Vivitar 35ES meter/winder problems

[dgmckown]

Hello All,

Recently obtained a Vivitar 35ES for a nominal amount in expectedly well-used condition: slight rangefinder misalignment at infinity, small amount of debris in a foggy viewfinder, some battery chamber corrosion, gummy light seals--smallish things I'm looking forward to working on myself. But a couple items do concern my strictly novice ambitions. First, after cleaning out the battery chamber (Q-Tips and white vinegar) and a new Wein battery, the meter remains entirely unresponsive (no needle movement), seeming "stuck" in the wide open unmetered manual aperture--though all blade movement appears good--other than corroded wires/connections around the battery chamber, what else might be the possible cause? Second, the film advance winder sounds and feels quite rough; it got better halfway through the test roll but I expect at least a few overlapping/missed frames--I seem to remember having read somewhere this to have been a problem in other Vivitar ES/Revue 400SE's; would this repair (if possible to repair) require advanced skill? Thank you in advanced for any replies and information. I'd really like to get this camera up and fully functional, but not sure I want to spend $100-150 for someone else to do it.

 

[oftheherd]

Sometimes the corrosion can travel down the wires, inside the insulation, grow at another connection, and cause connection problems, either electrical stoppage, or actual disconnection of the wire. Check under the bottom of the battery connection to see if any wires are actually loose.

For the rest, I wouldn't know.

 

[dgmckown]

Nice to hear from you again, 'oftheherd.' I do consider this to be a distinct possibility--but its repair is not something I'm sure I am up to. I guess I'm trying to collect possible causes in order to calculate if this camera is worth hanging onto (my functional camera collection is growing fast enough without adding non-functional ones too).

 

[oftheherd]

Well, I wish you good luck. I am in the middle of trying to work on a couple of Ibsor shutters and a couple of different Kalart rangefinders. And I really am as clueless as you try to make yourself sound. But I am determined to do it or ruin the shutters and rangefinders trying. 😀

 

[dgmckown]

Yeah, got the QL-17 GIII stuck aperture to do (as per the 'Mad Scientist''s copious instruction) and this Vivitar to tear into--of course I want to do it--I think the mechanical challenge is part of the process of using these cameras. Heavens forbid, but I do have a couple digitals and friends who use digital for art photography--but for my modest aspirations, digital just deadens my engagement. Course, I still collect vinyl, read books, and listen to the radio. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but I wonder if one could collate a personality profile of those stubborn enough to still use film (rangefinders, et al).

 

[dgmckown]

Allow me to amend my "problems."

Allow me to amend my "problems."

Well, got back my test rolls, and as expected, what should have been over-exposed was over-exposed. Those photos taken under a heavily overcast sky at 1/250 or 1/500 were just fine (the aperture wide open at a default f1.7). There were no overlapping frames, so the rough winder may be just that, perhaps smoothing out with greater use. Getting the meter working is the big deal, as this camera would be of extremely limited usefulness without it. On a happy note, however, I really dug the lens signature. I'm not sure how to describe other than an interesting 3D-like affect and effect: other than at infinity, the range of those objects in focus was "narrow"--narrower than my other rangefinders--very intriguing. I hope I can get this up and fully functional. You Vivitar 35ES users out there, how would you describe your experience with the lens (and any insight into the meter problem, or rough winder for that matter, would be quite appreciated).