ZorkiKat ЗоркиКат Фотографий » Using Leicas and Leica Clones

Industar-69 28mm

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:24:34 +0000

This lens was made for the half-frame Belarussian “Chaika” (”Чайка” = “Seagull”) half-frame cameras. The 2nd and 3rd models of the Chaika were designed to have removable lenses. No one is sure why this was done -the first Chaika model had a fixed, non-detachable lens-, but I think it was to allow the lens to be used in an Enlarger for printing.

The lens has the standard Leica M39 thread (LTM39) mount, but the working distance (the focal plane to lens mount flange distance the lens is positioned which allows infinity focus) is not the the same. Leica’s is 28,8mm. Chaika used something like 29 or so mm. This extra millimetre or so prevents infinity focusing when the I-69 28mm lens is mounted on the Leica.

the “Индустар-69″ 2,8/28mm mounted on a Leica IIIc

As the reader will note later, infinity focus is not the only, nor is it the greatest concern here. Coverage, or the ability to focus an image large enough to fill the frame. “Frame” here is relative- the standard 24 X 36mm, ‘half-frame’(a.k.a. “single frame”) 18 X 24mm, and the 23.7 x 15.6 mm APS-C size CCD of the Epson whose 1,5X factor makes it ’see’ like a 42mm on standard 35.

The lens was modified by altering its focus movement. Portions of the inner barrel were filed away to make the lens move further in to allow infinity focus. The focusing scale on the barrel was also reset to synchronise it with the lens’ focus. The aperture mark no longer coincided at the new positions, so a new mark was made by putting a drop of red paint on the aperture adjusting ring.

The lens too, being originally meant for a non-RF coupled camera, will focus only by scale since it has no means of engaging with the RF cams of the camera. Scale focusing with a 28mm isn’t that hard- its greater DOF more than compensates for focusing errors. Plus, the I-69 has three “snapshot” focus settings on its barrel: “Portrait”, “Group”, and Landscape”. How is this used? Look through the finder and set the focus against the figure which resembles closest what was seen through the finder:

Just line up the figure against the pink triangle which corresponds to “how much” is seen in the viewfinder.

Focusing is often a trivial matter. In many instances, leaving the scale at the “group shot” mark (the 3 metre mark) and using f/8 will deliver DOF with a range of 1,6 metres to infinity.

Since the I-69 was designed to cover the 18X24 frame, the IMAGE CIRCLE it produces will be much smaller- smaller than what ‘full frame’ needs, but sufficient for the smaller ‘half-frame’.

On an APS frame, the corners already vignette. Aside from losing coverage, the edges of the image circle also dims. Here is what it does with the Epson R-D1s digital rangefinder camera:

Scale-focused/distance ‘guess-timated’ at 0,9 metre. Full 2,8 aperture.
The I-69 is a Tessar type lens, and produces a swirly blur when used at full aperture, for closeups.
The corners of the picture show significant vignetting.

If the smaller APS-C frame already shows vignetting, a full 35mm frame shows TOTAL DARKENING at the corners of the frame. This, as well as the significant loss of definition at the threshold areas indicate that its image circle is too small for the 35mm format, but more than sufficient for the half-frame picture.

Same subject as above, but on a 24X36mm Leica frame.
The blue tinge stems from the unfiltered exposure of tungsten movie film in daylight.

Conclusions: The significant vignetting prevents further use of the lens for ’serious’ work on full frame 35. However, it can be useful for experimental or whimsical applications.

On the Epson R-D1s, it can be used as a scale-focus snapshot lens, with a 42mm view. Using it at f/8, the vignetting is not to apparent in many situations.

The lens would be a perfect “normal” focal length for the micro 4/3s cameras. No modification is even necessary to adjust the focus.

Cheap Simple DIY Strap Ring Protector

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:35:13 +0000

Metal Rings used for camera straps can abrade or damage camera surfaces. Some makers offer accessories which sheath the ring. But these can be expensive and pricey…

Cost of material used is really less than two pesos….

1. Get a piece of vinyl leatherette material. One that is half a millimetre thick and about 10×10 cm. 10 square cms will make many pairs of strap protector. Real leather can also be used. Leather workshops often throw scrap (retazo) material- irregular and off sized for any other use, but perfect for these cover protectors. Scraps from old upholstery, bags, diaries, etc can be used::

2. Cut two pieces. Each should be large enough to sandwich the strap ring. The shape will depend on the ring’s shape. In this example, round rings are used so straight edges with bevelled ends are used. For triangular rings, an hourglass shape can be used. Punch a hole at the centre for the camera’s lug and two slits for the strap:

3, Insert the camera lug through the centre hole of the strap protector. Then the ring:

4.Then thread the strap through one slit, then the ring and out the other slit on the protector. Tighten the ends of the strap and the set up is complete:

What Lens Hood to Use for Industar or Jupiter Lenses?

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:12:04 +0000

For Jupiter-3 and -8, as well as Industar -26M and -61 lenses, you’d need the slip-on 42 mm diameter hoods.

Two types of Soviet-made hoods for these lenses can be found: round and rectangular.

The rectangular version can only be used for certain types of Jupiter and Industar lenses. These would be the Jupiter made until the 1960s, and were usually with white aluminium barrels. These lenses did not have rotating fronts. Later Jupiter (and Industar?) lenses made from the 1970s onwards would have rotating fronts. A rectangular hood would rotate as the lens is focused and would result in various degrees of vignetting.

The round version is for the later Jupiter lenses. Usually these are the black Jupiters. They should also be the type used for Jupiter lenses on Kiev cameras. A round hood will always have the same orientation when the lens rotates during focusing so vignetting can never be a problem.

The hoods (diameter 36mm) for collapsible Industar will also fit Elmar lenses. They are deep enough even for use with Elmar 9 cm lenses. On a 50mm, they can be too long.

This hood can easily be DIY’ed with a piece of blackened cardboard tube. 3 cm deep and 36mm wide, no tapering necessary. This would be good enough in cutting stray light.

These hoods can cause viewfinder blockage. However an accessory finder can be used. The finder in this case will be high enough to clear the hood. With long lenses, extra finders are used anyway.

**rectangular hood courtesy of Jefjac

Basic Leica Fix №1: Bringing a Leica Back from the Dead.

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:45:08 +0000

Ok. It’s not basic. Don’t try this at home. Just look and see what is inside an average Leica! (Zorki and FED are more simple).

1. The Dead Leica As It Came. Nekkid, no covering whatsoever. The winding knob, counter disc, and shutter dial were removed in preparation for further dissection.

2. The Shutter is gone. What remained of it were bits of fossilised rubberised cloth.

It appeared to be suffering from a Very Serious Shutter Problem. Wait, IT IS A SERIOUS SHUTTER PROBLEM! The shutter blinds and tapes were not the only problems. The lower pulley of the Shutter Drum broke off the shaft. And the Shutter was not its only problem. Its RF mirror was totally clear. Nothing can be seen moving in the viewfinder.

Rust, dirt and old dried grease everywhere. These had to be removed with solvent (I used lighter fluid and petrol for the really tough detritus). Some parts had to be removed and soaked in petrol. When clean, the parts were relubed. Fine oil on the fast-moving small parts, heavier oil on the larger parts, and automotive grease on the slow moving gears like those found in the advance knob.

3. Near-total assembly was required. So many parts…

…and there’s still lots and lots left in their original stations in the camera assembly.

4. Shutter Repair. A (n old) shutter drum was taken from a scrapped IIIc. Good thing that it fit. The shutter curtain and ribbons are totally home-made DIY. That includes the new fabricated metal laths. All made here.Ends are sewn, not just glued. The same I use for FED and Zorki shutter replacements.

5. The new shutter cloth and ribbons are attached to their respective rollers and pulleys. The detached part in front is the slow speed mechanism. It was removed to facilitate the installation of the rollers.

Long curtain and tapes attached to the main drum and pulleys. Short (”first” or “opening”) curtain and closing tapes still to be glued to their respective spring rollers.

All blinds and tapes attached to their respective drum, pulleys, and rollers. The thin rollers on the right are spring-loaded and power the shutter. The blinds and tapes appear loose because the rollers haven’t been tensioned yet.

Rollers tensioned. The mechanism in front is the slow-speed train. This gives the 1/15…1 sec “slow” range. It had been removed to allow proper curtain installation, as well as proper engagement of the slow train’s gears with the second (closing curtain).

6. The slow speed mechanism is put back in the crate. The rollers are lightly tensioned to see if the newly installed curtains can reel smoothly.

Then the crate is reattached to the top plate. Reattaching the shutter assembly to the top crate is really difficult. There are about 5 or so pins which need to be aligned by ‘touch’ alone. No way to see or poke them to position. You’d wonder how they ever put the whole thing in the factory so easily.

Then comes the other parts of the slow speed mechanism. This is one of the most complicated engagements in the camera. No wonder it (the slow speeds) are among the most common ailments of old Leicas. The protruding black rod on the right over the main shutter drum acts as the linkage between the lower mechanism and the controls at the top. On the ‘top’ of the main drum (bottom in the picture) can be seen a silver disc. This is the main shutter speed control disc.

7. The cover plate, which holds the lens mount and the slow speed dial are restored. Within, the baffle plates – the metal pieces covering the shutter rollers to prevent light from breaching the shutter blinds- are restored.

The optical components of the range and view finders are covered with tape to protect them from dirt and physical damage.

8. The new shutter seen from the back (focal plane side). The rails where the film is pressed against is exactly 28.8mm from the lens mount flange surface.

9. The top plate is replaced, along with the winding knob, counter disc, rewind switch, shutter release collar, shutter speed and flash synch dials, rewind knob, and RF diopter lever. The various bezels which cover the RF ports and eyepieces are next, as well as the accessory shoe and flash wiring circuit are next.

Flash PC contact and accessory shoe added. The eyepiece cover is still out.

More parts added: The VF and RF bezels, etc. At this point, the shutter is tensioned as well to see if the blinds are able to traverse properly and smoothly.

10. The top plate, the shutter dial, shutter release, advance/rewind switch, accessory shoe wind knob, and frame counter were next to be installed. At this time, the shutter is tensioned according to official specs. It is also tested (degree dependent on available testing tools) for ‘accuracy’. I am able to use only CRT screen testing and play it by ear. Not too scientific and accuracy is suspect. But eventual exposures reveal that the calibrations are close enough to produce satisfactory exposures….but the camera is still naked! (In this set, the bezels were removed again…I forget now why I did that)

… The next step is to recover the body shell. Ordinary vinyl leatherette is used here, the black material the naked camera is sitting on. Cheap and available from upholsterers. The right texture and thickness must be used. Black is the original colour, but you can always recover with whaterver colour you desire.

11.Making a template for the new covering using masking tape.

The tape template is then stripped and used to make a pattern on leatherette. The leatherette used cost about Php 60.00 (for a 1 metreX1,5 metre piece- enough to cover many, many, many cameras) from a local upholsterer’s supply shop. Note the rusty scalpel blade. Actual cost of vinyl leatherette for this camera, maybe Php 2.00 (that’s 5 US cents!)

12. Installing the new leatherette covering. Fine cutting required for proper fit.

13. A close-up of the finished product, with the lens mount. The lens mount flange surface should exactly be 28,8mm (a variation of only 0.02mm is allowed!) from the surface of the focal plane (that’s behind the shutter curtain). Any deviation will affect the focusing accuracy. From this view, the shutter curtain looks like the real thing- complete with the sewn laths.

14. Back from the Dead. With an American-made copy of the “Industar-22″ (Wollensak Velostigmat Tessar type for Leica) (!)… A lot of effort went into replacing the RF mirror and recalibrating the RF. The shutter speeds were hard to calibrate as well, 1/1000 setting was difficult to set; the adjusting screw cam on that curved thingie near the shutter speed regulator disc was hard to turn. The flash sync is OK at 1/25, synchro dial at 0. But this Leica is supposed to synch at 1/50 (sd at 20) as well, but won’t.

HOW NOT TO DESTROY YOUR FED AND ZORKI (A Basic Primer)

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:01:26 +0000

For newbies, applicable to most FED and Zorki cameras.

1. Do not force anything. Despite their price or appearance, any FED or Zorki is a true precision machine that requires careful and proper handling.

2. Do not remove the lens unless necessary. Most FED and Zorki are Leica type RFs whose lens can be removed. Some exceptions are found though, like the Zorki 10/11 or the FED Boy, Atlas, or 50.

The instruction manuals for the older FED do not even recommend lens removal, adding a warning that doing so can damage the camera’s rf cam:

If the lens has to be removed, MAKE SURE THAT ITS SET TO 1 METRE. Do the same when mounting it back. The cam at the rear of the lens retracts at 1 metre, making the mount clear of any obstruction.

The camera RF cam (the sloped part shown in the picture) has to be at a specific angle. If this moves, the RF’s focusing accuracy is compromised. It will no longer focus accurately at close distances.

FED and Zorki rangefinders are adjusted for both infinity and close distances separately.

3. All FED and Zorki Leica types have rotating shutter dials. Keep fingers or other objects off the dial when firing the shutter. At best, this will cause erratic exposures. At worst, it can make the shutter hang.

4. The speeds on the shutters on these camera are set by lifting and shifting the dials. Lift first, then set turning the dial.
THIS MUST BE DONE ONLY WHEN THE SHUTTER IS COCKED.

Rotating dials can only be set when the shutter is cocked. With some models, this would not permit correct shutter speed setting. On models with SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS (ZORKI 3, 4, and 4K; FED 3, 4, and 5), turning the shutter dial without cocking WILL DESTROY THE MECHANISM.

Some models do allow changing speeds before or after cocking. These are models without slow speeds. Their shutter dials are of the the “double dial” type- an outer dial which can be set, and an inner dial which does not move, and marked with an index arrow. FED-2 (on some versions only), Zorki-5, Zorki-6 and Zenit 3/3M/E/EM/B have this type of dials.

Single and Double speed dials found on two variants of the FED-2. This dual-dial design was also used by Zorki-5 and -6, Zenit -E, -B, -3, and -3M.

BUT ITS BETTER TO ERR ON THE SAFE SIDE. ALWAYS COCK BEFORE CHANGING SPEEDS.

5. On some models, do not shift or turn the dial between B and 1/500. On cameras with slow speeds. the dial turns two ways- one towards 30 and another towards B. Try to feel where the dial’s movement stops, and do not force it beyond that.

6. With bottom loading cameras (FED-1, Zorki-1/S/2/2S/5), the film leader must be trimmed properly. The modern short tongues of today’s films must be recut. Not a difficult thing to do, but the cut must be correct- tongue is 10- 11cm long, gently tapering, and no cuts between perforations:

There is ONLY ONE WAY TO LOAD A BOTTOM LOADING CAMERA- THE CORRECT WAY:

Some have suggested tricks like inserting cards in the film channel. THIS IS A STUPID WAY TO LOAD THE CAMERA. It can damage the mechanism, scratch the pressure plate, and generally slower than the correct method. Forget about these tricks or claims about them being ‘more efficient’ or ‘easier’. The inventors who first designed these cameras knew what worked best- how can anyone else say otherwise? And if the method requires lens removal, insertion of cards, holding shutters open, etc- how could that be faster than the ‘original’ procedure which requires only the removal of the baseplate and take-up spool?

A crazy, dubious, purportedly ‘better’ way to load film in a bottom loader…

NB: The long leader cut is not needed to load other FED or Zorki whose backs slide off or open for loading.

7. The Zorki-5 shutter MUST NOT BE FIRED without a lens on the camera. This Zorki has a quirk in the layout of its parts. Without the lens in place, a part of the RF cam goes in the shutter speed control dial and can mesh with the parts.

8. The Shutters on these cameras have cloth blinds/curtains. Do not touch them. Also, do not point the camera towards the sun for extended lengths of time. When lens is focused at infinity (or close to it) a tiny image of the sun is focused on the blind. This can cause a pinhole to burn on the shutter.

9.DO NOT DISASSEMBLE THE CAMERA. The temptation is there to make some adjustments. But unless you know what you are doing, do not go beyond the usual minor cleaning and adjustment procedures. FED and Zorki can be more difficult to calibrate than a Leica.

10. Do not leave the shutter tensed for long periods of time. When storing the camera, make sure that the shutter is released.

The above do not apply to Kiev rangefinders. They are a different breed of animal.