BernardL
Well-known
[disclosure : this is a repost, initially posted on photrio, 49 views, 0 response; hoping a different audience on RFF will give some information]
I've had this Ikonta / Contina I for 3-4 years. Bought as-is with stuck shutter for maybe 10€, thinking "I'll manage to fix it". So now its turn has come.
Someone had been there before: damaged screw heads and the like. Straightened a bent lever in the Prontor-S. Cleaned the retard mechanism, and (against the advice of Messrs Gauthier) lubed it with Moebius oil. Now all speeds work and sound OK by ear; will measure later. I bet the camera can take pictures now.
I'm still stuck on two points, and hope someone might provide information.
![IMG_0453[1].JPG](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/70/70188-96dc3aba25644f8a62a21bbc93a7854a.jpg "IMG_0453[1].JPG")
I've had this Ikonta / Contina I for 3-4 years. Bought as-is with stuck shutter for maybe 10€, thinking "I'll manage to fix it". So now its turn has come.
Someone had been there before: damaged screw heads and the like. Straightened a bent lever in the Prontor-S. Cleaned the retard mechanism, and (against the advice of Messrs Gauthier) lubed it with Moebius oil. Now all speeds work and sound OK by ear; will measure later. I bet the camera can take pictures now.
I'm still stuck on two points, and hope someone might provide information.
- The aperture scale is offset, i.e. when dialing f/4 it is more like f/8, etc... I might make a new scale but I'd rather find out what went wrong. For this I need to separate the shutter assembly from the front plate. There is a nut on the inner side, but I can turn that by maybe 10° before it is blocked. Afraid to apply more force in case there is a set screw to avoid rotation of that nut.
Is there a trick? - There is something in the viewfinder: a debris of some kind, or a bug? Right in the middle. Also some dust and haze. Tried to remove the top plate. Film type indicator: easy. On the other side, a screw that just uncovers what seems to be a tripod socket on the top side (???) but the base of that tripod socket(?) does not want to move. I even drilled two small holes to use a lens spanner: no way, moves just a little. On the underside of that, at the top of the film cassette chamber, a metal disk with two small slots at the outer edge, that might be suitable for a spanner if it were not facing the rewind fork less than 2 inches away.
What is the method to remove the camera's top cover?
Muggins
Junk magnet
There should be a slotted ring on the back of the lens assbly (inside the film gate) locking it into place) that you can unscrew with a lens wrench - though mine was the uncoupled rangefinder version so (a) it might not be the same and (b) can't help with the top cover.
nhchen
Nathan
Hi Bernard,
I’ve got the earlier ikonta version of this camera. I just had a quick look at my one, the top cover can be removed from just those two screws on top. Very quick and easy to do. For the part you circled in red, I just unscrewed the screw. The top disk under the screw is then separated from the black disk (which has the threads for the screw to screw into) inside the film chamber. Maybe someone’s glued yours down? I would try some heat onto it to see if it frees it up.
Kind regards
nathan
I’ve got the earlier ikonta version of this camera. I just had a quick look at my one, the top cover can be removed from just those two screws on top. Very quick and easy to do. For the part you circled in red, I just unscrewed the screw. The top disk under the screw is then separated from the black disk (which has the threads for the screw to screw into) inside the film chamber. Maybe someone’s glued yours down? I would try some heat onto it to see if it frees it up.
Kind regards
nathan
BernardL
Well-known
Muggins, Nathan,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Maybe RFF is a better place for camera repair than Photrio?
- Lens assembly removal. Indeed there is a nut / slotted ring / retaining ring on the inner side of the "lens board". I used my lens spanner, as well as two substitutes: a scribing compass with points filed to (approx) 1.5x1.5mm square, and a cheap pair of tweezers bent apart to the required opening. Applied two different petroleum derivatives designed for loosening tight/rusted parts. The best I could achieve was (as already stated) a 5-10° rotation. At that point, I thought maybe there is a cleverly hidden set screw that blocks the rotation of that ring?
- Top cover removal. Circled area. Indeed one screw on top comes off easily; slot wide enough for a small coin. Then one is left with that chrome-plated disk with beveled edges. You write "The top disk under the screw is then separated from the black disk" how? by turning the black disk underneath? That would be a job for a lens spanner, if it would not be located at one end of the film chamber. I made a special tool, that is barely visible in my pic, behind the camera, using aluminum plate and a piece of steel from a (worn-out) log saw. No way. Maybe it was painted dull black after assembly? So I applied a powerful paint dissolver. Still no way.
Nathan, on your camera, once the slotted disk is just slightly loosened, is the chrome-plated disk on top free to rotate? Or could it be fitted, out of sight, with anti-rotation guides, flats, etc?
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Maybe RFF is a better place for camera repair than Photrio?
- Lens assembly removal. Indeed there is a nut / slotted ring / retaining ring on the inner side of the "lens board". I used my lens spanner, as well as two substitutes: a scribing compass with points filed to (approx) 1.5x1.5mm square, and a cheap pair of tweezers bent apart to the required opening. Applied two different petroleum derivatives designed for loosening tight/rusted parts. The best I could achieve was (as already stated) a 5-10° rotation. At that point, I thought maybe there is a cleverly hidden set screw that blocks the rotation of that ring?
- Top cover removal. Circled area. Indeed one screw on top comes off easily; slot wide enough for a small coin. Then one is left with that chrome-plated disk with beveled edges. You write "The top disk under the screw is then separated from the black disk" how? by turning the black disk underneath? That would be a job for a lens spanner, if it would not be located at one end of the film chamber. I made a special tool, that is barely visible in my pic, behind the camera, using aluminum plate and a piece of steel from a (worn-out) log saw. No way. Maybe it was painted dull black after assembly? So I applied a powerful paint dissolver. Still no way.
Nathan, on your camera, once the slotted disk is just slightly loosened, is the chrome-plated disk on top free to rotate? Or could it be fitted, out of sight, with anti-rotation guides, flats, etc?
Muggins
Junk magnet
How odd - mine certainly has no set screw.
nhchen
Nathan
Bernard once I removed the screw the black disk inside just fell loose, and the top part rotated easily with the screw loose.
BernardL
Well-known
Muggin, Nathan,
I'm currently traveling and only next week I'll be able to return to that project.
Best regards,
Bernard
I'm currently traveling and only next week I'll be able to return to that project.
Best regards,
Bernard
BernardL
Well-known
Update. I could unscrew the retaining ring of the lens assembly. The cause of my difficulty was that behind that retaining ring, the plate is not continuous; so the tips of my lens spanner would protrude into the gaps of that plate, then get stuck against an edge.
I cleaned thoroughly the shutter/diaphragm assembly in naphta, with some small debris falling to the bottom of the glass cup. Despite this, the speeds all remain slow by 1/2 stop, give or take. No adjustment on Pronto shutter. After all that is less than the difference between "box" and "zone system" film speed ratings; and exposing 1/2 stop extra can't harm (with negative films). I can live with that.
Still no success in removing the disk on the top above the take-up spool, to remove the top plate. Used special de-seizing naphta. Then heated with a professional mini-air gun meant to melt solder. To no avail. I suspect some corrosion is blocking the thread. Next attempt will be from the inside. I need to re-do an improved version of my special spanner for confined space.
I cleaned thoroughly the shutter/diaphragm assembly in naphta, with some small debris falling to the bottom of the glass cup. Despite this, the speeds all remain slow by 1/2 stop, give or take. No adjustment on Pronto shutter. After all that is less than the difference between "box" and "zone system" film speed ratings; and exposing 1/2 stop extra can't harm (with negative films). I can live with that.
Still no success in removing the disk on the top above the take-up spool, to remove the top plate. Used special de-seizing naphta. Then heated with a professional mini-air gun meant to melt solder. To no avail. I suspect some corrosion is blocking the thread. Next attempt will be from the inside. I need to re-do an improved version of my special spanner for confined space.
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
Top cover comes out easily, one of the screws i L and the other is R handed