The Film Retriever

Now... what is wrong with the picture on the left? You guessed it right. Newer SMC Takumars SHOULD NOT be mounted on Zenits. Why? The extra pin that controls the Auto/Manual switch gets stuck on the screw holes on the mount. If you did this mistake -like i did - then you have two options. a) You force the  lens to unscrew bending the pin and damaging the lens or b) unscrew the whole thing and reach the pin from the inside. In my case, the lens is a Super Takumar 35mm f/2. Other lenses will of course be different to dismantle. Now.... ************************* Please read ******************** Since in this bad world, there are people who try to make a living out of suing others, please read this carefully. I am not a technician and neither do I claim to be one. If you decide to follow the guide below, you do it at your own risk and I will assume no responsibility if you damage your lens. You are a big boy/girl to decide for your self. If you think you cannot do it, then don't...

It is big. It is heavy as a brick and handles like one. It is extremely noisy and the viewfinder is... let's say... dark. Why should I ever bother with this camera? Let's take the story from the beginning. When my brother in law moved into his new house, he found this camera in his basement. Obviously the previous owner didn't consider taking it with him. Then my mother in law, who knows that I collect cameras saved it from a certain disposal. That summer i got married so I always considered it a kind of wedding present. The camera came with the standard Helios 44-M4, a biotar copy, which appears to be single coated (I might be wrong). Obviously the Helios is a pretty decent lens, provides nice, old fashioned pictures with low contrast but try to avoid the sunshine because it really strangles to cope with high contrast. It appeared to be working ok so i run a film while on vacations and one when I returned to Edinburgh. From those two films i got the following pictur...