Camera Talk

Hello everyone

I just bought myself a Prominent with the 35 and 100mm lenses for a great price. I couldn’t resist - I like the quirky, hard-to-handle cameras! They were all graded as BGN, and look very good at first glance.

I have a couple of questions with which I hope you can help:
1. The main issue is that the Compur shutter wheel (which is mounted on the movable ‘bellows’-like focusing apparatus) is not parallel to the film plane - it sits slightly at an angle, a little more advanced at the right than the left. Gently manipulating it does not seem to affect this angle. Does this imply a major issue that will render the images out of focus? Would it be best to return the camera and seek a replacement?
2. The RF patch is almost invisible in the dull VF - I presume I can just remove the top plate and clean the VF/RF windows with some alcohol to try and brighten them?

Many thanks for any advice you might have.
Raj

As many of you know, the Prominent is my least favorite camera of all time, which only encompasses a few decades, by the way.

Hi, Raj, welcome and let's answer your questions:

1. It sounds to me like the shutter speed dial isn't seated correctly. This should be a simple fix. You would need to remove the locking collar that is in the center of the lens mount and then the Synchro Compur brand ring. Generally, if you carefully twist the shutter speed dial back and forth, you can reseat the ring. Sometimes, you need to remove it and reseat it.

2. Always hard to say with a rangefinder. It could simply be haze and debris, or it could be degradation of the semi-reflective mirror. I think this uses mirrors, rather than prisms, but it's been so long that I honestly can't remember. Looking at the camera, I can't tell which it is, but you will need to remove the top deck.

Thank you for your comments, Mike.
Actually, the whole focusing mount seems to be misaligned, not just the shutter speed ring. As I focus to the closest distance, the left side extends forward about 2mm less than the right side, and at the closest distance, the whole assembly sits at an angle to the film plane. I wonder if the mechanism that pushes the assembly forward is weakened (or is otherwise dysfunctional) on the left side.

Raj, can you send me a photo via e-mail of the camera, taken from above.

There are two reasons that this would be like this":

1) The camera was dropped on its lens mount, and one side of the camera is pushed inward. If the camera was dropped on a wooden or carpeted floor, it might not show physical damage.

2) the shutter housing was removed and reinstalled incorrectly.

Without seeing the camera, it's always hard to say if it's one of these two problems or something else entirely different.