archeophoto
I love 1950's quality
I thought you would enjoy this. This was my winter project and the first camera I restored. I found this Mamiya six on a fleamarket for $5. It was in sorry state. For some weird reason I didn't take photos along the way (I probably thought it would not turn out anyway), sorry.
The bellows were totally shot. With the help of my sister (she is a master saddler and leather worker) we made a new bellows as close to the original as we could get.
The shutter was stuck completely, I had to completely take it apart and clean. The scariest thing I've ever done, it - almost - drove me crazy. But it works perfectly now 🙂
Once cleaned, the lens was in pristine condition. Thank god.
The leather that was damaged was replaced, the leather that is still original is the front and back with the Mamiya logos. I found something that looks 99% original in my sisters scrap leather pile 🙄 It's a tiny bit thicker, but hardly noticeable.
The front viewfinder glass was broken. I fixed it with a slide holder from a medical microscope...
The film advance didn't work, but came back to life with a good soaking in lighter fuel.
The rangefinder was totally out of whack, but the mirror was in great shape. Thank god, because I wouldn't have known how to resilver it 😎
Overall the amount of dirt that came of this is amazing.
The camera takes absolutely outstanding photos (see posts below for more photos. Sharp and contrasty. That Zuiko lens is awesome. I see no difference to the Xenar on my 'Cord or even the Planar on the Hasselblad. The build quality is excellent and the camera is a delight to use. Without a doubt one of my favourite cameras. I can highly recommend it.
The bellows were totally shot. With the help of my sister (she is a master saddler and leather worker) we made a new bellows as close to the original as we could get.
The shutter was stuck completely, I had to completely take it apart and clean. The scariest thing I've ever done, it - almost - drove me crazy. But it works perfectly now 🙂
Once cleaned, the lens was in pristine condition. Thank god.
The leather that was damaged was replaced, the leather that is still original is the front and back with the Mamiya logos. I found something that looks 99% original in my sisters scrap leather pile 🙄 It's a tiny bit thicker, but hardly noticeable.
The front viewfinder glass was broken. I fixed it with a slide holder from a medical microscope...
The film advance didn't work, but came back to life with a good soaking in lighter fuel.
The rangefinder was totally out of whack, but the mirror was in great shape. Thank god, because I wouldn't have known how to resilver it 😎
Overall the amount of dirt that came of this is amazing.
The camera takes absolutely outstanding photos (see posts below for more photos. Sharp and contrasty. That Zuiko lens is awesome. I see no difference to the Xenar on my 'Cord or even the Planar on the Hasselblad. The build quality is excellent and the camera is a delight to use. Without a doubt one of my favourite cameras. I can highly recommend it.
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