Vintage film cameras

[ic-racer]

 

[Old Ears too]

There've been some nice and not so nice looking Nikon's on the GW site this past couple of days. I think of your cameras each time I look at the ads for them. Then I take a really deep breath and say to myself, "I don't shoot film any more and don't need another camera sitting in the cabinet unused." and my desire to bid goes away. Kinda. But not really.

 

[Old Ears too]

There's an F2 on there now.

 

[ic-racer]

I kind of went on a Nikon buying streak. I got the F FTn and F2 Photomic above, then these two also. F2A and F2AS.

The F2A was pretty nice, needing only minor repairs and adjustment.

 

[ic-racer]

The F2AS was really dirtry, but did NOT need any adjustment of the DP-12 finder or the camera's shutter. Turned out to be a really nice deal.

This one has the LED indicators and Silicon Blue cells. The Holy Grail of Nikon F2! The last upgrade before the F3 came out.

 

[ic-racer]

I bought the vintage Nikons, not only for the fun of repairing them, but I want to use them also.

Turns out my bifocals don't agree with Nikon's use of a [-1] diopter standard for the bare eyepieces. So I have had to tracked down some [0] diopter eyepieces.

 

[Old Ears too]

You've got some nice cameras there @ic-racer. I'm almost jealous but since I don't shoot film it's not all that bad.

 

[Rx4Pain]

My Dad's old RicohFlex TLR (1950's) bottom shelf, second from the right...had to disassemble it, lubricate it, then align the lenses. Works perfectly now...
Next to my old Yashica MAT 124G TLR I purchased in 1985...gone thru, cleaned etc by Mark Hama about 12 years ago. Works perfectly...
Next to my current gear.

Ken

 

[ic-racer]

I have been on a little vintage Nikon repair journey recently. Here is an F3 of undisclosed condition sold for parts.

 

[ic-racer]

Cosmetics were fantastic after cleaning! Shutter speed and meter all test as new. All the little features and functions work, like the little illuminator lamp in the viewfinder.

 

[Old Ears too]

So you've gotten it working now?
Good deal.
Looks like new!

 

[ic-racer]

Here is a picture of the camer film chamber as I got it and after ONE ROLL of film. See the little marks? Could this camera have never had film through it? Maybe.

Nikon literature from the 1980s indicated the shutter is good for 150,000 exposures. I have quite a few to go!!

 

[ic-racer]

So you've gotten it working now?
Good deal.
Looks like new!

I see a lot of stuff listed as 'parts only' because people don't want to be bothered with returns if some little thing is wrong. That was the case with this F3. I have the tools, knowledge and manuals for repair, but this one did not need anything!

 

[Old Ears too]

I've seen a lot of cameras I'd like to do similar to but don't have the skills nor the tools you do.
Good job on saving those cameras, you've got some nice ones for sure.

 

[ic-racer]

Shutter test:

32mm Opening Curtain time: 10.5ms
32mm Closing Curtain time: 10.4ms

Speed EV Error
1s 0
2 0
4 0
8 0
16 0
32 0
64 0
128 +0.1
256 +0.1
512 +0.1
1024 +0.2

2048 0

 

[ic-racer]

I've seen a lot of cameras I'd like to do similar to but don't have the skills nor the tools you do.
Good job on saving those cameras, you've got some nice ones for sure.

For me it is very similar to repairing vintage HiFi. Same skill set needed for diagnosing and trouble shooting. Does take some years of practice. I took my first camera apart in the 1960s, though never actually repaired a camera until the 1980s.

 

[Old Ears too]

You should take a family picture of all these rescued cameras. It'd make a great photo op.

 

[ic-racer]

I was on a roll, not a single seriously broken camera in 5 or 6 auction wins.

That winning streak ended here.

This Nikon L35AF-3 would wind a whole roll of film without taking a single picture as soon as you triggered the first exposure.

Cosmetics are nice, so maybe worth it to invenstigate.

I don't know of any PDF or paper repair manual for this L35 line of cameras (though they seem to be popular on youtube). I believe the appeal is the sharp fixed focal length fast lens that is linked to a good autofocus system.

If I can get it to work, I guess I'll find out.

 

[ic-racer]

Oops, looks like this piece just spontaneously broke. No vidence of dropping, tampering or abuse. Too bad because it might be impossible to re-attach. It is under a lot of tension due to a somewhat heavy spring.

A lever that engates the frame counter pivots on this little plastic axle. So , without the counter moving, the camera just winds up the whole roll trying to get to the "1" on the counter.

 

[Old Ears too]

I can vouch for the fine lens on L35AF's. I bought one back in the day as our family camera. Still have it in my old Nikon bag in the closet.