Kodak Ektar 127mm lens

Not pliers, surely you mean pipe grips?

On 1/16/2004 7:20 AM Neil Purling spake thus:

Not pliers, surely you mean pipe grips?

Yes, of course, a pipe wrench[1].

[1] Merkin-speak: often (and wrongly) called a "monkey wrench".


--
Focus: A very overrated feature.

- From Marcy Merrill's lexicon at Junk Store Cameras
(http://merrillphoto.com/JunkStoreCameras.htm)

Its been said before and i'll say it as well.
It is wise to stick to f22 with landscapes, etc for reasonable sharpness to
the edges.
At f 11 the edges are still a bit soft (under a lens).
I have shot some HP5 so far, to see what the lens is like & to test the
film.
I may be over-critical now before I see what the prints turn out like.

I have made some prints of what I have shot as tests. They were 5x7 sections
of what would have been 20x16 if enlarged full-frame.
At f11 the Ektar is quite acceptable, but sharpness at the edge does improve
on stopping down to f22.

This was looking at a point half way up the edge.
The corners? possibly the same applies, but I will find out by a practical
test.

So far I am happy with the lens, if I am not using what movements the
Pacemaker Graphic has.

ON Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:07:16 -0800, David Nebenzahl
WROTE:

On 1/16/2004 7:20 AM Neil Purling spake thus:

Not pliers, surely you mean pipe grips?

Yes, of course, a pipe wrench[1].

[1] Merkin-speak: often (and wrongly) called a "monkey wrench".

Too true. Only those who have never seen/handled a monkey wrench
would call a pipe wrench (also called Stilson, from a prominent
(possibly the first?) maker of same.

FWIW, for those who have had no contact with a monkey wrench, a monkey
wrench is made in much the same manner as a pipe wrench (parallel jaws
opened and closed with a collar nut on a threaded shaft), but the jaws
of the monkey wrench are absolutely parallel and smooth. Predecessor
of the (Crescent) adjustable wrench and will handle much larger nuts
and machine screws than a comparable length Crescent.


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Uh? Neil? You don't seem to understand Usenet. You are supposed to talk with
absolute authority about something you read somewhere on the net. You are not
supposed to try it yourself. That makes for fact instead of hearsay. What is
Usenet coming to with people like you around.

The above is intented as a compliment by the way.

--

Neil Purling wrote:

I have made some prints of what I have shot as tests. They were 5x7 sections
of what would have been 20x16 if enlarged full-frame.
At f11 the Ektar is quite acceptable, but sharpness at the edge does improve
on stopping down to f22.

This was looking at a point half way up the edge.
The corners? possibly the same applies, but I will find out by a practical
test.

So far I am happy with the lens, if I am not using what movements the
Pacemaker Graphic has.

"Neil Purling" wrote in
message ...
Well, my Ektar has a rim set Supermatic which need gloves
to adjust the
speed or else you can hurt yer fingers. The lens cells
have a whole regiment
of what look like this: -.
They are look thin and like tiny dashes under a magnifier.
There are rounder
ones.
It was at that point I wondered if it was really worth
sending the thing
away to SK Grimes.
I am shooting some negs first.
The lens is 1949 I didnt expect it or the shutter to be
mint.


Supermatics are very rugged shutters and can usually be
brought back to life if they are not actually corroded.
Naptha (Ronsonol) is a suitable cleaning solvent but I
will also warn against a simple soaking to clean the
shutter. Several cleanings may be necessary and some
disassembly is needed to do it right. Nearly all shutters
need some lubrication. Very light oil on the trunions of the
gears in the speed regulator and some light grease on some
sliding parts. The Supermatic needs a little light grease,
Lubriplate will do, on the rim of the speed ring. I
occasionally see shutters which appear to have had large
amounts of Vaseline smeared on the ring. Vaseline (petrolium
jelly) is a fairly good lubricant but oxidizes badly with
time so it become hard. Synthetic grease is much better and
you need very little. NEVER use powdered graphite on a
shutter.
The 127mm Ektar is a Tessar type with air spaced front
elements. The front element is held in place by a threaded
retaining ring. Usually, the threads have been painted over.
The cell can be opened by removing the paint on the threads
with Acetone and using a friction wrench to remove the ring.
A friction wrench is simply a tube of the right diameter
with a sticky rubber washer cemented to one end. Once open
the inside of the cell can be cleaned. The spots may be bits
of anti-reflection paint or they may be fungus, although
fungus usually looks different. Most old lenses get a
coating of haze on surfaces which can not be easily reached
for cleaning. The haze comes off with any lens cleaner or
alcohol. Enough can form inside the front cell of a Tessar
to ruin its contrast. Its visible if you shine a flashlight
through the lens.

"Marv Soloff" wrote in message
...
People do the "Ronsonol soak" as you call it all the time
and with great
success. Be aware that Ronsonal may remove lens coatings
(and it may
not). Your mileage may vary.

Regards,

Marv

Neil Purling wrote:
I had the lens panel out after I noted some tiny pin
prick dots over the
area of the front lens cell.
This seems to be between elements.
I was going to do what is referred to as the 'Ronsonol
Soak' after removing
both lens cells.
Its a bath of lighter fluid into which the shutter
assembly is placed for a
short time to soften hardened lubricant. I dont know if
anybody has tried
this out.
If the lens is suffering some defect I am not too
worried as I also have a
150mm f4.5 Schneider Xenar.



Neither Ronsonol (Naptha) or other organic solvent will
remove lens coatings. They are vacuum deposited metal salts
which are tighly bonded to the glass. They must be removed
by polishing them off with an abrasive or with an acid bath.
Worn coatings have been abraded by poor lens cleaning
technique, not by any solvent.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

Richard: The operative word was "may". I am not prepared to find out
by sloshing Ronsonal into a lens/shutter assembly with the lens(s) still
attached. As far as I know, many lens manufacturers used many different
approaches to lens coatings. The vacuum deposition, as I understand it,
was a recent development. I would still exercise caution especially if
you want to use the lens/shutter after cleaning it.

Regards,

Marv

Richard Knoppow wrote:
"Marv Soloff" wrote in message
...

People do the "Ronsonol soak" as you call it all the time

and with great

success. Be aware that Ronsonal may remove lens coatings

(and it may

not). Your mileage may vary.

Regards,

Marv

Neil Purling wrote:

I had the lens panel out after I noted some tiny pin

prick dots over the

area of the front lens cell.
This seems to be between elements.
I was going to do what is referred to as the 'Ronsonol

Soak' after removing

both lens cells.
Its a bath of lighter fluid into which the shutter

assembly is placed for a

short time to soften hardened lubricant. I dont know if

anybody has tried

this out.
If the lens is suffering some defect I am not too

worried as I also have a

150mm f4.5 Schneider Xenar.



Neither Ronsonol (Naptha) or other organic solvent will
remove lens coatings. They are vacuum deposited metal salts
which are tighly bonded to the glass. They must be removed
by polishing them off with an abrasive or with an acid bath.
Worn coatings have been abraded by poor lens cleaning
technique, not by any solvent.

The only stuff I have shot with detail into the corners of the neg wasnt
quite parallel with the film plane.
it was a long office building that is due for the chop.

It was at a fair distance. However the corners of the negative are losing
definition examined under a loupe.

The acid test would be a shot of a brick wall, taking care to mark the wall
with the aperture in use.

I have just broken into some FP4 this weekend as the sun came out!
What a change from 1/4 sec @ f22 on HP5 in the usual damp English January.