Agfa half frame

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Any idea what's going on here? I have this cool little Agfa half frame camera, but each frame on a roll of film has this heavy flare on it, like in the lower right hand corner of the attachment. Any idea why that is?

Thanks,

- Thomas

 

[AgX]

Are all patches of the same density and location? Otherwise it would easier to consider a ligh leak in the cassette going through several windings of film.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Are all patches of the same density and location? Otherwise it would easier to consider a ligh leak in the cassette going through several windings of film.

No, the intensity of the flare increases the more directly the light shines into the lens.

 

[AgX]

Maybe a light leak in the shutter, only existing when being exposed. Hard to imagine though. A hint at the camera model might crank up our brains.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

It's an Agfa Paramat. I took a picture of it, but for some reason it doesn't seem to want to load to the APUG server. Here's a link to an identical camera.
http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Agfa_Paramat

 

[summicron1]

hard to think camera light leak. have you cleaned the lens inside and out to make sure there's not something there flaring?

 

[AgX]

Considering flare it would rather be a highly reflective surface inside the camera tube. Look inside whether there has any flat black varnish chipped off (if there is any...) uncovering something reflective that is hit by the ray-cone.



inside view:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111110131134/camerapedia/images/a/a6/Parat_I_innen.jpg

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I wouldn't know where to start to disassemble the whole lens assembly and clean the individual lens elements inside and out. I know for a fact that I would not be able to put it back together again.
I'll have a look to see if there is any paint missing inside the assembly somewhere.
Thanks for the ideas, guys. Sorry for the late response; it's difficult to find the time to post.

 

[summicron1]

I wouldn't know where to start to disassemble the whole lens assembly and clean the individual lens elements inside and out. I know for a fact that I would not be able to put it back together again.
I'll have a look to see if there is any paint missing inside the assembly somewhere.
Thanks for the ideas, guys. Sorry for the late response; it's difficult to find the time to post.

certainly not suggesting disassembly -- but make sure there's no dust on the outside surface of the lens on either its outside or camera inside, is what I meant. A small speck can cause such a flare and it is usually on the front element.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

certainly not suggesting disassembly -- but make sure there's no dust on the outside surface of the lens on either its outside or camera inside, is what I meant. A small speck can cause such a flare and it is usually on the front element.

When I return home I will make an inspection. I looked at that before, but not very critically.

Question: If the flare is white in the print, to me that means overexposure on that portion of the negative. How can something that's an obstruction to the light path cause that? (I am serious with my question, just don't understand the reasoning).

Thank you.

 

[nicholai]

It can reflect (contrary to absorb) the light, and thus it will look like that.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Looks to be some dust trapped between the lens elements...

Since the camera isn't worth anything, I might just try to see if I can do something about that.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

It's impossible to tell the problem from one frame. Are you sure it's not just "normal" lens flair that comes from pointing the camera toward the sun? Some lenses handle such flare better than others. Do you use a lens hood?

Basically all of the frames have the same problem, whether it's sunny or cloudy. Just to different degree, depending on how narrow the direction of the lens is to looking into the sun.

If it's normal flare, then this camera is truly not worth trying to save.

There is no shade for this camera.

 

[AgX]

The lens is a triplet, most probably completely coated.

 

[removed account4]

hi thomas

could there be a hole the aperture or shutter ?
can you cock and fire the shutter with the back open
and point it at a strong light source and see if it is there ?
i am not familiar with that camera, does it happen with the lens OPEN all the way ?

india ink and white glue might be a nice friend to have ...

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

The lens is a triplet, most probably completely coated.

I really like the lens, and was going to use it for snapshots. A roll of Tri-X in it and it's the perfect little documentary camera, if it wasn't for this irritating issue.
The aperture is, strangely enough, square. Only four blades. Not sure if that affects anything.

 

[AgX]

Some AE-cameras had only two aperture blades...

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

hi thomas

could there be a hole the aperture or shutter ?
can you cock and fire the shutter with the back open
and point it at a strong light source and see if it is there ?
i am not familiar with that camera, does it happen with the lens OPEN all the way ?

india ink and white glue might be a nice friend to have ...

Maybe. It's fixed 1/125 shutter speed, but if I use bulb and point it into strong light, the aperture should be tiny. That might be a good chance of seeing holes in shutter/aperture.

I want this little guy to work. It's such a neat little camera.

 

[elekm]

I would take a close look at each of the lens elements, particularly the rear optic and look for a defect or chip.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I would take a close look at each of the lens elements, particularly the rear optic and look for a defect or chip.

I will do that, as it might help explain what I'm seeing. It looks mostly just like there's 'stuff' trapped in between the lens elements.

For what it's worth, I can't detect any holes or defects in the shutter or the aperture. It must be lens related since it varies with how the camera is angled with respect to sunlight, and how intense the sun is.

 

[removed account4]

thomas,
if it is a chip, you can fill it with black sharpie or india ink
it might reduce your aperture a teensy bit, but it will plug up the hole.

john

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

thomas,
if it is a chip, you can fill it with black sharpie or india ink
it might reduce your aperture a teensy bit, but it will plug up the hole.

john

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. From what I could tell yesterday, there is no pinhole or damage to either the shutter or aperture blades.
I have concluded that it is related to the glass lens somehow. Not sure how much energy I want to spend on this, but it would be cool to get it fully working again. I love the pictures I get with it.

- Thomas

 

[removed account4]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. From what I could tell yesterday, there is no pinhole or damage to either the shutter or aperture blades.
I have concluded that it is related to the glass lens somehow. Not sure how much energy I want to spend on this, but it would be cool to get it fully working again. I love the pictures I get with it.

- Thomas

it might be as easy as making / using a cheap lens shade ?
half frames are fun, aren't they ?