Posted inCamera & Lens Repair Photography

Reassembling the Canon 24mm f/2.8 S.S.C. FD Mount Lens

I was recently offered a free Canon FD mount 24mm f/2.8 S.S.C. lens, but it came with a small catch. It had been disassembled for a re-lube by the previous owner due to a stuck focus ring, who was then unable to figure out how to put it back together again. 😳 They guaranteed all the bits were there, but had no pictures or any other info on how to re-assemble the lens.

Unfortunately, there are no service manuals and very little detailed information on this specific lens on the internet. There is some info for other FD lenses of this generation (which are somewhat similar – check the links section at the end of this post) but pretty much zero for this one. So this became quite the puzzle, but after a lot of fun, a lot of frustration, and a little luck, I was able to put Humpty back together again…

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Posted inCamera & Lens Repair Photography

Konica C35 Focus and Shutter Repairs

On a recent trip to Tokyo, I had some time to browse the amazing used camera stores in the Shinjuku “Camera Town” area. I found this guy in a bargain bin going for $2. I have a huge soft-spot for this camera. My grandfather gave me one when I was in my teens, and at some point it was stolen. So, despite some obvious, and pretty major issues with the camera, I couldn’t resist. There was oil on the shutter blades, so they were sticking and sluggish when fired, and the focusing ring would barely move at all. Happily, I was able to resolve everything, and add this neat little camera to my collection.

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Posted inAstronomy CCD Cameras & Autoguiders

A fond farewell to the SBIG ST-8300M CCD Camera

After 10 years with my SBIG ST-8300M, I have finally upgraded. Despite its quirks, halos and spikes around bright stars, bad columns, and incredibly slow download times, this camera has performed admirably well. It has taken some of my best astrophotos to date, and managing its idiosyncrasies has taught me more about image processing than I ever thought I would know. In the time I have had it, this camera has taken on dripping humid winter nights, wonky power at remote sites, suspect USB cables, being dropped, and has just kept going. So, before I move on, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate this aging, but still very capable camera with a teardown and a close look at its innards.

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Posted inCamera & Lens Repair Photography

Rollei 35 TE Repairs

I bought a Rollei 35 TE recently that had a couple of issues, and it was driving me bonkers that I could find very little information online about this great camera. Everything I could find, including the service manual, was for the previous generation 35, S and T series cameras.

The issues with my TE were in the meter and lens barrel. The lens barrel was loose and when retracted the lens kept flopping out. (This is a common ailment with all Rollei 35 cameras.) The other problem was that the meter would not auto-off after 10 seconds as stated in the manual. It was always on as long as there was a battery in the chamber.

Metering was spot on and agreed perfectly with my Gossen Lunasix3 and the camera still took a great picture despite these issues, but they were quickly becoming a major annoyance. Since all the repair estimates I got were for much more than what the camera cost me (and often more than what I could realistically sell it on eBay for) and did not guarantee the meter could be repaired or replaced (in fact most were convinced it could not). I decided to try to fix it myself and document the process for others that might be facing the same issues.

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