Beautiful-looking camera, especially in black. Even the font is tasteful. You make me wish I wanted one.
Rolleiflex SL35 -- Rollei TLR Quality in a 35mm Camera
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The mirror release lever is visible from the bottom, so it did not take long to release the mirror. However, the shutter is still cocked and won't release.
The first curtain release is under the front cover, so that has to come off too.
The first curtain release is under the front cover, so that has to come off too.
The mirror is down, but I need to remove the front covering to take the front plate off.
The self timer button unscrews.
Five screws hold the front on and two screws of same size hold the self timer mechanism. Those screws can stay in place.
The self timer button unscrews.
Five screws hold the front on and two screws of same size hold the self timer mechanism. Those screws can stay in place.
The way it works is pressing the shutter release releases the cocked mirror to go up. When the mirror reaches the top, a lever releases the first curtain latch (down at the bottom of the opening shown here).
To get the shutter to fire I released the latch.
What happened is the first curtain fired but the second curtain went very slowly across and did not have enough tension to release the mirror back down.
Turns out someone had taken almost all the tension out of the second curtain. I cranked tension back into the curtain (counter clockwise with the tensioners) knowing later I'll fine tune it with a shutter tester.
To get the shutter to fire I released the latch.
What happened is the first curtain fired but the second curtain went very slowly across and did not have enough tension to release the mirror back down.
Turns out someone had taken almost all the tension out of the second curtain. I cranked tension back into the curtain (counter clockwise with the tensioners) knowing later I'll fine tune it with a shutter tester.
List of the items fixed:
Replaced ball bearing in winding lever
Cleaned old glue from the front
Tightened stop-down meter mechanism
Re-attached shutter knob correctly
Cleaned glue off the back
Tensioned the second curtain
Replaced the damaged top
Un-locked the mirror and got mirror and shutter back in synch
Rough test of shutter with a strobe and stopwatch
Rough test of the meter at sunny 16
Grease and lube in key locations per manual
Cleaned mirror. Considered removing pentaprism to dust off focus screen but the screen is not that bad and removing the pentaprism is kind of a big deal.
Replaced ball bearing in winding lever
Cleaned old glue from the front
Tightened stop-down meter mechanism
Re-attached shutter knob correctly
Cleaned glue off the back
Tensioned the second curtain
Replaced the damaged top
Un-locked the mirror and got mirror and shutter back in synch
Rough test of shutter with a strobe and stopwatch
Rough test of the meter at sunny 16
Grease and lube in key locations per manual
Cleaned mirror. Considered removing pentaprism to dust off focus screen but the screen is not that bad and removing the pentaprism is kind of a big deal.
I am in awe of your skills!
What next?
In the past most of the repairs I attempted were on the Yashica FX-3 cameras. Those cameras differ from the SL35 in two important areas.
First, the FX-3 cameras have vertical Copal shutters. I found with those cameras the shutters either worked perfectly or needed a full replacement (usually just buying a whole new camera). There is not much to adjust, repair or re-build with respect to those shutters.
Second, the metering system of the FX-3 is based on a very nice voltage controlled circuit that keeps the whole range linear. Not much to adjust.
The SL35 has a classic two curtain shutter, although it is primitive, it is fully rebuildable, just like those in classic Nikons, Leica and Pentax cameras and Russian cameras. Be cause many things can affect the speed of the curtains, they really do need to be checked on a regular basis. Maybe similar to an automobile with points that needs regular 'tune up' to set timing.
The SL35 metering system, though very accurate and repeatable, is not voltage regulated and needs regular tune-up via the 3 trimmer pots to set the overall, high and low response.
So, I don't already have an appropriate shutter tester or reliable meter testing station and these are the next project.
In the past most of the repairs I attempted were on the Yashica FX-3 cameras. Those cameras differ from the SL35 in two important areas.
First, the FX-3 cameras have vertical Copal shutters. I found with those cameras the shutters either worked perfectly or needed a full replacement (usually just buying a whole new camera). There is not much to adjust, repair or re-build with respect to those shutters.
Second, the metering system of the FX-3 is based on a very nice voltage controlled circuit that keeps the whole range linear. Not much to adjust.
The SL35 has a classic two curtain shutter, although it is primitive, it is fully rebuildable, just like those in classic Nikons, Leica and Pentax cameras and Russian cameras. Be cause many things can affect the speed of the curtains, they really do need to be checked on a regular basis. Maybe similar to an automobile with points that needs regular 'tune up' to set timing.
The SL35 metering system, though very accurate and repeatable, is not voltage regulated and needs regular tune-up via the 3 trimmer pots to set the overall, high and low response.
So, I don't already have an appropriate shutter tester or reliable meter testing station and these are the next project.
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Since both a shutter tester and meter tester need a uniform illumination source, I'm planning on using a spare enlarger diffusion box as the light source for both tests.
No plans to make anything permanent. This will all be setup from existing items I have around the shop.
Light source is a halogen utility lamp connected to a Variac. I already have photodiodes and various passive components to connect this to an existing A/D converter hooked to the computer on my workbench. Power for the shutter tester will be a DC bench type variable power supply.
No plans to make anything permanent. This will all be setup from existing items I have around the shop.
Light source is a halogen utility lamp connected to a Variac. I already have photodiodes and various passive components to connect this to an existing A/D converter hooked to the computer on my workbench. Power for the shutter tester will be a DC bench type variable power supply.
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I started testing my shutter tester. I had a couple different sensors to try. First was an old Radio Shack photodiode. It worked OK on slow speeds but topped out at 1/300 of a second, it was not able to register anything faster.
Next I tried a phototransistor I got from Mouser.com. Trouble is they have like 10,000 phototransistor types. Too many choices. This one has a good response to shutters up to 1/2000 but only a flat glass panel, whereas I would have liked a lens on the front. Either way, I will likely be making a slit mask for it.
I could not verify the response of the phototransistor with the fast shutters (1/8000) with my brand new Nikons because when the back is open they won't fire fast. Probably a good safety mechanism to protect the shutter from damage.
Next I tried a phototransistor I got from Mouser.com. Trouble is they have like 10,000 phototransistor types. Too many choices. This one has a good response to shutters up to 1/2000 but only a flat glass panel, whereas I would have liked a lens on the front. Either way, I will likely be making a slit mask for it.
I could not verify the response of the phototransistor with the fast shutters (1/8000) with my brand new Nikons because when the back is open they won't fire fast. Probably a good safety mechanism to protect the shutter from damage.
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First thing to test is the shutter speed where the first curtain directly triggers the second curtain. Usually the X-synch speed. In this case 1/60.
Now, there are two different millisecond times for this speed that are very close to each other. One is the actual exposure time of 1/60th which equals 0.0166 sec.
The other parameter is the speed of the curtains across the frame. They don't actually specify the speed, just the time to cross the film frame.
For the Rollei it is about 0.012 sec. This measurement requires two photosensors. This is slightly shorter than 1/60th because, most shutter testers don't measure right to the edge of the 36mm frame, so the travel time is shorter. Also, there is a slight delay while the first curtain unlatches the second curtain, this adds to the time of the overall exposure, making it slightly longer than the travel time measured with the two sensors.
Now, there are two different millisecond times for this speed that are very close to each other. One is the actual exposure time of 1/60th which equals 0.0166 sec.
The other parameter is the speed of the curtains across the frame. They don't actually specify the speed, just the time to cross the film frame.
For the Rollei it is about 0.012 sec. This measurement requires two photosensors. This is slightly shorter than 1/60th because, most shutter testers don't measure right to the edge of the 36mm frame, so the travel time is shorter. Also, there is a slight delay while the first curtain unlatches the second curtain, this adds to the time of the overall exposure, making it slightly longer than the travel time measured with the two sensors.
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For now I'm just going to use a single sensor. So I'll infer the shutter travel time is close enough if the exposure time is 1/60 (0.0166 sec).
We don't know the exact travel time of the shutter, but any change in the first curtain speed will show up when the sensor is placed right where the first curtain opens.
Same with the second curtain. Don't know the exact travel time across, but any change in second curtain speed will alter the readings when the sensor is placed right on the other side of the frame where the second curtain closes.
So, measuring the time at each side of the frame opening can tell if both curtains are the same speed, without knowing either's exact speed.
We don't know the exact travel time of the shutter, but any change in the first curtain speed will show up when the sensor is placed right where the first curtain opens.
Same with the second curtain. Don't know the exact travel time across, but any change in second curtain speed will alter the readings when the sensor is placed right on the other side of the frame where the second curtain closes.
So, measuring the time at each side of the frame opening can tell if both curtains are the same speed, without knowing either's exact speed.
Readings with camera #3 show an overall speed of about 1/80th of a second in the middle and close to 1/80 on the opening side and 1/70th on the closing side.
So, I have wound the springs too tight (post #55 above). Both need to be loosened, with the opening curtain spring needing to be loosened just a little more.
So, I have wound the springs too tight (post #55 above). Both need to be loosened, with the opening curtain spring needing to be loosened just a little more.
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Initial response of all the shutter speeds of all 3 cameras was recorded.
The 1/60 speed was set by roller tension in all 3 cameras. Interesting that the rollers were too tight in two of the cameras. Probably from people fiddling with them.
The rollers were set by removing the base plate on all 3 cameras.
Next, to set the fast speeds, the top has to come off again on all 3. That will also expose the trimmers for the meter, so, I'll put together the makeshift meter calibration setup at that time.
The 1/60 speed was set by roller tension in all 3 cameras. Interesting that the rollers were too tight in two of the cameras. Probably from people fiddling with them.
The rollers were set by removing the base plate on all 3 cameras.
Next, to set the fast speeds, the top has to come off again on all 3. That will also expose the trimmers for the meter, so, I'll put together the makeshift meter calibration setup at that time.
Going reverse order with camera #3 first.
The tiny screw to adjust the shutter gap had been damaged, the slot for the screwdriver had been opened up by someone that did not loosen the lacquer on the screw. I was able to get it out and clean up the threads.
The adjustment is very sensitive. Only a few degrees of turn makes a big difference. Wound up with 1000 = 1/900th of a second. It was giving 1/300 when I first tested it.
All the other speeds fell in line.
The slow speeds were good enough. The meter was checked and no adjustments needed.
The tiny screw to adjust the shutter gap had been damaged, the slot for the screwdriver had been opened up by someone that did not loosen the lacquer on the screw. I was able to get it out and clean up the threads.
The adjustment is very sensitive. Only a few degrees of turn makes a big difference. Wound up with 1000 = 1/900th of a second. It was giving 1/300 when I first tested it.
All the other speeds fell in line.
The slow speeds were good enough. The meter was checked and no adjustments needed.
Camera #2 turns out to be a Singapore camera. Someone had misrepresented it with a made in Germany top. Good news is I have an extra "Singapore" top for it, so I put its black "Germany" top on the German camera with engravings.
So, this Singapore camera required quite a lot of work to get the speeds correct. Some pictures to follow.
So, this Singapore camera required quite a lot of work to get the speeds correct. Some pictures to follow.
All three cameras in tip-top shape.
The black camera on the left sports a Zeiss 28mm f2.
The middle camera is fitted with a Zeiss 35mm f1.4.
The right hand camera (Singapore) is shown with the Zeiss F-Distagon 16mm f2.8.
In the background is an SL35E (totally different camera, no relation) with power winder and Planar 50mm 1.8.
The black camera on the left sports a Zeiss 28mm f2.
The middle camera is fitted with a Zeiss 35mm f1.4.
The right hand camera (Singapore) is shown with the Zeiss F-Distagon 16mm f2.8.
In the background is an SL35E (totally different camera, no relation) with power winder and Planar 50mm 1.8.
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2012
- Messages
- 992
- Format
- 35mm
Loving the care you're putting into these, worth it having a running body just to use these wonderful lenses on!
My father was a huge fan of the lenses but didn't have good luck with the bodies. Two sl35e that died (one was mint in box), one sl35 with a stripped film advance (fragile)
My father was a huge fan of the lenses but didn't have good luck with the bodies. Two sl35e that died (one was mint in box), one sl35 with a stripped film advance (fragile)
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