For sale: MX winder which works but has been damaged:

1) The screw mechanism securing the battery cover has sheared (half in the winder, half in the cover). I secure the cover with insulation tape, a workable (but sticky) solution.

2) The 'handle' section is slightly loose on the base and the serial number sticker has been taped back on (I suspect somebody has opened it up tyring to fix it).

3) Some of the foam holding the batteries in place has turned into goo (doesn't seem to affect it).

£30 with UK postage, bank transfer, Paypal with fees or cleared cheque.

The grip can imporve the handling of the camera, even horizontally. When I hold my K-5 without the grip, my little finger hangs off the bottom uncomfortably. Being able to use AA batteries is a big help too. The first thing I bought for my SFXn & MZ-M cameras was an AA battery grip and wished one was available for my Z-1 (again better with its grip despite not having a battery or vertical release). I may have been too spoiled by my Motordrive-A & Super-A though.

Hi Dave,

When printing the neg on to paper you have to make adjustments to contrast & exposure, dodging/burning (and a whole lot more) are often used on specific areas. When scanning you may have the same adjustments to make (all scanners, films and developers are different). The concept of an 'original', except from slide film, is a bit blurry.

John.

Again which film and speed did you use?

I like the subject, really suits mono. I can see why others have said they're a bit light, but I think retaining detail in the shadows is important and I can't fault that. I often struggled to get the contrast right when scanning.

Lens sold.

Thanks Bob,

I've tried several sets of batteries including new ones and some old ones that fire my P30 & P50 no problem. I've tried cleaning the contacts/batteries.

I can't remember whether I left it with the shutter cocked or not (I usually leave my mechanical shutters un-cocked), so I don't know whether the wind-on mechanism has jammed (it won't wind-on) or the electronics are the fault (I suspect the latter).

It was an Ebay special so I don't know it's history. At least my original one is still firing.

Hi All,

Bit surprised by this one, it was fine last time I used it (about a year ago) and had been stored without batteries. Now it won't fire with new batteries, only the viewfinder light works. The lock/auto part of the switch works as the light only works when it's not locked. The LCD doesn't show the wound on indicator or anything else. It's as if it just stopped working.

Any ideas?

John.

The button should have a circular/domed piece of metal (or foil?) under it which acts like a spring/contact. It sounds like the switch cover has been removed at some point (they're fragile and I've two broken ones). I'm guessing it is possible it has been re-fitted upside down?

On my first lens the button itself cracked, following repair I then caught it on the zip of my camera bag which broke the plastic tab on the button side. Another lens I have acquired also has a broken plastic tab.

It's a good lens though, better than the other (slower) 28-80 FA without the power zoom function which came in black and silver. Probably one of the better kit lenses of the time.

Hi all,

I've acquired a Super-Takumar 55/2 (as part of a larger purchase) which won't stop down in man when the pin is pushed in. There's a bit of resistance when pushing the pin in, the aperture doesn't stop down and the pin is sluggish popping back out. Any ideas?

I've also got a 55/1.8 but I'd like to rescue it if I can. Apart from three very small screws around the barrel I can't find any way in.

John.

I've had a few problems recently with hangs and slow responses to 'adclick' or whatever it is with Firefox but I put that down to my chronic disk space problem (about 500Mb of free space). Too much shooting with the K-5 I think.