beegee675
Member
Not sure where to post this, since it's an earlier Kodak 35mm RF model, but I have one of these with a slightly foggy lens and would like to clean it. Outside cleaning seems to clarify the surface, but the fog is still there. Search the web a bit and it seems the front lens unscrews when you dismantle the focussing wheel to get at the lens elements. I thought maybe the rear of the front lens might also need cleaning. Any suggestions? According to some of the posts, this lens can be a sharp surprise, and I'm thinking of putting some Tri-x through it.
-Bob
-Bob
mich rassena
Well-known
I just cleaned my 35RF a couple of weeks ago. I'm not trained in any kind of camera repair, but I still found the process easy enough.
I recall it being very easy to just remove the two screws holding the gear arm to the body, then the lens just unscrews. The lens has a stop (an unmilled area) which in combination with the gear keeps the lens from unscrewing. You may agree with me that without that gear arm, the camera is much less ugly.
I also took off the top of the camera and cleaned the windows. That process was also remarkably simple, with only a few screws and lots of working area. I was also somewhat successful in adjusting the rangefinder and getting it to perform a little more smoothly (the spring which pulls the mechanism back to baseline was a bit weak).
Once I'd cleaned it up, and got it back together, I noticed the gear moved a lot more smoothly too, making the camera far more usable.
I found I have a bit more respect for the camera than before. It's a pretty straightforward design, and easy to service. Those miniscule rangefinder windows are more usable when they're not foggy.
I had dreamed about pulling the lens off the camera entirely and repurposing it for my mirrorless camera, but now after the work I put in, it seems too nice.
I recall it being very easy to just remove the two screws holding the gear arm to the body, then the lens just unscrews. The lens has a stop (an unmilled area) which in combination with the gear keeps the lens from unscrewing. You may agree with me that without that gear arm, the camera is much less ugly.
I also took off the top of the camera and cleaned the windows. That process was also remarkably simple, with only a few screws and lots of working area. I was also somewhat successful in adjusting the rangefinder and getting it to perform a little more smoothly (the spring which pulls the mechanism back to baseline was a bit weak).
Once I'd cleaned it up, and got it back together, I noticed the gear moved a lot more smoothly too, making the camera far more usable.
I found I have a bit more respect for the camera than before. It's a pretty straightforward design, and easy to service. Those miniscule rangefinder windows are more usable when they're not foggy.
I had dreamed about pulling the lens off the camera entirely and repurposing it for my mirrorless camera, but now after the work I put in, it seems too nice.