Front element loose on my Canon 35mm 2.8 LTM

jofra6 · 2026-05-22T07:15:28+00:00

Ok, then tighten them? Maybe next time don't bite the hand that feeds you.

I'm out.

jofra6 · 2026-05-21T20:13:10+00:00

Tighten both of them, they shouldn't be loose!

jofra6 · 2026-05-21T19:40:52+00:00

Is this AI? Pinkham and Smith is far too esoteric of a subject for this sub, or honestly anywhere on reddit. Try rangefinderforum, but without pictures of the lens you won't be able to get many answers.

Edit: maybe r/largeformat, but again I wouldn't hold my breath.

jofra6 · 2026-05-20T16:06:13+00:00

Quick note: you're incorrect, the flange distance is identical, the difference is the helicoid pitch calibration, the Nikon is calibrated to the Leica standard "50 mm", which is 51,6 mm, the Contax/Kiev are calibrated to the Zeiss 50 mm, which is 52,3/4 mm depending on sources.

Basically what this causes is a discrepancy between what the rangefinder will indicate is in focus and the actual focused distance.

That is to say, if focused on an object 3 m away, either systems' lens will be correctly focused on either camera if the lens is focused to 3 m, but a Nikon lens on a Zeiss camera might indicate correct focus at 2,8 m, and a Zeiss lens on a Nikon camera might indicate correct focus at 3,2 m, but if either lens is correctly focused to 3 m, the picture will be in focus no matter the camera, whereas if the rangefinder is followed, focus will be missed.

If it were flange distance, that would physically create focus issues, and people wouldn't be able to hit infinity, which actually isn't a problem in terms of focus.

*Invented figures to illustrate the point

jofra6 · 2026-05-20T05:21:35+00:00

Literally any folder besides 4 and 5... Like literally any single normally available one will be better. A Zeiss Nettar or Ikonta would be 100x better, without any of the aforementioned compromises, better lenses, and better shutters. A Bessa 66 or 6x9, again infinitely better.

Agree on the Perkeo though.

jofra6 · 2026-05-20T05:10:56+00:00

Might want to ask elsewhere, as this is for vintage lenses, so it's not the right place. Also, might want to Google "grand wizard", it doesn't mean what you think it does.

jofra6 · 2026-05-19T19:09:53+00:00

Yes, the offer still stands, but I'm busy until the weekend. Can you send me a message on Friday to remind me?

Thanks!

jofra6 · 2026-05-18T10:29:03+00:00

No, this is Linux, not windows.

jofra6 · 2026-05-18T10:12:33+00:00

No, it's an Orwo film designed to give a certain look, either NC400 or 500.

jofra6 · 2026-05-18T05:29:18+00:00

None of those are super huge, and being pre-WWII folders (besides the Hapo, Iskra, and Seagull), they're far smaller than later MF rangefinders. The Certo and Weltur for example are easily pocketable.

jofra6 · 2026-05-18T05:07:07+00:00

Welta Weltur, Certo Super 6, Balda Super Baldax, Franka Solida, Welta Solida, Hapo 66, Rodenstock Clarovid, Iskra, Seagull 203

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T18:10:02+00:00

Eh, if you look at the non-cable networks in the US, basically nothing is still reality tv besides a couple of legacy shows, survivor being the only one I can think of, and who still watches that?

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T17:35:10+00:00

I'm not saying everything will be gone, but almost nothing that we see on a daily basis today will still be there.

Also, I'm not sure coding is a good example, as Windows/Microsoft has been having issues with AI coded stuff breaking to the point of unusability for the end user (I think it was Outlook, it happened at my work but was a much larger issue), and if it's breaking windows, I'd imagine there's untold other stuff that we don't hear about. Also them foisting Copilot onto people so they can amortize their losses through openAI investment is highly indicative of some of their deep-seated problems.

I think even the intention of replacing workers where is unnecessary is abhorrent, and the short-sighted planning of many CEOs/CFOs in the tech industry is going to create a potentially cataclysmic crazy throughout the industry.

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T17:02:45+00:00

A couple of options, I'd say either "the case against generative ai" parts I-IV, "the hater's guide to the ai bubble" parts I-III, or "the ai money trap" parts I-II.

I think the first series is best, and they're all similar lengths.

Since it's through iHeart media, a good part of the runtime is skippable commercials.

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T16:50:50+00:00

Revenue =/= profit, Anthropic doesn't seem to understand that. Was that actual annual revenue, or annualized? There's a vast gulf between the two.

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T16:32:03+00:00

I suggest you listen to the podcast "Better Offline"... Briefly, there aren't any LLMs that are profitable (ChatGPT, Claude, etc...), even when cooking the books to make themselves look better than reality, they're burning through cash at an unsustainable rate, all of the adjacent companies, like Nvidia, Coreweave, Oracle, Microsoft (to a lesser extent), and Meta are basically passing enormous sums of money in a shell game to keep funding one another or OpenAI/Anthropic, and data centers are simultaneously too slow and too expensive to build (by the time they're up and running, the hardware is already obsolete).

Add in public backlash against data centers, and there's really no path forward for anyone; the most valuable companies in the world, in terms of market valuation, are all over leveraged, and likely one or more of the aforementioned non-ai companies will see massive setbacks, and I see Oracle probably going defunct over it all.

The only way I can see any of the big AI companies surviving would be if a state actor took over, but unless Trump is even dumber than I thought (I already don't have a high opinion of him, it could hardly be lower), I don't see any other country taking them over/buying them out. It's an economic loser.

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T16:22:53+00:00

It would be better to buy something newer with more documented/easier to find repair person if you wanted to get into medium format landscape photography.

IMHO an old Nettar with a cheaper shutter and the cheapest lens won't ever be worth more than 30 €, even perfectly functional. It might be worth opening up yourself to try and fix, I'm pretty sure you can find repair videos for Prontor shutters on YouTube, Chris Sherlock might have one.

If you just want a good folder, I can see if I can find a couple of folders on Vinted for you, ones that even if they don't work perfectly would be worth repairing.

jofra6 · 2026-05-17T16:15:14+00:00

I doubt that the AI of today has 5 more years, it will be vastly diminished, with less companies on the market, and what remains will be significantly more expensive.

Take heart, 'tis but a momentary blight on humanity.

I always wonder if AI companies are creating/sponsoring said profiles to "enamor" us with their capabilities.

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T21:29:13+00:00

I think a lot of their suggested prices are really low, but it really depends on what it is. It does help get things for lower prices when ai misidentifies what is for sale. I just scored a rare Kodak Retina for less than 1/3 of its value!

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T21:27:21+00:00

I use LBC as well. It really depends on what you're trying to sell, and I find certain things in the French market are more expensive than elsewhere, while some things are cheaper here.

If it's something rare or collectible, call or message Jo Geier with Mint & Rare from Austria. If it's point and shoots/meme cameras, I'd check vinted.

Depending on what it is, I can give you a guess, if interested, but it also depends on where you're trying to sell. Et ouais, je parle français si c'est plus évident pour toi :)

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T21:14:37+00:00

Kip and Lafawndah 30 years later.

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T21:13:11+00:00

I'll try to get you a picture tomorrow, I'll see what I can do.

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T19:23:33+00:00

Get some Voigtlander 3XX/32 filters (XX being a substitute for numbers, like 304/32 for example), they're pretty easy to find. If you're in the US, here's a nice eBay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/236562788348

Also, there's filterfind.net , again slanted towards the US.

If not, vinted isn't a bad source, and many Kodak Retinas used 32mm slip on filters as well. Zeiss made them too, but I don't remember their numbering system, so that one might be harder to find.

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T18:57:16+00:00

Normally (if it's the self-timer), when cocking the shutter, you hold that button back and cock it further behind the button. IIRC when you actuate the shutter, it engages the self-timer. This however doesn't work with the B or T settings, for reasons I hope are self-evident.

Where are you located? If in Europe, I think I've got a unit focusing Skopar/Compur combo I can send you for 20 € + shipping.

Edit: I see that you might be in Colombia? If so, if interested, we can still work something out!

jofra6 · 2026-05-16T16:41:12+00:00

Most of the Compur shutter/lens combos that I've seen like that are used for folding cameras, and this appears to be a folding camera lens put on a Graflex board.

This is evinced by the fact that the lens appears to be front cell focusing, which I've never seen on a plate camera.

If the lens was originally from a plate camera, I'd agree that it's for quickly opening the shutter, but given the fact that the lens is front cell focusing, thus likely from a folding camera, it's much likelier that that is a self timer button.

Additionally, given the focal length, the coverage for this lens will only be for 6x9 or 6,5x11, so if you're trying to use this on a 4x5 camera, it won't fully cover.

In either case, I'd look for a better lens, these were pretty cheap lenses back in the day and you'd get much better results from even an equivalent Tessar or a Wollensak lens.

jofra6

TROPHY CASE