My first CLA

[pevelg]

I have been wanting an extra body for sometime now. I need it so I can take it on the go, in my pocket, without fear of loosing or damaging it. My choice was thus the FED2, the FSU that is so loved by many on this forum. I purchased the item from )@^*%bay, a good seller, and transaction went smoothly. Well, item was not as described and had several issues. The minor ones were fixed (loose set screw in speed selector making select spin aimlessly leaving you to guess the speeds). The lens was very poor as well. I was thinking about returning the item, but as I paid only ~$19 for the item (minus shipping, I bought another item from them as well), I decided that it would not be worth it. So I found the sticky here in the FSU forum on playing with the FED2 and here is my results:

This photo is taken with my 75mm Color Heliar on Leica M6TLL with SF20 flash on Kodak BW 400CN. My Leica is laughing at the detestable object lying in the dish.

Progress is slow. At this point I am unable to take off the rangefinder window. I leave to town to look for a sutable tool to remove it. After several hours I return with nothing. :bang: My Leica is beeming with delight, knowing it's superiority.

My Leica blushes. It is the first time she has seen a naked Russian.

To my Leica's astonishment, I manage to FINALLY put the FSU together again. After securing the the top plate, I had to remove it again to fix an error I did. To my surprise the inside was relatively clean. I used alcohol to clean everything and then carefully cleaned all the glass and put it back without dirting it. The result was amazing. The viewfinder and patch looked MUCH better.

I shot this image around ~5 times at proper exposure and ~5 times at +1 stop, keeping shutter at 1/50. All images looked like they had equal exposure (later five had hardly changed other than a narrower DOF). So it seems like the camera MAY just be ok. Tomorrow I will put in some color film and test shooting houses and cars with maximum DOF.

Here is a picture with the Industar 50 at f3.5, shutter speed 1/25th. I took 5 images at this setting and all looked the same. Again, more tests tomorrow. You can see my dejected Leica laying on the sides. She knows now that she won't get all my attention. I wonder what she'll think once my hassy system comes in!!! 😀

All shots taken with the same roll of film. Wow, I love manual cameras!!!

This experiance has been somewhat trying, but overall very rewarding. I am definetly going to be keeping the camera. The lens is another story though.... I need to replace it with a collapsible so the system can fit in my pocket.

I found more instructions on how to CLA the rest of the camera. I nearly cried. I hope tomorrows test turn out OK and no more work needs to be done.

 

[payasam]

Good work, Pavel. Hope it goes well.

 

[pevelg]

I took some more quick shots with the camera... Results look ok with the 75mm Color Heliar:

I am concerned about the following photo though. What is that white highlight on the left side of door? When I took the picture, the sky was overcast and it was lightly raining. The door is a solid color and does not appear reflective in the shooting condition. Lens is Industar:

Also, there is not film spool in this camera. I have been cutting the leader of the film and sliding it into the slots. It seems to work and I can't think of an issue other than increased loading time. Does anybody have an extra film spool that I can use?

Lastly, I have ruined my glasses. The eyepeice has scratched up my glasses!!! Anyway I can replace it with something better or is there an easy fix?

Thanks.

 

[pevelg]

I went and confronted the ebay seller about my issues. Here is his response:

Seller: I could remove the elements of That Giveaway lens/camera & clean them in 15 minutes ; lots of luck pulling that childish stunt on other eBay sellers. You will NEVER bid at my auctions again. GROW UP!!

Me: WOW!!! You have misunderstood me completely. What stunt am I trying to prove? I am happy with the macro adapter, ok with the FED, and upset about the lens. Lens was not as described and FED had issues. Simple as that. I was not asking for a refund, simply giving a reason why I did not give a five star rating on item description. I will try cleaning the lens, but it is not a project that I've done before. I cannot understand why you are upset.

Seller: The third world is full of Whiners - the USA is a world of "CAN DO" winners !! The end...

And to think that I gave him positive feedback. My goodness!!! :bang:
[SIZE=-1][/SIZE]

 

[julio1fer]

I'm from the Whiner's World as well! Still, don't understand why the silly answers from the seller...guess that seller must be upset because of the low price.

Just get an I-61 lens when you can. No sense in arguing with idiots.

 

[mh2000]

good work! gives me the push to do mine! 🙂

found some references... hopefully I can get a smooth and even shutter in the end.

 

[fraley]

I had a Zorki 4 with a slight gap between the two curtains. When winding it on, if I had the lens cap off and paused during the winding (it's a knob and takes several rotations), it would sometimes leave a vertical white flare like what you are seeing. My flare was more defined, though -- narrower and smaller. I am just thinking if you see white overexposure it's a light leak from the front of the camera most likely (yellow if from the back).

You could use thin adhesive-backed padding around the lens eyepiece. I think you might even find such a thing on eBay or at CameraQuest. As for the slotted take-up spool, I have one in a Fed 5 and it works fine. It's a long tube with slits. I thread the film and wind. Does yours have a tube that extends down?

Sorry about the jingoistic idiot on eBay... some people have no sense of decency.

Michael

 

[pevelg]

I had a Zorki 4 with a slight gap between the two curtains. When winding it on, if I had the lens cap off and paused during the winding (it's a knob and takes several rotations), it would sometimes leave a vertical white flare like what you are seeing. My flare was more defined, though -- narrower and smaller. I am just thinking if you see white overexposure it's a light leak from the front of the camera most likely (yellow if from the back).

I tested the curtain for light pin point light leaks and found none. I did experience what you are describing before I did the CLA. I just ran the shutter about ~100 times and I did not see any light leaks on winding. Maybe the camera was not used for so long that it was stuttering as I warmed it up? Hopefully that is the case.

You could use thin adhesive-backed padding around the lens eyepiece. I think you might even find such a thing on eBay or at CameraQuest. As for the slotted take-up spool, I have one in a Fed 5 and it works fine. It's a long tube with slits. I thread the film and wind. Does yours have a tube that extends down?

I also thought about stealing one of my nephews toy cars and take of the rubber on the wheel. It seems like it is the perfect size. If I can't get that I'll try the adhesive tape. The experience makes me more interested in contacts!! 🙂

Just get an I-61 lens when you can. No sense in arguing with idiots.

I ended communication with seller after the "whiner" remark. His response was the most shocking email I've ever had though. I was so surprised that I laughed!

 

[MartinP]

The shot showing different density across the neg is probably due to a slightly sticky-curtain. Could also be a difference in speed (spring tension) between the two curtains but that might be more gradual across the whole frame, rather than a sudden change.

The Industars are actually easy to strip and re-lube <link>. Even I managed it ! Circlip-pliers, or a piece of hard brass strip carefully filed, can do in place of a lens-spanner.

EDIT: Nearly forgot.... The standard take-up spool in a FED-2 is one of the push-on separate spools. If the thing in your FED-2 looks like a longish tube with four slits in it, then it has been swapped for the "quick-load" version that was standard on the FED-3. The parts are interchangeable and it is a handy thing to do - one less thing to drop or go wrong.

 

[wolves3012]

Pavel,

I sympathise with your experience and the seller seems to have been less than honest. Is the Industar 50 a collapsible or rigid type? They are both very easy to dismantle, clean and re-lube.

I've never seen a site showing the rigid I-50 instructions (unless someone can provide a link) but I can post instructions if you need them.

Regarding the uneven exposure, it may improve with use but if it doesn't I can probably help out there too...lack of lube in certain areas of the curtain mechanics. If you need advice, just ask.