Clarus MS-35, resurrected

[scott]

Hi all -

Well, I'm rediscovering camera repair after years off. Have had this Clarus for a LONG time, and it worked for a while, but not consistently. Got some pictures out of it a long time ago, then set it aside when the rear curtain started lagging. Tried to sell it a while back, and no bites.

Well, fresh off the Konica rehab success, I decided this kitschy little camera deserved a second (third, fifth, dozenth) chance. Opened it up, lubed it in a few places, cleaned it some others, and added some tension to the curtains. The result? The shutter is firing consistently and reliably, the glass is pert-near perfect, and the door latch even works now. And I have the case:
Clarus MS-35 by Scott, on Flickr

Threw the ground glass against the rails and the rangefinder seems correct. Unfortunately, and predictably, I'm out of 135. Placing an order tonight. The shutter still doesn't wind up to the speeds it should, but I sincerely doubt this thing ever hit 1/1000. But it's good enough now for Sunny-16 and a scanner, so it's time to test.

Too much fun.

Thanks for looking.
Scott

[LarryD]

I had one of those once. The lens was so sharp I cut my eye looking into the rangefinder.

[PFMcFarland]

Even the best shutters (pre-electronic timing type, that is) never made the displayed top speed. That's why most films have plenty of latitude.

It looks great, Scott, and if it runs good, you'll have lots of fun with it. If you get some Tri-X, try shooting it at 200 ISO. It's a sad time when most stores no longer stock film, and camera dealers are 100 miles or more distant.

PF

[LarryD]

Russians tried to go to over 1000 with mechanical and failed. Oh wait that is another story.

[Brazile]

Very satisfying, Scott. I'm saving up a number of repairs to try my hand at for the winter, your and Phil's success at this is inspiring.

Robert

[melek]

Nice restoration job!

I vaguely recall owning on of these. Perhaps, I still do. Can't wait to see what you do with it once you get some film into it.

[scott]

Well, I messed with several techniques last night to try and estimate shutter speed. Closest I could get was videoing the shutter firing with a light behind it, which probably isn't that accurate. Using that, the shutter is slow across the range, but consistently so. So I should be good for a test.

I have film on order and one roll of Kentmere 100 here. I'm thinking I'll save the FP4+ on order for the Konica and load the Clarus after work with the Kentmere. Stay tuned...

[BurninFilm]

TOTALLY waiting for an update... you are definitely the master of suspense!!!

I can't wait to see if your Clarus performs as well as the one I used to have (which I believe I got from you several years back). That Wollensak lens on those things is actually pretty nice!

[scott]

Danny, I have film for it, but lately I leave for work before the sun comes up, and get home after it goes down. I'm trying to prioritize running film through the 4 cameras I've been working on, sometime this weekend. Hopefully I'll have some scans for you Sunday.

[Julio1fer]

That little cool camera looks great. Good restoration!