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Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 14
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 02:19 pm: | 
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Thanks to Rick Oleson and the help of a couple other members, I managed to get the shutter working again. I also cleaned the threads for the front element and the center element. The result is that the range adjustment glides smoothly. I searched for some help, and there was an Afga Sillette that would always remained slightly unfocused. The problem was solved by parting the center element from the front one and cleaning the threads, it then focused properly.
I know that the front element is not stuck to the center element, the threads that connect the two have been cleaned and lightly lubricated. But for some reason, all of the pictures I take with the camera are always out of focus. The entire picture is blurry, some worse than others. Yet I do not believe it to be human error that is causing the problem, because most of the shots took place at infinity, and you do not have to worry about measuring the distances there.
I don't have access to ground glass, so I took a transparency that was semi transparent, it had a kind of frosty look to it. I then cut it apart and taped it to a slide, taking care to keep it perfectly flat. Would this method work? Or must I find frosted glass elsewhere? Because when I look at the image reflected on this makeshift "frosted glass," it is clear. But when I load film into the camera, the developed shots come back quite out of focus and blurry.
I have shot two rolls of film using this camera now, I don't have any clue why the quality of the pictures is not crystal clear, the front lens is a little scratched from all the years it has been around, but not to the extent of the blurring in the pictures. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 25
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 03:51 pm: |
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The frosted side of whatever should be on the film rails. Maybe waxpaper held tightly to the film rails should work. |
Scott
Tinkerer
Username: Scott
Post Number: 8
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 07:31 pm: |
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This happened to me once when fixing a camera with a 3-element lens. I couldn't get a clear and sharp photo with it. I then realized that I had put the middle lens element in upside-down. It's hard to tell which is the correct side just by looking at it.
Also, I have found that scratches on the outer lens surface do not hurt the image very much. However, scratches and cleaning marks on the inside lens surface (the surface you can touch when you open the door to load film) do hurt the image quality considerably. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 73
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 07:39 pm: |
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If you have had the glass out of the rings, Scott may have put his finger on the problem.
For a groundglass, I use a piece of regular glass and stick a strip of frosted cellophane tape to one side of it for the focusing surface. I microscope slide is good, or maybe you can buy a cheap little picture frame and pull the glass out of it. You really do want a good flat surface for this, and a magnifier to view the image with. |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 15
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 08:41 pm: |
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I don't think I have had the glass out of the rings, by which I mean, I have not removed the actual lens (glass) out of the lens element (the piece with threads on it). I hope I am calling them by the right names. Everything screws in only one way. With the Ansco Super Memar you had to be careful with the range adjustment as it could screw in multiple ways, the same is not true with the Ansco Memar, the range dial screws in only one way and stops turning at infinity.
When you screw it the other way there is nothing to stop it at 3 feet, it will just keep spinning until it comes off, but I don't think this actually affects the range function. I don't think there is a problem as far as the glass being reinserted upside down, at least, I don't know how I could have installed it upside down. The camera works perfectly otherwise, which is why everyone I know is scratching their heads in wonder at what could be causing the problem. Someone thought that the glass could be out of position by a fraction of an inch and that was throwing off the quality. Would it be possible that the quality would improve if the rear and center mounts were screwed in tighter? Or is hand tight all we're looking for here? Could there be a different cause for the lack of sharpness? Or would the inverted glass be pretty much the only thing that could cause this? |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 74
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 09:43 pm: |
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If it's the way I recall it, the ring with the distance numbers on it is attached to the lens cell with set screws around the sides. After you remove the front element and put it back on, you need to reset the focus to infinity and reattach the numbered ring in the correct position. There are multiple threads on the focusing helical, the odds are against your getting it back on in the same position in which it was before it came off.
It should not be possible to unscrew the front element with the distance ring attached, as it has the stops that prevent it from going past the infinity or 3 foot marks. there must be something broken or missing in your camera to permit it to unscrew with the distance ring on the lens.
As for screwing in the rear and second elements of the lens, they should be snug... very firmly finger tight should do. It is important that they be fully seated, though... a slight error here can cause a significant focus difference. |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 16
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 29, 2006 - 06:29 am: |
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The problem was that I did unscrew the front element with the distance ring attached. I believe I ended up breaking one of the stops half way off when I did this. So I did not have to unscrew the focusing helical from the distance ring. Could this possibly be why it will not focus any more? Because I accidently moved the wrong part? It was hard to tell when it was stuck against the stop and when the glue was just holding it in place. Like I said in my previous thread, I needed a pair of pliers to move it at all in the first place. Now that the entire ring can be taken off, does that mean the camera is broken beyond repair? |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 75
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 29, 2006 - 06:21 pm: |
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No, the camera can still be used. But you still need to remove the distance ring from the front element of the lens. Then, focus the lens accurately at infinity with a groundglass in the film plane, and reattach the distance ring so that it reads infinity at that position.
Once that is done, all you have to worry about is not focusing too close and letting the lens fall off.
rick : ) = |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 17
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 11:21 am: |
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Thanks, I'll be seeing if I can find a jeweler's set of screw drivers as the smallest screwdriver I'm using in my current set is too large to get at those three microscopic screws. As soon as I do that, I'll have to try and get it to focus on my make-shift ground glass. And the magnifying glass was a good idea, as the image reflected on the ground glass is too small for me to tell if it is in focus or not. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 76
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:33 pm: |
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if you have another camera with interchangeable lenses, the 50mm normal lens makes an excellent magnifier (hold the front end toward your eye) |
