Man-Wei

[man-wei]

My Agfa Billy Compur 6x9 Folding Camera

I love large negatives and I have been searching for a good performance and reasonably compact 6x9 camera.

I used a few medium format folding cameras before but their performance had been less than stellar. This is to be expected since Jurgen Kreckel of certo6.com (he restores and sells MF folding cameras) frequently warns his customers not to expect Hasselblad or Rolleiflex performance from a folder.

I had considered non-folding 6x9 like Fujica GL690/GW690, Kodak Medalist II, etc. Very well made rangefinders but they are heavy and not compact at all.

So my search continued till I came across this Agfa Billy Compur 6x9 with a Agfa Solinar lens for $30 on eBay, listed as For Parts or Repair. Why Not! I bought it, fixed it up and test shot a roll.

This is Frame #1 of my test roll, 2sec, f/16. Image file: 10500 x 7000

Here is a 200% crop of the image showing the railings inside the stadium.

The negative was scanned by a cheap flatbed scanner (Canon Canoscan 9000F). I scan my negatives at 9600spi in RAW and digital signal processed the file to 3200spi, spi = samples per inch.

I am surprisingly pleased with the results. This 6x9 folder has become my favorite camera to carry when I commute. It is light and compact. Now I have to download apps for a light meter and a rangefinder.

[man-wei]

Clean and Lubricate a Prontor-S #0 Shutter

- Remove focus distance ring

- Mark infinity setting for reference

- Remove focus lens element and middle lens element

- Remove the from cover plate

- Remove the shutter speed setting ring

For #0 shutter, no parts come lose when speed ring is removed. The shutter appears to be in fairy clean shape. However, there are a few problems: 1. The slow speed escapement is sluggish; 2. The timer delay fails to latch and stay armed; 3. The timer delay is also sluggish.

- Bath the shutter in lighter fluid (overnight).

- The sediment from the bath.

- Lubricate pivots with light oils and sliding surfaces with light grease.

- The slow speed escapement still fails to start from time to time. It appears that the surface where shutter release lever hammer slides on is quite rough, creating resistance to the spring of the escapement. Polishing the hammer surface of both the shutter cocking lever and the pallet arm solved the problem.

- The timer delay fails to latch from time to time. The pivot of the lever that latches the timer delay mechanism is a bit sluggish. Adding a tiny bit of thick oil relieved the sluggish lever.

FYI: Detail disassembling the Prontor-S shutter by a flickr member: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157626612483288

[man-wei]

Lubricating a Compur Shutter

As I have mentioned in my last post, I have only worked on shutters that are in fairly fine shape. After a good cleaning in lighter fluid bath, the shutter is ready for lubrication.

Synthetic lubricants have many advantages. In particular, they do not gum-up like petroleum based lubricants in extreme low-temperature. For oil lubrication, I use a very light full-synthetic oil blend with nano-sized ceramic particles which attach themselves onto and into the asperities of the metal. I mix 50/50 Finish Line Ceramic Full-synthetic Lube with Yamaha Full-synthetic Valve Oil (music store). For grease lubrication, I use Finish Line Ceramic Full-synthetic Grease.

1. Compur Rim-set and Compur-Rapid

These shutters have a main ring around the shutter mounting hub, see photo below. The main ring has a strong spring attached to it with the other end anchored to the shutter body, see photo below.

One common problem with all these shutters that I have cleaned is the friction between the shutter mounting hub and the main ring. This ring rotates around the shutter mounting hub and it triggers a sequence of parts as it rotates CCW when the shutter is released. The major load of this drive spring is to drive the speed escapement and the timer escapement if installed. But the spring also has to overcome the friction between the shutter mounting hub and the main ring. All the shutters I have restored require a judicious coat of light grease along the inner rim of the ring and the hub surface where the ring rubs against. Only with this done the shutter would then operate flawlessly.

One may also wish to place a very tiny drop of oil on the pivots circled in red and a very light coat of grease on the lever and lug surfaces circled in blue. That is all the lubrication required of these shutters. For these Compur shutters, the escapement should run dry if they are in good shape.

2. Synchro-Compur:

There are two Synchro-Compur shutter designs.

1. The early Synchro-Compur shutter has a main ring and a main spring very much like the Compur Rim-set and Compur Rapid. The difference is the release mechanism with MX sync. Lubricate this shutter as above.

2. In mid-50's, Synchro-Compur shutter has a drive wheel/pinion/spring unit that drives the escapement. It has a main ring with teeth and a smaller main spring. However, the main ring's prime function is to set and release the drive wheel/pinion/sprint unit. The main spring does not drive the speed escapement as earlier Compur shutter.

This is a re-print from Synchro-Compur repair manual. Note: there is no indication that the speed escapement or the timer escapement needs any lubrication ... quite contrary to most posting on the web.

Thanks for visiting. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome.

Welcome to visit my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deutsch-kameras/

Disclaimer: I am not a professional camera repairman. I am simply sharing my experience and what has worked for me. Execute DIY camera repair at your own risk and only if you are mechanically inclined.

[man-wei]

Cleaning a Camera Shutter

As I have posted in previous blog, the topic of cleaning a shutter is a contentious subject. When a shutter is sluggish or stuck (assuming no parts are broken nor missing), the common remedy is to clean and lubricate the shutter. There are three common approaches to CL(A) the shutter; C=clean, L=lubricate (A)=adjust. Method-1. Without removing the shutter from the camera, clean the shutter by dripping some lighter fluid onto specific area; and then lubricate specific parts. Method-2. Remove the shutter from the camera. Soak the whole shutter in a lighter fluid bath. Blow it dry and then lubricate specific parts. Method-3. Remove the shutter from the camera. Disassemble the shutter and clean the parts. Re-assemble, lubricate specific parts and adjust the shutter. I am not a fan of Method-1. The solvent dispenses the old lubricant and dirt to other areas of the shutter, potentially leading to other problems. It is a short term fix, not a real Clean and Lubricate job. Method-3 is a complete Clean, Lubricate and Adjust job, no argument. However, it is a very involved task. I have a spare shutter to learn how this is done. My opinion, a complete disassembled shutter CLA job is necessary if the shutter has been seriously compromised, e.g. a heavily gummed up shutter that had been sprayed with WD-40, a shutter that was exposed to the environment with lots of gunk-up dirt or rust.

For shutters that are in fairly good shape, I was able to restored them successfully with Method-2. These are the shutters I have worked on: "Rim-set" Compur #00, #0 and #1, Synchro-Compur #00 and Pronto-S #0.

Soak the shutter in a clean lighter fluid bath, swirl the solvent around for few minutes and let it soak overnight. If there is any stubborn dirt, use a very soft artist brush and give it a gentle brush. NOTE: Be very careful, aggressive scrubbing could unhook or break some of the very tiny delicate springs in the shutter.

After a night in the solvent, I swirl the solvent for few minutes and discard the dirty solvent. The shutter then goes into a second clean lighter fluid bath. This time I will attempt to fire the shutter when the shutter is wet. The shutter should fire if it is in working order. The solvent acts like a lubricant when the shutter is wet. Leave the shutter soak overnight.

After a second night in the solvent, I alternate swirling the solvent and firing the shutter a few times. Remove the shutter from the bath and rinse the shutter generously with clean lighter fluid.

Then lightly blow dry the shutter and let dry for 24hrs+. NOTE: Do not attempt to fire an unlubricated shutter because it likely will get stuck.

The clean shutter is now ready to be lubricated - to be continued in the next post.

TIPS: Take some close-up pictures of the shutter before cleaning it. Make notes of the positions of the springs - just in case they get un-hooked while cleaning ... I am speaking from experience!

Thanks for visiting. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome.

Welcome to visit my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deutsch-kameras/

Disclaimer: I am not a professional camera repairman. I am simply sharing my experience and what has worked for me. Execute DIY camera repair at your own risk and only if you are mechanically inclined.

[man-wei]

Zeiss Ikoflex IIa (Late Model) Front Cover Disassembly

There is very little information to be found on the web for Zeiss Ikoflex TLR.  I have a Zeiss Ikoflex IIa 855/16 (late mode) TLR with a sticky shutter that needed cleaning.  After inspecting the front panel I suspected it was put together differently than other commonly known TLR.  I searched the web far and wide until I found a small note on disassembling this particular model.  So I decided to post this blog with pictures to share with others wishing to disassemble their Ikoflex IIa.

The following instructions apply to this particular Zeiss Ikoflex IIa 855/16 model.

Peel the leatherette off the side of the lens mounting plate.

Peel the leatherette till it reaches the aperture/shutter setting wheels where a hole should appear.  Set the focus to minimum distance to expose a screw inside the hole.  Repeat procedure (1) and (2) on the other side.

Make sure the shutter is released, not cocked.  Set the shutter speed and the aperture to an arbitrary setting (e.g. 1/8, f/8).  With the camera laying flat on it back (i.e. front facing up), unscrew (ccw) the screws on each side, 1/2 turn at a time, till the cover plate is off the lens mounting plate.  For my camera, it took about 5~6 half turns to lift cover off. CAUTION: Do not unscrew too far; the screw will fall into the lens board. Almost impossible to "shake" it back out! CAUTION: Lift the cover plate gently since there is a lever and washers behind the cover plate.

Note the position and order of the shutter rocker arm and the washer when the shutter is in released condition.  This placement is required when replacing the cover plate.

Also note the position of the shutter speed ring slot (RED arrow) and the aperture setting level (GREEN arrow). They are aligned with the setting rings behind the cover plate. They must align to each other when replacing the cover plate back onto the lens mounting plate.

Detach the flash sync contact from the shutter by unscrewing (ccw) the black screw.

From the film chamber, unscrew (ccw) the shutter mounting sleeve.  It is the metal tube with two slots.  I used a small metal plate with a pair of pliers to unscrew the mounting sleeve.  The Synchro Compur shutter is now free to be removed from the lens mounting plate. CAUTION: Note the order of the shutter and shims while removing the shutter.

Clean the shutter and re-assemble the shutter and front cover in reverse order.

The sensitivity of the shutter release button to trigger the shutter can be adjusted by moving the plate (secured by the blue colored screw) closer or farther from the shutter actuator lever.

Cleaning a mechanical camera shutter is a contentious topic and I will discuss this topic on another post.

Thanks for visiting. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome.

Welcome to visit my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deutsch-kameras/

Disclaimer: I am not a professional camera repairman. I am simply sharing my experience and what has worked for me. Execute DIY camera repair at your own risk and only if you are mechanically inclined.

[man-wei]

Introduction

In 2011, I rekindled my passion for photography after a ten years sabbatical when my wife won a vintage Zeiss twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera at an auction. She thought it would make a nice decoration. When I held the camera in my hands, I was so impressed with the beauty of the design and the robustness of the engineering that I wished to go out and start shooting again. However a camera that has been dormant for decades bounds to have some quirks. In this case, it has the common malfunctioning shutter.

I could have sent it away to a professional camera repairman but it would have cost me $200 to $300, many times what my wife had paid. I thought it over and decided to challenged myself to fix the shutter of this camera. Over the years I have expanded my vintage camera collection to a few Rollei TLR cameras as well. So knowing to do some basic maintenance/repair is definitely worthwhile to keep the cost down.

The following is a list of cameras in my current collection (in order of acquisition);

Zeiss Ikoflex IIa 855/16, Zeiss Tessar 75mm f/3,5

Rolleiflex Automat K4A, Zeiss Tessar 75mm f/3,5

Rolleiflex Automat K7D, Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2,8

Rolleiflex Automat K4C, Zeiss Planar 75mm f/3,5

Agfa Jsolar 408 9x12, Agfa Solinar 135mm f/4,5

Rolleiflex Original 612, Zeiss Tessar 75mm f/3,8

Rolleicord I “Art Deco”, Zeiss Triotar 75mm f/4,5

Balda Baldaxette I, Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/2,8

Agfa Rilly Compur, Agfa Solinar 105mm f/4,5

Agfa Jsolette, Agfa Solinar 85mm f/4,5

I like to share my experience on shooting with vintage cameras and the maintenance/repair that I have done.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional camera repairman. I am simply sharing my experience and what has worked for me. Execute DIY camera repair at your own risk and only if you are mechanically inclined.

Thanks for visiting. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome.

Welcome to visit my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deutsch-kameras/