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Message |
    
Moris
Tinkerer
Username: Moris
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 11:12 am: | 
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Hi i am moris from Belgium, 70 of age, hobby photographer since more than 50 years with some interuptions due to other hobbies and/or busy at work for keeping my wife and kids alive.
But: my good old Praktica superLT1000 has becomming useless due to a blocking of the cockinglever (filmtransportlever) i can only move it half way and therefore can not charge the shutter nor transporting the film. I've read on this side about a book "Camera Maintenace & Repair" from Tomosy. Don't know wether this book is available in Belgium, i've been asking around but nobody could tell me where to find the book.
But maybe this book is not necessary in the first place in order to fix my camera.
Can anyone please help me..
Thanks in advance
Moris |
Bossman
Tinkerer
Username: Bossman
Post Number: 105
Registered: 02-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 11:23 am: |
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Moris: Wish you had picked a different camera to fall in love with because the only one I can think of worse from a repairman's standpoint would be the Russian Zenit (my keyboard doesn't have backward "N"'s sorry) which is a total nightmare (How did they ever get into space?!!) Sir, there is NOTHING I or any sane repairman could do longdistance to help you. How if I send you a Minolta SRT or Canon AE-1 and you send the Praktica back to EAST Germany? Art www.flcamerarepair.com |
Moris
Tinkerer
Username: Moris
Post Number: 2
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 12:32 pm: |
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Hi Bossman,
When i was a youngman people told me everything labeled "made in Germany" should be considered as the best on the market. Growing older i kept that in mind, so it was not surprisingly bying a German camera when i started photographing years ago. I still find that Praktica's are very sturdy made. Searching the web i found on this very site a link to how to disassembling a praktica L, i might print it out and study the article. And who knows, maybe i succes in repairing the camera.
Greetings
Moris
Sorry for wrong sentences or words, i have to translate from Flemish out of my mind. |
Prasanna
Tinkerer
Username: Prasanna
Post Number: 28
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 06:51 pm: |
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Hi Moris!
Please look at Steve Shepherd's site below. He has the most detailed instructions on the praktica L-series.
<http://www.ydo.abelgratis.co.uk/>
Tomosy's book is pretty general and does not give many details about specific cameras. He chooses some examples and elaborates. His book is available from Amazon.com. But I won't recommend it for your specific use. The Praktica L-series is fairly easy to disassemble and do a CLA. Follow Steve S' instructions. Also post questions on this Forum. He and others would answer. Your camera may just need some cleaning and lubrication. Some times a lever [it has so many inside] in a module may be bent and may have to be straightened. I hope it is nothing more serious. Those are very good cameras, very well designed and made. Repairmen, supposedly, are reluctant to accept the Prakticas because people won't pay them much. They would rather repair a Canon or Nikon and get paid a lot just to drop a few specks of oil! It is the Veblen effect! Best regards, sp |
Prasanna
Tinkerer
Username: Prasanna
Post Number: 29
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 07:36 pm: |
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Moris, Hi! Across the channel, in the UK, there are many camera shops that will repair Prakticas, if you find it too difficult to do the same by yourself, or if you have a broken part. Prakticas were common in UK and in abundant supply even now on Ebay-UK. Your English is quite good and you communicate well. Regards, sp |
Dirbel
Tinkerer
Username: Dirbel
Post Number: 20
Registered: 04-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 02:26 am: |
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Moris, Tomosy's books are avaible at amazon.
Bye,
Dirk |
Moris
Tinkerer
Username: Moris
Post Number: 3
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 16, 2009 - 03:33 am: |
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Thanks for the reply or is it replies for more than one...
I've been reading the article mentioned in the above reply, is so much interesting for me, i guess i gonna give it a try. Yesterday i went to the flea-market in Brussels, found two wrecks of Prakticas, one with and one without a lens, the cockinglever from the one without lens worked well, the other was also blocked, it was a pair of more recent make i gues because there was a slot beneath the bottom cover for a large AA kind of battery. They were both outsideview in bad condition, just laying on the ground on a kind of blanket between other wrecks. The seller asked for both 10 Euro, i find that on a fleamarket it must be possible to nagotiate the price so i offered 5 Euro,than 7 but the man would'nt sell for less than 10, so i went on without bying. Back home i had very much sorrow, i should have used them to practice dissasembling...Sorrow always come late, i have to go back to Brussels on one of those days.
Greetings form Moris |
Prasanna
Tinkerer
Username: Prasanna
Post Number: 31
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 16, 2009 - 04:35 am: |
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Hi Moris! the one with the AA kind of battery is an LLC, PLC series or an MTL50. The first two used to take the "electric lenses" for full open aperture metering. If they are "wrecks" then Euro 10 may be a bit high. You may find a better deal on Ebay-UK. You may still be able to fix your camera by opening and doing a clean and lube as suggested by Steve. Try it; all the best, sp |
Ethostech
Tinkerer
Username: Ethostech
Post Number: 145
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 07:53 pm: |
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I'll go with Bossman on this one. The Praktica L is anything but a good camera. The entire film advance geartrain is of very soft steel. If you have a malfunction in that area strip off the camera top-plate and inspect carefully. If you try to force it, you can effectively say goodbye to your Praktica.
The Praktica is hardly synonymous the reputation of exquisite German engineering. Zeiss in the West was a different animal from the Soviet-bloc Zeiss in Jena. It should be said that Zeiss Jena DID produce the wonderful Zeiss Werra as with perhaps the most accurate between-lens shutter ever made. The Prontor RVS. And they were the first to produce for 35mm cameras the vertical travel metal focal-plane shutter - as subsequently emulated by Seik oand Copal.
They did a few things right .. but Praktica wasn't one of 'em !
. |
Moris
Tinkerer
Username: Moris
Post Number: 12
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 28, 2009 - 12:05 am: |
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Hi,
I've been able to fix both of my Praktica's. The LT1000Super malfuntion was a conflict between the releasepushbutton (underneath camera) and a latch. Had i knew that in the first place, i had'nt to disassemble the camera. But by learning how to disassemble a Praktica i was alble to take my MTL3 apart aswell. This camera suffered from a malfuntion on the metal shutter, when cocking the shutter, it immediately released. So there must be some notch or latch that did'nt do the upholding funcion. After hours of looking the inside of the camera meanwhile cocking and seeing the shutter immediately releasing a noticed a latch ( from wich i learned afterwards ) is called the 1st blind latch that did'nt move at all, it was there certaintly for doing somthing. I released a bit on the holding screw and all of a sudden the thing moved and held the cocked shutter, Bingo.. Camera repaired. Well done Moris as i might say it myself.
Greets
Moris |
Prasanna
Tinkerer
Username: Prasanna
Post Number: 34
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 28, 2009 - 04:41 am: |
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Congratulations on repairing the shutter! It may need some lubrication for those latches and pins to move freely without sticking in their grooves. Try some Vaseline gel and very thin watch oil. Make sure to wipe off the excess. Regards, sp. |
Monopix
Tinkerer
Username: Monopix
Post Number: 57
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 28, 2009 - 07:57 am: |
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No, not vaseline. You should never use that. |
Moris
Tinkerer
Username: Moris
Post Number: 13
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 12:07 am: |
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Hi, Moris again.
Here is the link to my article about the dissasembling, repairing and assembling of my two faulty Praktica's. Sorry for my Flemish English.
http://users.skynet.be/morris/praktica/index.htm
Comments more than welcom
Moris |
