New to Me Minolta Autocord

[Dan Daniel]

I'm thinking of grafting a Hasselblad Stovepipe Finder to an Autocord viewfinder frame. Similar to what Irving Penn did with his Rolleiflexes......
What do you Guys think? Anybody here have a correct Autocord viewfinder frame they can sell?

If you use an Autocord finder frame and want the Hassy finder to fit in, you'll need to grind away much of the bottom flange on the Hassy finder. Won't fit inside the frame without it. Drop me a note if you want a frame to use.

This is my daily beater these days, Autocord with Hassy NC-2 prism scabbed on. On this prism the flange is actually a steel frame held on by screws. So I simply unscrewed it and the prism slides right into he focus screen frame after removing the moving parts. No need to grind the flange. The 45 degree prism is very nice- corrected view, sits against face with a nice angle, rests in hand smoothly with focus knob and shutter release falling nicely in place. Look for Kiev prism if the NC-2 is too expensive (I bought this years ago during the 'great hassy dump' early 2000s so paid maybe $15. A guy who shot Hassy pro from the 60's practically cried when I told him what I paid for it; he paid $600 or so).

The prism needs to be raised approx. 5mm to actually focus on the screen. With the chimney, I think the focusing range of the eyepeice takes care of this, but still probably best to raise it. I used some basswood strips, 1/4" by 1/4" (or was it 3/16 x 3/16?) to raise it up.

 

[eli griggs]

An interesting outfit, but, I would wait until I had a second working body Autocord before attempting this mod.
Plus, the finished camera will be out of balance, as they were no made to be used like this, or, were they, as a copy of what Penn did/was doing?

 

[Dan Daniel]

An interesting outfit, but, I would wait until I had a second working body Autocord before attempting this mod.
Plus, the finished camera will be out of balance, as they were no made to be used like this, or, were they, as a copy of what Penn did/was doing?

This is my second body, at least that I have for me to use. Maybe my 40th-50th Autocord or more, I've lost count.

Yep, very top heavy. Similar to a Rolleiflex with their 90 degree prism. That'd be a hefty hunk of glass to try to counterbalance on the bottom. But it actually handles smoothly, cradled in my left hand from below and right hand on side for firing shutter. I've carried this around all day with a wrist strap. Unlike Penn, who had an assistant or two to deal with the balance issue (hardest part of the prism is loading a roll of film).

 

[eli griggs]

It might just be that it'll be easier, the way these modified top heavy Autocords loadt, that turning the camera upside down, from the start, is the most ergonomic way to approach loading.

I love my Minolta tlr, and, if I get a chimney for my Hasselblad kit, I might see if I can find a second camera to play with but I would rather find another 500C/M and enjoy the tlr as it was conceived.

IMO.

 

[Nokton48]

Well I'm going to give it a good try and see if I like it. I've ordered a couple of finder assemblies, my Griptac'ed finder comes off with four screws and can be put back into use fairly quickly if I desire.

Chimney finders and NC2 prisms are very reasonable in price, and I have quite a few of them already.

 

[Nokton48]

Hassy Autocord Stovepipe Viewfinder 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Hassy Autocord Stovepipe Viewfinder 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

The Hassy Autocord Stovepipe Viewfinder is finished and I like it! It attaches with four screws, easy to interchange the two finders.
It took about half an hour to take the original WL finder apart and I did use my dremel in a couple of spots so that the stovepipe would sit flat on the finder frame. I used 3M 850 teflon tape to attach the finder to the frame. It dosen't change the Hassy finder at all, if I take it apart it can go right back onto my blads.

The tricky part is reattaching the ground glass and fresnel to the bottom of the modded finder frame. Kind of fiddly to do.

A success!

 

[Nokton48]

Autocord Hassy Stovepipe Vie Frame Hack by Nokton48, on Flickr

I like this hack. I can remove my eyeglasses and dial in the ocular to make the screen grain razor sharp. Magnification is increased a bit. Useful. No spurious light spill onto the screen with the stovepipe. I find I can study the composition more intensely with the stovepipe.

I can change it back to the original waist level finder in under five minutes Balance while carrying the Autocord with stovepipe is actually quite good. Not at all top heavy like with prisms.

And I think Irving Penn would have approved

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord Low Tripod by Nokton48, on Flickr

I think this will get some use.

 

[eli griggs]

Perfect.

 

[Nokton48]

Perfect.

Thanks Eli.

This will be fun and useful to work on a variety of cameras. But especially the Autocord.

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord Baseplate 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Baseplate 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Baseplate 3 by Nokton48, on Flickr

I was unhappy with the way my Autocord could swing when attached tightly to a tripod. Very annoying.

Dan Daniels machined from very heavy plastic this custom baseplate for the Autocords. This one has an Arca mounting plate machined, but he added two 3/8" holes which he threaded. I put my Manfrotto Hex Plates on this and it is now solid as a rock. Recommended!

 

[GRHazelton]

Dan Daniels is indeed the Autocord Man!!

 

[macfred]

Dan Daniels is indeed the Autocord Man!!

He is - for sure !

 

[Nokton48]

Autocord R1 No 8 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Autocord HP5+ ADOX Borax MQ 8x10 Arista Matte RC #2 Multigrade

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord Test Roll 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Autocord HP5+ ADOX Borax MQ 8x10 Arista Matte RC #2 Multigrade

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Key Day 1/250 f6.3 FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ Arista #2 Multigrade dev

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Key Day 1/250 f6.3 FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ Arista #2 Multigrade dev. Key Day Full sun No Fill

The Tessar type Rokkor lens has a pleasing plastic rendition.

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord Bacharach Bracket 283 Photoflex Inflatable 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Bacharach Bracket 283 Photoflex Inflatable 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord Bacharach Bracket 283 Photoflex Inflatable 3 by Nokton48, on Flickr

A lightweight extremely well balanced and ergonomic flash on camera Minolta Autocord setup. Similar to what I used with Mamiya C's and Hasselblad for bulletproof photography. I love with TLRs that you can see the flash going off while you are viewing. For a second you can see what you got! No need for chimping

The Bacharach (precursor to the Stroboframe) works really really well with the Autocord and the Hasselblad Stovepipe Viewfinder. When you absolutely have to get the shot without fuss this is the rig to take. Weighs practically nothing

 

[Nokton48]

Autocord R1 No 8 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Autocord HP5+ ADOX Borax MQ 8x10 Arista Matte RC #2 Multigrade[/QUOTE]

Reposting due to updated link

 

[Nokton48]

Minolta Autocord FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Minolta Autocord FP4+ Key Day ADOX Borax MQ 8x10 Arista #2 RC Matte Multigrade Dev Omega DII 105mm Rodagon Omegalite

 

[eli griggs]

Beautiful shot.

Minolta Autocord cameras just rock, and are still too underrated by shooters of lesser TLR users.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[guangong]

I owned a Minolta Autocord c. 1960-61. Excellent camera with one serious flaw...the focusing is very fragile. Minolta always had an excellent reputation. In 1960s the price was right, compared to Rolleis but not quite as robust. However, if one fell into my hands at the right price, I would grab it.

 

[Nokton48]

Beautiful shot.

Minolta Autocord cameras just rock, and are still too underrated by shooters of lesser TLR users.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Eli!