2012 20:44:54 GMT -5
Extinction meter ? Wow ... learned something new. I have a Vito CL in excellent condition. I just assume, that the light meter is not working exactly anymore. That kept me away from using it yet. If I have to guess everything anyway, I prefer to use a medium format folder then  |
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Post by Peltigera on Jul 19, 2012 15:06:18 GMT -5
I took the shutter on the Vito BL apart and found that I am still no engineer. Complicated little buggers, aren't they? Oh, well. it was only the price of a couple of pints of hobgoblin.
(I was expecting to have referred to "complicated little bthingys")
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Berndt
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Post by Berndt on Jul 19, 2012 23:37:26 GMT -5
It might not be able to comfort you, but ... a shutter repair is really difficult, I think. Hard to guess the functionality of each of those hundred parts without a repair manual, which is mostly missing. What usually happens to me is, I try to get the same camera again, if I am not able to repair the first one for what reasons ever. It's strange, but a not working camera is like an "incomplete orgasm" for me |
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