I have an ME with a similar problem - I think it's due to the spring which pulls the counter back to zero not being quite strong enough to make it turn. Said ME came jammed and with a non-working frame counter. It now counts perfectly but doesn't flick back to zero when you open the back - in this case winding on and firing the shutter a couple of times will cure it.

I plan to unbolt the winder lever and put a couple of drops of light oil in the mechanism. It worked perfectly when I put a drop of lighter fluid in but stopped when that evaporated.

Well it was going to be a bobtailed pickup. Then he wanted a trayback, then he wanted to make the nose shorter, and it turned into a bit of a project. I get the impression that he was having as much fun working out what he wanted and trying various designs as he'll get from driving the finished product!

Nah, Tatra 8x8![/quote]Lol!!

Who was the guy on the discovery owners club who had a TD5 disco and fitted Unimog axles to it, that was a monster![/quote]There's a bloke on Mud Club fitting 'mog axles to a hacked 300TDI Disco. He seemed to be having fun getting everything to line up reliably.

I'll say! Just so long as it doesn't have any mould as a result of the original case.

It might be just bad luck but both lenses I own which came with the original solid cases either had mould or have developed a bit since. My theory is that it doesn't breathe terribly well, so any moisture is trapped inside. I've had no trouble with the Lowepro cases I buy, although I do leave the little silica gel bag in the net inside the lid which will help.

Nah, Tatra 8x8!

I have actually witnessed a Pinz in action. Bit slow and noisy on the road though thanks to the portal axles!

I think this one was a fair price. An M 50/1.7 usually goes for over £20 at the moment on its own and providing the camera is healthy it was well worth it. The ME is basic but feels very nice in the hands, probably due to having a lot more metal in it than later M series models.

I've got a borked MZ-10 and 28-70mm on the way (if it's the normal MZ cracked drive gear I can fix it, hopefully whatever the seller said was rattling in the lens can be refitted) along with an apparently minty black ME with 50/1.7, original strap and ERC. The former was £5, the latter £20!

The Asahi Optical Historical Club have a table of the various M42 mount lenses.

There's also some comment about problems with certain Takumars on certain bodies if you look here - yours may be one of the lenses in question.

I would have said the actual "Blue Monday" would be the first one after the New Year bank holiday, when people suddenly realise that another work year has begun and there won't be any excuse for a party for a while?

That is, after all, why Yule/Xmas celebrations happen when they do. It's an excuse to shout and bang things in the darkest days of the year, when our minds attempt to fill the shadows with all manner of nasties.