Kodak Bantam Special Repair

IMO, most of my 'garbage' shots (Bantam and otherwise) are camera shake, not flatness. There is a pressure plate, after all. I suspect of myself that at 1/25, my probability to hold steady is just about a coin flip, and when you add in large apertures (happens frequently when using slow shutters) and close distances (makes exact focus more critical), it's more likely than not to fail. Worse than the Bantam is trying to handhold 1/25 and f/8 on a Kodak 3A-- the difference between 12 and 15 feet has never been so clear to me after the fact!

what clued me in to what the problem was when one frame was half in focus / half not in focus. The pressure plate is a fairly mild one. I played with jamming some paper behind it to firm it up, but eventually lost interest in the process.

If you get interest back, you may want to check the lens mount as well. I have a Konica Auto S3 that somebody must have dropped or run into a wall-- the lens is JUST perceptibly ginked to one side, and half the frame is out of focus. But I noticed the half frame out of focus before I noticed the gink.

An update on my own issues with the "bent" KBS I mentioned above: I have reset the 90 degree door angle by clamping the camera to a plumb vertical board and using another clamp to slowly (over the course of several days) return the door to its correct position. Obviously this puts strain on the hinges and riveted connection points to the struts and lens board, but I was determined to shoot with it and try to reverse the damage done previously. l was fortunate in having an optical datum - the rangefinder had been doused with copious amounts of lacquer (externally and internally!) when set during an earlier service so I could believe there had been no movement and used it for the "infinity" position. This agreed with a collimated lens test and film test (bellows wrapped in black paper - negatives viewed by 10x loupe) - so I'm fairly happy. A better method would be to dismantle the camera and use a jig whilst heating hinge points - but I bet this would damage the finish. Only time will tell whether the open position will "drift" again. Bellows replacement hopefully will be soon. By the way, the famous enamel coating is not fired enamel, it is paint, and it softens in acetone (used to remove excess lacquer) - so I advise care with this solvent around this camera!!

Anyone arriving here after searching Photrio for Kodak Bantam Special - Chris Sherlock has recently posted a short series of videos on Youtube outlining shutter and rangefinder servicing. They give a good insight into the focussing cam and helical arrangement.

I know this was a couple years ago, but I currently have 2 Bantam Specials. One is a very early model in bad condition, and the other a later version in nice shape—except the rangefinder external lens with the knurled ring is cracked (which doesn't seem to affect the view through it, oddly). How hard would it be to replace the little cracked rangefinder lens with the earlier one that looks fine?

Unless something changed with the rangefinder design it’s worth a try. I have never done this myself. You will probably have to re-calibrate the rangefinder. Hunter covers that in post #18 of this thread.

Thanks, the rangefinders look exactly the same, except the inside of the one I want to take the lens from is quite grungy. I'll give it a try soon and report back with pics.

Elsewhere I'm posting a question about Bantam Special lens coating.

Pretty sure they are uncoated.

Yes, you can swap the rangefinder elements, but you will need to recollimate the rangefinder after. It's easier to just swap the entire prism assembly and its retaining ring than try to remove the glass itself, as it has a very small internally threaded retaining ring that requires a custom spanner. The rangefinders were not changed, as the focal length of the lens did not change when Kodak switched from the Compur Rapid to the Supermatic.

The first Ektar lenses found on the cameras with the Compur Rapid shutters were uncoated, by the time Kodak switched to the Supermatic, lenses were being internally hard coated with Calcium Fluoride. Postwar Bantam Specials will have inside and outside coated lenses with Magnesium Fluoride, and these are distinguished by the blue violet coloration of the lens. I don't believe Kodak ever put their Luminized trademark Ⓛ on the Bantam Specials, but I could be wrong as I have not extensively observed known examples. Some prewar Ektars found on the Compur Rapid shutters may also be internally hard coated, but I have no source to confirm this.

Sunslip said:

Pretty sure they are uncoated.

Click to expand...

If you're referring to Bantam Special Ektars, all I can say is that my mother's is obviously coated and that it's pre-war...