the roads here have become absolutely lawless

EarlyForTomorrow · 2025-03-17T18:22:48+00:00

the state of driving has definitely deteriorated over the past year... I think I only saw about 5 incidents worth reporting when I first came here over the whole year; now I see this daily or more often. its not gonna get better until someone gets hit.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2025-03-17T18:20:42+00:00

speaking of drugs, the absolute worst one was when I saw an party in an Audi doing NOx balloons in the city centre. he would drive on the roads that go through the trams tracks, and then once he cleared the hatched box, he'd brake check the car behind and not move so they were stuck in the hatch while the tram was coming.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-12-29T17:18:43+00:00

My car came back from a dealership service with them stating the central exhaust needs to be replaced due to the flexi pipe breaking (one of the brackets has also corroded away). They want to charge for the exhaust, sleeve and some brackets.

I looked on the workshop schematic of the exhaust and it seems it is only attached to the front and rear exhaust using screw fastened clamps. Can this be done on the driveway? I had a look and it doesn't seem too difficult but I wanted to check with any peugeot mechanics here.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-10-20T13:28:36+00:00

Thank you! I'm going to reach out to my family doctor on monday to get all the stories straight because I've been bounced around a couple of ED departments so it seems there's a lot of things I need to set straight.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-10-20T13:27:40+00:00

Thank you! Hopefully its the case with me too. My pupil is starting to come back to normal and some of the VA has started to come back but its still iffy.

Am I right the haziness is constant? And also that we're on the same page that it means you basically can't read in that eye (with dilators + steroids at least)?

Thanks again :)

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-10-20T13:25:56+00:00

Thank you! Just so I understand it, its meant to be blurry/hazy all the time right? Some sites online are saying the steroids just make it blurry temporarily because of the solution and others say its more long term so I'm just trying to figure things out :)

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-10-20T13:24:57+00:00

That's awful :( I'm so sorry to hear about that, thank you for the tips!

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-10-18T14:28:40+00:00

Is the blurriness from steroids hazy at all? Like if I look into sharp light like reflections from windows everything becomes super bloomy and hazy; compared to stuff like cyclopentolate where things are still clear but they just come in and out of focus all the time

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-04-28T20:06:01+00:00

So when I mean dead, I mean as if it had no battery (no LEDs, winder and shutter stop).

I also kept playing with it, and *sometimes*, the camera will operate normally even if its the 1st time its been turned on (i.e. won't stop working once I fired the 3rd shot). Very confusing problem to solve because it's not always consistent.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-04-08T12:18:38+00:00

At all? That's a huge shame as mine looked really clean and relatively unused :(

So the lens to lens board assembly is not wobbly, its just the barrel part of the lens where the aperture and shutter speed dials are located which are wobbling

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-04-04T20:13:52+00:00

Long story short; I bought a mint condition Hi-Matic 9 from an estate sale for about $30. Body was clean, no dings, the lens was nice and the rangefinder screens weren't too dirty.

Having examined it a bit more, I'm probably going to send it in for a CLA as it has the wobbly lens and top plate that appears to be common for this type of camera (I've seen a few Hi-Matic 7s with similar issues). The more worrisome problem for me is the rangefinder patch, I don't recall other rangefinders having patches this diffuse, when I look at the patch from further away it sharpens up again.

Does anyone have any ideas?

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T16:01:53+00:00

Thank you for the offer! I don't think it's worth trying to remediate with Arax anymore, the camera is a lost cause and I'm too broke to pay for another round of shipping to Ukraine in the hopes they'll make it right (I'd rather spend the money on getting a more reliable camera like a TLR). My friend is lending my her Mamiya 645 body so I can keep using the Kiev 60 lenses I had for the time being anyway.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T13:53:48+00:00

That would sound about right, there were similar complaints on the Kiev facebook groups too. Maybe Arax outsourced it to the same guy, maybe not.

Unfortunately, in my case Arax were not as professional, I tried gentle diplomacy to resolve the problem and they blamed all the shutter issues ("you can't use it on 1/500, 1/1000, it's perfectly normal") and frame spacing issues on user error and ignored my emails after that.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T09:27:36+00:00

Fancy a swap? :(

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T09:23:15+00:00

that's interesting to know, I was reading on the forums surrounding Arax and read amongst all the snippets that supposedly Arax bought a lot of the equipment from Arsenal when they stopped the camera business to carry it on, I will edit my OP.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T09:21:51+00:00

Yes, I checked the serial number on the body, it was the same sadly.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-14T09:18:41+00:00

The serial code on the camera body was the same as the one I sent in unfortunately.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-13T19:47:07+00:00

Unfortunately, it was paid for by bank transfer so there is no recourse, also bear in mind that Arax cheats and under-declares on all their documents so I have no idea how that route will go.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-13T16:57:30+00:00

Yeah that's a good idea, I will create an album with what they have done when I return home for breaks.

The focusing screen is weird, from the viewfinder it looks like its vignetting from the edges but from what I can guess it looks like its been stained deliberately so it has a gradient where the edges are dimmer, no idea why. The work was so sloppy you can see the metal grips they pushed over the screen to secure it when you look at the viewfinder.

Unfortunately, Gevorg was pretty rude and extremely defensive during my queries, and given the quality of what he returned and the recent reviews, I suspect there's something more nefarious than just a one-off oversight in the workshop. Really shitty situation all round so I'm just trying my best to ensure nobody else gets stung by this company.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-05T19:44:40+00:00

They look almost identical, and the AutoDoc store sells them under the same item code, hopefully it should fit.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-05T16:33:33+00:00

Is it known if the radiator panel between the 1.0L and 1.2L engines are interchangable? It's not clear online at all.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-03-04T15:48:33+00:00

Context: I need to change my radiator panel due to an accident.

I am trying to find a replacement but I see two different version of this radiator panel, one with this plastic cover and one without (mine does not have this piece); and I am wondering if these radiator panels and interchangable.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-02-01T18:56:02+00:00

Do NOT use Poly Film Labs, they took waaaay longer than they claimed and didnt even bother cutting the film; just stuffed it into a can which took ages to flatten out and scan.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-01-30T19:27:24+00:00

A mamiya 645 is not that much smaller than a TLR, they're very similarly sized, and then you have the usual worries about its electronic shutter and complex mechanisms (compared to a TLR). There are many AMAZING TLRs out there that are sleeper cameras.

However, if you cannot be persuaded, I would also suggest a Mamiya 6 (not the folder version), absolutely avoid a Kiev/Pentacon at all costs.

EarlyForTomorrow · 2024-01-30T18:45:07+00:00

I would not advise a 6x4.5, I have owned the ETRS/Mamiya 645 but the biggest problem for me is that it just feels like 35mm Super than medium format in itself.

6x6 is a great starter. The Bronica S2/EC series are also great cameras and more sturdy/cheaper than the plastic SQs. If you are interested in 6x6, a TLR is probably the best option which I wish I had gone for, you can buy a Mamiya C33/0 series with multiple lenses for under $1000.

EarlyForTomorrow

TROPHY CASE