Month: May 2023

Chemistry….

I have used many brands of film processing chemicals over the years, mixing batches of over 500 litres right down to the smaller amounts used with Patterson tanks for home processing and that’s where I am today.

For the next few films I process at home I will be using a set of chemicals I’ve not really used before however I have heard some good things about them so I’m willing to give them a try. If it doesn’t work I can always default to my previous plan of using my old reliable setup I’ve used in the past.

Thinking of processing your own film? Check this link below at Digital truth to see process times for all kinds of films in all kinds of developers – it’s an incredible source of information for photographers of all abilities.

Digital truth – Massive Dev Chart

I batch mix my fixer a litre at a time as it stores well in collapsible bottles and I should be able to do a good few films and reuse the chemicals, you just need to monitor the time it takes for the fixer to clear the film as this indicates if it needs replacing or not. General rule of thumb is it should clear almost instantly on fresh chemicals, however give it at least 4 minutes to clear the film, and as the time increases to take between 8 – 10 minutes to achieve the same result, then it’s probably worth mixing a new batch. Disposal of spent chemicals should always be done responsibly following local guidelines.

Collapsible film chemical bottles

I’m not too concerned if the new setup doesn’t get the desired results, I’m using some old film to test the old cameras I’ve fixed, so I’m happy to go back and reshoot some pictures if I have to, it’s a classic case of suck it and see.

The developer I will be using is Bellini Hydrofen, (comparable to Kodak D76 or Ilford ID11) I mix this as and when needed in quantities of around 300ml (for a single 35mm film) as it doesn’t store, and needs to be used on the day as such. I don’t usually use a stop bath as such I just use some water. I will also be using their photo flow as a uniform drying solution but to be honest this isn’t really necessary.

New processing chemicals

The fixer I will be making in a 1L batch is Adox Adofix P, it’s a simple enough mix so I’ll quickly go through it with you.

Developer

  • Mix is 1-39 so if I need 300ml I just divide that figure by 40 (300 / 40 = 7.5) so I know I need 7.5ml of solution and then just top up to 300ml with water in the measuring jug. Simple – that’s the developer made. Just ensure it’s at 20 degrees centigrade temperature wise.

Stop bath

  • Simple, just water – let’s move on

Fixer

  • Again this is easy. I have a pouch of powder to make 1L of solution. Put approx 700ml of water at a temperature between 20-26 degrees Celsius in your measuring jug, mix in the powder and when this has dissolved just top up with water to the 1L mark. Simple – then decant into your storage bottle and the job is done.

So that’s the chemistry done, now to put it all into action to process the first film I have used to test a recent camera I have worked on. The camera is the Olympus 35 ECR and the film will be a roll of Kentmere 100 B/W that expired about 4 years ago. I will cover this in a later post. Thanks for browsing my ramblings 👍

Halina A1 Reflex dismantled

Yes. You are right the picture is of a chocolate box and not an old camera. However today in a quieter period I have dismantled in it’s entirety the Halina A1 Reflex camera – the smelly one that’s right 👍

Halina A1 Reflex in a chocolate box
Camera in a chocolate box

The lovely thing about this camera is that it is easy to dismantle right down to its original body shell as most of the parts are held together by screws and not rivets. This has allowed me a lovely scope for putting new leatherette on the body as I’ve been able to move all winders, locks and strap holders giving me a naked body as such to work on.

Halina A1 Reflex shell
Halina A1 Reflex shell
Stripped down to the body shell, minus leather

However the old leather has been kept to be used as templates for the new skin that will be attached. Firstly though it’s clean, clean, clean to remove the old adhesive and to replace some light seal within that is literally just two black pieces of string, I will upgrade this with some new up to date light seal though. I will clean everything removed today and only then will I attempt reassembly.

Halina A1 Reflex rear lens assembly
Halina A1 Reflex mirror retainer
Halina A1 Reflex lens frontage removal
Halina A1 Reflex mirror removal
Halina A1 Reflex rear door
Halina A1 Reflex mirror assembly
Halina A1 Reflex door base catch
Dismantling the Halina A1 Reflex

The lens assembly is going to have to be opened and recalibrated as I need to get inside to treat that fungus that was reported in earlier posts.

Halina A1 Reflex old leather panels

I have damaged a couple of small screws here that I will need to replace, couldn’t be helped as they’ve probably not moved since the day the camera was assembled. Nice to be able to do this project in small chunks due to the ease of disassembly. May need to get another sheet of leatherette as the sheet I have may not be sufficient for this task.

Only problem is still the stale old smelling case…but I’m looking into it and will share what I do with it at a later date.

Olympus 35-ECR ready to test.

  • Batteries – check
  • Film – check
  • All lights, switches and gauges working – check
Olympus 35-ECR

The little Olympus I’ve been working on is now ready to be tested. It’s all working as well as I can see and has new battery adaptors and a new light seal around the camera. Has been cleaned as best as I can however now is the time to give it a proper run out. I have a roll of Kentmere 100asa B/W film that expired about 3-4 years ago so hopefully I’ll get something from this barring disaster.

Sunbury on Thames

Going to be in Sunbury on Thames for a few days so I’m hoping I can get some nice pictures of the Thames and surrounding areas.

When I get back I’ll develop the film at home and scan it myself for results. Fingers crossed 🤞 it all performs ok, if not then it’s back to the drawing board.

Here we go…. Wish me luck 🍀

Halina A1 Reflex shutter and Fungus

Managed to get the shutter firing after a while of blasting with compressed air and constantly cocking and firing the mechanism until it clicked into life. Probably stiff due to not being used for a number of years and left in storage. When I get the unit apart I will help it along with a little clock oil.

Halina A1 Reflex lens fungus

When shining a light through the back of the camera with the shutter open the fungus issue on the lens is most apparent, this is a three part lens I believe so it’s going to take some time and patience to achieve, but it’s do able, but it will have to wait a while.

Shine a light for all to see…..fungus

So I’ll leave you with this for today, the smell of years of dampness invades when ever I get this camera out of its box and to be honest I think that will be my biggest challenge with this unit. Any ideas and tips on how to assist with this problem gratefully accepted 👍

Halina A1 Reflex Assessment

Received the Halina today and on assessment I’m a tad disappointed but have learnt a valuable lesson. I purchased on line and it seems the positives have been promoted and the negatives omitted completely.

Positives:

  • It’s all there
  • The case is in great condition for its age
  • Leather strap is original
  • Aperture lever and aperture mechanism works
  • Viewfinder is good (needs a clean)
  • Cassette box is fine
  • No dents and dinks
Halina A1 Reflex original case
Halina A1 original case
Halina A1 Reflex
Halina A1 reflex viewfinder
Halina A1 Reflex film cassette

Negatives:

  • It smells horribly dank, I suspect it hasn’t spent time in a cupboard, probably in a loft space
  • Hence the lens has signs of fungal occurrence
  • The original skin is peeling off
  • The shutter is not working
  • Light seal has rotted all around
Halina A1 reflex lens fungus
Halina A1 Reflex old light seal
Halina A1 Reflex old light seal
Halina A1 Reflex old leather coming away
Halina A1 Reflex shutter

Now I payed over the odds for this, to be fair I purchased it from a charity hospice so I don’t begrudge the outlay due to the cracking work that they do. It’s just I have learnt to ask more questions and don’t take the auction description as gospel….lesson learned.

Looking on the bright side all the negatives can soon be turned to positives, it’s going to require some work on parts I’ve never worked on before but isn’t this the best way to learn? On a low cost item that’s not going to impact anyone in any way, and at the end I should have a perfectly usable camera to either keep or move on.

So. What am I going to do? This unit is quite easy to dismantle as it has screws and not rivets, a positive in my eyes so I will dismantle the unit completely, service, clean and reassemble. But first I’m going to leave the whole package out in the fresh air on a window seal for a week or two to let the sun get to the lens so I can probably stop the fungus spreading further, and hopefully I can stop the stale smell getting worse. I will look at refreshing the leather to help here. Cleaning through all stages will hopefully help to ensure this.

I’ve decided to replace the light seal and lubricate all the moving parts, I’m going to replace all the leather with a snazzy red snakeskin leatherette to breathe new life into this old girl.

Red snakeskin replacement leatherette

I’m looking forward to getting this one working, I’ve got the film to run through it, I now just need the time to get the work done, and this is going to take a little time to achieve, I currently have so many cameras to work on I’ve got to stop buying more 😂

And that’s harder than you’d think…..