Received an Autocord back from Karl Bryan

[Brian Legge]

I picked up an Autocord in great condition with the exception of a broken lever at the end of the year. My plan had been to sell my existing one which was on the beat up side and have the new one CLA'd. I exchanged emails with Karl Bryan a few months ago and finally got around to sending it in preparation for a trip. I didn't give him a heads up or check to see how busy he was.

I mailed it Saturday afternoon. He confirmed receiving it Monday morning and emailed again that night to inform me that he was done working on it. Tuesday it was back in the mail. It arrived today.

The camera went in for a new focus lever, lube and general cleaning (though the shutter was okay and didn't need work). I'm completely happy with Karls work and communication through out the process. I'd definitely recommend Karl to anyone.

 

[t.s.k.]

I've never heard of Karl.
Care to indulge the ignorant?

 

[Brian Legge]

Basically, if you search around for Autocord repair, his name will come up all over the place. Karl is down in Oregon and specializes in Autocords - I don't actually know if he works on anything else.

He's one of the few people I know of who manufactures replacement focusing levers for people who have either had them break or who are concerned that they will at some point.

 

[t.s.k.]

hehe, I read autocord as automat and wondered if there was another rollei guy out there I never heard of.
If I ever get a Minolta, I know who to call now.

Thanks Brian.

 

[Zonan]

Yes, Karl is the man for Autocords!

 

[dreilly]

Karl Bryan is just great. Glad to hear he's still keeping those autocords out there and shooting.

 

[PMCC]

Basically, if you search around for Autocord repair, his name will come up all over the place. Karl is down in Oregon and specializes in Autocords - I don't actually know if he works on anything else.

In some respects he has a higher opinion of Ricohmatic 225s than Autocords. He'll work on them and Diacords too. Won't work on Yashica Mats or Rolleis, last I knew. He's a little slow (not 😉) but worth waiting for. Straight up guy.

 

[Brian Legge]

Thank you for the correction. I had no idea!

I haven't actually seen a Ricohmatic 225 in person though I do like the handling of the Diacords. Probably for the best as I'm happy with my Autocord and don't need to start lusting after another TLR. 😉

 

[whitecat]

He is THE man with the Autocords.

 

[PMCC]

Thank you for the correction. I had no idea!

I haven't actually seen a Ricohmatic 225 in person though I do like the handling of the Diacords. Probably for the best as I'm happy with my Autocord and don't need to start lusting after another TLR. 😉

Nothing to correct -- merely making additional input to the database. The Ricohmatic 225 focuses like a Diacord, with dual stainless steel levers, but is an automat, with a lever to crank the film and charge the shutter, just like a Rolleiflex. Equipped with on-board dual-range selenium meter, which tends to be found working and accurate (unlike the selenium meters supplied to German cameras of the era, such as Zeiss, Rollei and Voigtlander, which are often dead by now). Best of all, its film path is set up like the Autocord's, top to bottom, with no bend until after the exposed frame is advanced. Another RFF member here once took exception that I marginally preferred the Autocord lens, so the Ricohmatic optics have some pretty fierce advocates. Also, they are usually cheaper than Autocords in comparable condition, but seemingly harder to find. No sellers.

 

[ianstamatic]

the ricoh diacord lens is at least the equal of the autocord. maybe even sharper.

 

[PMCC]

Fortunately for me, I don't have to choose between them. I enjoy using both.

 

[KoNickon]

Didn't know he worked on the Ricohs. I have a 225 that could benefit from his work (and I know from experience what good work he does on the Autocords).

I think he also works on the Barnack Leicas and Canon bottom loaders.

 

[PMCC]

I don't purport to speak for Karl, but I can give you some impressions I have gleaned in the course of a number of conversations with him. Karl has worked on Diacords, Autocords and Ricohmatic 225s for me, all of which were primo examples to start with. I never asked him for a direct comparison, but it seems to me that one could fairly say the Ricohmatic 225 is an under-appreciated camera vs the Autocord. He's pointed out various engineering elements that he deems superior in the Ricohmatic over the Autocord. For example, the Ricohmatic uses dual side-mounted stainless steel focusing levers, while the Autocord has a single lever made of hard putty, which can be broken off if either the helicoid lubricants harden or if the lever is left in the center position during a film change and thus collides with the opened back. The Ricohmatic has internal dust guards covering the focus lever channels, whereas the Autocord has an open groove. The last versions of the Autocord use proprietary lug strap wings, which are hard to find and restrict 3rd party strap choice. Both cameras have the top-to-bottom film path, said to improve film flatness (not true of the Diacord, by the way; also, for bokeh freaks, the earlier Diacord had more aperture blades than the Ricohmatic). On Karl's equipment (?optical bench/collimeter?), the four glass Rikenon lens holds its own vs. the Rokkor in terms of resolution. I won't quote lines/mm numbers because I think neither Karl nor I thought either's numbers blew the other away -- suffice it to say, I believe we are in agreement that both lenses are very good performers and more than competitive with the Tessars and Xenars of the day. I like using both and wouldn't want to choose between them -- then again, i don't make enlargements bigger than 11x14, so maximum resolution is secondary to overall signature, which is a matter of preference. Hey, they are both very capable instruments, and to go beyond that is the narcissism of small differences. OTOH, that's what RFF is all about. 🙂

 

[ianstamatic]

Karl has gone over two autocords and a diacord for me.
Add me to the list of people recommending him.
Very nice guy also.

PMCC - I have enough tlr's already, now you just have to go on and on talking about the 225 like that ...
I also agree about lens signature. while i like my rolleiflex planar I also really like how the 3 and 4 element lenses 'draw' the image, for some subjects its just perfect.

 

[PMCC]

Ianstamatic: mwah ha ha, just when you thought you were done. Karl clocked the Rikenon in my Ricohmatic 225 at >125 lines/mm at f5.6 in the center. We won't even mention the Kalloflex here.

 

[Brian Legge]

I ended up making a slight adjustment to the focusing lens as - at least for the way I've been focusing and shooting - I was consistently focusing slightly close. Measured with ground glass against with a tap measure and focused manually, I'm happy with it now.

Here are a few shots with it, post adjusting.

Near focus limit, wide open. The focus looks dead on where I put it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/6128898265/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/6128897837

 

[Dan Daniel]

If you are willing to remove the leatherette and lens shroud, adjusting viewing lens focus to match taking lens isn't hard. I use a desk and ruler on angle to get a repeatable set-up. Take a shot of the ruler- I put tape by the focus point. Then develop the film. Whichever direction t he error lies, move the viewing lens to compensate. If film focus is behind the viewing lens, move the viewing lens 'in,' reverse for opposite.

Or there is using a 35mm camera with a target on the film plane and focused at infinity. Search for collimation and you'll see some descriptions of the procedure to get an infinfity object.

On the late-model strap lugs: the hole take a 6-32 tap very smoothly. Thread the hole, install some button-head bolts, and Hasselblad strap clips should fit. Once i had to file away the thread material right near the bolt head so it would slide into the notch on the clip. Use Loc-tite to secure the bolts once all is known to work.

 

[shadowfox]

In some respects he has a higher opinion of Ricohmatic 225s than Autocords. He'll work on them and Diacords too. Won't work on Yashica Mats or Rolleis, last I knew. He's a little slow (not 😉) but worth waiting for. Straight up guy.

That statement right there shows that Karl Bryan has a very good taste in Japanese TLR selection 😉

 

[artphotodude]

I've had 3 Autocords and one Ricohmatic. To be fair, I cannot say much about the Ricoh because I sold it right away after it scratched the crap out of my 35mm film - would recommend trying a roll before buying if you want it for 35.

As for the film transport, it is simply the best. After shooting Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Mamiya RZ and Pentax 67, I would say that in terms of overall reliability, the Autocord holds right up with a modern Hasselblad 500CM but at a fraction the cost. Famous lens repairman Paul Ebel told me that the Rokkor in it was the sharpest lens of its time - even beating out the Rolleiflex 3.5F in independent testing. A few lens experts have told me that the Ricohmatic's lens is virtually identical (some have even speculated that it was copied from the Autocord - considering the improvement over the previous Diacords, but we will never know for sure).

The only issue I can say for sure is that whenever possible, I've always purchased single-coated lenses with the amber (brownish) coloring because it is easier to balance contrast with and mitigate compared to the bluish/purplish coatings and virtually all competing TLRs from the time including the Ricomatic have the bluish coating. Not a big deal in most shots - but if you are wanting to leverage the Tessar-formula's superior flare resistance when shooting into light-sources, the blue coatings can be a pain.