OFFICIAL I HAVE A NEW (FILM RELATED) TOY THREAD!!

[Hugh Jarse]

What size film does the KX take

35mm. The K series was the forerunner to the M series (MX/ME etc) and included the legendary K1000 entry level SLR. I think it was the first series to get the PK Bayonet lens mount in place of the 42mm tread.

 

[DowntonMini]

Just got this beautiful little beast as a birthday presnet from.my mom and dad add to my collection I know it's an Agfa but so far that's about all.

It really is stunning and the tripod is a work of art

 

[excalibur2]

35mm. The K series was the forerunner to the M series (MX/ME etc) and included the legendary K1000 entry level SLR. I think it was the first series to get the PK Bayonet lens mount in place of the 42mm tread.

AH! Confusing as I looked up on google to see what a KX camera was like and up came a digi camera

 

[Hugh Jarse]

AH! Confusing as I looked up on google to see what a KX camera was like and up came a digi camera

Right

That will be the Kx

Pentax did similar with mirrorles MX-1

I rate my MX as my favourite 35mm SLR

If the MX-1 had appesred as a DSLR I would have bought it siight unseen!

Steve

 

[srichards]

Finally got round to re-reading the film loading instructions. Second roll not loaded properly either. Again when you open the back it looks like it is ok. You don't find out until you get to the end and it will just keep winding on and on and on.

3rd and final roll in. If this doesn't work then it will have to go back as a film camera you can't load film into isn't much good. Even thought it is lovely and small and fits in my pocket. It's annoying as I've been round two places now with nothing to show for it.

 

[NickT]

Finally got round to re-reading the film loading instructions. Second roll not loaded properly either. Again when you open the back it looks like it is ok. You don't find out until you get to the end and it will just keep winding on and on and on.

3rd and final roll in. If this doesn't work then it will have to go back as a film camera you can't load film into isn't much good. Even thought it is lovely and small and fits in my pocket. It's annoying as I've been round two places now with nothing to show for it.

Does it not have a film rewind handle? Most manual wind cameras do. When you have loaded a film, wind the rewind handle until there is a slight tension, then wind the film on. Watch the rewind handle while you are winding on and you should see it turning if you loaded the film correctly.

 

[Andysnap]

Finally the itch has been scratched.

Voigtlander R4a by Andy, on Flickr

 

[excalibur2]

Finally the itch has been scratched.

Voigtlander R4a by Andy, on Flickr

Nice but thought you wanted something light and slips into your pocket...or was that another thread..............

 

[Andysnap]

Nice but thought you wanted something light and slips into your pocket...or was that another thread..............

Yeh, well I thought if I buy something I think I need rather than getting the thing I've really wanted since I sold the last one then I'll just end up buying both and not using one of them. If I need light and pocket sized I've got my phone (which incidentally took the shot above).

 

[kendo1]

It looks a bit grubby.

I'd send it back.

 

[srichards]

Does it not have a film rewind handle? Most manual wind cameras do. When you have loaded a film, wind the rewind handle until there is a slight tension, then wind the film on. Watch the rewind handle while you are winding on and you should see it turning if you loaded the film correctly.

It does have a rewind thingy. It tells you in the destructions to use your thumb to wind the spool on by hand. Most of my old cameras could use the normal winder so you could tension it properly when the back was open but this one doesn't let you. There's obviously a knack to it. I don't think I've ever had so much bother with the film loading on a camera before.

The rewind thingy is definitely revolving this time. I can't remember whether it was before or not.

Hopefully third time lucky as I really do want this to be a decent camera as it is so pocket friendly.

Nice but thought you wanted something light and slips into your pocket...or was that another thread..............

He has capacious pockets?

 

[excalibur2]

Yeh, well I thought if I buy something I think I need rather than getting the thing I've really wanted since I sold the last one then I'll just end up buying both and not using one of them. If I need light and pocket sized I've got my phone (which incidentally took the shot above).

Well congrats to you (and others) who actually want a specific camera and get it.... for me I just can't get that desire back maybe it's because there are plenty of good cameras going for peanuts, and with a good lens all take the same pictures.

 

[Andysnap]

But sometimes Brian there is something, and this applies to everything on life, something that when you use it, hold it, just makes you feel good. In the world of photography for me it is Voigtlander stuff and in particular the modern rangefinders. The bonus is that they are just as good to use as they are to look at and they are capable of making excellent images. Yes they are expensive but I am in the fortunate position of being able to indulge my cravings occasionally and there's nowt wrong wi that lad.

 

[desf]

But sometimes Brian there is something, and this applies to everything on life, something that when you use it, hold it, just makes you feel good. In the world of photography for me it is Voigtlander stuff and in particular the modern rangefinders. The bonus is that they are just as good to use as they are to look at and they are capable of making excellent images. Yes they are expensive but I am in the fortunate position of being able to indulge my cravings occasionally and there's nowt wrong wi that lad.

Word.

 

[stevelmx5]

Just once you're going to come on with a new camera and tell us how well everything works

Looks minty though, shame its been left to rot internally.

@steveo_mcg I've got a new camera where everything just works ;0)

Looking on the Yashica Guy website, I was expecting to have to remove the top/bottom plate and the entire lens unit to get to the back of the meter button which I wasn't looking forward to. Linkages between body and delicate rangefinder/shutter mechanisms always make me nervous! As it was, I managed to peel back the leatherette and ease the lens unit forward enough to file the contacts clean and get my soldering iron in to attach a new wire.



Luckily, the wire that had been eaten by acid was attached to the bottom contact so once that was re-attached, I fed the new wire through the body and soldered it back to the battery contact.



After re-glueing the leatherette back down I've now got a fully working meter and a roll of Vista in to test it out :0)

 

[sparty]

Just got this beautiful little beast as a birthday presnet from.my mom and dad add to my collection I know it's an Agfa but so far that's about all.

It really is stunning and the tripod is a work of art

It's an Agfa Billy-Clack or Speedex. Dates from 1934-40.

 

[Asha]

It's an Agfa Billy-Clack or Speedex. Dates from 1934-40.

and is 620 format iirc

Do you intend using it?

Have you got spools and facilities , ie changing bag,, for repsoolng 120 film onto the 620 spools ?

 

[Asha]

Today was going to be a photograph day but it has poured down relentlesly, not that the rain usually stops me taking a camera out and about but when it's raining heavier than a power shower....Well say no more

So I took the train into Nice and had a look in a couple of camera shops, both of which sell decent second hand kit.

Sadly I learnt that the first outlet no longer sells used film gear due to being unable to offer warranties .......There are no local folk to do repairs and to send away is simply too much grief for the retailer so they now concentrate purely on digi. Shame but there you go!

Anyhow, the other shop, had a nice selection of bodies and lenses in their "used" window.

I had to look, not twice, but several times as I couldn't believe what i was seeing!

Now we all know that @Andysnap has recently picked up a Bessa R4A from @RaglanSurf

I was hoping he was going to opt for the R3A as I had my eye on the body offering wider angle compatibility.

As it is, it wasn't to be and the R4 couldn't have gone to a better man ( except me of course!)

So dissapointed I searched high and low on the internet; but to no avail ....plenty of bessa but no R4A

No worries I thought, "shelve the idea for the mo and bide your time, there's no rush, you can wait a while"
As such that "time" arrived much sooner than expected ( surprise surprise!.......This afternoon!


Complete with box, instruction manual and a 3 month warranty, and .........

I'm presently following a suitable side grip on the French version of a well known auction site

Just need a strap of some sort ......Quite fancy one of those small nylon wrist straps tbh .....I have one on the X-E1 which is a similar sized and shaped body to the Bessa and it works well.....Anybody got one they don't want??

 

[stevelmx5]

@steveo_mcg
After re-glueing the leatherette back down I've now got a fully working meter and a roll of Vista in to test it out :0)

I spoke too soon [emoji22]. While the meter worked, my new battery was flat within 3 days of sitting on the shelf so something wasn't right!

I stripped the camera down fully today and removed the lens unit so I could get to the back.



The very basic button is just two metal contacts that are pressed together to make/break the circuit. As well as being covered in battery acid, I tested the circuit with a multimeter and found that even when not pressed, there was still around 0.5v passing through it which explained the battery drain issue! I tried cleaning up the part with vinegar and making sure neither of the metal plates were touching each other but couldn't get it to stop passing voltage so decided it was a lost cause. Rather than give up on the meter, I cut open a breadboard microswitch which fitted nicely once I'd shaved it down.





After wiring it up, the voltage is correctly stopping until the button is pressed so I've now epoxied it onto the lens plate and re-assembled the camera.



The last job is to re-glue the skin back down again and it's all good :0)

 

[NickT]

I'm glad that you have got the wiring to the meter on your Lynx repaired Steve. I look forward to seeing some photographs from the camera. I'm interested to know what you intend to do about the incorrect voltage from the non-mercury PX625 equivalent. Will you just adjust the ISO setting, or just compensate mentally?
I bought an expensive MR9 adapter for my Olympus OM1, which in retrospect, I didn't need to do. There is plenty of room inside the OM1 to fit a Schottky diode to drop the voltage. The only trouble I would have had would be to make an adapter to accommodate the size difference between the PX625 and the 386 silver oxide cell. 386 cells are fairly cheap but 625 size silver oxide cells are relatively expensive. I'm sure you would have no trouble making one with your manufacturing skills and equipment. It looks like there is plenty of room in the Lynx to fit a diode.

After a fair bit of Google type research, I found that the recommended diode was a 1N5711. Those are available for peanuts on e-bay. If I ever get another old camera which needs a PX625, I'll fit a diode to the OM1 and use the MR9 for the new camera. Best of luck with your Lynx.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks @NickT, I'm glad my improvised repair works too! The Lynx 14 takes PX625a batteries natively and they're still available off the shelf so I won't need to do any meter compensation.

http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/chrono2.html

"For those concerned with battery availability required for the Over / Under text Exposure display in the finder, replacement batteries are still available most anywhere only for the original version using the PX625A.

The factory specified batteries used by the Lynx are shown below:

Lynx 14 1 - PX625A Lynx 5000 1 - PX625A
Lynx 14e 2 - PX640A Lynx 5000e 2 - PX640A"


The battery also only runs the meter on the Lynx 14 as the lens is fully manual so I could live without it. I think I've got some of those diodes from one of my other projects so if you ever need one, give me a shout.

Now to re-load the Lynx and get some shots taken. I've had a roll in and out a couple of times this week so I'm not looking forward to the spacing/overlaps!

Cheers
Steve

 

[NickT]

I hope you're right Steve but I have my doubts. As it was so old, I thought mercury would be the requirement. I think the 14 is older than the 14E and that definitely needs mercury batteries, see http://www.cameramanuals.org/yashica_pdf/yashica_lynx-14e.pdf under 'Installing the batteries'. That's a scan of the actual manual, so be aware.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks but that's the manual for the 14E that does require mercury batteries. The 14 definitely meters correctly with the PX625a (at least until it goes flat!) as I compared it against my digital meter.

 

[DowntonMini]

and is 620 format iirc

Do you intend using it?

Have you got spools and facilities , ie changing bag,, for repsoolng 120 film onto the 620 spools ?

I don't have any spools etc no.

I would like to use it if I could. But if not its a nice addition to my collection and looks good on the tripod in the corner of the room

 

[NickT]

Thanks but that's the manual for the 14E that does require mercury batteries. The 14 definitely meters correctly with the PX625a (at least until it goes flat!) as I compared it against my digital meter.

Good, I'm happy to be proved wrong. Testing the camera against a known good meter is really the only test that counts. A lot of the stuff that's posted on the internet, purporting to be fact, is just a matter of opinion.

 

[stevelmx5]

Good, I'm happy to be proved wrong. Testing the camera against a known good meter is really the only test that counts. A lot of the stuff that's posted on the internet, purporting to be fact, is just a matter of opinion.

I need to see actual developed film to know for sure but my go to meter (iPhone) is reading the same results so that's good enough for me :0)

 

[NickT]

I need to see actual developed film to know for sure but my go to meter (iPhone) is reading the same results so that's good enough for me :0)

There is a site which does have a scan of the actual Lynx 14 manual. http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/instructionmanuals.html
If you click on the Yashica Lynx-14 link, you can download a zip file of all the pages. You would probably find the files yashicalynx14frontback.jpg and yashicalunx1405.jpg useful.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks Nick, very interesting. When I re-wired the camera I did see that there are a couple of diodes at the meter contacts so I'm not sure if they are to reduce the voltage slightly (although they wouldn't be there from factory if it's supposed to use a 1.3v battery!). I've got another PX625a battery due to arrive today so i'll do some more testing of the meter when it does. If there are any issues, there is loads of space alongside the lens inside the body to solder a couple of diodes inline to drop the voltage. Cheers

 

[NickT]

I wish you well with your Lynx Steve. I think I had read that the alkaline batteries' end of life discharge curve was such that it took a long time dying and the voltage gradually decreased. Silver oxide were thus preferable as they went from good to dead in a cliff-edge curve. I had a go at making my own equivalent of the MR9 by following this http://www.butkus.org/chinon/batt-adapt-us.pdf link.
Absolutely impossible for me to do! Using a junior hacksaw and side cutters there was no way I could make a neat slot for the diode to sit in. I think with all your plastic fabrication and 3D printing experience you could probably turn out MR9 clones quickly and cheaply. You only have to make a little cylinder to accommodate a difference in diameter of 3.6mm and height of 1.8mm, plus making room for the diode and providing a metal contact surface at the closed end.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks for the document Nick, I'll keep that in case I ever need an adaptor. My new PX625a arrived and I've compared the metering to my iPhone and it's spot on so either the camera has been modified to use 1.5v at some point in its life or the circuit has a rectifier built in to account for it.

Now I need to get out and use it :0)

 

[Asha]

Today was going to be a photograph day but it has poured down relentlesly, not that the rain usually stops me taking a camera out and about but when it's raining heavier than a power shower....Well say no more

So I took the train into Nice and had a look in a couple of camera shops, both of which sell decent second hand kit.

Sadly I learnt that the first outlet no longer sells used film gear due to being unable to offer warranties .......There are no local folk to do repairs and to send away is simply too much grief for the retailer so they now concentrate purely on digi. Shame but there you go!

Anyhow, the other shop, had a nice selection of bodies and lenses in their "used" window.

I had to look, not twice, but several times as I couldn't believe what i was seeing!

Now we all know that @Andysnap has recently picked up a Bessa R4A from @RaglanSurf

I was hoping he was going to opt for the R3A as I had my eye on the body offering wider angle compatibility.

As it is, it wasn't to be and the R4 couldn't have gone to a better man ( except me of course!)

So dissapointed I searched high and low on the internet; but to no avail ....plenty of bessa but no R4A

No worries I thought, "shelve the idea for the mo and bide your time, there's no rush, you can wait a while"
As such that "time" arrived much sooner than expected ( surprise surprise!.......This afternoon!


Complete with box, instruction manual and a 3 month warranty, and .........

I'm presently following a suitable side grip on the French version of a well known auction site

Just need a strap of some sort ......Quite fancy one of those small nylon wrist straps tbh .....I have one on the X-E1 which is a similar sized and shaped body to the Bessa and it works well.....Anybody got one they don't want??

View attachment 90414

Blimey 18 likes !!!

Got a side grip on its way ( won the bidding and got it for a cheaper price than I've seen elsewhere)

Also found a suitable wrist strap in my box o' bits which looks the part and functions just perfectly

All being well I'll get the "test" roll finished and developed this weekend

 

[Andysnap]

Yeh! How come I only got 7 likes for mine....

 

[Asha]

Yeh! How come I only got 7 likes for mine....

Now look, if you're gunna sulk , kindly do it quietly or there'll be words about your behaviour to the CMS!!

 

[srichards]

Finally got around to getting the new mirror and new fresnel focussing screen I bought two years ago for my Automat installed. Focussing screen looks a lot brighter and it's lost that murky look. I have no idea how or whether they need any kind of calibration?

Underside of original mirror had 2239 scratched into it. I wonder if that is a date of when they put it together? I know from the serial number it's late 1930s supposedly.

 

[FujiLove]

A Pentax 67 165mm f2.8 lens. I've just opened the parcel and it's boxed and appears to be brand new. Not sure when they stopped making them, but this has obviously been sitting in a storeroom since it arrived in the UK. Beyond pleased. Shame my Pentax bodies are so brassed and full of...erm... 'character'

I'd post a photo, but lens and soft pouch have been dragged out of my sweaty palms and sent off to Santa.

 

[stevelmx5]

Thanks for the document Nick, I'll keep that in case I ever need an adaptor. My new PX625a arrived and I've compared the metering to my iPhone and it's spot on so either the camera has been modified to use 1.5v at some point in its life or the circuit has a rectifier built in to account for it.

Now I need to get out and use it :0)

After doing some further testing, the metering was clearly off so looks like Yashica Guy is wrong about the PX625A! To work around it, I've just fitted a small Schottky diode inline from the battery which drops the voltage down to 1.3v which gives a much more accurate result. I think the metering cell has a much wider coverage than my digital meter as it still tends to meter for the boundaries rather than the centre but it's at least going to give me a general exposure.

 

[stevelmx5]

 

[NickT]

After doing some further testing, the metering was clearly off so looks like Yashica Guy is wrong about the PX625A! To work around it, I've just fitted a small Schottky diode inline from the battery which drops the voltage down to 1.3v which gives a much more accurate result. I think the metering cell has a much wider coverage than my digital meter as it still tends to meter for the boundaries rather than the centre but it's at least going to give me a general exposure.

I'm glad that you have got the metering issue sorted out. I would use a silver oxide cell rather than an alkaline, as the discharge curve is much flatter (although nowhere near as flat as the original mercury cell). The MR9 adapter in my OM1 takes a 386 cell which is fairly cheap. If I had another camera that needed a PX625, I would adapt the OM1 with a Schottky and try to make an adapter which accommodated the smaller sized 386, as PX625 equivalent size silver oxide cells are 3 times the price of a 386.

 

[stevelmx5]

Once the PX625A I've got goes flat I'll make up an adaptor for an SR44 as per the link you shared. Like you say, much flatter discharge and easier to source long term.

 

[Mr Badger]

This one came to live with me today; it’s a Voigtlander Perkeo 1 dating (I think) from around 1951. The shutter and aperture seem to work fine, the bellows are lightproof and the lens elements are clear and scratch free, and it came complete with its leather case for less than £30, so I’m a happy badger!



For those not familiar with this camera, it has something in common with Dr Who’s Tardis; it appears to be bigger on the inside than it does on the outside! It takes 120 roll film and gives 12 6x6cm exposures, but looking at that film box next to it for scale you’d wonder how a roll of 120 fits in there. It’s roughly the same size as a 1970s 35mm SLR:



The serial number on the lens indicates (from a dating chart I found on the internet) that it was made between 1947 and 1951, which may be correct as I believe they started making them in '51. It has a back without a closable door on the film counter window and no film roller on the loading chamber side, but has an anti double-exposure lock, which I’ve read came in later (1952), so perhaps it's a cross-over spec model? If anyone knows when the spec changes occurred then please let me know.



It’s been loaded with fresh XP2 and, as you’ll see from the film counter window, half of that’s gone already, so I should have some test results to look at by the end of next week, wish me luck! Thanks for reading.