Is your mirror staying up?

 I've seen a few discussions about this recently and the suggested reasons and solutions show a lack of understanding of general principles. So here's a few reasons of why a mirror may stay up.

1. Mirror is stuck to the mirror foam.

This is a myth, often repeated but, I imagine, never actually seen. I've never seen it in the hundreds of cameras I've repaired. Even ones with very sticky foam, I've never seen a mirror actually stuck to it. Let's move on.

2. Mirror hits the back of the lens.

If the mirror slips down in the mirror carrier such that the bottom of the mirror overhangs the carrier, it 'might' hit the back of the lens. It depends on how much the mirror has slipped and how far the lens protrudes into the camera. It may happen with some lenses and not with others. It may happen with some lenses only if they are focussed on, or near, infinity as the lens moves further away form the mirror as it is focused closer.

There are two possible scenarios if the mirror hits the back of the lens depending on how high the mirror gets before getting stuck. 

a) If the mirror rises sufficiantly for the shutter to fire, the shutter will open and close normally but the mirror will not fall after the shutter closes. The camera can be cocked again but the mirror will remain up.

b) If the mirror rises insufficiently for the shutter to fire, the shutter will remain cocked and no exposure made. The camera will become locked.

In both cases, the camera works normally if no lens is fitted.

3. Shutter fails to close.

The closing of the shutter triggers the release of the mirror. If the shutter fails to fully close, the return of the mirror doesn't get triggered and it stays up. The camera, usually, can be cocked again and the mirror will typically return back to the down position.

Depending on the camera and the type of shutter, sometimes the shutter can be pushed to make it close fully and the mirror will then fall. Try this at your own risk.

Body Caps

Who knew body caps could be so interesting? I noticed I had four different types of body caps. They are:

1. From a later, Kyocera made, body.

2. From an early, Yashica made, body.

3. From an Aria but not sure if it's original to the camera or not.

4. A (Chinese made?) after market cap.

Besides the differences in the patterning on the front and the text on the back, the way the bayonet is moulded is different on no. 4 to the other three. No. 4 has an extra bit that prevents the cap from fitting properly - it shouldn't be there and I always cut it out when I buy them.

I know 1 and 2 are original equipment, I know 4 isn't. Not sure about 3 though.

Canon EOS EF Eyecup will fit Contax and Yashica

The Kyocera F-3 eyecup was used on the Contax S2, 167, Aria and maybe other bodies. It also fits earlier bodies like the 139, 137 and 159 and also Yashica bodies like the FX-3, FX-D, FX-103 etc. I, personally, prefer it to the round eyecups that were used on the earlier Contax and Yashicas.

However, the Kyocera F-3 eyecup has become scarce and when they do become available they are expensive. So I looked for an alternative and found the Canon EOS EF eyecup fits perfectly. It's the same style as the Kyocera F-3 though slightly different in shape. Original Canon eyecups are available and are not expensive but there are Chinese made copies that are available very cheaply on ebay.

The Canon EF eyecup fits Canon EOS 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 600D, 1000D etc. bodies. There are other similar models so, if buying, check it's the correct one.

Here's a few pics of one I bought fitted to a FX-3, a 139 and the KF-M1 mentioned in my previous post.

And a couple of pictures of the eyecup itself.

Yasuhara T981

I've created a new website for the above camera. Nothing Contax related but there is some Yashica interest. You can find it at www.t981.co.uk https://sites.google.com/site/t981yasuhara/home.

The Bitser

Bitser (Bitzer): "A thing that is made from parts that originally did not belong together."

I acquired another 139 parts camera recently. These are cameras that have too many problems to make it economical to repair. They end up in my 'parts camera' drawer and get regularly picked over when I'm in need of a part to repair another camera. I have nine or ten I guess, some of which are little more than a chassis with a few parts left attached. As I was adding the most recent one to my collection, I thought about the possibility of making a complete, working, camera out of the various bits and pieces.

Always up for a challenge, I picked out the best chassis I could find as a starting point. The chassis had a shutter, which tested as OK, along with the film advance mechanism, which had a problem, and the electronic PCB. A mirror box with a clean viewfinder came from another camera. The top plate and all the other parts came from several other donors.

With the film advance issue resolved, I assembled all the parts onto the chassis, cleaning and lubricating etc. along the way. I wanted to fit a base plate with a serial number that was of the correct period for the modification level of the camera. The chassis I used had the last version of the transfer switch and the mirror box had the later version of the release magnet and associated mechanism, so I needed a base plate with a high(ish) serial number. I found just one that fitted the bill. It was a bit bent and dented but a couple of blocks of wood and a hammer got it into shape and soon fitted.

The final thing, after a full function and film test, was to add some covers. I had some freebies supplied by Aki-Asahi and, in the spirit of using up what I had, I fitted those. I actually think they are OK though not a colour I would normally use. I also had some matching winder covers and so a winder I acquired with a camera recently got a quick overhaul and new covers fitted to complete the look.

I'm not sure I'm going to give it much use but I like how it looks and find it satisfying to have built a complete camera from spare parts. It will sit on the shelf for a while until I decide what to do with it.

S2 fixed

Finally got the S2 shutter sorted and the camera rebuilt. Besides the shutter issues, the mirror had slipped and required removing and refitting, the focus screen was scratched and needed replacing, someone had glued an eyepiece to the camera that had to be removed and the glue cleaned off, the meter was dead and the seals needed replacing. All now done so I just need to load a film and start using it.

We're back !

The site is pretty much back to what it was before its 'accidental' deletion from Tumblr. I couldn't face recreating it on Tumblr again as there was a lot of hacking involved to get what is essentially a blogging platform to look like a normal website. So I'm trying out Google Sites. Seems to work OK but I've already hit a few limitaions. But it does most of what I want - and it's free...

I'm planning on using this 'blog' space for any site updates and also any other information that doesn't really fit elsewhere.