James, Hmmm?? It did not come with a lightmeter, you say? Most F models had a lightmeter, unless someone deliberately removed the selenium cell from the nameplate, and the meter on the focus knob. More difficult would be the removal of the film speed and filter factor dial on the left side of the camera. So, what indicates to you that the camera is an F model? Jerry James Davis wrote: > bigler@xxxxxxxx wrote: > > > A church equiped with a darkroom and moving to digital ! That is a > > modern church who living right in its time and does not only referring > > to what happened about 2000 years ago ;-);-) > > I was surprised myself although this was in London and I'm from a small > village where church publications tend to be typed or created in MS > Publisher and photocopied. :-) > > > The usual tests on a Rollei TLR. > > I'd already read most of these online and performed them when I picked > up the camera. > > > An expert repair technician told me this trick recently. Put the > > Rollei without leather case (if available) standing on it's four > > little 'feet'. The 4 feet should touch a flat surface perfectly. If > > not, the camera has its back slightly bent due to a shock. > > It passes this test without a problem. > > > Try to find if there is any play in the front lens panel, there should > > be absolutely no play. > > Nothing at all. > > > Manipulate the focusing knob. It should be smooth, no play, no > > excessive force should be applied. When on infinity, the image should > > be sharp for a far distant object. For example the church tower and > > its clock or details in architecture of the same church ;-) > > It's exactly as described here too. > > > Now manipulate the controls for apertures and speeds. Slow speeds > > whould not be sticky. If one second actually lasts 1.5, it is time for > > a repair, clean, lube & adjust or CLA in Rollei-user jargon. > > This too seems okay. > > > Try it. If it is black and white film no problem. For coulour.. just > > try. > > I'll give it a go, the first film is a complete write off anyway as I > was messing around with it - practicing the loading. > > > Developing black and white 120 rolls is cheap and easy. I've been > > using a Paterson tank for decades with the universal spiral good for > > 135, 127 and 120/220 rollfilms. Processing 120 colour film is best > > done with a rotary type drum machine with precise temperature control. > > I've bought myself a Paterson tank on ebay with 135/120 spirals - it's > waiting for me in the post office right now. > > > I would recommend to try a roll of colour slides. Most professional > > films are available in 120 format. Modern colour slide film is > > incredibly sharp. Doing so at the same time you'll test : sharpness, > > colour rendition and accuracy of speeds if you have a good hand-held > > meter or if the Rollei has its built-in selenium meter that actually > > works. > > One thing I don't have yet is a good light meter, the camera didn't come > with a selenium one. On this aspect I have two questions. The dial that > sets the film speed - is this just an aide memoire or should it be > mechanically adjusting the numbers displayed around the viewing lens? > > Since I don't yet have a light meter, is it fairly easy to set up my SLR > appropriately and use the spot meter function to translate settings from > the SLR over to the Rollei? > > James > --- > Rollei List > > - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' > in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org > > - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with > 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org > > - Online, searchable archives are available at > //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list