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Dave
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 20, 2005 - 03:34 pm: | 
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I've just got hold of a Bessa 1 (6x9 folder) from about 1953. its a bit grubby in the body (nothing a bit of spit and pollish won't fix) but the bellows are totally fine.
My main concern is the lens. Its a bit dusty and looks like it could have some fungus inside. The lens is a three element coated Vaskar lens, otherwise good condition, no scratches. I've not yet run any film through it but I know that a dusty and fungused lens won't be doing me any favours. So I fancy a crack at cleaning the lens.
have found the following page which has some useful info - this guys camera seems in almost identical condition to mine:
http://photographic.co.nz/cameraworks/cameras/bessa1/
Whats initially puzzling me is how to get the whole lens/shutter section free of the from mounting at the bellows. I get the impression that theres a ring to unscrew fron inside the bellows, but have no idea how to actually move it.
Secondly, I usually clean a lens with isopropanol, but it there anything special i should be doing to tackle the fungus? I've heard many suggestions, from meths, vinegar, vodka, right through to thrush cream!
So if anyone has tackled a similar job i'd be greatful for any info or tips as i've not tried anything like this before.
The viewfinder is also dirty inside but as there appears to be no visible screws on the top section of the camera I guess its a nightmare to get inside it to clean it...... |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 21, 2005 - 12:04 am: |
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The ring nut holding the shutter assembly should have 2 or 4 holes/notches on its circumference. With a spanner tool with pointed tips you should be able to unscrew the ring. You can also try with stop ring pliers, they have more or less pointed tips, too.
In the meantime my first approach to remove fungus or haze is using a microfiber cleaning tissue. In many cases it removes the haze or beginning fungus. The microfiber tissue does not damage the coating as it may be the case when you use vinegar or concentrated vinegar. |
dave
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 21, 2005 - 01:22 am: |
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thanks for the advice - yes the rear ring does have 4 notches in it, i'll have to find a suitable spanner/pliers.
Anyone else have any useful titbits? |
Stuart Willis
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 01:15 am: |
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Citrus Oil, Eucalyptus Oil or Tee-Tree Oil, will easily remove surface fungus. But nothing will remove damage as by the fungus having etched into the glass. Finish off by cleaning up with a proprietary domestic glass-cleaner such as Windex. Otherwise you can use the glass-cleaner sprays as for cleaning spectacles. |
Dave
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 07:31 am: |
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OK cheers for the tips guys - just got back from a week away and ready to get to grips with this camera. I found a suitable set of pliers to unscrew the ring inside the belows thus releasing the whole lens/shutter section from the camera - great.
My next job is to get inside the lens to clean the inner faces elements of the elements. like on the link above i'd rather do this from the back as not to upset the focus calibration on the front element/s. I can't however see how to get the back element to unscrew. There doesn't seem to be anything there to grip. I would try taking the front element off instead, only if someone can persuade me that keeping the focus calibration is not a nightmare. I really don't want to have to fool around with ground glass in the film plane unless I really really have to. Any ideas? |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 07:59 am: |
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Keeping the focus alignment is NOT a nightmare, as long as you
- make notes how many turns it takes to screw off the front element
- leave a mark where the front element leaves its thread (this must be marked EXACTLY)
However, I would recommend to readjust the focus. There are descriptions of methods in the article section. You can either use a ground glass or the 'backsighting method' (you will need a SLR with split image screen). |
