Kodak Medalist II!!

[abruzzi]

As I recall from a long time ago, the 6×9 sheets are on a much thicker base than roll film. That makes tray developing easier. Foma sells this:

FOMAPAN 100 6,4x8,9 CM/50 KS

Depending in the Medalist back size, buy the pre cut product.

tht would be the 6.5x9 size which is I believe is also referred to "2.5x3.5" and seems to be uncommon in the US.

I did a quick search and it looks like the Medalist setup is for 6x9 or 2.25x3.25
For for that size there is generally Foma/Arist 100, 400 and Ilford FP4+ and HP5+.

Best place to get it in the US is Freestyle, but they're not listing the Arista 400 at the moment:

Film > Black and White Film

Freestyle has the largest selection of 35mm black and white film from every major manufacturer like Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Arista, Foma, Woflen and Cinestill. In addition, we carry a complete line of 120 film and sheet film in stock and ready to ship.

www.freestylephoto.com

I don't know if the Medalist uses normal sized film holders or custom, but te page did say that it changes the location of the film place renderng the rangefinder useless, and requireing focus using ground glass.

 

[John Wiegerink]

tht would be the 6.5x9 size which is I believe is also referred to "2.5x3.5" and seems to be uncommon in the US.

I did a quick search and it looks like the Medalist setup is for 6x9 or 2.25x3.25
For for that size there is generally Foma/Arist 100, 400 and Ilford FP4+ and HP5+.

Best place to get it in the US is Freestyle, but they're not listing the Arista 400 at the moment:

Film > Black and White Film

Freestyle has the largest selection of 35mm black and white film from every major manufacturer like Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Arista, Foma, Woflen and Cinestill. In addition, we carry a complete line of 120 film and sheet film in stock and ready to ship.

www.freestylephoto.com

I don't know if the Medalist uses normal sized film holders or custom, but te page did say that it changes the location of the film place renderng the rangefinder useless, and requireing focus using ground glass.

Where did you read that last part about rendering the Medalist rangefinder useless when using the ground glass back???? That one is news to me.

 

[abruzzi]

Where did you read that last part about rendering the Medalist rangefinder useless when using the ground glass back???? That one is news to me.

The page may be completely wrong, but if you have the back, its easy enough to test.

Medalist Accessory Back

That page also mentions an additional accessory that pushes the film plane even further back to give some macro distance. That would definitely throw off the rangefinder but based on the wording/order I interpred the line about the rangefinder as talking about just the straight accessory back.

 

[abruzzi]

OK, my bad. I decided to poke around some more and quickly found this document:

https://www.cameramanuals.org/kodak_pdf/kodak_medalist_accessory_back.pdf

On page 5:

So my previous link is clearly wrong, or I misread it.

 

[bgsquare]

As I recall from a long time ago, the 6×9 sheets are on a much thicker base than roll film. That makes tray developing easier. Foma sells this:

FOMAPAN 100 6,4x8,9 CM/50 KS

Depending in the Medalist back size, buy the pre cut product.

Thank you!

 

[bgsquare]

OK, my bad. I decided to poke around some more and quickly found this document:

https://www.cameramanuals.org/kodak_pdf/kodak_medalist_accessory_back.pdf

On page 5:

View attachment 422631

So my previous link is clearly wrong, or I misread it.

When I focused on a Dan Daniel’s target at 10’ with the ground glass of the Medalist accessory back, my split range finder was a little “off”. I am acquiring a piece of ground glass to check focus from the actual film plane to see if range finder needs adjustment. Will let you know results.

 

[Dan Daniel]

When I focused on a Dan Daniel’s target at 10’ with the ground glass of the Medalist accessory back, my split range finder was a little “off”. I am acquiring a piece of ground glass to check focus from the actual film plane to see if range finder needs adjustment. Will let you know results.

Let me know what you find out about the ground glass, sheet film back, and the rangefinder. I told you that they were not the same, but looks like I was wrong. Set up the rangefinder with the ground glass and then with the back.

On the upper right film rail area, in the groove for the back, there is a movable tab. This is pressed inward by the accessory back. I'll have to look at this and see what is happening.

 

[John Wiegerink]

OK, my bad. I decided to poke around some more and quickly found this document:

https://www.cameramanuals.org/kodak_pdf/kodak_medalist_accessory_back.pdf

On page 5:

View attachment 422631

So my previous link is clearly wrong, or I misread it.

I already knew it was, but didn't want to come out and say it. Instead, you did the right thing and verified it for yourself. Don't feel bad cuz I've been wrong a few times myself. Just ask my wife!

 

[John Wiegerink]

The pitch of the helical on the Medalist focusing tube is such that the slightest movement of the focusing tube one way or the other is enough to make the upper and lower image in the rangefinder look like it moves a lot. It's an extremely sensitive rangefinder system with a very short though between 3 1/2' and infinity. If I had the accessory back on and were going to shot a closeup of a flower I'd certainly use the ground glass to focus and not the rangefinder. The ground glass would not only be accurate, but would also eliminate parallax problems when it comes to framing the scene.

 

[bgsquare]

The pitch of the helical on the Medalist focusing tube is such that the slightest movement of the focusing tube one way or the other is enough to make the upper and lower image in the rangefinder look like it moves a lot. It's an extremely sensitive rangefinder system with a very short though between 3 1/2' and infinity. If I had the accessory back on and were going to shot a closeup of a flower I'd certainly use the ground glass to focus and not the rangefinder. The ground glass would not only be accurate, but would also eliminate parallax problems when it comes to framing the scene.

 

[bgsquare]

Let me know what you find out about the ground glass, sheet film back, and the rangefinder. I told you that they were not the same, but looks like I was wrong. Set up the rangefinder with the ground glass and then with the back.

On the upper right film rail area, in the groove for the back, there is a movable tab. This is pressed inward by the accessory back. I'll have to look at this and see what is happening.

Would that tab (when pressed in by the accessory back) somehow adjust the range finder to work with accessory back ground glass since that ground glass is not in the film plane?

 

[John Wiegerink]

Would that tab (when pressed in by the accessory back) somehow adjust the range finder to work with accessory back ground glass since that ground glass is not in the film plane?

If you take the back off the camera and look through the the film plane opening of the back, while pushing in on the little tab in the opening, you will be able to watch the switching action in the upper right of the open back. That action properly aligns the rangefinder when the accessory back is put on the camera.

 

[bgsquare]

If you take the back off the camera and look through the the film plane opening of the back, while pushing in on the little tab in the opening, you will be able to watch the switching action in the upper right of the open back. That action properly aligns the rangefinder when the accessory back is put on the camera.

Thank You! I’m beginning to see the light!

 

[bgsquare]

If you take the back off the camera and look through the the film plane opening of the back, while pushing in on the little tab in the opening, you will be able to watch the switching action in the upper right of the open back. That action properly aligns the rangefinder when the accessory back is put on the camera.

Now that I have proofed that the focus on my Medalist II is “dead nuts” on and the range finder is a little off from the ground glass on the accessory back , is there a simple adjustment to fix that or is it better left to the folks that really know what they’re doing? I don’t see a way to adjust the”tab” on the accessory back that adjusts the range finder.
Thx for you help and input!

 

[John Wiegerink]

Now that I have proofed that the focus on my Medalist II is “dead nuts” on and the range finder is a little off from the ground glass on the accessory back , is there a simple adjustment to fix that or is it better left to the folks that really know what they’re doing? I don’t see a way to adjust the”tab” on the accessory back that adjusts the range finder.
Thx for you help and input!

bgsquare,
Now that you have one of the best cameras ever made do yourself a favor and go on eBay and search for the Kodak repair manual. I have the military (Navy) one and the one from Kodak. Either one will give you all the tipd you need to know when it comes to adjusting and repairing your camera. There are ways of syncing the rangefinder to the ground glass back so the rangefinder and ground glass back are dead-nuts on too. It's hard to explain it hear and that's where your manual will come in handy. Have fun!

 

[bgsquare]

bgsquare,
Now that you have one of the best cameras ever made do yourself a favor and go on eBay and search for the Kodak repair manual. I have the military (Navy) one and the one from Kodak. Either one will give you all the tipd you need to know when it comes to adjusting and repairing your camera. There are ways of syncing the rangefinder to the ground glass back so the rangefinder and ground glass back are dead-nuts on too. It's hard to explain it hear and that's where your manual will come in handy. Have fun!

Thx. My medalist came with a series VI screw on ND filter. Where can I get a yellow series VI
Thx

 

[John Wiegerink]

Thx. My medalist came with a series VI screw on ND filter. Where can I get a yellow series VI
Thx

They all over the place on eBay. Just search "Series VI filters" and you'll have much to pick from. I usually stick with Kodak, Hoya and last, Tiffen. Make sure there is no separation since many are laminated.

There were also adapters made to jump from Series VI to filter sizes like 49mm, 52mm etc.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Thx. My medalist came with a series VI screw on ND filter. Where can I get a yellow series VI
Thx

Also... https://www.filterfind.net/Index.html

On Ebay look for 44m to XXmm adapter rings. 44mm is Series VI.

 

[AnselMortensen]

+1 on filterfind.net

 

[John Wiegerink]

Also... https://www.filterfind.net/Index.html

On Ebay look for 44m to XXmm adapter rings. 44mm is Series VI.

Yes, I plumb forgot to mention filterfind. Smack forehead with hand.

 

[bgsquare]

Also... https://www.filterfind.net/Index.html

On Ebay look for 44m to XXmm adapter rings. 44mm is Series VI.

Dan-while waiting on CLA on my Medalist from you(think I’m in line for October),I acquired one of those Photo Plugs that measure shutter speed with iPhone app and flashlight. See attached. Question-is this info useful for setting exposure or best ignored?
Thx
Doug

 

[John Wiegerink]

Dan-while waiting on CLA on my Medalist from you(think I’m in line for October),I acquired one of those Photo Plugs that measure shutter speed with iPhone app and flashlight. See attached. Question-is this info useful for setting exposure or best ignored?
Thx
DougView attachment 424817

You'd pretty much average out your number of readings for each speed and use that as your "real" shutter speed for that setting on your shutter. I was told many years ago, by a very good camera repairman, that it's much more important to have consistent shutter speeds that were slightly off the mark than it was to have it was to have a speed be right on one shot and then way off on the next. He also said that even brand new 35mm fancy cameras off the shelf aren't perfect when it comes to shutter speeds. It's almost always the top shutter speeds that suffer from age. While lower speeds usually suffer from gummy shutter blades.

 

[bgsquare]

You'd pretty much average out your number of readings for each speed and use that as your "real" shutter speed for that setting on your shutter. I was told many years ago, by a very good camera repairman, that it's much more important to have consistent shutter speeds that were slightly off the mark than it was to have it was to have a speed be right on one shot and then way off on the next. He also said that even brand new 35mm fancy cameras off the shelf aren't perfect when it comes to shutter speeds. It's almost always the top shutter speeds that suffer from age. While lower speeds usually suffer from gummy shutter blades.

Is the DOF scale on a Medalist II accurate?
Thx

 

[John Wiegerink]

The scale itself is always accurate as long as the lens is the 100mm, which it is 100mm since it's non-interchangeable. Now if you are talking about the focus dial that spins clockwise and counterclockwise that's different. That scale runs and is synced by a set of gears so if somebody has taken it out for some reason and put it back in a couple of teeth off then your scale no longer will give you a correct reading as to what's in focus in the front or in the rear of your pointer on the focus scale. This is why I suggested to you long ago to buy a copy of the civilian or military repair manual. The repair mainual will walk you through the steps on how to adjust the depth of field scale disc or dial.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Is the DOF scale on a Medalist II accurate?
Thx

If you move the helical to closest focus- longest extension- the 3-1/2' tick mark should be just a bit past the center mark. the manual says the tick mark should be at the red infrared mark. And then you can test other distances. Distant target for infinity.. The manual says to set distance scale, rangefinder, and film plane focus all to 15 feet. But you can use other distances, assuming that film plane focus and rangefinder focus are in agreement (not likely but we'll let that slide for now...). But the starting point is the closest focus and the scale.

Depth of field is not an absolute value. For example, the Rolleiflex manuals say use the scale for a certain level of enlargement but use one aperture larger (smaller DOF) for greater enlargement. Circle of confusion, print viewing distance, on and on. But as a rough working idea, the scale on the Medalist is fine.