Rolleiflex Automat X soft at 3.5?

[tuanvinh2000]

Hi guys,
I'm given an automat mx evs with scratched up lens. Tried to run 2 rolls of ektar 100 through it and found the results at f5.6 is sharp and nice but f3.5 is rather soft (I have a 75 tessar one). May be because i dont have a proper way to confirm focus (the magnifier doesn't flip down due to the age of the camera). Any suggestions on improving sharpness wide open or better focusing?

 

[siracusa]

Hi, I have an Automat K4B with Tessar lens and the images from mine are also soft wide open but do sharpen stopped down a little, so your experience sounds normal to me. It is normal for lenses to sharpen when stopped down a little - very few will perform at their peak wide open.
BTW, if you find focusing a chore on your automat, you could try a Rick Oleson focusing screen. The price is unbeatable and the split image makes focusing faster and more accurate IMHO.

 

[siracusa]

tuavinh2000,
I'm attaching to this message two snapshots that I took on my first test roll with my Automat (I don't have any other scans handy on this laptop, but these illustrate the performance of my Rolleiflex). The one of my nephew was taken probably around f3.5 or f4 (I forget which, but it was quite wide). The shot of my friend was taken at f5.6. You can clearly see the latter shot is sharper.

You mention the lens is scratched up. This might affect image sharpness and contrast, but I think what you are describing simply reflects the tendency for lenses to sharpen up when stopped down. My Automat doesn't have the cleanest lens I've ever seen (including a spot of old, dead fungus in the taking lens), but it's a lot of fun to use - so enjoy your Rolleiflex.

FYI, the link for Rick Oleson's focusing screens is here:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-175.html

 

[k__43]

My war time Automat was also soft at 3.5 to 5.6 even though the lens looked ok. I sold it for a much younger rolleicord. Although the Cord is not as nice to use as the flex it takes sharper pictures, which counts for me.

 

[siracusa]

I found a few more scanned snapshots from my first two test rolls (attached). These were all taken wide open. The gallery shot was on Portra 400 converted to B/W in lightroom; the others were taken on HP5 Plus developed in Aculux 3. As K_43 says, it is a soft lens wide open, though I do think the softness is quite endearing. It's good for portraits. By f5.6 it's sharper, and by f8 it's plenty sharp enough for what I need. It took me about ten rolls or so before I became accustomed to composition for a square frame. But Rolleiflexes are fun.

 

[Dan Daniel]

MX-EVS? The magnifier needs to be released and then it will flip out on its own spring action. There's a silver tab at the top- push it up, sliding the magnifier unit up and the latch will release. Well, maybe it will? Maybe you are right that it is jammed, but I thought I'd mention that its release action isn't obvious.

Soft at wide open isn't unusual for Tessars. Is your problem lens softness, or is it that the focus point isn't where you want it?

 

[tuanvinh2000]

thanks guys, the Oleson screen looks great. I agree that at 5.6 it's plenty sharp for me. I use mostly for portraits so critical focus would be preferred than looking at the dim screen. anyone using a Rolleinair?

 

[siracusa]

There are a number of helpful Rolleinar threads on RFF - try this for starters:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42309
The Oleson screen is well worth the price IMHO - I am sure you won't be disappointed.

 

[thompsonks]

IMO you should start with the focusing problem (& improved screen). I wouldn't try to do anything close-up or at wide aperture without using the magnifier very carefully.

Kirk

 

[tuanvinh2000]

that's plenty of sharpness on the duck. is that at f3.5? may be my problem is really the focusing screen and not being able to achieve critical focus. And yes my magnifier got stuck no matter how much force i lift it (spring doesn't work so pull it out by hands but still doesn't work).
Sample at f5.6. it's great

Sample at f3.5 on mine:

My expectation is set high due to the Rolleiflex image thread so I'm just trying to get the best out of this 🙂 Ektar 100 for both of the images.

 

[Vics]

I have an MX Xenar, and I think it's magical at 3.5. All kinds of unexpercted things happen. Light behaves differently. Things really begin to glow, especially skin. I'd post an example as illustration, but our scanner has failed (again.)