xwhatsit
Well-known
Yay! My Electro GS arrived today. Compared to the Minister D I got it looks in infinitely better condition. Obviously the battery is toast (2.1V won't quite cut it) but I'll pick up a PX28 today at lunch and see if it goes. However it appears to be firing fine on 500 (it'll shoot at 500 if there's no battery, right?), no sticky shutter. The glass looks flawless (my, it's a huge lens... before my Minister D I only grew up in the world of crappy P&S, then crappy Digital P&S. f8 max, flash on full! :bang
, so the Minister D looked like it had an enormous front lens group but this f1.7 Electro looks it's about to swallow me up if I fire the shutter while looking at it!
When I put the battery in, might find out that the electrics are poked but we'll see. Battery didn't leak, and the GS has a gold-coated pad, doesn't it? Well, anyway, POD fix doesn't look too hard.
What was really interesting is that it was inherited from somebody, who had stored it since the early 80s. They shipped all the other stuff that went with it; there was still a roll of Kroma Colour 100 in it, about 20 frames shot. Wonder whether I should develop it? Also in the box was a Sunpak Auto 140 flash with the original warranty stamped PHOTOKINA LTD, 280 George St, Dunedin. And there is about a dozen scraps of paper with notes scribbled on there about how to load the film and take photos. Doesn't look like the writings of a particularly camera-savvy owner.
Anyway, another toy. Waiting for the Lynx 1000 now. Don't think it'll be in half as good nick. This afternoon I pick up my first two rolls of film from the Minister D. Three cameras, not a single photo to show for it yet!
, so the Minister D looked like it had an enormous front lens group but this f1.7 Electro looks it's about to swallow me up if I fire the shutter while looking at it!When I put the battery in, might find out that the electrics are poked but we'll see. Battery didn't leak, and the GS has a gold-coated pad, doesn't it? Well, anyway, POD fix doesn't look too hard.
What was really interesting is that it was inherited from somebody, who had stored it since the early 80s. They shipped all the other stuff that went with it; there was still a roll of Kroma Colour 100 in it, about 20 frames shot. Wonder whether I should develop it? Also in the box was a Sunpak Auto 140 flash with the original warranty stamped PHOTOKINA LTD, 280 George St, Dunedin. And there is about a dozen scraps of paper with notes scribbled on there about how to load the film and take photos. Doesn't look like the writings of a particularly camera-savvy owner.
Anyway, another toy. Waiting for the Lynx 1000 now. Don't think it'll be in half as good nick. This afternoon I pick up my first two rolls of film from the Minister D. Three cameras, not a single photo to show for it yet!
remegius
Well-known
The GS is really a great camera. There are a lot of threads on this forum pertaining to the Yashica rangefinders, and if you ever need to have any of them repaired Mark Hama is the way to go. He has restored a couple of Yashica's for me, and I have never been disappointed by his work.
Cheers...
Rem
xwhatsit
Well-known
It looks nice, although I like the idea of my battery-less fully manual Minister D and Lynx 1000 (still coming!) a bit better. I've seen a lot of example photos and they have a distinct look about them (even from an Electro lens that had been converted to M mount) that I like a lot.
Mark Hama is a bit of a journey to mail my camera too from New Zealand, but that's OK as half the fun for me is pulling things to bits.
b1bmsgt
Yeah, I still use film...
I would definitely get the roll of film developed! You never know what you might find on it...
If you think the GS has a big lens, take a look at a Lynx 14 some time!!!
Russ
If you think the GS has a big lens, take a look at a Lynx 14 some time!!!
Russ
ZeissFan
Veteran
Getting processing only on that roll. Color isn't like b/w film. Sometimes, the image holds but sometimes it doesn't.
xwhatsit
Well-known
Well I went and picked up a PX28A and made up a little spacer etc. Looks like it has POD, shutter seems to be firing either at 1/500 or B. Time to find out how easy this is to fix! Might be why it was boxed up in almost perfect condition a few decades ago.
EDIT: Going to try the microsurgery method, but found myself a little confused by the information out there -- should the rubber be 2mm thick before being compressed, or should it be a minimum of 2mm when compressed?
EDIT: Going to try the microsurgery method, but found myself a little confused by the information out there -- should the rubber be 2mm thick before being compressed, or should it be a minimum of 2mm when compressed?
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b1bmsgt
Yeah, I still use film...
You should use a type of rubber that doesn't compress at all. I use a neoprene plumbing washer myself that I cut to size.
Russ
Russ
xwhatsit
Well-known
I did indeed use a plumbing washer. Glue is drying now as I write this. God knows if it'll work!
I only dropped the new pad once -- ended up in the meter assembly! Horrible 10 minutes trying to get it out without pulling the whole thing apart.
There was absolutely no pad left. Just glue.
The black foam light seal over the rewind assembly just fell apart immediately. I'm still trying to track down some suitable foam for light seals; in the meantime, what is that foam actually good for? I can't see how light would get to the film from there; is it for shielding light from the VF? If that's the case I'll not worry about it until I can get some foam.
EDIT: Actually it looked more like a gasket than anything else. I have some white foam that was packing material, it's of similar consistency. Only problem is it's white. Maybe I'll just use that in the interim.
I only dropped the new pad once -- ended up in the meter assembly! Horrible 10 minutes trying to get it out without pulling the whole thing apart.
There was absolutely no pad left. Just glue.
The black foam light seal over the rewind assembly just fell apart immediately. I'm still trying to track down some suitable foam for light seals; in the meantime, what is that foam actually good for? I can't see how light would get to the film from there; is it for shielding light from the VF? If that's the case I'll not worry about it until I can get some foam.
EDIT: Actually it looked more like a gasket than anything else. I have some white foam that was packing material, it's of similar consistency. Only problem is it's white. Maybe I'll just use that in the interim.
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xwhatsit
Well-known
Well I've left that foam gasket off for the moment, it looks to me like it's a dust seal more than anything else so that's OK for a week or two.
Put everything back together and it appears to be working! Hell of a loud clunk. Not a quiet camera at all. Have no idea how accurate the shutter speeds are so I'll just stick a roll of film through it and see what happens.
Cheers!
Put everything back together and it appears to be working! Hell of a loud clunk. Not a quiet camera at all. Have no idea how accurate the shutter speeds are so I'll just stick a roll of film through it and see what happens.
Cheers!