Fujica 35 ML

[Greyscale]

I bought this funky little rangefinder as a throw-in with a lot of M42 SLR lenses on ebay, and i think that I am going to like it a lot. It is quite compact for a 50's coupled rangefinder (similar in size to the Canonet QL17 GIII) with some unique features. Film advance is on the bottom, film rewind is on the left side, and focus is via a thumbwheel on the back top right of the camera body. The viewfinder is fairly large and very bright, and it has a nice 45/2.8 lens, with shutter speeds from 1 to 500.

But the best thing about this camera is the shutter release. It is feather-light, and combined with the substantial heft of the camera (did I mention the remarkable build quality?) camera shake should not be much of an issue with this camera.

Cosmetically, the camera is perfect. I don't think that it spent much time at all out of its case. The rf patch is nice and bright and sharp, so no beamsplitter issues on this one. Inside, it is clean as new. The aperture moves freely.

There are two problems, though, but I don't think anything too serious. The rewind crank is a little stiff, but i think a tiny little bit of lubrication in the mechanism will free that up. And the shutter isn't firing. It is oh so close, I can see the blades start to move, but just not firing, so I will need to remove the front element and vlean the blades. But I can't see any visual signs of oil or debris on them, and I am hopeful that just a drop or two of naphtha will put things back into working order.

This is a very pretty camera:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2611955676_2c5a0aa89c_o.jpg

(that's not an actual photo of mine, but you get the picture 😉).

 

[btgc]

But the best thing about this camera is the shutter release. It is feather-light, and combined with the substantial heft of the camera (did I mention the remarkable build quality?) camera shake should not be much of an issue with this camera.

It took me buying several cameras to find out truth about FL RF's. Lenses are about same, at least, all are better than my skills. Ergonomics and tactile feelings is what makes them different. As much as I like lenses of GSN and KAS2 I'm considering putting them in a "for sale" box.

That Fujica looks like a good camera. Enjoy your journey!

 

[radiocemetery]

I have a 35ml. Another feature is the parallax correction and projected frame lines in the viewfinder. I am not sure if these were available with different lenses, but mine has the f2.8 45mm Fujinon also. My shutter also required unsticking. I haven't run film through this camera yet. Cool camera.

 

[Greyscale]

radiocemetery. how do you remove the front element to get at the shutter?

 

[radiocemetery]

The front element can be removed by using a pin type spanner to engage the two holes in the trim ring where "Fujinon Fuji Photo Film Co." is printed. Further access to the shutter required removal of the trim ring displaying the wording "Fuji Synchro MXL". This second ring was glued down on my camera, but it was still pretty easy to get off.
There was a website in Japanese illustrating this process but my link is broken. I will see if I can get this fixed and post it here.
Steve

 

[radiocemetery]

Here is a link. I hope this works for you, Greyscale.

http://sendai.cool.ne.jp/ayanoshippo/restoa_14.html


Steve

 

[radiocemetery]

Another link for removing the top plate and rangefinder assembly:

http://translate.google.com/transla...hi-net.or.jp/~rd2h-ari/35ML_BUNKAI.htm&anno=2

 

[Greyscale]

Gotta love those Google translations:

Remove the yellow shaded ring ornament. (It is more secure rubber plug wrench is a good look at crabs) will be removed before the ball. 中玉 will be removed and then remove the red part. You will see the shutter cover

I think what it really says is to use a rubber plug stopper to remove the outer name ring/front element. 😀

 

[radiocemetery]

I saw a camera top plate translated from Japanese as a "gunboat". Haven't got that one figured out yet. Maybe it was a Canon?

 

[oftheherd]

I saw a camera top plate translated from Japanese as a "gunboat". Haven't got that one figured out yet. Maybe it was a Canon?

Translation programs do their best. I once saw a Spanish seller using one that declared there were no mushrooms (fungus) on the lens of a camera. 😀

 

[ridinhome]

Greyscale, if you haven't done so already I'd wander over the Classic Manual Cameras forum at Photo.net and check out posts from Rick Drawbridge. He has an almost complete collection of Fujica 35s, and recently did a complete restoration of a 35SE using three different examples. His Fujica posts also contain a ton of great background information on the Fujicas.


They are very nice FLRFs, great lenses.

 

[Greyscale]

Thanks for the info, ridinhome.

I am having some problems removing the front element, probably a combination of a very tight (and possibly glued) element, and a rubber tub stopper made of rubber that is too soft. So I think that I will try leaving the camera lens-up under a lamp for several hours, and getting a nice hard red-rubber tub stopper that should offer more grip than the soft white rubber one that I have been using.

The shutter wants to move, I can see it start, and I am fairly confident that it only will need a minimal touch of naphtha to get it working... if I ever get to it.