Stealth P

ChrisN

ChrisN

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Several months ago I bid for a P with a badly wrinkled shutter curtain, and won it for a pretty low price, allowing for repairs. The seller would not send it outside USA, so I had him send it directly to Mark Hama. Mark has been trying to locate a replacement metal shutter curtain for a while, with no luck. Today I phoned Mark, and we agreed he will fit it with fabric curtains!

I'm really looking forward to receiving this in a few weeks time. I'm thinking it should be a lot quieter than a normal P.

I wonder how it would go with a coating of some matte black radar absorbent material - the Stealth P! 😀
 
Down to two, including this one. I sold one a few months back. That leaves me with P x 2, VT (maybe on its way soon to a new home), the L1 and the IVSb. And the M4.
 
I'm really curious as to how this goes. It sounds like a good idea, really. Once I get the P back, or if I find another one, I may have to check out doing this. Also, how much is he charging you?
 
In somewhat of a coincidence my VI-L is being CLA'd by Mark.

With regards to the fitting of a cloth shutter, I don't know if it will be that much quieter. The stainless steel curtain shutter on my VI-L and the one I sent to the UK were noticeably quieter than either of my Leica IIIf's.

It's a silly that the seller couldn't mail the camera to down under. The customs form is not that difficult to figure out. It's the wait in line at the post office that is 90% of the hassle.
 
Yes the P is quiet even with a metal shutter. If used to Bessa-R noise you think something isn't working when pressing the trigger of a P. 😎
 
I'll bet the Cloth curtains are noticeably quiter. The Vt is quiter that the VIt and the Cloth shutter'd Nikon SP is quiter than the Titanium Foil curtain'd SP's.
 
Mark's promised about a two week turnaround, so I should have the camera in about three to four weeks, assuming the postal service performs to its usual excellent standard.

I'm thinking I'll have to do some side-by-side testing. Hmm... might have to find a mic and work out how to record some sound files.
 
Sonnar2 said:
Yes the P is quiet even with a metal shutter. If used to Bessa-R noise you think something isn't working when pressing the trigger of a P. 😎
Click to expand...

Do you think so? I received a P last week and I would say the shutter is significantly louder than my R3a and CL (and M6, obviously). Would you say this was abnormally loud for a P? The seller sold the camera 'fully working' but 'needing a service to get the best from it'. Presumably some L in a CLA would dampen things a little?
 
In the case of a Canon 7, a CLA did make things a bit more quiet. You can also use it in a fitted case to dampen the noise. Mine is louder than the CL and M3; but not as loud as a Nikkormat (copal square) with mirror locked up.
 
Rang Mark H this morning to check on progress - he has not worked on the camera yet. Oh well, at least it isn't lost in the mail!

I vented my frustration on the weekend by cutting loose at the local flea-market. I found an old Pentax Spotmatic SP1000 with two (non-Pentax) lenses in good user condition for $40. There goes my promise not to buy any more cameras for a while!
 
Last edited:
ChrisN said:
Rang Mark H this morning to check on progress - he has not worked on the camera yet. Ow well, at least it isn't lost in the mail!

I vented my frustration on the weekend by cutting loose at the local flea-market. I found an old Pentax Spotmatic SP1000 with two (non-Pentax) lenses in good user condition for $40. There goes my promise not to buy any more cameras for a while!
Click to expand...

I rang him yesterday, and he still hadn't performed warranty work on the 'P' I sent him. He promised me he do it "this week," but then he said that a month ago, too. 🙁


🙂
 
I have to send my Yashica Mat to Mark, but Chris' former VT will go off to someone else, I don't know who though yet.
 
ChrisN said:
I vented my frustration on the weekend by cutting loose at the local flea-market. I found an old Pentax Spotmatic SP1000 with two (non-Pentax) lenses in good user condition for $40. There goes my promise not to buy any more cameras for a while!
Click to expand...
Flea market camera's don't count as camera buys, those are rescues, pure and simple.
 
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