New toy - Ansco Super Memar...

[BurninFilm]

Scott, do you think your mixture did this?

[Scott]

Boy, I wouldn't have thought so.  It was vinegar, which is - what - 5% acetic acid?  And drug store hydrogen peroxide, which is 3%.  Neither one of 'em is very concentrated.  I've used this mix before with no problems.  Maybe the fungus weakened the coating and made it softer?

Whatever.  I was really looking forward to seeing with a Solagon could do.  But this is my third (count 'em - 3) Super Memar sample that failed resurrection.  I'm throwing in the towel on them.  I'm essentially done with 35mm anyway, except for my Clarus MS-35, and that's only as long as I can get film processed and scanned at CVS or Target.  Once that dries up, I'm done with small formats for good.  Too much hassle.

So, Danny, you want a parts Super Memar with unit focus?

[melek]

That shutter looks pretty much identical to what you'll find in the Retina b/B and c/C series. These are nice cameras.

I think Agfa used a chroming process that didn't seem to hold up as well over the years. Or maybe the lower cost of the camera led to people not storing them properly as you might do with a camera costing five times as much.

[ludoo]

I just received a very nice Super Silette with a Solagon, and since this appears to be the only detailed thread on its repair, anyone cares to tell me how to remove the front element so I can get to the shutter before I try something stupid? My slow speeds are gummy, and the self timer is not working.

It looks like the front element could come out just by unscrewing it, but I'm wondering what's under the beauty ring in front, and if I should try removing it first. Let's only hope my lens has no fungus, I received it this morning and won't be able to check until I'll be back at home tonight.

[Scott]

I just received a very nice Super Silette with a Solagon, and since this appears to be the only detailed thread on its repair, anyone cares to tell me how to remove the front element so I can get to the shutter before I try something stupid? My slow speeds are gummy, and the self timer is not working.

It looks like the front element could come out just by unscrewing it, but I'm wondering what's under the beauty ring in front, and if I should try removing it first. Let's only hope my lens has no fungus, I received it this morning and won't be able to check until I'll be back at home tonight.

Ok, Ludo -

Unscrew the front element.  Underneath it, there should be a black ring with three notches in the perimeter.  One of those notches will have a tiny screw in it, locking the ring in place.  Carefully remove that screw and store it in an old film canister or something.  Using a fine screwdriver, rotate the locking ring counterclockwise to remove it.  The trim ring engraved "Super Memar" will lift directly away.

Once removed, you'll have access to the speed setting ring.  Take a digital picture of it, noting where there are tabs coming through the ring.  When you replace the ring, these tabs all need to be in the same place.  If a tab is left under the ring, everything will be slightly out of whack.  You can realign most of them by just rotating the ring back and forth slightly.  Anyway, carefully remove the speed setting ring.  What you'll expose should look like this:


I generally apply a drop of Ronsonol or xylene (usually xylene in the form of Goof-Off) to any penetration in the casings of the escapements (circled in blue).  After dripping in the solvent, reinstall the speed setting ring onto the shutter, making sure all the tabs align.  With the speed setting ring in place, you can cock the shutter without parts flying out.  Cock it and fire it a few times to see if the slow speeds are coming back.  You may need to apply the solvent a couple times.  Same deal with testing the self timer: Set it, and see if it's working properly.  You may need to help it along if the mechanism is still a little gummy.

Once everything's in order, button it back up, and continue firing it for a while.  Test it again after it sits overnight.  After a few hours/days, you might find that things start stuttering again.  If they do, repeat the process.  Once things are reliably operating for a few days, I'll usually go back in and put a tiny pin-drop of gun oil on those same points on the escapements.

That should do it.  Good luck with it.

Oh, BTW, 50/50 mixtures of vinegar and Windex seem to soften the lens coatings to where they're easily damaged.  Avoid that.

If any of this is nonsensical, email me tomorrow.  My wife's feeding me limoncello shots right now...

Scott

[ludoo]

Unscrew the front element.  Underneath it, there should be a black ring with three notches in the perimeter.  One of those notches will have a tiny screw in it, locking the ring in place.  Carefully remove that screw and store it in an old film canister or something.  Using a fine screwdriver, rotate the locking ring counterclockwise to remove it.  The trim ring engraved "Super Memar" will lift directly away.

Scott, thanks a lot for the detailed instructions.

I can leave the black beauty ring with "Solinar..." alone then? My front element seems stuck, I'll try warming it gently before unscrewing it.

And I'm sorry to hear about your de-coated lenses...

[Scott]

Ludo -

Is yours the Super Silette with an f/2 Solagon, or is it the model with the Solinar?  If the latter, the instructions I gave won't completely apply.  Let me know - I can step you through the Solinar model if needed.

Scott

[ludoo]

Ludo -

Is yours the Super Silette with an f/2 Solagon, or is it the model with the Solinar?  If the latter, the instructions I gave won't completely apply.  Let me know - I can step you through the Solinar model if needed.

Scott

Mine is the Solagon one, that's why I'm pestering you with questions, this model is rarer and there's less info about it around.

[Scott]

Ok, this should work for you then.

The black trim ring on the lens itself?  No, leave that in place.  You'll grip the lens by the outside to unscrew it...

[ludoo]

Ok, this should work for you then.

The black trim ring on the lens itself?  No, leave that in place.  You'll grip the lens by the outside to unscrew it...

Wonderful. I'll try tonight and hope it's not stuck in place.

[ludoo]

A progress update on my Super Silette: the shutter is now firing fine at all speeds, and the self-timer is (was, see below) working again. I got a bit of a scare when I jiggled a bit the self-timer lever with the shutter open and the inside lever, which was almost disconnected from the gears, flew away. It took me some time to figure out how the self-timer works, and how much tension to put on its spring (I gave it one and a half turns which seems to work). When I closed up the shutter the self timer was working, but I think the inside lever disconnected again from the gears. Not a big deal, as long as the camera fires ok.

The rangefinder was out of alignment, so I removed the top, cleaned the viewfinder, and now I only have to register it, probably tomorrow as I need some light to check infinity. Checking near focus on the film plane will be a bit of a pain, as the top needs to be on to use a shutter release cable with B.

I also cleaned the lens elements, and they look ok apart from some semi-transparent spots inside the first group, which can only be seen with a strong light behind the lens. I just hope they won't have much effect on picture quality.

It's the first shutter I really managed to fix, and I'm finding that trying to understand what goes on (which is often necessary to put things back as they should) is fascinating, and there's a lot of ingenuity in how these cameras were designed. Thanks a lot for pointing me in the right direction, I will report back when the camera is (hopefully) finished and post a few pics from its first roll.

Next in line are the Super Solinette which needs a bit of work on its gummy rf, my Vitomatic IIa/IIcs which have various assorted problems, and a Contax II with broken shutter ribbons and a fungus infested Tessar I picked up for 50 euros a while ago (I have Tooke's book to help with that).

[Scott]

In a flash of lucidity this afternoon, I realized that the boogered lens from this Super Memar and the good lens from the boogered Agfa Karat IV should be interchangable, as both are 50/2 Solagons.  Tried it, and turns out they are!  This project cam is off the back burner!  (Of course, that means the Karat project is dead in the water, but oh well.  Better to have one work, anyway...)