Camera Talk

...Ok, probably not.

A guy who comes in to work on one of our machines is a gadget guy, like most of us. A true engineer, has been immersed in many hobbies - photography, stereos, A/V, trains. He and I talk cameras when there's down time.

Last week, he was in. Says to me, "I've got something for you." Pulls out this:

New Toy... by Scott, on Flickr

A circa-1949 Mamiyaflex Automatic A, type 1. Not working, beyond his capabilities (probably not, but that's what he tells me). Given to him years ago, gave it to me. Look into it, and it's reputed to be a fairly nice rig. I've had it apart already, the advance and shutter cocking is working again, I have the shutter humming again. There are some screws missing here and there, I think it'll need a new mirror, but the glass, though filthy, is clear and fungus-free. Taking lens is a 75/3.5 Zuiko. I'm pretty happy about this one.

My goal is to get it working correctly, recover it, shoot it a bit, and send it back home. But it's definitely fun right now.

Thanks for looking.
Scott

very noice

That looks like a fun project. It's interesting that it has an Olympus lens. Does it have a square mirror or a trapezoidal mirror?

You should be able to grab one from a Polaroid One Step or an Polaroid for this. I have a small stack of extra mirrors somewhere.

The lens alone should be worth the effort! Good luck with the restoration!

Thanks guys

Mike, the mirror is trapezoidal, and really only has some haze, no desilvering or damage. I'm hoping a light cleaning with a microfiber cloth will get it.

The lenses, taking and viewing, are pretty grungy. Uncoated, so I can get a little more aggressive with cleaning.

And there you go.

Soaked the front taking element in Windex and peroxide and it cleaned up nicely. The rear, not so much. Front surface is pretty badly etched, to the point of being unusable. So, I think I'm going to take some Colgate to it and see if it can be polished off. Otherwise, I think this is a loss. Drat.

here is something i found out:
Horse Shit is good for lenses



get some well dried horse poop. stick it in a blender with water and turn it into a super fine paste.

here is the article from the QI website :
Other than fertiliser, there was a rather unexpected use for horse manure: making telescopes. The speculum (curved mirror) in an astronomical telescope needs to be made as smooth as possible to take a high polish. The astronomer William Herschel (discoverer of Uranus) cast his specula in iron, using moulds made from a loam of pounded horse dung, and this technique was used well into the 20th century (e.g. in the 100-inch Mount Wilson telescope in Los Angeles, built 1917). Another possible use involves an organism called the Hay Bacillus, found in horse and camel dung; it is said that the German Afrika Korps in the Second World War copied an Arab custom of eating fresh dung to treat dysentery.

I'll pass on the horse poo.

Tried some Colgate pro health. Rubbed gently with a damp finger for about 45 seconds. The clear area of the lens surface probably doubled to maybe 50% of the lens. There's hope!

Toothpaste should work. Coating, alas, will be gone.

Uncoated lens. All good.