Cracked Kodak Medalist (I and II) viewfinder replacement- demand?

[Dan Daniel]

As some of you know, the large front viewfinder glass on the Kodak Medalists is prone to crack. Sometimes a simple split, sometiomes a nice shattering. I've got an optical engineer working up the part and am close to making an order for new replacement viewfinder glass.

I am thinking of ordering 100. But then talking to someone, the question came up, what is the real need for this part?

I've dealt with a lot of Medalists. I'd say that I know of 5 cameras out there that could use a replacement right off. I have maybe 5 of my own that need a new piece. I could see 'seeding' maybe 10 here or there to other repair people. I see cracked viewfinders on nice Medalists on Ebay every few eeeks. Given future demand, I think that maybe 40-50 would find homes.

100 is both a good price break point, and seems a reasonable number to get made. Enough to cover reasonable expectations, and then doubled.

FYI, the price will probably fall at about $50 per piece.

I know that there are some people here who have Medalists and are familiar with them. Also a lot of experience with manufacturing, repair, etc. around here. Any thoughts on this?

 

[blee1996]

My Medalist II's viewfinder is cracked right in the middle, and I would like a replacement if the price can be within $50. Thank you!

 

[OAPOli]

My Medalist II's front VF lens has a tiny chip on one edge. The $50 price is pretty reasonable but I'm not sure I would get it? It really doesn't affect anything.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I would certainly buy one and keep it as a spare. When I was buying and selling cameras I had more than a few Kodak Medalist cameras pass through my hands and there were more than a couple with cracked or chipped front viewfinder glass. If I had had a source of new replacement viewfinders, I would have bought a bunch. I could have replaced the cracked and broken ones in those cameras and sold them for a much higher profit.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Thanks, blee and oapoli. The middle crack is the most common that I've seen. Edge chips are also pretty common. One of the reasons that I am asking people is that I don't really put a lot of attention to camera viewfinders. Especially the Medalist viewfinder which is not very accurate nor super clean and crisp (the new parts will have anti-reflective coating which should help a bit). I cracked my user viewfinder a while back grabbing the Medalist out of a camera bag and didn't bother looking for a replacement. Although not ideal, I can live with a crack or some bright chip flares on the edges. But at the right cost, I think clean glass is better.

John, I was wondering about your experience with them since you have been dealing with many Medalists for a long time. I've been taking glass off of corroded Medalists, etc., to be able to replace cracked one. Sometimes a parts Medalist shows up with good glass that I can put in another camera. But I am down to pulling a camera out of any rebuild line after stripping out the glass because I don't have replacements. If the new glass works out, these might solve this problem for a long time coming.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Dan,
I can live with a cracked viewfinder, but a lot of people can't. If I can see to frame, I can use it. You should see the viewfinder on my little Ricoh FF1. I wouldn't even call it broken, as it's more like crushed. It still takes the same kind of photo's it did before my brother-in-law smashed it. My problem with buying and selling cameras like the Medalist with cracked or chipped viewfinders was that I would have to buy them very cheap to make any profit. An interested buyer would pick the camera up and say, "nice camera, but the viewfinder............" You can try to explain that the tiniest crack has nothing to do with the camera's photographic potential, but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
I do like the idea of a coated finder glass, but either way wouldn't really matter to me. Heck, I'd even take one out of correctly molded plastic. The worst thing on the Medalist cameras is if some moron got inside the viewfinder housing and messed with the tiny rangefinder prism wedges on both right and left side. Those prisms have the most brittle glass made. I've seen a few that were chipped up pretty bad. Other than the cracked viewfinder and fragile prism glass, the rest of the camera is pretty darn stout and fairly easy to fix. I know some folks complain about the Supermatic shutters, but I find them very robust and less delicate than either the Compur or even the Copal shutters. Plus, there are tons of spare Supermatic shutters out there for spare parts. Maybe that's why the well cared for Medalist is still ticking like a fine watch this many years down the line. Yup, they are still my favorite camera. That's why I would buy possibly two of the replacement finder glass, just in case I run onto a mint Medalist with a cracked find for cheap or one of my three Medalist cameras develops a crack.

 

[blee1996]

I can also live with a cracked viewfinder, since the Medalist I got is quite inexpensive. But for long term use, it is nice to have a good viewfinder if the cost is reasonable. I really like the Ektar lens, which is the main reason I put up with 620 film format and awkward body hold.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I can also live with a cracked viewfinder, since the Medalist I got is quite inexpensive. But for long term use, it is nice to have a good viewfinder if the cost is reasonable. I really like the Ektar lens, which is the main reason I put up with 620 film format and awkward body hold.

I think most owners of Medalist cameras with faulty cracked finders feel like you about cost of replacement being a big factor in replacing a cracked finder glass. $50.00 and do it yourself is a good deal in my book. If you have a Medalist that saw naval use during the war and is all salt corroded and not working 100% I then would just stay with a cracked finder. Yes, "the lens alone is worth the price" as the old Konica III rangefinder ad used to say.

 

[John Koehrer]

How is the glass removed from the housing? I've had the housing off of the camera and it wasn't obvious to me. On my Mll the RF still works but the VF image doesn't. I'll dig it out
& take another look, it's been several years.

*****If it's not grown from a seed*, I'd also like to have a replacement glass.

 

[Dan Daniel]

How is the glass removed from the housing? I've had the housing off of the camera and it wasn't obvious to me. On my Mll the RF still works but the VF image doesn't. I'll dig it out
& take another look, it's been several years.

*****If it's not grown from a seed*, I'd also like to have a replacement glass.

To replace the front viewfinder, you need to remove the top cover. 2 screws at the front, 2 at the back. Lift up, and keep lifting up for an inch or more to clear the metal mask inside the assembly.

The glass sits in a metal frame that has tabs top and bottom on the inside. You pretty much just push the assembly out to the front. The glass itself has a small metal plate at the top. Replace glass and put the metal part back in. Now finesse the frame back into the top assembly.

The rear of the viewfinder has an optical element in it for the viewfinder. This piece is cemented to a flat glass plate that also covers the rangefinder window. This cemented part sometimes has separation and this makes the view very soft and a bit dark. But sometimes it just need cleaning.