Even though this thread is somewhat dated, I wanted to comment on the Praktina line up of bodies, lenses, motors and winders. Especially after just reading Brett's review for the first time as like any collector of vintage cameras, at various times your interests peak on a particular camera in your collection.
This has happened to me with the Praktinas as I have been reading the various websites on line and thought I should be looking for a late model Praktina IIA to use some of the "Auto" lenses I have acquired over the last few years. I have two FX models and a IIA I purchased a few years ago. never did look at the serial # of the IIA until lo and behold it is in the 125xxx range which makes it one of the last IIA's manufactured. Solved my problem of having to acquire another body.
But, 2nd shutter curtain is fully closing at slow speeds, leaving a small slit on the left side. Most of the speeds from 125-1000 seem better but still the whole shutter seems sticky and dry. I think the curtains are OK (pinholes) but could be wrong on that.
Shutter repair ??? without sending to cupog as the shipping is costly???
Have lenses from 24/4 Enna, 25/4 Flektogon, 2-35's, 55 Steinheil, 58 Biotars, 75/1.5 Biotar, 80/2.8 Biometar, and 120 Biometar.... so a number, sold the 100 Trioplan for lots of money. Great German lenses which I also have for the 4-5 Exaktas I own.
Great system camera. Have a winder and spring motor. Motor works on one of the FX's but have not tried on the IIA with the shutter being messed up. Very finicky, I'll agree.
You might say, I've been into this system and after reading Brett's review (very nice by the way), I'll continue for awhile, until another of my collection draws my attention away.... for what ever reason.
Any shutter suggestions??
Regards,
Gary Hill
Hi Gary,
Thanks for the kind words about the review I wrote. Although the Praktinas were not at the top of my list of cameras to acquire I was well aware of them, so when a pair came up for grabs locally I took a punt on them on basic principles, because they each had a shiny Carl Zeiss Jena aluminium lens attached! And like you, I'm not averse to Exaktas or other unusual designs. They have absolutely exceeded my expectations. Not only are they a tactile delight because of the finish and solidity they possess, but I have also found them to be effective image making devices, and enjoyable to use ones, at that. But the best Praktina is one that is working well, because they are too good at making high quality images to idly languish in collectors cabinets. There are a few clues, I think, in my review about where to begin working on your IIA but I'll elaborate.
I do know that my FXs, both of which came from the same one-owner source were well cared for and not abused. Still, the curtain fabric on both of them is really good. Whatever material KW used is the stuff that Ihagee should have chosen for the Exaktas, I reckon, because mine have aged very gracefully indeed. If you think the curtains of yours look OK, they most likely are I expect. By all means, shine a torch at them in a dark room to check for pinholes though. Tip: wind the camera and then delicately depress the release, slowly, and you can flick the mirror out of the way to inspect the first curtain, as well as the second. And when you're using a Praktina, try to get into the habit of either keeping a cap on your lens or winding on immediately after exposure to protect the second curtain from sun damage. As you won't be able to use the (reflex) finder again until you've wound on, it's an easy habit to develop, I've found, but, as an Exakta owner, you're likely already on top of this, anyway.
Assuming they pass the light test and aren't particularly wrinkled, I reckon yours will just need to have the mechanism cleaned and lubricated, and possibly the spring tension boosted a click or two on the adjusters for the curtain tension. But maybe not: leave them well alone until the mechanism has first been serviced, because that may well be enough to see the curtains running nicely. Mine needed a slight adjustment to compensate for the loss of spring tension over the years, but it was minimal (a click or two at the most) and was only adjusted subsequent to servicing the mechanism. As the second curtain of yours is not quite capping off I suspect the tension
will need a little help (adjusters are under the lower cover), but see how you go, first.
In terms of reaching the shutter spindles, this is just about as easy as on an old fabric shutter Praktica. Böhm used the same approach to constructing the rear of the Praktina body and the film rail plate is a separate piece that readily detaches after removing a few screws. You should keep the body face down, and be careful when lifting it up though, because the exact position of the plate relative to the lens mount determines the accuracy of the lens register to film plane, and there may be shims located under the rail plate. If so, you don't want them to fall into the mechanism, and you will want to note where each one is located before you carefully remove and label them, so that you can keep the register accurate on re-assembly. If there are no shims present, that is also OK, (unless, perhaps, you see signs of previous poor quality work such as butchered screw heads etc. which might raise the question of shims being lost or omitted). But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
With the plate removed you'll be able to readily access the spindles for the curtain shafts and take up spindles and a noticeable improvement in the alacrity with which the curtains move may well be achievable simply by irrigating these with
small amounts of lighter fluid a number of times in between winding and releasing the camera. Although access is somewhat tight, the mirror actuating mechanism and some other components are all visible and accessible at least to an extent for inspection and cleaning if needed as well. You should particularly try not to get any solvent on the curtains or their tapes. You'd have to be very unlucky to create any issues as a result of a drop or two, but try not to get it near them, as it's possible it could damage the integrity of the adhesive bond between tapes and curtains or the tapes and their take up spindles.
Once you've cleaned and exercised the mechanism a number of times you will hopefully see the curtains running off a bit better. Particularly when you've just added some solvent to the spindle bearings. Any improvement will be temporary because the lighter fluid is not a lubricant. Well, I suppose it is (in the sense that it will help things move when it is freshly applied), but, it is volatile and has no staying power, so, once it's flashed off there's little residue, and what is left has no lubricant properties. So you should not be surprised if any improvement in functionality is only temporary and problems return the following day, once the solvent has flashed off. This is to be expected.
If you're using the correct minimal volume of naptha it shouldn't take that long, anyway, but you should certainly leave the camera with the plate and camera back removed to air for a few hours. You may then place minute specks of a suitable oil such as Nye oil or watch oil into the spindle bearings and exercise the mechanism again for a while, at which point, hopefully, the curtain accuracy will be improved. It's then time to check the speeds and only then, once you're satisfied the mechanism is clean and running freely you might want to fine tune the curtain tension a tooth at a time, re-checking the slit accuracy as you do. Less is more! If you're finding that a number of ratchet clicks are needed to obtain much, if any, increase in curtain speed, you probably don't have things cleaned and lubricated well enough. Keep a careful count of whatever adjustments you've made to each shaft in any case, so that you can retrace your steps and restore the initial settings, if needed.
I had the good fortune to acquire a rare and, (unsurprisingly, German language) copy of the factory repair and adjustment manual for one of the Praktinas last year. I can't recall which version(s) it covers offhand, but the shutter itself is common, or mostly common, to either sub-type and may be helpful (even more so, if your German is fluent no doubt!). If you run into problems, let me know and I can forward through a retrieval link to it, if you need it. Rick Oleson has some typically excellent notes on this SLR as well, if you get stuck.
Cheers,
Brett
