film – Page 4 – Foxes Den

Halina A1 Reflex paint touch up

Working tonight, and between jobs I’ve managed to do a few of those little tedious jobs that still need to be done on this camera.

I’ve cleaned pretty much all the parts again, used some isopropyl to really get the old ingrained dirt away and have retouched with either a gloss or Matt paint depending on what part of the camera needed touching up.

I’ve also replaced some light seal and still have a bit to do on the roll film door. I’ve also reassembled the mirror assembly after each little part of it has been thoroughly cleaned.

The smell of age that has always been an issue with this camera continues, however I have had a bit of a breakthrough today with the camera itself, it’s a strange one but it seems to work. Once the painting has been done I’ve used a cloth soaked in black shoe Polish to coat all metal areas of the body. Once this dries I buff up with a dry cloth and hey presto not only does the retouched paintwork come up lovely it now has a polished smell that has taken the dank smell away from the bodywork. Hopefully fingers crossed this can be used to combat the years of damp smell that has accumulated on this piece.

Finally I have taken every shiny piece including screws and cleaned these as well, I must say the cleaning works and these parts have all come up lovely.

The case still needs attention, I’m fighting years of damp and staleness with that and hopefully will have an acceptable solution for it soon.

I still have to get into the lens and sort the fungus issue out, there is a hinge on the roll door that needs fixing and I then need to use the templates I created last week to cut out the new leatherette for the camera. Still a small amount to do, but I hope to be able to reassemble very soon.

Have a lovely day and thank you for passing by.

Minolta Dynax 5000i

Found this on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today. After making some enquiries it transpires that a family member donated it to me as they haven’t used it in about 20 yrs. Knowing that I mess with cameras at the cheaper end of the spectrum he thought that I may find a use for it. I have gratefully accepted this gift.

After speaking with the donor he doesn’t remember there being any issues with it, he wasn’t aware there is already a film in it so I will process this for him and see what if anything comes of it.

This camera was circa 1989 and was a strange beast in that the programmable modes we take for granted on SLR cameras today, had to be purchased as individual plug in cards for this camera. I guess was kind of like VHS versus Betamax back in the day and as things developed in the market I guess Minolta put this idea back to bed as a non starter.

This camera looks in great condition apart from wear and tear dust/dirt and initial checks of the lens show no evidence of fungal damage, the camera does not have that musty smell associated with age so I can only presume it has been stored correctly.

These cameras also work off a 6v lithium battery the 2CR5. Still available it retails for around £6-8 gbp. Again Minolta could have used a rechargeable but this was probably just at the beginning of that technology becoming widely available.

Information regarding this camera can be found here Minolta Dynax 5000i courtesy of Camerawiki.org

So, apparently these cameras are popular in the Lomography world. I’m going to give it a good clean/overhaul get a new battery and run a film through it to test. Not a lot to do so hopefully I’ll fit it in somewhere along the line soon. Keep checking back to see how things progress.

Thanks for passing by, always appreciated 👍

Olympus 35 ECR – complete

I have processed the roll of Kentmere 100 at home today, it’s currently drying in the shower and I’m really pleased with what I’ve seen so far. The carriage of the camera is working well with even spacing, exposures look promising and no sign of fogging proving the new light seals are good.

I’m yet to run the negatives through the scanner, still waiting for them to dry but when they do I will post a gallery here. Gallery – Olympus 35 ECR trial roll

The camera in my eyes is now in good working condition, all that I did with it has proven beneficial and I’m adding this into my personal collection.

I’ve now packed it in a bag with all the air extracted and a couple of silica bags to stop any potential moisture. I do this to all the cameras I store for their protection and to save me having to go through the whole process of maintaining them again.

I’ve enjoyed this little project and am now happy to say….

Job done 👍

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.

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.

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 👍

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