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.
Kentmere 100 through Olympus 35ECRKentmere 100 through Olympus 35ECRCheck my gallery’s to see these results
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.
Olympus 35ECR now in storage
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….
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.
Halina A1 Reflex broken door weld
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.
Halina A1 Reflex new skin templates
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.
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 boxCamera 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.
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.
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.
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 👍
I have obtained some 1.5mm camera seal and have commenced the replacement of the old seal. First thing to do is measure the widths required for each of the 5 pieces needing replacement.
Measuring seal width Measuring seal width on doorMeasure all required seal widths
Easiest piece to seal is the larger segment at the hinge of the door. Setting this piece first allows you to get the start point’s correct for the longer more fiddly sections.
Door light seal replacement
When it comes to the longer runs there are two width measurements. For the seals on the back door they are approximately 2 mm wide and the ones on the camera itself are 1.5 mm wide. I have cut these myself and believe me they are awkward little buggers to get in place, I very much doubt you will do it first time (well done if you do) it’s taken me a number of attempts and to be honest I’m still not 100% happy with the results. The rear door is the second easiest piece to do as you can remove the film guard to give you some space to work.
Rear door with new light seal installed
The camera body is ultra awkward as the seal is so thin. I have put in two lengths and it’s stayed in place overnight but I may well redo it again at a later date. I will run a film through to see if it is sufficient as I suspect it may well be. My trouble is I’m just trying to be perfect but sometimes you just have to lower your expectations slightly. A couple of things I would recommend though:
Use an ultra sharp craft knife
Use a metal ruler
Wet the adhesive as you put it in place as it allows you some option to move it prior to sticking
Be patient, you will have to cut a number of strips
Be prepared to remove re clean and try again
Practice and don’t be downhearted if you fail
Try again
Practice makes perfect 👍
This is going to be a stock camera for me so there is no rush to move it on. Keep a camera spare for yourself to practice on as it will only improve your technique in the long run. This was my first attempt at seal replacement and I have learned a lot from this exercise. Come back to see the results of my test film on this camera.
What I noticed whilst inspecting this camera was that the light seals around the rear had decayed sufficiently to require replacement, and after approximately 50 yrs that seemed to be a reasonable assessment.
Quick video of the light seal removal
This page will cover the light seal removal, it is important that the camera is thoroughly cleaned and all debris removed as this will make mthe replacement of the new light seals so much easier and less cumbersome.
Items required:
Isopropyl or another sufficient cleaner
Cotton buds
Cocktail sticks or plastic modelling knifes
Compressed air can
Remove film plate – remember the correct orientation
Remove the film plate on the camera door as this assists when cleaning, easy to do, just be careful when removing to ensure you don’t bend the retaining springs, and ensure it goes back in the correct orientation so that the small hole in the top corresponds with the winder sprocket on the camera body.
Scraping out the old light seal
There are 5 seals on this camera. Two on the camera body one top and one bottom, the same again on the rear door and a final one where the door hinges on the camera. Lightly wet these with some isopropyl and let this seep in for a couple of minutes. Using a cocktail stick or a plastic modelling tool (not metal as you will scratch the frame) start to gently remove the old seal and remove any debris away from the camera. Take your time here as it is important to get each channel clean and debris free to ensure the refitting phase goes without issue. Now wet a cotton bud with the isopropyl and run this numerous times along each edge where you have removed the seal to ensure it is really clean.
Using a plastic tool to clear the old light seal
I would suggest you set a good hour aside to ensure you do this job correctly and completely, it really is that important to ensure you get good results.
Hinge door light seal- before and after cleaning
When the removal of all seals is complete I’d recommend that you clean again, yep I know it’s boring what I am saying but the cleaning really is that important. When it’s done, get the compressed air can and give a few well aimed blasts of air into the areas you have cleaned making sure you do not direct any debris towards the shutter, please keep this area sheltered or you can create other issues.
The debris left over after a good clean
Once you are happy with the clean up, shut the camera door and leave it alone until you begin to install the new light seal on another occasion. Then we will clean the camera yet again 🤦♂️
I’ve obtained three new (old) cameras this week to work on. And of the many thousands out there I think I have three lovely examples of good everyday cameras circa 1940-1965.
Halina Paulette, Braun Paxette and an Ensign Ful-Vue
Two of these cameras are 35mm and the Ensign is a 120 film camera. The Ensign needs a refurb and I will dedicate a page to the work that needs to be done on this unit. Fingers crossed the work on the other two cameras will be minimal, hopefully just a clean up however I will assess all cameras when they arrive.
Ensign Ful-Vue 120 film camera
I’ve never had any dealings with these cameras before so I’m kind of looking forward to putting some time in on them.
Halina PauletteBraun Paxette
I think the above two 35mm cameras are little beauties, they have so much character and show the magnificent design ideas of their time. I’m hoping to put film through all three of these cameras that I will develop and scan at home. Fingers crossed as I said earlier that there is not too much wrong with them all.
I’ll update the site with a blog and a small video for each one once work to restore them begins.
A cracking little example of a unit that was in production between 1946-60. The leather pouch is showing signs of age and wear and tear, it has a small split and needs sewing, seeing it’s age this is to only be expected. I shall attempt to clean the cloth with a light detergent solution to remove the dirt and will then treat the leather to make it supple again, the buttons can be retouched with some black paint.
The unit itself just needs a clean inside and out, the hood needs a repaint, the mechanism seems to be good and both exposure settings are operating as they should. The exposure setting switch as well as the two synchro pins show signs of corrosion, I may need to buff these up or again source replacement parts. I may need to source a new strap. On close inspection it seems the mirror is damaged, looks like water damage on the underside but I won’t really know until I get it all dismantled.
Brownie reflex dismantled
Well today I have taken the unit apart, I’m really surprised just how clean the unit is inside after all these years, however there are a few issues. The hood is rusty and restricted in its movement, I have fixed this issue by smoothing out a few small bumps and freeing the spring mechanism with some camera oil, it works well now (see video below) however I still need to rub down and repaint. The lenses have been cleaned, the viewing prism has been cleaned and I am happy with these, the shutter works well so I won’t be touching this.
Brownie reflex mirror damage
The mirror that I mentioned earlier in this piece is not water damaged as first thought, it looks as if the original glue used to fix the mirror has damaged the backing hence the mark you can also see in the video.
Lens hood working and damaged mirror
To repair this I will be using a very thin piece of acrylic mirror that I will cut to size, I’ll show you how I have done this later in the report. The case is to be cleaned and a stitch repair is needed, some small touch ups are required but in general there is not an immense amount to do to get it back to how it used to look.
Lens hood: The lens hood is opened to look into the lens. It was quite pitted, rusted and chipped so I have buffed it down, cleaned it and repainted it. I’m pleased to say it’s a good finish and I’m pleased with it. Job done 👍
Lens hood before and after
Neck strap: this is the original strap or should I say cord. Severely frayed both ends this needed repair, one of the easier tasks to do. I’ve cut the ends off losing about 10cms of cord, the crimps are unusable however the two crimps where the screws attach to the body were salvageable and I rewound the cord back around these and secured this with a pair of pliers.
Cable neck strap pre fixing
Next I sewed the two pieces of cord together to make up for the loss of the original crimps, I then used two lengths of heat shrink tubing to further secure the cord and screw crimps.
Cord sewn, and then heat sealed
I think you’ll agree, nice simple repair, sympathetic to the original and will last a few years longer. Job done 👍
Camera case: in layman’s terms the word knackered should be used. As old as it is, it was quite dirty and the leather was tired and brittle. I’ve only used the suds off of hot water and tablet soap to clean the exterior and interior and this will do as it’s quite delicate anyway. If it doesn’t survive this treatment then I will dismantle the case and use it elsewhere. However the clean up was successful, I’ve now given it some treatment to moisturise it as such and it now looks completely renewed.
Before and after case cleanup
I will leave this overnight for the treatment to be absorbed I’ll then give the case a light buff up.
Leather repair complete. Leather stitching not my favourite pastime
Apart from a couple of stitches that needed putting in I’m happy with the case and will not attempt anything else with it. Job done👍
Mirror: Today the very thin acrylic mirror sheet arrived so I could cut out the new mirror I required to replace the damaged one. It’s exceptionally thin and I have glued it to the original mirror to cover the imperfection. I didn’t fancy seven years bad luck for damaging the mirror whilst trying to remove it.
Before and after mirror replacement
I was really pleased with the outcome here. This is a photo of the view through the new mirror
New mirror viewed through top of camera
I’ve cleaned the lenses as best as I can however the years have left them slightly pitted, no concerns with this though as the viewer is separate from the actual capture lens.
With this I am satisfied the camera has been sympathetically restored, it’s been reassembled packaged in an airtight bag with a silica desiccant sachet and put back into my personal collection
The completed project.
Time to put this little project to bed now. I’ve really enjoyed this one and I think these little old cameras will become my go to’s of the future. I’ve learned a lot and have learnt well from my mistakes along the way. Time to look for the next subject. So, for the last time on this project I get to say…..
Foxes Den 
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