My Braun Super Paxette project

ped said:
Yes, you too. Wish we could have spent longer talking but I hope we'll meet up again as we discussed.

For those of you who don't know, I made Wail a Paxette kit of his own (4 bodies, 11 lenses, accessories) which contained an item from EVERY CONTINENT on the planet (excluding Antarctica)

It was great fun and I can't wait to see some pics, Wail!

Cheers
ped

P.s I have pics of Wail's kit to share but I'll need to find them
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The pleasure was mine :) ... and thank you very much (y)

As for using this sexy lot; yes, plan to use this ... May be next coming weekend :)

If all goes well, I may be in UK early May for a photo-walk along Kings Road or Little Venice (Camden to Kings Cross) ... May be we could meet-up for that?
 
FruitFlakes said:
I plan on doing a set like that.

Except with Leica gear.

It's going to take a while. :LOL:
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Leica :eek: ... That's going to be worth seeing ... Super Sexy and Super Expensive.
 
Have to say that looks fantastic, shiny and sexy I'd say.

I'm doing similar with Voigtlander Bessamatic stuff but I had a setback as Miles could not repair my original Bessamatic and then I found that Real Cameras had sold me a 100mm Dynaret not a 100mm Dynarex. The Dynaret is for the Ultron series I think. Anyway I went back to get a refund and they had a minty Bessamatic CS for the same price so I did a swop. I'll pop some piccies up in the New Toy thread later.

Andy
 
Took them out today in the sun


Paxettes out in the sun by chiscocks, on Flickr

Here's a shot of the case now - there's two new additions that arrived recently whilst I was building up Wail's kit. Can you spot them? You'll notice that I have a second Super Paxette II body in place of the Super 35 which I gave to Wait; I'll wait for another to come up to complete my own set. They don't appear often and I'm in no rush :)


Kit now DEFINITELY complete!! by chiscocks, on Flickr
 
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Have you shot them much apart from what you've posted in this thread? Or are they just for show? ;)
 
I've been shooting mainly Polaroid these last few weeks but have out two rolls through the paxette. I love using them. There are some pictures from them on my Flickr set.

I should probably use them more but in my every day bag I have room for two, normally the Epson is one and I've got Polaroid film to use up.

I'll take more shots ASAP :)
 
OK I found another Super 35 to replace the one that went into Wail's kit. Had to buy from the Leica shop in Vienna in the end but it's in great nick.

Just thought you might like to see the shutter cocking mechanism; it's a trigger under the lens which you crank with your left index finger. really fast and natural. I wonder why it didn't make it onto many other cameras?

c2d5a08b.jpg


And one of the top with the lightmeter cell and RF window

b1747060.jpg


And I PROMISE to post some pics from the cameras soon. Each body has a half finished roll in at the moment so I'll finish them off and post some results!!

ped
 
ped said:
Just thought you might like to see the shutter cocking mechanism; it's a trigger under the lens which you crank with your left index finger. really fast and natural. I wonder why it didn't make it onto many other cameras?
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By the time it came out most companies had the shutter cocking linked to the film advance so there was no need, i've got consumer level cameras from the mid 50's with self-cocking shutters in the film advance.
 
Morinaka said:
By the time it came out most companies had the shutter cocking linked to the film advance so there was no need, i've got consumer level cameras from the mid 50's with self-cocking shutters in the film advance.
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Thanks for the comment. This lever actually does advance the film too. It feels so nice to use. The other bodies require two strokes (one for film then shutter) so this feels like a step ahead in that respect.

I did find the rear door a little 'creaky' so I stuffed some foam into the gaps and now it's nice and tight.

Meter is spot on, RF is pretty well aligned. It's not perfect but very close, easy enough to compensate for.
 
FruitFlakes said:
Reminds me of a smaller Leicavit!
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I have never used one of those but having tried this trigger system I might have to try one. For me it's less about the advantage of being able to wind on and shoot rapidly but about being able to wind on without taking the camera away from you eye. It also makes the top cover quite neat and tidy.

One problem though, with the trigger folded up it sits a few mm proud of the base plate so the camera sits at an angle rather than square on the deck.
 
I made a lightbox the other day. It's not finished yet so I mucked about with it today using some A4 paper as the backing (not big enough). I forgot that my DSLR was set at ISO1600 so the pics are noisy, too. I'll take some better ones soon when I get some decent backing material...

Just ran a roll of Kodak Supercolour 400 through the camera so will develop it this weekend.

Super Paxette 35 by chiscocks, on Flickr


Super Paxette 35 2 by chiscocks, on Flickr
 
hello ped,

awesome thread in first place..
I came here straight away to ask something about my new Super Paxette II BL since it was the best Paxettes thread around but couldn´t avoid having a look at all 6 pages of this great thread an it´s great photos.

your set is absolutely gorgeous.

I have just bought a Braun Super Paxette II BL from internet. I´m in new zealand at the moment, and maybe it was not the best idea to buy it from an unknown seller (just had lots of satisfactory trades but that´s all)

the problem is that the light meter (it has a built-in one) is not working.. the needle is stuck in the upper part of the metering window and won´t move.

i would be really glad if any of you could help me with that,
thanks in advance!
Pablo
 
Hi Pablo

Thanks for the kind words - I hope to update with some new pics one I develop the roll in my IIB

I'm afraid that if the meter is broken, it's not going to be economical to repair - better to replace the camera, unfortunately.

There seem to be a fair amount of Paxettes over there; I wonder if it's a result of some post war trade agreement?

For my non-metered Paxette I use an external meter (Metraphot 3) which is dead accurate, but not great in low light as you can imagine.

Cheers
Chris
 
Actually there was a bit of a disaster the other week - I took the Super 35 (above) in a bag when I went walking but I had a soft release attached to the shutter release. Problem was that it apparently got 'bashed' (stood out too much with soft release attached) and now the shutter button is loose and doesn't work...

I'm trying to find another but this is the rarest of the lot!
 
Ah I found another Super35 and have cleaned it up. We're complete again. I had to swap the backs and a few pieces but now I have one sweet clean perfectly functioning Super 35.

My granddad who gave me the first Paxette body and lens sadly passed away last week. I know he was pleased that I was using his camera and the first thing I'm going to do when I love house 200 miles north to York is take a roll of film around my new village to 'show' my granddad where I live.

Only two weeks ago he was showing me some fantastic images of the 1958 British Grand Prix he took with the camera.

Also - more lens updates on the way, and, as I'm moving house, I'm getting a sweet display cabinet to show them off in. They'll be no shelf queens, though.

Cheers
ped
 
ped said:
Ah I found another Super35 and have cleaned it up. We're complete again. I had to swap the backs and a few pieces but now I have one sweet clean perfectly functioning Super 35.

My granddad who gave me the first Paxette body and lens sadly passed away last week. I know he was pleased that I was using his camera and the first thing I'm going to do when I love house 200 miles north to York is take a roll of film around my new village to 'show' my granddad where I live.

Only two weeks ago he was showing me some fantastic images of the 1958 British Grand Prix he took with the camera.

Also - more lens updates on the way, and, as I'm moving house, I'm getting a sweet display cabinet to show them off in. They'll be no shelf queens, though.

Cheers
ped
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So sorry to hear your granddad has passed away, it's a tricky time but it's good to know that he's remembered every time you use his camera.
 
Hi Ped. Your collection is awesome. I also have a Paxette (a Super IIb) I inherited off my grandfather. I haven't got round to testing it with film yet but everything is looking like it's going to work. This might be a stupid question but could I ask how/where you attached a strap? I have a rather tatty original case but I don't think that is going to hold up much longer.
 
Andrew123 said:
Hi Ped. Your collection is awesome. I also have a Paxette (a Super IIb) I inherited off my grandfather. I haven't got round to testing it with film yet but everything is looking like it's going to work. This might be a stupid question but could I ask how/where you attached a strap? I have a rather tatty original case but I don't think that is going to hold up much longer.
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Hi Andrew, thanks!

I attach my strap to the tripod mount. It means the camera hangs upside down but it's OK and at least it's very strong.

To do this I used a gadget called a C-loop http://www.amazon.co.uk/Custom-SLR-...ie=UTF8&qid=1392722904&sr=8-1&keywords=c-loop (also available in chrome) which is a little indulgent and OTT - there are much cheaper solutions out there!!

Good luck with your paxette. One thing to check, if it hasn't ben used for a while, is for rust on the film plate (bit that flips down when you take the back off) which can leave scratches as you transport the film. Sometimes they can look quite good, though:


Groynes by chiscocks, on Flickr
 
I have obtained some film, and all seems to be going well. I will create a thread with my own shots once I have them developed.

In the meantime where do you pick up most of your lenses? Is there any obvious way to tell the difference between Paxette lenses and Leica lenses?

On ebay some of the Leica lenses are listed as Leica mount but then sometimes lenses with the same name can be listed as M39 mount and also appear on the list of compatible Paxette lenses. Is it the case that manufacturers were making both a Leica and a Paxette version of the same lens? And if so how can you tell between them?

Maybe I should get a Leica as well and then it will eliminate the problem.
 
Andrew123 said:
I have obtained some film, and all seems to be going well. I will create a thread with my own shots once I have them developed.

In the meantime where do you pick up most of your lenses? Is there any obvious way to tell the difference between Paxette lenses and Leica lenses?

On ebay some of the Leica lenses are listed as Leica mount but then sometimes lenses with the same name can be listed as M39 mount and also appear on the list of compatible Paxette lenses. Is it the case that manufacturers were making both a Leica and a Paxette version of the same lens? And if so how can you tell between them?

Maybe I should get a Leica as well and then it will eliminate the problem.
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Excellent, I look forward to seeing some results!!

Most of my lenses have come from eBay, and a few from specialist camera shops (MWclassic, Vintageclassiccamera, Leicashop.de, a few others)

Yes there are several people who list the lenses as 'Leica thread' on ebay. They often sell for big bucks and most of the time I suspect the seller is pulling a fast one.

The CAN be used on a Leica, and I have in the past, however they won't focus to infinity or calibrate with the rangefinder. The only similarity is that they have an M39 screw thread. You'll also need an adapter to hold the lens a little further from the body to use on a Leica. I had one made by http://www.srbfilm.co.uk/ it's basically a small tube with a 39mm thread at each end.

There are, to confuse things, also many Paxette lenses that aren't rangefinder coupled. The way to tell if one is coupled or not is to look at the back - if you can see the brass cam, you will have a coupled lens; it's this cam that pushes back the rangefinder plate giving a distance reading in the VF.

This lens, for example, is not coupled:

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/7/0/9/7/3/0/webimg/661022783_tp.jpg

And this one is (although a bayonet mount)

firstflex1lens.jpg


You can always ask me if you aren't sure as I have a pretty good idea of the whole range of coupled lenses now, so I may be able to help.

Yes, I think you might as well get a Leica as well, just to be safe ;)
 
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Thanks Ped, I will be sure to check with you before buying lenses. Are there any lens you particularly recommend? The one I've got is the Cassarit F2.8.

Yea, definitely need a Leica, better safe than sorry.
 
The best ones in my opinion are (and I apologise for bad spelling as I can't check the actual lenses at the mo)

-Schneider kreuznach 50 f2.8 xenar
-Carl Zeiss 50 f2.8
-Steinheil munchen quinon 50 f2

These are the ones I use the most!
 
I think I've got the hang of finding lenses now.

What is the Super 35 like? It looks great in the photos, what year did that come out?

I saw one with a broken shutter but I don't know if the shutter is interchangeable.
 
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Andrew123 said:
I think I've got the hang of finding lenses now.

What is the Super 35 like? It looks great in the photos, what year did that come out?

I saw one with a broken shutter but I don't know if the shutter is interchangeable.
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Glad to hear it - have you bought any yet?

The Super 35 is a cool camera. It's probably the hardest to find. I like the shape and the feel of it and as the last RF coupled screwmount body it rounds off the collection nicely. The metal doesn't feel as thick as the 'rounded' bodies, and it can feel a little 'boxy' but the film advance lever under the lens is amazing and I'm really not sure why it wasn't adopted more widely. It's so natural!

The Viewfinder is nice, too - there's framelines for 35, 50 and 90 I think, and it's nice and clear. The rangefinder patch is pretty clear, too.

I broke my first one because I had a soft release button screwed into the shutter release which made it protrude a little above the light meter dial. I had the camera in a rucksack when I went for a walk and it must have taken a bash because it broke the shutter.

Fortunately after a few months looking I found another one which I jumped on (not literally, I've learned my lesson)

Paxettes are fairly notorious for being absolute pigs to open up and repair (aren't they, Nick!) and because they can be found relatively cheaply at the moment it's uneconomical to repair them.

I'm not sure what year the Super 35 came out, actually. I assume it was early 60s but I'll see if it says in me booklet I have at home.

Cheers!
ped
 
I got somewhat carried away and have been buying too many lenses. None have arrived yet but I've got the:

Enna Munchen Tele-Ennalyt 135mm f/3.5
Roeschlein-Kreuznach-E-Telenar 90mm f/3.8
Staeble Choro 38mm f/3.5

and the Steinheil viewfinder

I'm also keeping my eye on this Xenar 50mm. I couldn't see a rangefinder cam in the side profile shot. I did ask but he may not speak English.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111285362227?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
 
Excellent! Good start. I'll have a look at the back of my Xenar and see if it looks like the one you've shown. I can see the distance scale index on the lens is chrome where mine is black, so maybe it's a different version.
 
ped said:
Excellent! Good start. I'll have a look at the back of my Xenar and see if it looks like the one you've shown. I can see the distance scale index on the lens is chrome where mine is black, so maybe it's a different version.
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Thanks, would be much appreciated.
 
Yep mine is silver also. Tbh I'm not aware of this lens coming in anything other than Paxette mount, so I think it will be OK. Perhaps check the return policy if you decide to buy it



You might pay less for one if you find a body with this lens included, I've seen them go for good prices as the seller hasn't realised the lens is a good one...
 
So where is the cam in that photo, is it inside the lip (I have no idea what the correct term is)?

EDIT: Actually I think I see it, it's on the outside, just looks a bit more silver due to the light.


I'll try and find one on a Paxette, although no bids for that other yet.

Many thanks!
 
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Nice! Might almost be worthy of a nomination for POTW... but I'm guessing probably not film ;)
 
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