Vintage film cameras

[Kenzie]

Thanks for the link Yoko. How do I test a capacitor? Don't think I fancy doing the top one!

Sent from the darkroom

[yokohama]

I'm not sure how to test them at all.
But a duff capacitor is the most likely cause of the problem if the camera is dead and the mirror is locked up. I think it's most likely to be the bottom one.
Actually I just had a quick surf - you can check them with a multimeter on the ohms setting
https://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/Troubles...ard_components
They do have polarity though according the youtube video, the negative is the outside one

[Kenzie]

Well using method 3, the meter shows some digits for a second and then returns to 1.

Sent from the darkroom

[johnnyrod]

Depending on the type they bulge when they're dead, like bloat.

The camera from the guy (at least I think it is) in Plymouth arrived, it's a Zeiss Contessamatic E. It smells but all looks good except the meter is dead. The needle does jump a bit if you twist the rings fast enough, not sure if that means bad contacts, but will investigate, and hopefully either it'll spring back up or I can transplant the one I have from a donor camera. It's actually closer to some of the Japanese RFs in that the focusing tabs are near the body, but unlike all the other Contessas, this one is unit focus i.e. the whole lens moves back and forth like an SLR lens. All the others, and many older cameras, are front cell focus so only the front element moves, which is simpler and also means less travel as it's the most powerful of the lens groups. Unit focus is superior at close range and for flatness into the corners of pictures. The only niggle using it is that it restricts you to the range of the meter, so when you go down to e.g. 1/4 second it restricts you to a smaller aperture e.g. no less than f11. You can overcome it by changing the ISO to a low setting, and in the main I doubt I'd be trying to work in that range.

[Kenzie]

222373572839.

What is the attraction of these? Not exactly the prettiest of things!

[johnnyrod]

That's the one, not much of an oil painting I guess, they're nice to use and have pretty reliably given me decent pictures. Things like the meter needle in the VF and Judas windows so you can do most of it just using the VF.

[Kenzie]

What do you think? Too cutesy?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...TE+35&_sacat=0

Or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1122635894...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[yokohama]

The first one looks like a 60s kids' toy. If it's more of a collectors' Item, I wonder what it will go for?

[Kenzie]

Just transferred the bellows from the duff Dacora over to the equally duff looking Bessa 66. Now that is sorted I have just noticed fungus in the lens. Any volunteers to clean it?

[yokohama]

Don't trust me! The last lens I took apart was a disaster.
And a random ebay speculative offer has resulted in me acquiring a Yashica. Now I need more lenses.