Vintage film cameras

[johnnyrod]

Will do. If you can see the dot then that's good, it means the half-silvered mirror is in good shape. All the movement of the image is in the rotating prisms in the monocle thing, and I think you said they had been removed or something. Meters do die but sometimes they come back - you could try flipping the flap open and sliding the meter window back and forth a few times to clean up the contacts.

[Kenzie]

I actually removed the cell and tried to sort it but still no response. Just emailed a guy on Gumtree offering a Zenit em and Lubitel 166b.

Sent from the darkroom

[johnnyrod]

I reckon at least half of the ones I looked at on the Bay of Pigs had dead cells, so I hung on to find one that worked. I don't know if it's the age or something else, because all the non-folding Contessas I have seen have good cells - that's at least 4. Mind you the one in my Super Ikonta is also just fine, and the Japanese cameras too, so maybe it's more a Contessa 35 thing. I read a while back about possibly regenerating them, I wondered about it as I could get the bits from work. You'd have to heat it to about 200C and in an atmosphere that is either reducing or high CO2, no idea how much or how long! Alternatively I've read somewhere about people using pieces of silicon photocell instead.

[Kenzie]

Thinking about it, I might have the cell from a Kodak retinette kicking around somewhere. Wonder if it will fit. Guy still has the Lubitel so will be going for a drive tomorrow.
Do you think Yoko's body clock has caught up with him?
Sent from the darkroom

[Kenzie]

Picked up the Lubitel. It's absolutely mint. Guy bought it new in 1980 and didn't use it much before buying a Minolta xg 1. Got the manual with the build date in. The Zenit EM is in good Nick with a Helios 44m fitted.

Sent from the darkroom

[johnnyrod]

Nice find! I still haven't touched the one I have, but it's not usable.

[Kenzie]

What was wrong with it again?

[johnnyrod]

Some fungus, though it looks like it hasn't been there long, and the shutter sticks badly. It's pretty clean overall, just not really working. I don't understand the little flip-out magnifier for the finder screen, it's total carp, makes it harder to see anything. On a similar note, saw a Zenobiaflex on US ebay, only 10 bucks plus about £38 shipping. And on that theme, a decent Contessamat in Germany at ten quid plus about £18 for shipping. BAH!

[Heorot]

For £18 it would be International Tracked & Signed for by airmail. Surface mail should be much cheaper.

[Kenzie]

Like the look of the Zenobiaflex. Will you have a go at fixing the Lubitel?