Oh Man! Plaubel Makina III!

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Nokton48

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Mr. Binder has finished my Focal Plane Shutter, he says he will ship it Monday .

I'll ask him about the catch springs; he has a lot of original Makina parts!

Regarding roll film loading, I advance the beginning of the roll, until I can see the tape holding down the film. When I see that, I turn the counter to "S", close up the back, and wind to "1". As far as I know this is the correct way to do this, and it does work well for me.
 

PercyMcfly

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Small confirmation on frame spacing:
I rolled up the film a little further this time before closing the lid and setting the counter to 0. The frames were way further apart, too far actually, with the same film, take up spool and back.

On another back, i advanced until the vertical arrow was visible on top of the take up spool. set the counter to 0 and used the back normally. The first two frames were close(1-2mm) but the rest were spaced apart evenly and all 8 frames fit (just barely).

I assume it‘s necessary to test for each back how far you have to advance the film before setting the counter to 0. The backs i tested seem to all behave slightly differently.

I will use the back that worked today, but i will advance a little more between frame 1 and 2, and advance a little less before setting to 0. This should fix all frame spacing issues with that particular back.

So no need for special spools, or modifications.
 

PercyMcfly

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Amazing! That was fast!
If Mr. Binder doesn‘t have the spring, it would be worth contacting Wiese Fototechnik in Germany. They bought up all leftover parts and equipment from Plaubel when they closed their business, so if anyone has those parts, they might.
 
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Nokton48

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Well the Focal Plane IIIR Shutter is back, and WOW it does have new curtains, and is quite "snappy". I'm impressed. Thank You Mr. Binder

Next is to understand exactly how it works. I printed the IIIR Instructions you posted (THANK YOU!). You set the tongs for 100mm, focus and then transfer that setting to the Focal Plane Distance Scale, located just underneath the bottom edge of the IIIR front glass viewfinder. Then reset the tongs to the 73mm position. I'm going to try this with ground glass attached, at infinity and various closer distances. I'll use a ground glass Magnifier (I have an olde ACCURA that I really like very much). It's a bit difficult to precisely judge sharpness on the ground glass without help from a magnifier.

Not sure where the spring exactly comes in, but I'll figure it out. It might work as described above, we will see.

Plaubel Makina Focal Plane Shuttter Back Side by Nokton48, on Flickr

Back Side of overhauled Plaubel Makina IIIR Focal Plane Shutter. This is the view when using it, the release is on the top right. Serial Number is 566.

Plaubel Makina Focal Plane Shuttter Front Side by Nokton48, on Flickr

Front Side of overhauled Plaubel Makina IIIR Focal Plane Shutter, turned upside down to show the speed dial . Shutter goes up to 1/1000 second, great for catching action, and use in bright light.
 
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PercyMcfly

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The spring mentioned in the manual is similar to the one that is already attached, with the hole for the 73mm setting being replaced by another hole got the focal plane shutter setting.
My guess is that you need to disassemble the camera and replace the existing springs with the one that have the hole in the correct position for the focal plane shutter.

This would explain why in the manual they state that it‘s not possible to use the 73mm together with the Focal Plane Shutter. (i wonder if it would still be possible, using the

It should be possible to make the springs by measuring/calculating the correct position for the hole.
I‘m a little disappointed that the Position for the 73mm is not the same as the position for the focal plane shutter.

Mechanically, it is quite easy to replace the springs. As the disassembly and assembly is fairly straight forward. I assume however that the focus at infinity should be re-calibrated after installing the new spring.

If necessary i can disassemble my IIIR again and make a step by step guide for replacing the spring.
If possible, i would also measure the springs dimensions and hopefully also calculate the position of the hole for the focal plane shutter. Theoretically, the spring should be fairly straight forward to make. I just don‘t have the tools to make accurate holes and bends, but this should be no problem for anyone with basic machining skills.

I attached a photo of the spring, which i tool when i serviced my makina.
It‘s very simple in construction and only requires a few holes for the screws, two bends and 2 holes for the correct positioning of the front plate.

 
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Nokton48

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Thanks for that ^^^ Percy McFly.

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

I have been doing some preliminary testing with my Makina IIIR/Focal Plane Shutter, viewing the groundglass very sharply with my excellent Ednalite Magnifier. At infinity focus, with the tongs in the WA position, the 100mm F4.2 Orthometar is defiantly very sharp at infinity. So the question now becomes, using the rangfinder focused at various distances, and the distance then reset to the focal plane scale just under the front viewing lens, how sharp is image on the groundglass?? After some handheld testing at 1.5 meters, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 10 meters, EVERYTHING APPEARS SHARP THROUGH THE MAGNIFIER ON THE GROUND GLASS. I will retest again, using the Ednalite, but it appears I am golden. Next testing with be with Makina 8 shot backs, using 120 Kentmere 400, so I can achieve action stopping shutter speeds up to 1/1000, which is the whole point of using the focal plane shutter. One point I have noticed is that it is difficult to set the exact distance which I transpose onto the focal plane scale. It is very small scale physically and it is touchy to accurately set the focus distance. To not be in a hurry helps a lot! I think this is going to work for me, my camera seems to be set up properly to use this stuff. YAY. Time will tell. Now to find some test subjects that need to be frozen in time.
 
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Nokton48

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21cm F6.3 Tele Makinar hope this fits my Makina II by Nokton48, on Flickr


I made an offer for this 21cm F6.3 Plaubel Tete-Makinar. The offer was accepted and the lens is on it's way to me from Poland. I am hoping it will mount properly on my Makina II camera, it looks like maybe it might?? The rear mount is similar to the one in my original Makina II catalog, although it does not have the sloping black rear cell, but still it looks like it MIGHT fit. I am crossing my fingers and toes. Finally it comes with an Olde Plaubel Filter which sweetens the deal for me.
 
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Nokton48

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Plaubel Makina III Ilford FP4+ by Nokton48, on Flickr

Here is a Plaubel Makina "action shot". I was rocking back and forth while looking through the rangefinder, trying to get the left eye closest to me in sharp focus. And of course the horses were excited and constantly moving about, not so easy to do with this type of camera! But here it is.......... I think I was using the 100mm F4.2 lens, I was trying it out for the first time.
 

PercyMcfly

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Looking forward to hearing/reading about the lens, first time seeing it, but i also now saw a few listings on ebay with similar lenses.

Great action shot! Did you take some photos with the focal plane shutter to test the accuracy of the focusing scale? I think the f4.2 lens is definitely the best for testing as it‘s very sharp!
As the manual states explicitly that the Weitwinkel lens can‘t be used with the focal plane shutter, i was expecting the stop on the spring for wide angle to be different from the stop for the focal plane shutter.

Last week, and this week, i found 2 items that i have been looking for for years!!
Last week it was the Anticomar 4.2 lens, in a bad condition but i am confident that i can restore it! And TODAY, i just found the Focal plane shutter and bought it for 280€.

What i also did find, but didn‘t buy, is something that i wanted to share here. It is a Plaubel Makina III R leather case, the best looking one i have seen so far!
The seller wants 350€ for it, which is a little too much for me, but i will be looking for this one for my Makina from now on.

I will share photos of the focal plane shutter when it arrives next week!

Also some other news: turns out my repair of the Makina IIIR was not successful. I bought a professional shutter tester and had to find out that the fast speeds are about half as fast as they need to(slow speeds are very accurate).
The Shutter is now back on the operating table, i am certain that i can fix it, just need to learn and understand a little more about the mechanism!
 

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MattKing

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PercyMcfly said:
Also some other news: turns out my repair of the Makina IIIR was not successful. I bought a professional shutter tester and had to find out that the fast speeds are about half as fast as they need to(slow speeds are very accurate).
Click to expand...

That isn't particularly unusual, if you are saying they are a stop slow.
 

PercyMcfly

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MattKing said:
That isn't particularly unusual, if you are saying they are a stop slow.
Click to expand...

Well yes, roughly.
1/400 is about 1/200,
1/200 about 1/125,
and 1/100 is more like 1/80.
But this actually makes sense, as it roughly adds 2.5 thousands of a second to each speed. My guess is that i either didn‘t clean properly, or didn‘t lubricate properly.

I will fully disassemble, clean and carefully lubricate the shutter again. I have the manual so i‘ll look more closely on the parts that could affect the fast speeds.
If nothing else helps, and i‘m sure that i don‘t have some old grease slowing down anything(the ultra sonic should do the trick) i will adjust the speed of the shutter on the retard gear train.

I’m not in a hurry, so i‘ll carefully study the shutter and eventually get there without risking any damage to the shutter

It usually takes me a long time when i work on a camera or lens, as i fully disassemble and am as careful as i can be. I just do it as a hobby, so there is no time trouble, but of course i would like to eventually finish the repair so i can shoot with this beautiful camera!
 
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Nokton48

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Another reason why they came out with the focal plane shutter for this camera. Geoff Berliner and I once had a very excited phone conversation about how important the focal plane shutter is, in the Makina IIIR system. BTW he told me he has TWO of them, but both have pinholes. Perhaps he should send his shutters to Mr. Binder! And I would encourage you to do the same, even though you are in Europe. Nobody else has his experience, and you know, he's not getting any younger.......

The 4.2 Orthometar is a pin sharp optic, I pretty much keep it on my IIIR all the time. Great snag for you, I see a hundred of the F2.9 lenses, for every one of the 4.2 "sharpie" lens. The F2.9 produces more "atmospheric" views, corners soft as a babie's behind, for some, that is it's "charm". Roger Hicks HATED the F2.9 with a passion, couldn't hardly get a sharp 5x7 print out of it. BLAH. I myself enjoy using it from time to time, especially on my Makina II.

REPAIR SERVICE FOR PLAUBEL MAKINA 67/670/W67 | eBay

REPLACE LIGHT SEAL.
www.ebay.com

1952 Plaubel Makina Focal Plane Shutter 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

1952 Plaubel Makina Focal Plane Shutter by Nokton48, on Flickr
 
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Nokton48

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Zoo 3 Makina III FP4+ by Nokton48, on Flickr

Another Makina action shot. This "thingee" tracked out from it's hiding place, snapped it's beak, and then retracted back into hiding, all in about five seconds. I watched it for many cycles, carefully selecting my camera position. It took two or three tries to catch "the decisive moment". But I finally got it
 
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Nokton48

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Zoo 1 Makina III FP4+ by Nokton48, on Flickr

Utter chaos made into a "frozen moment". 100mm F4.2 Orthometar FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ developer. Lighting was horrid, but here it is.......
 

PercyMcfly

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When i showed a friend a photo of me together with my Makina IIIR, we were joking about how it looks like i‘m a time traveler from the late 60s.
It‘s very pleasing to see that the makina in fact is a time machine!

I‘m looking forward to traveling with my Makina once i‘m done. Maybe not through time, but definitely through space(mostly earth)!
 
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Nokton48

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SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

This just arrived from Prague. 21cm F6.3 Plaubel Tele-Makinar, appears to screw OK onto my Makina II. But focus is off at infinity, can be made sharp on the glass by refocusing the tongs to about five meters to my eye, so something is way wonky. Perhaps this early screw mount one is actually to fit something else? BTW my 100mm F2.9 front and back cells are SPOT ON at infinity, so it's not a rangefinder problem. If I use the lens on a tripod and focus on the glass, it is usuable. It came with an adapter, and a "Mittel" Plaubel Filter which is mid yellow colored. The black Knurled Viewfinder I found in my Plaubel box, might be a 21cm one, I'm not sure. But it looks OK on the camera. Will have to test this one with some film, it's worth what I paid for it.
 

PercyMcfly

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I was about to suggest that someone took it apart and did not properly reassemble it, but upon reviewing a manual this seems to be how the lens was designed.
To use it, you need to do the following preparation:
1. Set the focusing on the lens(not the body) to infinity and turn the knob on the body until the image on the ground glass is sharp on infinity.
2. Mark this position on the makinas bodies distance scale. This will be the position at which the Tele-Makinar is sharp.
3. Now you can use the scale on the lens to set the focus(while having the hand on the bodys distance scale set to the point where the lens is sharp at infinity).

To use it with the rangefinder, you can first focus with the rangefinder, then transfer the distance to the lens and set the body back to the marking for sharpness at infinits.

Also, make sure to remove the back lens of the Anticomar before shooting with the tele-makinar.

The manual i found is for the makina 1 without the range finder, and i‘m not sure if the tele-makinar you have is the same mentioned in the manual, so please try this method and let me know if it works!
If it doesn‘t, the lens may need some adjusting.
 
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Nokton48

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OK I understand it and I'll give it a good go! I'll bet it works Will let you know. What an odd procedure that makes sense! And I suspect I do have a II knurled black mask for the 21cm on the camera. Will tripod it and see.

Later,
YES it's a good lens! YAY! 3.25 meters on the rangefinder, set to the lens, gives me a sharp image on the glass. LOTS of optical beauty, like it's got some pleasant aberrations. It's a keeper.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!
 
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PercyMcfly

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Thats great! Looking forward to seeing some photos taken with the Tele-Makinar.

I took a break from repairing my Makina IIIR and started work on the f2.9 anticomar of my black IIS to familiarize myself again with Plaubels lens design before i clean the f4.2.

I am still trying to understand how calibration is done on these lenses, but they are quite simple so i am positive that i‘ll figure it our soon.

One thing that is fairly unique(as far as i know) is that adjusting the aperture will actually move the lens elements back and forth, so the smaller the aperture gets, the further away the actual lenses are from the film plane.

I wonder if this will „automatically“ result in sharper images overall, as the aperture adjusts the depth of field, the focus will shift such that closer objects are even sharper, while further away subjects will stay sharp.. Definitely worth testing and analyzing.

PS: for my Makina, i recently purchased a Linhof lens for cheap that should have the same shutter, just with more components. I will service that one and compare some aspects of the shutter that felt off. I have the manual, but i‘m unsure if a very small resistance i feel on the shutter blades is normal, or if it‘s the cause for the shutter speeds being off by about 1/400 of a second.
(This will help me to decide if i should adjust the escapement or leave the camera be, as the springs may just be old and tired, or replace the springs with the linhof ones)
 
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Nokton48

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Makjina3 #11 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Ye Olde Mill. One of the original stones. Plaubel Makina III 100mm F2.9 Anticomar wide-open, Foma 200 Classic, Microdol-X (replenished).

Not the sharpest lens in the fold, but there is something I like about it's corner soft rendering. It does kind of grow on you. Stopped down it is better rendering in the corners.
 
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Nokton48

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Plaubel Makina IIIR F2.9 Orthometar Mic-X Foma 100 by Nokton48, on Flickr

This one has the mooshey corners big time, shot with a mid range aperture. The corner rendering is kind of unique, it's a look that's growing on me. Japanese Garden Innis Woods. Shot handheld, lots of people around had to wait to get what I wanted. An enjoyable time.
 
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