Spiffy looking Kodak Medalist II after a good cleaning and lube session.

Mmmmm look at that helical lens tube...

Shutter blades need some cleaning but by 10pm last night, I'd had enough.

Respool some Ultrafine Xtreme 400 B&W film and shoot

Oooo this Kodak Medalist II is REALLY pretty underneath all that scuzz.

Four hours scraping off dirt and dried oil, gently lubing, exercising the shutter & helical lens tube - it's like buttah. Shutter blades are next.

Respool 120 onto 620 + shoot.

#believeinfilm #camerarepair #filmphotography

Unintentional diptych. The Balda Baldix 120 format folder fails to advance the film properly. I'm losing a lot of shots. Does anyone have experience with this camera? Is there a trick? Anyone know a good technician who can fix it?

#photography #vintagecamera #camerarepair #mediumformat

It's just too quirky for me. I want to love it, but I don't. I can't. At any rate, this one is near mint, has a working light meter, and will probably be available to buy in the next week (once I finish the roll I foolishly loaded last night). Mint condition leather case as well.

Truth:
The Rollei 35 S intrigues the hell out of me. It's tiny, hefty & fast w/an amazing 40mm 2.8 lens. Fully manual.

Every time I get one I think maybe I'll keep it.

Then I load film into its quirky ass & carry it around a bit. Then I sell it.

#believeinfilm #filmphotography #camerarepair

Steps on the crown graphic body

This is gonna take some work

Graflex Crown Graphic #restoration cont'd

1. Ugly-ass leather bound Crown Graphic
2. Disclothed and guts removed
3. Stripped & sanded
4. 5 coats of Tru-oil

It's looking pretty good!

Now: the door. This is gonna be a tough one. Loan me your sandblaster, plz and thanx.

#camerarepair #believeinfilm

Stripped, sanded, taped and ready to be oiled / sealed.

Stripped, sanded, taped and ready to be oiled / sealed.

Stripped, sanded, taped and ready to be oiled / sealed.

Stripped, sanded, taped and ready to be oiled / sealed.

Graflex strip and restoration update:

Three evenings of removing leather, sanding, cleaning, taping - I'm ready to start oiling / sealing this up.

Tru-oil was recommended to me by a friend who works w/wood - here we go.

#believeinfilm #camerarepair #restoration #filmphotography #crowngraphic

Sand it STRIP ITTT

Sand it STRIP ITTT

strip Strip STRIP

That sticky shit has been percolating on this Graflex for decades - what a pain in the ass, but also easier than it probably should be?

#filmphotography #believeinfilm #camerarepair #graflex

a naked, gutted Graflex Crown Graphic

a naked, gutted Graflex Crown Graphic

a naked, gutted Graflex Crown Graphic

a naked, gutted Graflex Crown Graphic and components.

So, what does a naked, gutted Graflex Crown Graphic look like?

A sticky 10oz piece of mahogany.

Pretty cool.

Will work on refinishing the wood to see what it takes, but I doubt I'll reassemble this one.

#believeinfilm #filmphotography #camerarepair #largeformat

Strip!

Strip! Strip!

Strip! Strip! Strip!

Tonight's project: What does this Graflex Crown Graphic look like with its clothes off and its guts yanked out?

Thinking about stripping and refinishing this gorgeous mahogany wood frame and sourcing a few parts that need replacing.

(until my ADHD kicks in?)

#graflex #camerarepair
#believeinfilm

Pentax LX film winder

Pentax LX Shutter Speed Dial

Pentax LX Exposure Compensation / ISO wheel

Pentax LX focusing screen (well part of it, at least)

Bought a non-working Pentax LX a month ago hoping I could fix it, but no go - looked like someone had spilled something on it, then took it apart.

Never fails to surprise me how much individual parts will sell for after breaking some cameras down. I've made more than I paid

#camerarepair #pentaxLX

Vintage Camera Repairers Are Retiring, Who Will Replace Them? It is notoriously difficult to fix a broken film camera; the vintage technology requires knowledge, experience, and perhaps most importantly, spare parts. [Read More]

Is it dead? Light metering seems to be working. But the electronic control of shutter speed isn't working. My regular shop in Brussels says it cannot be fixed. Thoughts? I'm sad 😔

#camerarepair #vintagecamera #yashicaelectro35 #filmphotography #analogphotography #Yashica #sad #thriftstorefail

"Wasting My Time and Money on Disgusting Film Cameras" 😅 via @rompingbronco.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3Q...

#filmphotography #filmcamera #camerarepair

Be careful with what you put in the bag with your camera! Sometimes those energy drinks can start leaking out of the can and it will all over your camera… not a good idea for vintage electronics

#nikon #nikonfe2 #analoguecamera #filmcamera #filmphotography #camerarepair

Franka Rollfix II rangefinder medium format folding camera. Picture shows the camera viewed from the front with the lens extended.

Wife bought me this #vintage #camera for €12 at a thrift store in Belgium. The shutter is stuck. Won't cock. Anyone know how to get it unstuck?

May have bitten off more than I can chew.

#camerarepair #vintagecamera #photography #analogphotography #filmcamera

I took a picture of a Pentax MX I disassembled because the shutter remains open. The MX is a all-mechanical camera, as time passes, the thin, strong, cable that activates the shutter must be re-tensioned. It’s a hello of a job that induce a lot of respect for those who once worked on the assembly line putting these miniaturisation marvels together.

This fix requires a lot of discipline and patience ⬇️

The shutter’s leading cable needs to be tensioned, or the closing curtain doesn’t kicks-in on slow times.

It’s a frequent issue with unserviced Pentax MX-es, but not documented anywhere.

#pentax #camerarepair #analogphotography #vintagecamera