Fitting an enlarger lens to bellows

I recently obtained set of Pentax auto-bellows, which I had been after for a while.  The automatic diaphragm isn't what I was after, it was more to find a home for a nice (although not valuable) 50mm Schneider enlarger lens that I have had for ages.

Pentax KA Zoom rehab

When I got this lens it was a mess.  The zoom was prone to drifting, the focus was sloppy and gritty, the rubber grip for the focus ring was gone, and the lens cap wouldn't even stay on.

I tried to sell it on eBay; got bids up to $2.75 and then the eventual winner changed their mind.

My plan is to find a suitable KA body to stick behind it - perhaps a Program Plus - but in the meantime I gave it an overhaul.  The Ricoh currently modeling the lens is also in need of a refit, and it can't run the A lens in Auto mode so I don't want to sell them together.

Dismantling was easy, because the focus grip was missing - pull the screws out and then it can be completely unscrewed.

I found lots of dirt in the focus helix (in the grease).  I tightened up all the screws to fix up the slop, gave it fresh grease, and cut a new grip off a donor lens (a Vivitar/Kiron 80-200mm f4.5).  The new grip was a little loose so I used my new favorite product to stick it on: Ultra-thin double-sided tape from Lee Valley.

Good as new?  I think it's better.

Kowa SeT SLR

I got this camera for $25, along with a newer-but-still-old Konica SLR.  It was is sorry shape.  The winder, shutter, and aperture were all stuck.

The Kowa seT is a leaf-shutter SLR.  Some companies dabbled with the idea, returning to curtain-style focal plane shutters... but Kowa never gave up.  To fire the camera, the Kowa must:

1. Close the shutter
2. Close the aperture leaves to the correct f-stop
3. Raise the mirror
4. Raise the light shield 
5. Open the shutter to expose the film
6. Close the shutter
7. Drop the light shield
8. Drop the mirror
9. Re-open the aperture leaves
10. Re-open the shutter

(See http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Kowa_SETR_eng.html - with handy drawings by Rick Oleson!)

Most SLRs have the primary mechanics behind the shutter, optics and controls under the top cover, and a bit of wiring under the bottom cover.  However, given the sequence above, there's no surprise at what lurks under the covers here:

Poking and prodding at the linkages under the bottom cover did not fire the shutter, although it did let me wind the winder again.  So, digging deeper, the lens had to come off, exposing the shutter.  Once I was that deep I could wind and fire the shutter manually, which was progress!

Yashica YK

Ages ago my father gave me a Yashica YK rangefinder camera to fix.  At the time I didn't think much of it and stashed it in a camera box with all my other when-I-get-to-it projects.

I recently got to it!  And then some.  Now I can't be stopped.

This blog aims to document some of the experiences and (hopefully) success stories as I repair this and other cameras.

The Yashica's symptom was pretty innocent: you could not wind the camera without slightly depressing the shutter; also, the shutter did not fire.  I was pretty sure it would be something simple in the top.

The range-finder also wasn't working right - the yellow blob was there but the image never moved.  Must be a broken linkage or dirty prism, right?