Recent content by 02Pilot

That appears to be the somewhat rare sharkskin-pattern vulcanite, in the vertical orientation (some, like mine, are horizontal). Agreed that it does appear to have been converted to the later IIIF standard.

I've got one, but I'm in the US. I'll send you a PM.

FWIW, the 90/4 Elmar is ridiculously easy to take apart for cleaning, and it's a very simple lens optically. If you're so inclined you can very likely clean it up yourself, or at least get inside for a closer look.

The 100/3.5 has a thin helicoid compared with the other lenses you mention. The only thing I can think off - and it's highly unlikely - is that the RF arm on the 7 is slightly bent and the 100 is not engaging it on the roller but on the arm itself, producing an incorrect measurement.

The Perkeo is a great little travel camera; it's small, but moreover it's light. There are lots of small folders, but few weigh as little as the Perkeo while still remaining capable. I've taken mine on several trips and it's done well for me. That said, I am now firmly in the "take one camera"...

Light leaks around the body can be difficult to track down, especially if they appear intermittently. Sometimes you'll have one that only lets light in at very specific angles to the source, and thus it will only appear in some frames. I suspect ic-racer's supposition is correct that it is more...

Definitely light leaks. Look at the light seal for the bottom of the door for this specific problem, but very likely they all need to be refreshed.

Yes, provided you can find someone willing to work on it who is familiar with these cameras. There shouldn't be a lot to service in the traditional sense, so the cost shouldn't be too high. Do a little reading on the internet about the shutter button repair before you talk to shops about...

Cleaning the shutter button contacts may help, and it's fairly common problem area. I cleaned mine when I repaired the camera and the half-press works perfectly.

I got a Hexar AF earlier this year. It came to me unexpectedly and non-functional, and frankly I wasn't sure if I would like it (assuming I could repair it, which I did), given my preference for manual, non-battery-dependent cameras. I've been surprisingly pleased with it. The Program mode works...

I have two (well, three if you count a pinhole-converted Six-20 curved film plane box camera): a very early, and very beat up, uncoated Tessar-equipped Super Ikonta 531/2, and a near perfect Bessa II with a Color Skopar. I prefer the Zeiss camera - it's lighter, the viewfinder is larger, and...

With RF lenses oil on the blades is not a critical problem, as the aperture doesn't need to snap open and shut with shutter actuation as it does on an SLR. As long as it moves freely it's not going to cause issues. It can off-gas and contribute to hazing, depending on the lubricant in question...

Pretty close from what I've seen. Search for Ernostar and Contax T lens block diagrams and you'll see considerable similarity. Same goes for the Nikon 35/2.8 in the L35AF - there's a good Nikon historical piece on the development of that lens floating around on the web somewhere.

Look further back into the history of the Sonnar and you'll find the Ernostar design. This is helpful in understanding the later derivatives that diverge from the classic 6/3 or 7/3 Sonnar formulae.

The optical arrangement of the Elmar 50/3.5 is no different from the typical Tessar except for the placement of the aperture blades between the first and second elements, rather than between the second and third elements. Both designs have two single elements followed by a cemented doublet.