Vintage film cameras

[yokohama]

LoL. I already got the Sudbury camera - £3 at a boot sale with a 35-70 on it. Not tried it out though.
I contacted the seller about the OM2 that's local - might be interested but wish it was a 'n' rather than the one with the updated electronics.

My two packages arrived today. The Contina looks in pretty clean shape. Aperture blades all work smoothly, lens is clear, shutter seems to work at the different speeds. The ASA numbers are weird though. They go 80;160; 320; 640. How to set it with a 200? just guess?

The Minolta x500 also seems to be in good condition and working properly. A little bit of exposed brass on the top cover from the strap rubbing but that's all. The light seals definitely need replacing though. Optics in the 2 lenses seem very good; no scratches or fungus. And the 28mm is a Minolta (phew) with a Nikon cap on it. But there is a strange thing with the wide angle; it doesn't focus at infinity. I can look at something 15 metres away through the lens but the edges of the object don't meet up in the focus prism and the lens is at infinity and won't focus further. Any ideas on that one?
Flash is screwed though, with lots of corrosion in the battery compartment.

[Kenzie]

250 is the top. It says c.friedrich.munchen. Corygon-anastigmat f3.5 7.5cm. Have given it a good wipe down and unscrewed the inner rear element and cleaned. Only issue I can see it a small hole in the bellow near the film plane.

Yoko, no idea on the ISO setting but I am sure Johnny will know. Otherwise set as close to you film speed as possible. Most modern film should be able to handle it.

[johnnyrod]

Good news Yoko! Yep set the ISO to the nearest, if in doubt go lower not higher. The tolerance on the shutter speed is 20-25% on a good day (accuracy not precision), and aperture can be as much as half a stop out on any camera anyway. The ISO dial setting combines with (most likely) the shutter speed ring to tell the meter how much light to expect. Thus if you set the ISO between marks it'll still work as you intend, the feedback to the meter is analogue, even though you can't set the shutter between speeds.

Interesting, what shutter is it Kenzie? The Corygon is a Cooke triplet it seems though not that common and probably one of the better ones. Pinholes can be sealed with liquid electrical tape, though I've never used it, or just plain old PVC tape.

[Kenzie]

[johnnyrod]

Compur S shutter with flash sync, though most likely X - you can test it without film though, X was sometimes done as it is easier than M and flash bulbs will work on lower speeds anyway.

WTF is that contraption! Is the shutter leaf supposed to be bent?

[Kenzie]

I know. I thought it was bent so I was like, great, a duff camera. Quick search turned up another camera with the same bend so I guess it supposed to be like that. Rarely use a flash so it shouldn't be an issue.

[johnnyrod]

How curious! Also have you seen this 322135054960 quite sorry-looking but ends 9am tomorrow and unless someone else wants it, I might have a punt to fix up and sell. Bit concerned about the bellows, looks like they've been stored that way. A replacement would be hard to sort out, maybe have to find a cheap Ikonta or Nettar and cannibalise it.

[Kenzie]

Take a punt. Is that a rangefinder? If so, its just topped my Zeiss list.

[johnnyrod]

Yes, I've got one already, same lens (Novar). The rangefinder is uncoupled so you use it to get the distance then set the scale yourself - it's just a scale-focus camera with a built-in accessory rangefinder.

[Kenzie]

Cool. If I had been paid then I would take a shot.
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