Hi -- I'm new to this forum, but have been reading it for several weeks. I've very much enjoyed the appreciation for traditional methods that I've seen as well as the willingness to resurrect still-useful equipment. I tend in those directions myself, although I have not traveled as far down the path as many of you, so I have a lot to learn.
I started in photography about 25 years ago with the OM10FC that my dad gave me one Christmas. I shot with it constantly through college and for a while afterward, but with marriage, kids, and job, that gradually fell by the wayside. Then, with the coming of digital photography, I decided to get back into it, picked up a DSLR a couple years ago, and have been enjoying it a lot. But when my grandparents aged and finally passed away, I ended up with a large batch of family photos which I undertook to scan (so as to be able to share them with my brothers and other interested family members) I was struck by how beautiful some of the old photos were, especially when I scanned the old negatives that I found.
So I decided to dig out my old Olympus and start shooting with it again, which was very rewarding. Soon I realized that I could indulge all the dreams I had when I was 20 about equipment and methods that then seemed out of reach (rangefinders, TLRs, large format, film developing etc.) now that I have a few more funds, and because of the change in cost for many of the items that were professional grade back then. That, plus my own inclination to be a bargain-hunter, well, a lot of old, somewhat beat-up or dirty, but still usable photo equipment has found its way to my house recently.
Since I took the same approach to woodworking (a tendency toward old hand tools, easier to find at auctions or estate sales, a lot of elbow grease put into appropriate cleanup), it seemed natural to continue it with photography.
So...this is a long-winded way of setting up my current challenge. Amongst the other recent finds I've made while bargain-hunting (nothing over $100 yet, though I wasn't trying to stay below a set limit, just giving an idea of the kind of stuff I'm picking up) was a Calumet CC-400 which needed only a lens board (which I've taken a first crack at, want to try it out this week) to be usable, and the topic at hand: a Rolleiflex Old Standard, S/N 401980, which suggests that it was manufactured in the early- to mid-1930s, which I gleaned from the usual large auction site.
The camera arrived looking a bit careworn, but seemed fully-functional (and was billed as same by the seller). In fact, he specifically said that there were "no fungus scratches, or cleaning marks" on the taking lens.
I had always been attracted to the Rolleiflex, but never thought I could afford one, so picking one up for $95 seemed a little surreal. I immediately put a roll of film into it and took it around trying to figure out how to use the thing and shooting all manner of boring things in my rush to see how the results look. At first, I planned to take the film to a local lab, but between being in a hurry, being a bit ashamed to have some lab technician see the really tedious stuff I'd shot in a big hurry (need to get over that), and always having wanted to learn to develop B&W, which didn't seem that hard -- well, I ran out, bought some chemicals and some plastic jugs, etc., and ran the roll through myself.
I was pretty excited to see images come out, and some of them were even kind of interesting, if not gallery material. But once I scanned the negatives, I noticed quickly that the contrast was somewhat low in the images, as well as a tendency to flare, or possibly haze, around bright areas.
This one took some heroic (I exaggerate, but still...) post-processing to get it to look halfway decent:
But with all the potential places I could have screwed up, ranging from original exposure to developing (I was using D-76 on a mix of Adox 100, TMAX 100, and TMAX 400) to possible scanning mistakes (some negs were a bit bowed, and I was using the stock holder with my Epson V500, which I'm normally pretty happy with), that I had to do a lot of testing and thinking and re-trying to figure out where the problem was.
In the end, I finally figured out how to look at the taking lens with a magnifier at just the right angle to light, and was able to spot what appears to be the telltale signs of a fungus infestation. I've bought a number of old M42 lenses over the past few years, but have so far been pretty lucky (and/or the sellers were more careful about descriptions) so I haven't had to deal with it before. But I'd always been a bit of a bottom-feeder, so I always assumed that I would eventually end up needing to learn to disassemble some inexpensive old lens to try my hand at de-fungus operations. Just didn't expect it to be on something like this.
So, finally, my questions: First, here is a shot I managed to get of the taking lens from inside the camera body. I assume that the traces (which appear to be on the inside, possibly on the front of the rear element(s) are in fact from mold:
Second question: how can I remove the taking lens and try some of the various methods for cleaning the lens in the least-potential-damaging way possible? While trying to suss out how the thing was put together, I ended up removing the viewing lens. Unfortunately, when I did so, a split ring that seemed to act as a sort of spacer came off, and I haven't figured out yet how to re-install the lens -- the ring seems to need to be on the lens while screwing it in, yet having it in place prevents the lens from inserting properly into the camera body. Any suggestions in this area would be most welcome, too.
To those who have made it to this point, thanks for reading so far, and thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.
Robert Brazile
Arlington, Mass.
p.s. For those wondering why I didn't consult professional help: my brother, who lives in New Jersey, was kind enough to take the camera to a well-known Rollei repairman there (before I started messing with it at all, other than to run a roll of film through it!) who refused to have anything to do with it, because he "can't get parts for it any more, and what if a screw were to break or something? It's just an antique now, and I wouldn't take it as a gift." So I don't feel like I'm messing up too much by taking it on myself as a personal challenge. Besides, I enjoy tinkering with things like this anyway, and being able to restore it to at least somewhat improved performance would be a pretty good rush.
