Jerry Thirsty
Member
1) There are no click-stops on my aperture ring. Is this normal, or is there something wrong with it?
2) Do the aperture blades never fully open, so as to give a round aperture? On mine, when I look in the back and turn the aperture ring, even at 1.8 the iris is still a pentagon (with the points almost as large as the diameter of the lens but not quite).
thanks in advance,
Jerry
2) Do the aperture blades never fully open, so as to give a round aperture? On mine, when I look in the back and turn the aperture ring, even at 1.8 the iris is still a pentagon (with the points almost as large as the diameter of the lens but not quite).
thanks in advance,
Jerry
DeeCee3
Established
Odd you should ask those questions, Jerry, as I was just out shooting with mine this afternoon but failed to notice. I took my KAS2 down from the shelf a moment ago and tried it out to see.
No clicks after you leave "Auto" on the aperture ring...at least on mine. I didn't check the iris size, though, as the camera's still loaded with Portra VC.
Sadly, I shoot mine so infrequently, I'd never noticed these "quirks". However, every time I do use it, I realize anew what a delight it is to shoot. I honestly believe it's as quiet as my M2.
dc3
No clicks after you leave "Auto" on the aperture ring...at least on mine. I didn't check the iris size, though, as the camera's still loaded with Portra VC.
Sadly, I shoot mine so infrequently, I'd never noticed these "quirks". However, every time I do use it, I realize anew what a delight it is to shoot. I honestly believe it's as quiet as my M2.
dc3
btgc
Veteran
Jerry,
#1 is quite normal, KAS and KAS2 don't have click stops on aperture. I think this is good design.
#2 sounds like a sticky aperture - at 1.8 mine show round aperture without iris. Because of Auto mode, aperture has stop down spring - unfortunately, too weak by default. Aperture blades and cage should be perfectly clean to function properly. Good news - on my current KAS2 I managed to clean aperture without disassembly. Though it depends on condition of particular camera.
#1 is quite normal, KAS and KAS2 don't have click stops on aperture. I think this is good design.
#2 sounds like a sticky aperture - at 1.8 mine show round aperture without iris. Because of Auto mode, aperture has stop down spring - unfortunately, too weak by default. Aperture blades and cage should be perfectly clean to function properly. Good news - on my current KAS2 I managed to clean aperture without disassembly. Though it depends on condition of particular camera.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
No, you get no click stops. I've always viewed that as a plus though. You can't set your aperture at f/8.2 if you have click stops.
As for the "nonround" aperture, mine was acting like that before I cleaned it. It is round now though. You ought to clean yours -- it's easy.
Make a note of what ISO your camera is set on. Unscrew the front lens element (you'll need a friction wrench). Under it, you will see a wavy nut, secured in place by a locking screw. The locking screw has one flat edge. Turn it so the one flat edge is toward the wavy nut -- this unlocks the wavy nut and you can unscrew it. Unscrew the wavy nut.
Okay, pay attention to in what order the rings are stacked up on your camera and just lift off all but the bottom ring (the one with the shutter speeds and all the slots in the front of it). The bottom ring is the shutter speed cam. Look at the two small pins that are engaging the slots. Make a note of where they engage the slots. Now remove it.
Take a small artist's watercolor brush and squirt a few drops of lighter fluid on the gears. Work the brush back into the gears and scrub at them gently. Don't disloge any springs. Cock and fire the shutter a couple of times. Squirt a few more drops of lighter fluid in there and scrub it some more. Fire the shutter a few more times and then rinse out the gears with more lighter fluid.
That takes care of the gears. If you put the camera back together at this point, and if your shutter blades were clean, you'd have your shutter speeds back, but you're not done quite yet.
Get out a box of cotton swabs. Wet one end with lighter fluid (really wet) and gently rub at the shutter blades. Fire the blades a couple of times. Turn the swab around and rub gently at the blades with the dry end. Throw the swab away. Repeat about 50 times. This cleans the shutter blades. If you reassembled the camera at this point, your shutter times would be as accurate as they are ever going to be, but you still have the aperture to do.
Put the cam speed dial back on the front of the shutter, engaging those two pins back in their slots. Holding it in place, rotate it to the B shutter speed. Fire the shutter and hold the button down. You will see the aperture blades. Wet another swab and do with them what you did with the shutter blades: Wet them down with lighter fluid on the wet end of the swab, work them a few times, then mop the dirty fluid up with the dry end of the swab. Repeat this about 50 times.
When you're done, you may want to also clean the lenses, as long as you're in there.
At this point, you're almost done with a very basic amateur's CLA. Set your camera aside for about 12 hours and let all the naptha evaporate. get a fresh small watercolor brush and dampen it slightly with a mix of ten drops of naptha to one drop of either Nye watch oil or Hoppes gun oil. Work that back into the gears. Let the lighter fluid evaporate. Do NOT allow any of this to get on the shutter blades or aperture blades. Reassemble it the same way you took it apart. Be sure the ASA dial is lined up with the same ASA setting it was on when you took it apart. Tighten the wavy nut and engage the locking screw. Screw the front lens element back in place and you're done. You should have reasonably accurate shutter speeds, a round aperture when it is set wide open, and the camera should work pretty much as well as it ever did.
Only thing left is to replace the light seals:
Get one of Jon Goodman's seal kits. He sells them on ebay under the user name "interslice." He literally uses the best materials money can buy, and it will cost you all of $9 for enough to do a dozen cameras. On the hinge end and the latch end of the door is a 1/8 inch wide strip of fabric that is about 1/32 inch thick, and that runs from the top gutter to the bottom gutter. Scrape them off and replace them with the thin fabric from Jon's kit. At the top and bottom of the film loading door are some gutters. These are about 2mm wide and about 6mm deep. They may have some crud in them. Scrape that out and replace it with Jon's seal strip material. You won't need any glue. Be sure not to cover the silver stud in the top gutter. Cut the strips to length and carefully press them into the gutters so they don't get twisted.
If the viewfinder is clean, bright and clear in your camera, your CLA is complete.
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Jerry Thirsty
Member
Wow, I wasn't expecting that much detail. I did find the instructions on Mick Feuerbacher's web page, so the pics help with the understanding.
Actually, the shutter speeds sound quite good. At least 1 second is close, and all the rest decrease in approximately the right amount. And I noticed as I was running through the speeds that the aperture gradually jiggled almost all the way open, so it must not be too bad. This camera is about as close to mint as I have ever seen, except that somebody removed the slide-out hood at some point.
Actually, the shutter speeds sound quite good. At least 1 second is close, and all the rest decrease in approximately the right amount. And I noticed as I was running through the speeds that the aperture gradually jiggled almost all the way open, so it must not be too bad. This camera is about as close to mint as I have ever seen, except that somebody removed the slide-out hood at some point.
ludoo
Established
I also have a Konica Auto S2 (well, I have two but one has the aperture and shutter blades floating freely between the lenses) and could use some advice.
It's in almost mint condition, but the lens is slightly wobbly. The wobble is at the base of the lens where it connects to the body. Searching around, and after testing the four srcews that hold the lens plate against the body and finding them tight, I think the problem is similar to the one outlined here (the pic is taken from that post)
I'd like to remove the lens and test those three screws, but being a total newbie at this I have no idea how to remove the film advance lever and rewind knob from the top plate. And while I'm at it, are there any hidden screws, or anything I should be particularly careful about when removing the top and bottom?
Edit: I managed to remove the top, bottom, and unscrew the lens assembly. Checked those screws, and they were super tight. I might dismount the whole lens and shutter and check if there's anything else that needs tightening, or trust the camera repair pro who had a quick look at my S2 and said the wobble is due to wear in the helicals and there's nothing to do about it short of packing them with grease, and the optical performance should be unaffected.
It's in almost mint condition, but the lens is slightly wobbly. The wobble is at the base of the lens where it connects to the body. Searching around, and after testing the four srcews that hold the lens plate against the body and finding them tight, I think the problem is similar to the one outlined here (the pic is taken from that post)
I'd like to remove the lens and test those three screws, but being a total newbie at this I have no idea how to remove the film advance lever and rewind knob from the top plate. And while I'm at it, are there any hidden screws, or anything I should be particularly careful about when removing the top and bottom?
Edit: I managed to remove the top, bottom, and unscrew the lens assembly. Checked those screws, and they were super tight. I might dismount the whole lens and shutter and check if there's anything else that needs tightening, or trust the camera repair pro who had a quick look at my S2 and said the wobble is due to wear in the helicals and there's nothing to do about it short of packing them with grease, and the optical performance should be unaffected.
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FallisPhoto
Veteran
Wear in the helicals? Uh... I'd check with another "pro" if I were you. Whatever the problem is, I really doubt that's it.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
I'd do it anyway. If your aperture blades are sticking, it's a cinch that your shutter blades are too, whether you're aware of it or not.
ludoo
Established
Erm, there are not too many around here and they tend to be slow, and treat all non-Leica non-Hasselblad stuff like poor man's crap.
Ok, after having checked that, what do you suggest I try? Remove the front lens and check the ridged retaining ring behind it?
Edit: I removed the front lens and tightened the wavy nut, which had already been tightened compared to the factory setting. I tightened it a couple of notches more, it is now 8 notches tighter than when it was made (there's a drop of red laquer on the screw/nut), and with the tools I have I cannot tighten it more. The wobble has not been completely eliminated, but it has decreased noticeably.
Anything else I can do?
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FallisPhoto
Veteran
Erm, there are not too many around here and they tend to be slow, and treat all non-Leica non-Hasselblad stuff like poor man's crap.
Ok, after having checked that, what do you suggest I try? Remove the front lens and check the ridged retaining ring behind it?
Edit: I removed the front lens and tightened the wavy nut, which had already been tightened compared to the factory setting. I tightened it a couple of notches more, it is now 8 notches tighter than when it was made (there's a drop of red laquer on the screw/nut), and with the tools I have I cannot tighten it more. The wobble has not been completely eliminated, but it has decreased noticeably.
Anything else I can do?
Sounds to me like someone dropped it on the lens and tried to compensate. I doubt there is anything more you can do without shims to correct for whatever bending happened when it was dropped.
Edit: BTW, that red mark is pretty much meaningless, since the nut can go on from more than one starting point. Depending on where you started from, it could be too tight, too loose, or just right.
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btgc
Veteran
My first KAS2 arrived with bent lens barrel - so check if spaces between rings on barrel are even. I hope this is not your case.
ludoo
Established
Thanks. How would I go about placing shims? Sorry to be a bother, but the camera looks mint apart from the wobbling, and I would really like to use it.
Can you elaborate more on this? And what did you do to fix yours, or did you just get another one?
btgc
Veteran
lens barrel should be perpendicular to body, that is.
and this means that spacing between any two parts on barrel should be even all around barrel.
Initially I though this can be fixed, but as aperture "cage" were broken (means - aperture leafs couldn't not be held in place as they should) I ended up getting another sample.
ludoo
Established
Thanks. Mine seems perpendicular, only it wobbles a bit from side to side, and slightly less vertically. I really don't feel comfortable taking it out, even though it might shoot fine even with the minor wobble.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
You find out where it is loose and put a metal shim in there to tighten it up, placing it where it won't interfere with the operation of the camera. It may not even be possible, depending on where the damage occurred and on what got bent. Sorry, but I can't be any more specific than that, since it would depend on where the problem is (if that even is the problem) and I can't know that without examining it.