Lynx 14e IC in second-hand shop. How to test?

[Eastcolfax]

I have a chance to pick up a nice-looking 14e IC at a Goodwill-type place. The problem is they're VERY busy, so I can't spend a lot of time looking over the camera. It's in a locked case and they wait there while you check it out.

It's in good shape. No fungus on lens, no scratches, little brassing, comes with some cool Saigon/Vietnam-marked film canister carriers on the strap, etc.

The shutter fires and sounds okay. I'll have to replace the light seals, but I was expecting that.

The problem is the aperture. There's no battery, of course, and when I turn the aperture ring, it doesn't 'click' at each f-stop. Is it supposed to? It turns REALLY easily. Then, no matter whether I set it to f1.2 or f16, when I fire the shutter on "B" and look through the lens with the back open, the aperture looks wide open. Shouldn't it be stopped down all the way when I have it set to f16?

They want $50.00 for the thing, which is no fantastic bargain, but it's a decent price. I just don't want to buy a cam that needs a lot of work, even though I'm SALIVATING over a 14e.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Eastcolfax]

Thanks, Greyhoundman.

I'm not familiar with the 14e, although I've torn down a GSN. How hard would it be to fix if the ring has jumped from the notch? Is this external?

What's your feeling about a $50.00 14e?

Thanks!

 

[Eastcolfax]

Thanks again for the quick reply.

Unfortunately, they won't dicker, it's their policy. I sort of felt like $50.00 was a bit much, as well, unless it worked perfectly. For that much money I don't want to buy something then find out it's really screwed up.

I'll likely hold off until I find one on Ebay from a seller who knows what he's talking about.

Thanks again for the advice. It helped a LOT!

Daniel

 

[pshinkaw]

Unless you have the proper spanners, the Lynx lens barrels are difficult to get into. They have some very soft and tiny brass parts which are easily damaged.

$50 seems rather high to me. I have seen collector quality Lynx 14e's sell for as much a $75, but that was unusual. I think $25 to $35 is more reasonable. Then again, if you figure that you are not paying shipping charges of $7.50 to $15, perhaps it is a reasonable price, but still at the upper end of reasonableness.

-Paul

 

[RichardS]

IThe problem is the aperture. There's no battery, of course, and when I turn the aperture ring, it doesn't 'click' at each f-stop. Is it supposed to? It turns REALLY easily. Then, no matter whether I set it to f1.2 or f16, when I fire the shutter on "B" and look through the lens with the back open, the aperture looks wide open. Shouldn't it be stopped down all the way when I have it set to f16?

They want $50.00 for the thing, which is no fantastic bargain, but it's a decent price. I just don't want to buy a cam that needs a lot of work, even though I'm SALIVATING over a 14e.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have one. There are no click stops on the aperture ring but with the back of the camera open, you should see the iris change as you turn the aperture ring. If you don't my guess is that there is a major problem with the camera.

Dick

 

[Eastcolfax]

Thanks for the help, everyone. It looks like I'll pass on this one.

What a great forum!

 

[dreilly]

Someone gave me this advice (probably here): check on ebay for something like Yashica IC camera or IC camera, as sometimes the little Lynx plate falls off. I did this, found one (with the nameplate on, they just listed it without) and got it for a very good price. Greyhoundman and others helped me ressurrect it back into good condition. Lots of fun to work on!

 

[pshinkaw]

You can make a new Lynx plate on your word processor, print it out, trim and glue it on.

-Paul