    
Peter Wallage
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 04:06 pm: | 
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Hi all,
This isn't directly a maintenance and repair query, but it might turn out to be one, so please bear with me. I bought a box containing three M42 f/2.8 135mm non-auto lenses at a flea market today, and would be grateful if anyone has answers to a few quaestions.
The first lens is labelled Chelico which I believe was a brand name used by Mayfair Photographic Ltd in London in the 1960s. It has a mount adaptor on it, but its not a T mount. The odd thing, which may need repair, is the aperture setting. There's a knurled chrome ring marked with apertures from 2.8 to 22. It hasn't got click stops, you lift it forward slightly to turn it, then it will drop back into some sort of detent at each aperture mark. It will also rotate 360 degrees if you want it to. Behind that is a plain chrome ring marked with a red dot. This is secured by two tiny grub screws and can be rotated if they are slackened. Behind that is another knurled ring which, when you turn it, closes and opens the iris, but it doesn't 'pre-set' anywhere no matter where you set the 'aperture' ring. At the moment, so that I can try the lens, I've marked the 'iris' ring with a black pen, spacing the marks the same as those on the 'aperture' ring. I also set the 'red dot' ring so that I can use the 'iris ring' as a plain old fashioned f-stop ring. Anyone know how this set-up is intended to work?
The second lens is labelled Ambasador #714090, and is a pre-set. The only other clue is 'lens made in Japan', which doesn't narrow the field much. I'd like to know who made it.
Lastly, there's a Meyer Orestor which all the references say should be a pre-set, but it isn't. I assume it pre-dates the pre-set version, but it would be nice to know. The serial # is 5519275 if that helps.
Any information would be gratefully received. I intend to try these lenses out during the next week and will let you know how they compare.
Thanks,
Peter |
