[rollei_list] OT: Treasure chest
- From: Thor Legvold <tlegvold@xxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, rolleiusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:06:38 +0200
Well, tonight two big boxes arrived, full of camera equipment.
My grandfather passed away recently, he was an avid photographer all
his life. My uncle as well, although he passed quite a while ago my
aunt decided it was time to clear out his photo gear and find a good
home for it.
So it's here. Most of the stuff I have a vague inkling as to what is,
but no more than in passing. I've concentrated all my time shooting
on manual mechanical cameras for the most part (i.e. Rollei, Contax,
Nikon FM2).
I'm hoping anyone who knows about the equipment can give me a few
leads as to where I can learn more, also I have some specific
questions regarding several specific items.
Baby Grey Rollei (with film still in it, as far as I can tell). From
what I can tell, finding film for this is going to be a pain. It has
a Xenar lens, and actually looks to be in pretty good shape except
for some loose leather. My son has been bugging me to get him a
camera (he's only 5....), maybe this would be one for him to play
with (he ruined the (broken) EOS I got him when he was 3...) as he's
a lot more careful now.
Polaroid Land Camera Model 95A. This one is a beast, and a wonder of
modern design (I'm guessing from the early to mid 60's). A 'compact'
folder that goes right along with a nice old Caddy with fins and
all... Chrome and brown leather, looks to be some medium format. This
is a wild camera. The lens looks like cr*p, but the camera itself is
a marvel of mecahnical engineering.
Nikon F. There are 2, one early (642xxxx serial) with a
"Demonstrator" stamp at the bottom of the back cover and one later
(741xxxx) with the coupled light meter finder. The older one looks to
be in better shape, sounds great, lens is old but clean (both come
with matching 50mm f1.4). I'm sure both could use an overhauling.
Also, both are showing signs of corrosion ('patina') on the metal top
deck. Is there any good way to clean this to restore the orginal
finish? The older one looks like it's seen it's share of violence,
dinged and bent here and there, but has a really terrific feel to it,
shutter sounds fantastic, etc. I love the removable back to change
film, just like the Contax II/III. I think my FM2 suddenly has some
competition...
Is there an equivelant of Harry Fleenor and Jürgen Kuschnik for
Nikon? Are these worth having overhauled at all, or am I wasting my
time (and money)?
Nikon F4. This one would be interesting to try out, as I've avoided
whiz-bang auto-everything cameras as much as possible (excepting the
Rollei 6008). But it seems to have some sort of problem. It looks
like new, comes with a compliment of lenses (both MF and AF), has the
6 battery motor (I guess that means it's an F4s) and even data back
(with dead battery, will have to remedy that in the morning). When I
turn it on, the battery indicator shows full charge (I also tried a
set of fresh AA cells and got the exact same problem), the lens
focuses, but there is no light in the display. There does seem to be
info there, but no green backlight. Then, when I hit the shutter,
nothing happens. The display goes blank, and about a minute later the
camera suddenly fires on it's own. Usually a red light by the ISO
setting wheel (left of finder) blinks repeatedly. I've downloaded the
manual and had a quick look, but haven't found out what the problem
might be. It's an imposing camera with about a gazillion switches
and buttons, it will take a while to learn what everything does
(assuming it can be brought back to life).
I'm guessing that the camera has been stored where there was a lot of
moisture and/or salt in the air (my aunt and uncle lived in
Huntington Beach, for all I know the cameras were stored on their
boat, or maybe in the garage). Most of the lenses for the F4
unfortunately have some amount of fungus growing, some quite a lot.
Is there any way to remove fungus? I've used regular lens cleaner
(Kodak) and lens paper on most of the glass where there wasn't too
big a problem. However one of the rear elements of one lens (probably
the most expensive one, I'm guessing) is covered with fungal flowers.
I didn't touch it yet, in case there's a proper way to deal with it.
Nikon lenses include:
AF Nikkor 80-200/2.8 ED
AF Nikkor 85/1.8
AF Nikkor 28-85/3.5-4.5 (I'm guiessing this is what came with the F4
as bundled new)
AF Micro Nikkor 60/2.8
MF Micro-Nikkor 105/4 (this is a weird looking lens)
There is also a set of something I'm not sure what is, looks like
extension rings or adapters. There are some bayonet fittings as well
as screw threads, and each ring has a letter A, B1, B2, C and D.
Also inclued was a selection of filters, from UV to Circular Polarizers.
Graflex Century Graphic (the plastic version) with Kalart rangefinder
and two lenses, an Optar 101mm/f4.5 (I think this is a 4 element
Tessar design) as well as a Schneider Angulon 65mm/f6.8 in a Syncro-
Compur. The camera and extra lens look like new. There are also many
backs. The one on the camera has a ground glass viewer and seems to
be attached by some spring-loaded mechanism (I'll have to find a
manual for this one). There are several Type 5 graflex backs, as well
as a plastic 'Fidelity Deluxe' copy of same, and a Graphmatic film
holder (looks like you can preload metal holders in a magazine that
automatically shifts the old films behind the darkslide). Also
included is a Singer rollfilm back. As soon as I figure out how to
remove the back that's mounted I'll have a go at the others.
Is 2x3 cut film still sold, or should I simply go with 120 rollfilm?
The frame looks to be about 6x9cm, is that correct?
I'm looking forward to trying this one out. I had considered picking
one up on eBay to try out, now I don't have to mess with eBay at
least. It even has movements! Very cool.
Well, I wanted to share all this new stuff with someone, and figured
who better to appreciate it than you guys here on the list. And I'm
hoping some of you know enough about the gear to give me a few tips
about it.
Best regards,
Thor
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