Flexaret III worth repairing?

[NWT Ron]

A few years ago water got into the box that my Flexaret III was stored in and did some damage. The leatherette has or is peeling off, there are places where the aluminum case is corroded and pitted, some of the knobs are also corroded, and there is some light corrosion elsewhere. The shutter was OK the last time I checked it, but there is some cloudiness on the interior lens surfaces. Is it worth putting some time and money (if parts are available) into repairing it? What might I expect to pay for a similar replacement? I've been doing early morning walks and photography to get some weight off, and to photograph places that may be gone soon and picked up a Lubitel 166B for that, but the Flexaret seemed to be a better camera.
Ron Yellowknife, NWT, Canada

 

[SalveSlog]

I think Jiri of flexarecameras on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/flexaretcameras?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
is a specialist on Flexarets, but he's here in Europe and shipping to and from Canada may be too expensive.

 

[NWT Ron]

I took a look at his site on e-bay and you're right about the shipping cost, its adds another 40% or more onto the buy it now price.

At work I have access to a bead blaster, and materials for aluminum corrosion control. I do not have experience with camera repair, but would give it a try if parts are available.

Or, if I could find another Flexaret, or similar, closer to home, maybe I should put this on the shelf and buy another one.

Ron

 

[SalveSlog]

I've got a box full of negatives from my fathers Flexaret IV that I believe he bought around 1951. They are quite common in Norway and probably was the working mans good alternative to more famed cameras. My father was way to frugal to buy, say a Rolleiflex.. But he took excellent pictures with the Flexaret!
I still got it, but the shutter and aperture blades are no longer clean and I can't get the shutter out. So I bought a similar one from Jiri instead of sending my fathers. It works very well, but TLRs makes me dizzy.

 

[02Pilot]

I bought a broken IIIa last year and completely rebuilt it. It's a fairly solid camera, all things considered, though the crank wind is not terribly robust. I've only shot a test roll, but the images were good, even with the triplet. I've got too many TLRs, so if you're interested in a replacement drop me a PM.

 

[DWThomas]

I own one I rescued at a flea market circa 1975 -- for $5! The shutter was stuffed but I was able to clean it up and get it working. Unfortunately, I put it aside for about 30 years and the slow speeds are now hanging up and the viewfinder is very dim -- likely new mirror time. (I have a vague recollection that I replaced the mirror once, bought a mirror from Edmund Scientific way back and cut it to fit, but have utterly zero notes from around that time.) I did put a roll through it a few years ago (in outdoor sunshine to keep the shutter speeds high!) and the optics seemed pretty decent. I might eventually try to revitalize it, but my do-list is overwhelming.

Anyway, being a modern sorta guy, I "upgraded" to a Yashica 124G a back in 2010.

If I were in your shoes, I would probably try and fix it myself, assuming I didn't find parts actually broken that would be difficult or impossible to make out of some stray material. Even were it mint, it's nearly 70 years old, so I'd probably be reluctant to go very deeply into it unless I approached it as "just one of those challenges."

 

[NWT Ron]

I'd been off the list for too long and forgot how to do a PM. I would consider a replacement, and if time permits look for a service manual for this model and see what might be involved in repairing it. Hopefully the fog on the lens is from water ingression and dirt deposit, otherwise I don't know if the lens would be salvageable.

Thanks for the replies, I wish I had found a better way to store it when we were living in place too small for us and our things.

Ron

 

[02Pilot]

It's a really simple camera to take apart. The shutter assembly (Prontor II?) is just held on by a single ring in back (use a spanner to remove). The front element of the lens just unscrews, and the rear portion comes apart just as easily once the shutter's out. There are manuals available for the shutter online. Once you get the body covering off, just undo the perimeter screws and the side plates will come off.

Oh, and to send a PM, just go up to the "Inbox" tab on the top right of the screen and hit "Start a conversation," or simply click on a user's name and send it directly from there.

 

[NWT Ron]

Thanks, its all very helpful information. As we have a bead blaster at work I might try cleaning it up myself. I remember finding a place, I think its in the US, that sold leatherette material, I'll look it up. I would still consider getting another one, maybe a newer version if they're noticeably better, as I might be a while before I got mine back together

 

[02Pilot]

Pre-cut leatherette will be the best option. Being fairly dim sometimes, I decided to cut my own - tedious would be the best word to describe the process, though the results are pretty good. Cameraleather.com is the one with the most selection, but their site has been down for a long time and people have reported mixed success in actually getting products shipped (I only ordered from them (or, more correctly, him - it's a one-man show) once with no problems). If you do order, make sure you ask if what you need is in stock and ready to ship before ordering.

 

[NWT Ron]

I'll check his website out, thanks! While giving the camera a closer look I was flicking the shutter and noticed that it was very slow and sticking. Then unexpectedly the shutter started clicking and I couldn't ve sure if the shutter leaves were moving. So I pointed it at a light and looked through the back, sure enough they were working (it was set to 1/300), the other setting down to 1 worked and seemed to be about right, and the delayed shutter release timer function worked although not 100% reliably. The only lens that isn't clear is the inside one, which has a yellow tint and dirt. I'm going to give repairing it a try. Thanks for the help!

 

[02Pilot]

Assuming you have the same lens I do, it's a triplet, meaning there are six surfaces, four of which are internal. You'll want to clean them all, as there's probably haze on all of them. The shutter will need a complete CLA; as I said, there are manuals out there. The Prontor II is not a particularly complex unit, but it is still a full-featured shutter. Note that Gauthier shutters prefer to run dry.

 

[NWT Ron]

I'm having some trouble locating a manual that might help with the camera disassembly, I have found useful information online, but I haven't determined how to remove the knobs, and making matters worse the supply spool knob is stuck in. For now I've put a little penetrating oil on it and will leave it overnight, I do not want to leave any tool marks if they can be avoided.

The interior doesn't look that bad, some powdery corrosion where the spool knobs come through, and a bit on the case edges. Clarence who also lives in the NWT in Ft. Smith told me that the lenses may be cemented together, I want to be very careful with them.

The focus is stiff, but works, and seems to loosen up as I work it back and forth.

And I should probably look online for a few tools, to remove the lens assembly, and possibly for things I haven't uncovered yet. Its OK with me if this takes a few weeks to do it right, or the closest I can come to it

The help is appreciated!

 

[02Pilot]

I never found a service manual, but disassembly is straightforward, at least by camera standards. Do not, however, proceed if you don't yet have the proper tools. That will make your life far more difficult than it needs to be, and may well damage some components.

What lens does your camera have? If it's triplet, nothing is cemented; if it's the higher spec Tessar-type, the third and fourth elements will be cemented to each other, but the probability of a problem in that cementing is low.

 

[NWT Ron]

Close call, the knob for the supply spool is now free. Examining things more closely I've determined that the assemble is swaged on to the case and was not meant to come apart unless replacements were available to be swaged on. Apart from the leatherette cap on the knob its in pretty good condition, I'll leave it alone.

The lens is a Meopta Mirar II F3.5 80

The shutter manual is intimidating, I'll leave off any unnecessary exploring there as everything looks OK, and I can test shutter timing.

Off to work. The camera project looks more encouraging day by day.

Ron

 

[02Pilot]

Mirar is the triplet. Easy to clean.

Shutter repair is not for the untrained and faint of heart. I'm self-taught, but I also understood when I started that I was likely to break things in the process. Understand, however, that a leaf shutter can look absolutely perfect on visual inspection and still have major mechanical issues.

 

[NWT Ron]

Comments on the shutter noted.
Removed most of the leatherette with a couple of challenging spots where it might not come off. Its over 99% intact but marked up on the bottom side from the corrosion. Found a website in French with detailed instructions and exceptional photographs on the disassembly of a Flexarette IV, which is very different from my III. Still some of the information may be helpful.