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Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 128
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - 02:13 pm: | 
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I have a very nice Ricoh Diacord with knob film advance and it is producing very narrow gaps between the frames. I have had the knob apart and mulled it over for a while but cannot figure out how to fix this issue. The frames don't actually overlap, but the gap is sometimes less than a millimeter, so the camera is usable and with luck I might be able to get a 13th frame onto the end of a roll of 120 film. I would prefer the frame spacing to be a bit wider, to make it easier to cut the film, though.
Does anybody have experience with adjusting the frame spacing on a Diacord? |
Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 129
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 06:57 pm: |
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anyone? |
Tom_cheshire
Tinkerer
Username: Tom_cheshire
Post Number: 71
Registered: 04-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 07:12 pm: |
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Doubt the problem is in the knob itself. The problem sounds like it may be the usual bugaboo of the mechanism needing to cleaned and relubricated. If it is not as simple as that then a part is worn.
Since the spacing varies it would seem some part is not moving as fast as the others so old grease is probably to blame.
You might try winding slowly, very slowly each time and see if that will make the spacing more even. Or winding with the lens pointing up or down or at an angle each time. Sometimes parts just fall in place better that way. Sounds silly but it works for an SLR I have. |
Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 130
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 17, 2009 - 10:35 am: |
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Tom, thanks for your reply! I did clean the mechanism and it actually seems to be in very good shape with no visible wear to any gears. I am starting to think that there is some merit to the theory that the films of yesteryear were thicker than today's (both the backing and the emulsion). As a result a frame counter that does not rely on measuring the length of film advanced (like a Rolleicord Va) but relies on some mechanism to infer that length (like the Diacord) will place frames closer together today than it would with older film. |
Hanskerensky
Tinkerer
Username: Hanskerensky
Post Number: 6
Registered: 05-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009 - 05:43 am: |
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Hello Markus,
Yes, it has everything to do with the filmthickness. I experienced similar problems with a Zeiss Super Ikonta III.
This problem can be easily solved by first applying some windings of papertape (the one used for paintjobs) on the take-up spool. This makes the rolldiameter on that spool larger and so enlarges the move the film makes per turn of the winding knob. |
Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 131
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009 - 11:36 pm: |
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Hans, that's a great idea! I will try this on the next roll of film. Thanks! |
