Kiev, and the Contax cameras they were patterned after, were great cameras.  Overengineered to give a certain amount of precision that you and your mum would love.  But the complex mechanism, so full of parts and movements, made it prone for more opportunities for failure.  For instance, the shutter.  The metal focal plane shutter used in Kiev had some distinct advantages over the Leica style double cloth type.  It will never burn pinholes.  It will likely to keep its timing better too.  But it had a serious weak point- the shutter run on fibre straps.  Brass slats running, pressing, and bearing on silk ribbons would soon wear the latter out, causing it to break.  Breakage is inevitable- wear, age, and even the climate will eventually kill the ribbons.  And often this breakage happens without warning.  The ribbons aren’t visible, so their state cannot be assessed easily.

It happens quickly too.  One moment the shutter winds and fires ok.  Then suddenly, the winding knob will turn heavier than it did just a few shots ago.  The shutter will fire with a different sound.  The ‘click’ no longer sounds complete- the closing sound that completes the cycle seems to be missing.  All indicators of shutter breakage.  And when you take off the camera’s back, this is what you’ll see- an empty gaping hole where the shutter once was:

The shutter can be wound. But instead of seeing an opening and closing blind, only one set seems to be moving.  Or none at all if the two ribbons broke.

Taking off the shutter cover/film gate plate will reveal what happened.  Expect to find one ribbon- usually the one on the right (next to the large gears), and its break approximately 1 – 3mm from its stitched end.  Sometimes two ribbons break.  Same place too.

In this camera, the two ribbons snapped.  The original material used by the factory – “Арсенал” in the Ukraine- was woven acetate. The two main concerns in ribbon replacement are, 1- the mechanical aspects of repair; and 2- getting the suitable material to replace the broken ribbons.  The latter involves using substitutes such as tailoring or ornamental ribbons, or camera straps from camera repair suppliers.  Many people have reported success with ordinary acetate ribbons.  However, getting one in the right width (3mm) and thickness is not easy.  The wrong size- such as being slightly over 3mm or thicker than what the shutter eyelets can let pass – can result in shutter failure.

The repair can be done without removing anything more than the shutter cover/film gate.  This camera was taken apart more extensively to allow other repairs like Rangefinder calibration.  In Kiev and Contax, the entire shutter assembly has to be removed for simple rangefinder adjustments like vertical or horizontal/infinity alignment.

Closer examination shows that the Ribbons in this shutter failed because of age and wear.

Note and memorise the positions of the original ribbons- where they were attached, and how.  Measure the distance between the folded ends attached to the spring loaded roller at the bottom and the upper shutter blind.  With broken ribbons, this might not be possible.   This is about 11 cms long.

The ribbon material chosen for this repair is a Japanese made material sourced from a camera repair supplier.  It is made of real habutae silk. Not acetate or rayon since the fibres don’t melt and fuse when put to a flame.  It is exactly 3mm wide, just what Kiev or Contax needs.  Real silk is smooth and strong, so it has the strength needed to withstand the shutter’s strain for some years. Silk is one of the strongest natural fibres.  It’s thinner though, but the eyelets on the shutter blinds which ride on the ribbons can be crimped a bit for the grip.

I have read somewhere that the ribbons used by Zeiss for the Contax was made in Japan.  This was before WWII.  The ribbon shown in the picture is described to be suitable for Contax shutters too.  So I added one to the other and tried to see if the ribbon would work. It did.  In my initial test, I actually fired the shutter 200 times.  At around 800, there was no frilling or any signs of deterioration, even when observed at 5X magnification.  Rick Oleson suggested  to me to test a possible material for suitability by firing (the shutter it’s on) at least a hundred times.  This one went through 800 cycles without showing any changes.  Two years later, the Kiev I put it in still works.

(I also used a locally sourced acetate ribbon for some of the Kiev shutters.  This also worked.  But it’s harder to insert it into the numerous shutter parts it has to snake through.  I’m also down to my last 2 metres and I can no longer find the same thing in the tailoring suppliers.)

Cut the ribbon to suitable length.   11 cm is the distance between the shutter blind and the roller, and a bit of extra length is needed for the folded ends.   I cut a small strip of card to serve as the measuring template.  This makes the cutting of this precious material efficient with minimal or no loss.

After cutting, the 10,8 span is marked.  Folds are made on these positions.

The ends of the ribbon strips should be treated with a dopey material like nailpolish or cyanoacrylate glue to seal the ends and make them stiffer for insertion.  The end which will be used for insertion should be tapered a bit.

Once the dope sets, trim to taper one end.  Then bend on the marks.  The folds should be 10.8 – 11 cms apart.  The folds will hook on the roller and the spring blinds at their respective ends.

Insert the ribbons through the rollers, then through the eyelets of the lower shutter blind, and pull out end for attachment to the upper shutter blind.  Make sure that both ribbons have the same length between the roller and the upper shutter blind.

The ribbons need to be glued, and then sewn to keep them in place. Use a figure-8 stitch for all four ends.

Turn the lower roller to reel in the lower shutter curtain and the newly attached ribbons.  The ribbons will wrap around the lower shutter blind.  Use the tensioning screw to turn the lower roller.

Once reeled in, begin tensioning the shutter.  Tensioning is going to be very very fiddly.  The location of the tensioning screw, its size, and the procedure needed can be taxing to your patience and sanity.   On top of that, the camera must be on its side, where there is nothing to keep it in that position.   The tensioning screw is held in place by a locking plate, which in turn is locked by a smaller setscrew.

Once you are able to pass through the hurdle of tensioning the shutter spring properly, you should be able to cock and fire the shutter.   There are actually a lot of parts involved- such as the synch switch actuating lever found on the lower left side (this can detain the lower shutter blind from going up), the catches and the long spring on the lower blind, the curtain separating ramps on the upper part of the film gate, and the large retaining hook on top.

The ribbon should look tight and should pull the lower curtain evenly.  The lower curtain shouldn’t just fall down when the shutter is fired. Instead it should glide on the ribbon downwards.  If it falls too quickly, the eyelets which hold on the ribbons are too loose and need to be crimped a bit.

There is actually more work involved in making the Kiev shutter work properly after the new ribbons are installed.  A lot of procedures in disassembly and reassembly, as well as accessing camera parts have been omitted here.  Such are not discussed in this article.  Refer to the links given above for more information.

虎年
with Chinese cameras.
Made in China.

中国 制造

1. GREAT WALL DF-2 ( 长城 DF-2 CHANG CHENG)

Made by the Beijing Camera Factory.  The Great Wall DF-2 was a basic SLR camera whose design was based on the 1930s KW Pilot-Reflex. It was intended to be an inexpensive but slightly advanced camera for the common masses.  It is constructed of steel and has a very basic mechanism.

The Shutter is a basic rotary guillotine type- the reflex mirror is part of it.  Non-instant return, with four basic speeds (1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/200) and “B”.   No flash synch.  The shutter has to be tensed by winding the shutter dial before each exposure. 

Film Advance is by knob wind.  The frames are positioned by lining up the printed numbers on the film backing paper in the red window behind the camera.  Two formats possible:  12 exposures 6X6 cm or 16 exposures 6X4,5 cm.  The latter requires the use of an adapter mask (missing from this camera).  No double exposure or blank exposure prevention.

The lens is a 90mm Tessar type (real four element/ three group, against the common Triplet types prevalent in Chinese cameras).  Front-cell focusing, from 1 metre to infinity.   The lens is removable, but there appears to be no extra lenses made for the Great Wall.  The mount is standard Leica Thread M39.  This was perhaps done as a means to allow the lens to be used in the enlarger for printing.

Viewing and focusing is done through the hooded screen on top. 

2.

SEAGULL 4-B1 (海鸥 HAI OU)

The Seagull TLR is perhaps the best known Chinese Camera.  The Seagull is made by the Shanghai Camera Factory in Shanghai, China.  The model shown here is the most basic of the Seagull TLR family.  This model “4-B1″ is rarely seen outside China.  It lacks the automatic features of the 4B (semi-automatic film frame positioning), and 4-A (automatic frame positioning and crank advance), but otherwise, everything else is the same.  Same Triplet type 75mm f/3,5  “Haiou” lens, same 1-1/300 sec shutter speed range.  Picture quality should be the same in all three models.  Only the efficiency and ease of shooting change accordingly.

Film advance is by knob winding.  The frame is positioned by centering  the backing paper’s numbers on the red windows on the camera’s back door.  Two windows for 12 6X6 cm and 16 6X4,5 cm exposures respectively.  A simple cutout metal mask is inserted on the film gate for making 6X4,5 cm exposures.

The non-automatic Seagulls seem to be the better user types.  There are less parts to fail unlike in the automatic versions.

3. SEAGULL-205 (海鸥 HAI OU 205) and PHENIX-205 (凤凰 FENG HUANG 205)

Fixed-lens, leaf shutter coupled-rangefinder 35mm cameras.  Exactly similar cameras (note same model designation, “205″) but made by different factories:  Seagull by the Shanghai Factory, and the Phenix by the Jiangxi Camera Factory.  The Jiangxi Phenix appears to be made after the Seagull 205 was released.  The 205 appears to be a copy of Minolta or Konica rangefinders from the 1960s.

The lens is a 50mm f/2,8 three-element in three groups “Triplet” type.  It focuses from 1 m to infinity.  The shutter is a leaf type similar to one found in the Seagull TLR and folding cameras.  Same 1-1/300 range, with X flash synch and self-timer.  The leaf shutter is really quiet.

I think the best feature of the 205 is its combined rangefinder/ viewfinder.  It has a projected floating (for parallax compensation) frame line showing the 50mm field. It shows a LIFE-SIZED image, rivaling the Leica M-3 in terms of brilliance and magnification.  The short-base rangefinder is accurate enough for the 2,8 lens.

The 205 is light and quite easy to use.  It is very suitable for street photography.  It has no built in light meter though. 

Even as exact twins, there are some styling detail differences:

Between the two “205s”, the Seagull-205 feels to be heavier and more solidly built.  Its parts also seem to mesh and fit better.  The Phenix-205 feels more tinny and light, but build is clean.  Picture quality -wise, both cameras deliver the same.

4. SHANGHAI-58 II (上海-58II)

The Chinese Leica copy.  The “58″ in the model designation refers to the year 1958, when the “Great Leap Forward” campaign started in China.  The serial numbers of these cameras start with “58″ but they were made until around 1963 or so.  Four variants were made; those shown here belong to the third and fourth.

Made by the Shanghai Camera Factory (as the Chinese characters on the top plate say), which became the Seagull factory.

The first variant is an exact copy of the Leica IIIa.  Separate VF and RF, shutter speeds from 1 to 1/1000 (split at 1/20)  in separate dials, strap lugs, etc.

Then the camera evolved towards simplification.  The VF and RF were combined.  The strap lugs disappeared.  And flash synch was added. The camera borrowed elements from the Canon II and III rangefinders (external styling) and FED and Zorki cameras (internal mechanism).  The combined RF/VF optics were similar to those found in FED-3 or Zorki-5.  The follower cam for the rangefinder was similar to the teardrop shaped cam of the FED-1.

The difference between the third and fourth variants is the accessory shoe style.  In the third variant, the shoe was a spring loaded plate (similar to the Leica IIIc shoe) of about 4 components, and fastened with four screws to the body.   The fourth variant had a simplified shoe- single plate, no loaded spring tabs, and fastened with three screws only (similar to the Leica II or FED-1/Zorki-1 accessory shoes).

The lens (and appears to be the only lens made by the factory to fit the camera) is a 50mm collapsible in standard Leica Thread M39 X 1 mount.  It appears to be coated with a light blue Anti-Reflection coating.  It has a collapsible barrel, lever-set aperture, and locking focusing tab, all similar to the Leitz 3,5/50mm Elmar.  But the similarity ends there, since the lens is a three-element TRIPLET and not a four-element Tessar type.  The diaphragm layout is similar to the Elmar’s though. 

The lens mount will accommodate all other Leica and Canon, as well as Russian LTM 39 lenses.  Unlike the FED or Zorki,  the Chinese workers were more careful in milling the mount- resulting in consistent thread entry points, which in turn lead to a more uniform lens mounting.  The FED and Zorki were so lose in this quality concern.

 Many of these cameras were bought in Beijing, China.  In Beijing there is a sprawling camera shopping mall where all sorts of camera equipment, both new and old are to be found.  Lots and lots of them, at the best prices.  It is located at the Wukesong district:

More detailed articles about these cameras to follow soon.

Since then, I’ve shot a few ‘tests’ with it, taking it outdoors, and sometimes indoors too.

Then these last two days, I decided to use it for portraits.  The sitters were friends who visited the studio, who gladly agreed to be tortured into sitting for a cumbersome camera.  Getting 3 or 4 shots for each sitter can be considered plenty.  That they too, dug Archaic Photography made the convincing easier.

Instead of film, I used photographic Bromide Paper .  This  is the REAL photographic paper which has a light-sensitive coating, used for traditional black and white “wet” printing in the darkroom.  Sheets were cut into 4X5 in pieces to fit the film holders.  After exposure, the sheets were brought into the darkroom where they were processed in regular paper developing chemistry.  The result is a BW negative on paper:

Exposure was the same as for film, except that lots more, in terms of light or exposure time was needed.  The effective “speed” of paper was less than ISO 10.  That means that even in bright sunny conditions, an exposure of 1/10 sec would be needed at f/16.  Paper is also coated with NON-PANCHROMATIC emulsions- they’re sensitive only to blue and some green, but not to yellow and red.  Thus reds and yellows tend to look dark.  Ruddy skins look so dark that they make the sitters look overly tanned.

The lenses used for most the photos was an INDUSTAR-51 210mm.  This is a Tessar type lens, with a maximum f/4,5 aperture.  It doesn’t have a shutter so the lens cap method was used- cover lens, lift off cap for exposure, count in seconds, and then cap again.  The “slow” photo paper worked quite nicely with the arragement.

The first victim, KARLO.  This one was shot with an Ortagoz 135mm lens.  Some distortion occured because of the short focus distance.  The lens was about 25 cm from Karlo’s face.  Lighting was from afternoon sunlight coming through the windows. The tanned look resulted from the paper’s lack of red sensitivity.

Karlo has used this photo for his school card IDs…:)

The next set involved a different setup. The photos were all shot using the 210mm lens.  This lens was meant to be used with the bigger 5X7 negative.  It behaved like a short telephoto with the smaller 4X5 plate.  Which is quite nice since long lenses do better in portraiture.

(All the exposures where made with OPEN FLASH.  The lens had no shutter, so it was capped to protect the sensitive paper from unwanted exposure,  During exposure, the cap was lifted, the studio strobes fired, and then the lens was capped again. Lighting with studio strobes in softboxes.)

1.BAM

(the Print from the Negative shown above)

2. HARVEY

3. RAIN

4.JEFJAC

Jef moved after focusing and before the exposure can be made, resulting in shifting focus.

“PaRODINAL FILM DEVELOPER CONCENTRATE.”

Our homebrew is derived from the formula first published on the net by Donald Qualls.  It’s a Rodinal-type developer formula derived from paracetamol.  Paracetamol (acetaminophen) and Rodinal (1,4-para aminophenol) are cousins.  And through a process which involves alkaline hydrolisation, paracetamol is converted to para-aminophenol.

However, our paRodinal brew is different.  It does not use the pill type paracetamol, so the solution comes out clean and clear of suspended detritus.  It also uses some ingredients listed in the original Agfa Rodinal formula; using Potassium Hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide mentioned in the original Qualls formula.  Our paRodinal Brew also has anti-chelating and anti-fog components which are absent from the original one published on the net.

PaRodinal shares many of the traits the original Rodinal is known for.  Longevity, compensation, increased contour sharpness, and ease of use.

This developer is a “one-shot” type. It means that a working solution is diluted (from 1+25 to 1+200) from the concentrate.  With those small amounts, a 120 ml bottle can develop more than 20 rolls of 35mmX36 exp film.    One-shot also means that everytime the developer is used, its potency is assured.  Unlike stored working-strength developers like D76 where re-use always involves the question of how much time should be added each time it is reused to compensate for partial exhaustion.   “One shot” means mix the developer, use it once, and then flush it down the drain.

Like Rodinal, PaRodinal also is stable and has a long storage life, when stored sealed in its container.  The concentrate, which starts clear, will darken until it is as dark as Coca-cola.  The darkening is no sign of deterioration. The concentrate can sit for months, or maybe  years and still be excpected to work like when it was new.  Other Developers like D76 have to used within a month (three months maximum) before they totally become useless.

Dilutions determine how the negative comes out.  Low dilutions (like 1+25) develop shorter, and give higher contrast.  High dilutions (like 1+100) give longer developing times, higher contour sharpness and compensation. High contour sharpness means there is an increase in apparent sharpness in the negative- the details look sharper. Compensation means that highlights don’t block up and shadows catch up- less burned out whites and dead shadows in the print.

1+50 is the suggested dilution for general use.

PaRodinal is not a fine-grain developer. Film grain will be seen as is.  Film developed in other types of developer like D76, which have high sodium sulphite content, will appear to finer grain.  The extra sulphite in the developer ’shaves’ and eats away at the edge of the grain and make them appear continuous.  In the print, the absence of these edges make it look that the grain is smooth.  But this also reduces the sharpness in the finer details.  PaRodinal, like the original Rodinal instead develops honestly and shows the grain as it really is. HIgher dilutions tend to make the grain look a bit finer.

This developer is used just like Rodinal.  The same times for any given dilution and temperature combination can be applied for the film in use.  This developer must be used at 20ºC.  It is not recommended to be used above 25ºC because the film’s gelatine emulsions can swell and soften too much at higher temperatures.

“EXPRESS FIXER”

“Express” means that this fixer does its job faster than conventional fixers. It contains some ammonium thiosulphate. It fixes the film completely in about 5 to 7 minutes.  Some films will even fix at 2 minutes.

Fixing time is really double the clearing time.  So if an undeveloped strip clears in 1 minute, fixing time is 2 minutes.  A bit more time can be given to make sure that the film emulsion is properly hardened.  This fixer contains some hardener to harden the emulsion and make it more robust against abrasions, scratches, frilling, and swelling.  The last can make the emulsion crack and craze, which gives the film a pseudo grainy appearance.

Typically, Luckypan film will fix in about 3 minutes.  Five or six minutes is sufficient for Fuji Neopan 400.  T-grain films like Kodak Tmax or Ilford Delta will take longer because Tgrain emulsions really clear longer.

A litre of fixer will fix 25-30 rolls (less with Tgrain films).  Using an Acid Stop bath between developing and fixing will extend the life of the fixer.

This fixer is of the acid-hardening type.

]]> http://www.zorkikat.com/black-and-white-film-developing-chemistry/276/feed/ 9 http://www.zorkikat.com/wanna-see-whats-inside-a-canon-p/271/ http://www.zorkikat.com/wanna-see-whats-inside-a-canon-p/271/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:24:35 +0000 admin http://www.zorkikat.com/wanna-see-whats-inside-a-canon-p/271/ This camera was sent to me for repair.  The second(closing) blind of the shutter wasn’t closing anymore. 

I suspected broken ribbons.  It could however be something else, so the camera had to be stripped to see what really happened..  Getting the Canon P out of its shell was surprisingly easy

Removing the four main screws on the outer shell, the selftimer lever assembly, the lens mount, and a couple more screws under it, will take the shell off.

One of the ribbons which pulled the second blind home had snapped.

Titanium foil was used by Canon for their model “P” and “7″ RFs, in place of the usual rubber-coated cloth.  The titanium foil can wrinkle from fatigue.  Or in this case, stress from being stuck and then being pulled out to be mended.

The top of the camera is very complicated.  This scary looking part has the shutter speed controls, the wind/rewind clutch, frame counter, shutter release, and film advance/transport.

And this is the part which gives the floating framelines.  It’s semi-silvered inside.

The broken ribbon was replaced with a new one.  The intact upper ribbon was unglued so that a new one can be patterned after it.  The shutter was no longer disassembled.  The ribbons were threaded through the rollers, attached to the lath, and the other end reglued to the outer roller. Stitched in red:

Under the camera is the complicated Canon RF flash sync circuit.  Disassembly not recommended!