Photography – Page 12

Halina A1 Reflex fungus clean

So tonight I have brought my smallest set of screwdrivers and other tools in to work to continue work on the old Halina project I have been immersed in. Tonight between jobs I intend to deal with the fungus issue on the taking lens.

I have previously removed the camera faceplate and the two lenses are connected to this. On the rear of the faceplate is a brass connector that when removed allows you into the back of the taking lens into the shutter curtain and aperture curtain.

This allowed me to dry clean as such both curtains and I used a little graphite dust (tiny tiny proportion) to lubricate both curtains and finally after many years allowing the shutter to work as it should. A good blow with some compressed air dealt with any remaining dust.

With the setting on “B” I was able to access the lens element in front of the curtain, this was cleaned with a 50/50 mix of peroxide and distilled water to remove the offending fungus. I allowed this to dry and lightly polished the element with a cotton bud when dried. Again compressed air was used to finish.

I repeated the above for the other two elements of the lens (this is a three element lens) and then did the same with the viewing lens.

When reassembling it’s important to ensure the elements are fully dry. The elements were all wiped over before reassembly and given a last blow prior to being resealed and checked with a bright light.

Fungus removed from Halina A1 Reflex

This was the job I was most concerned with but thankfully it went well and I am pleased with the outcome. The fungus issue has now been eradicated and hopefully it will stay away. Just a couple of little jobs to do now prior to reassembly of the camera and we can then put the new leatherette on the body.

Thanks for passing by, always appreciated 👍

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 👍

Halina A1 Reflex focus glass clean & other issues

Just an update of what’s going on with the old Halina TLR.

Today I have tinkered with the ground focus screen, and hood and related springs and hinges. the majority are fine but I’ve found a hinge on the rear door that has a broken weld on one side, I discovered this as I began to clean the old light seal around the back door prior to putting some fresh seal in place. I’ve stopped at seeing this as I am going to put a repair in place so as not to stress the other side of the hinge that seems to be holding. Another head scratching moment whilst I seek a solution.

The focus screen required me to remove a couple of 60 year old springs, this went well, they are ok and I’ve cleaned them as well. The ground glass screen has been cleaned as well as all surrounding metalwork and hinges and all looks good. All went back together with no real issues.

Just preparing for cutting the new leatherette for the camera, today I have just made some templates and measurements for the eight pieces that need to be cut for this camera.

Stage one of ridding the case of the dank musky smell has begun today. It’s sitting in the sunniest place I can find on a shelf at work, and in a week or so I will be placing it in an airtight bag with some silica gel packets and some suggested fragrance for a further couple of weeks to see what happens.

Currently still awaiting the right time to open the lens up and start removal of that lens fungus.

Work continues…..

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 👍

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 👍

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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…..

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