Oh Man! Plaubel Makina III!

[Nokton48]

Makina II Ilford FP4+ Rubinos by Nokton48, on Flickr

Makina II FP4+Graiters by Nokton48, on Flickr

Makina II HP5+ Reclaimed Creek Bed by Nokton48, on Flickr

Makina II FP4+ Apples Blossoms Back Yard by Nokton48, on Flickr

Looking through this camera is like transporting back to the 1930's. It's very relaxing and contemplative to photograph with it. Plaubel used to say "World's Smallest Large Format Camera". Which makes it great for hand holding.

Getting it to function properly as designed is worth all the -struggles-.

 

[hashtagquack]

With thanks to Alexvaras and the lockdown for finally allowing me time to try this out, I have some pictures for the adjustment of the rangefinder for the iiir
Please note that I had to adjust my own RF including the close focus so this is how I adjusted for that

Picture above. 3 screws to be loosened slighted.

Above: rotate this screw in order to pivot the rangefinder unit. In my case I used this to calibrate infinity. Once adjusted, tighten the 3 screws that were loosed earlier. Please note that in doing so it may move the rf patch so do try and watch for this before moving on to the next step

Use the above screw circled in red to adjust for an object focussed on the ground glass at close focus distance.
Repeat all steps until RF matches GG. Took me about 4-5 iterations I believe.
Note that the last set of screws do not require removal of the top plate

Im not a camera repairman and your own experience may vary but I hope this is useful as a starting point. For now my RF appears to be aligned at all distances.
Now onto my other todo list of cameras requiring repair!!

 

[Alex Varas]

Happy to see it worked well done!!

 

[hashtagquack]

Happy to see it worked well done!!

Thanks again for the help! It's been gathering dust for far too long! I saw that you mentioned that the GG focus plane differed very slightly from that of the rollfilm back on another thread. In that case how did you go about moving the front standard back to account for that?

 

[Nokton48]

If you are using a Plaubel Makina roll back, it should coincide with the groundglass exactly. With three adjusted Makinas that is what I have found in my case.

Makinas are great for slipping in a coat pocket and carrying around, but they ARE heavy cameras for what they are. That has never bothered me in use.

And they are a blast to use

 

[Alex Varas]

Sadly, I have to disagree on the last Nokton48 comment, I have 3 kind of backs made by Plaubel, first model with a red window, Rada model and last model without red window, the only one tha matches with the ground glass is the last model, as the one I got from you, Nokton48. I'm not talking measuring just against the film plane back of the holder, I measured when film is loaded, it's all about film flatness, in the first models, looking the film how it lays in the film back you see how it curves in the center measuring about 0.35mm more than the GG, leaging to out of focus subjects.
How to do it in these cases? Sereval theories... I'm working on the, at the moment

 

[hashtagquack]

Well it appears I may have opened a tin of worms here! On the plus side however, I'm using model without the red windows so fingers crossed they also match up!

Looking forward to shooting regardless and thank you to both for being the main sources of makina information. Very helpful for the many others of us who continue to use these beautiful cameras

 

[Nokton48]

Plaubel Makina III Columbus Zoo 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Plaubel Makina III 100mm F2.9 Anticomar FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ 5x7 Arista RC #2 Multigrade dev

 

[Nokton48]

Plaubel Makina III Columbus Zoo 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Plaubel Makina III 100mm F2.9 Anticomar FP4+ ADOX Borax MQ Arista 5x7 RC #2 Multigrade

 

[Nokton48]

I should qualify my previous statement. I have six silver 6x9cm Plaubel Makina backs, and two black Makina 6x9cm backs, all in the more modern styling, as you would normally find coming with the Makina III/IIIR. All of these backs are producing sharp negatives (even wide open) with my cameras. Also the same fine results when I use them on my three Plaubel Makiflex cameras.

I have never used RADA roll film holders, although I have quite a few RADA plate holders. Also I have seen early Makina holders with the ruby red window, but have never owned one. I like the silver Makina holders!

Alex, I am gratified that you are getting good results with the silver Makina holder I sent to you.

 

[Nokton48]

Wild Apple Tree Maki II HRU Handheld 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Handheld HRU 6.5cmx9cm XRay photography. Plaubel Makina II with Plaubel Makina Yellow Filter 1/50 at F6.0 Exposure determined by guess and experience so far. Replenished Legacy Mic-X 12 minutes at ambient. Neg is overexposed which is not right but very promising as I will decrease exposure by one and two stops next time. Also will reduce developing time to eight minutes which is more like it but this is working OK so far. Arista #2 8x10 Print Omega Dii Diffusion head laser aligned. Multigrade dev

To me the big deal is that this is handheld XRay and shows promise.

 

[Nokton48]

Makina Focal Plane Shutter 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Makina Focal Plane Shutter 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

This is my trusty IIIR with a new cool addition. The Plaubel Makina Focal Plane Shutter, with speeds up to 1/1000 second. Aside from the action stopping ability, it will allow me to use high speed film at more wipe-open apertures. An advantage for me under some conditions. A rare item to be sure, probably the most difficult to find accessory in the Makina system. I know a photographer in NYC who has two of these, and he shares my enthusiasm for this shutter's use. the focal plane shutter release is just to the right of the rear optical eyepiece.

You crank the bellows back to the wide angle setting, and it focuses perfectly at infinity which I have confirmed with a Makina groundglass.

 

[Nokton48]

Handheld HRU 200th F6 Med Yello MicX by Nokton48, on Flickr

Made another couple tests yesterday, decreasing exposure by one and two stops.

Handheld Fuji HRU Plaubel Makina II 1/200 f6.0 Plaubel Yellow filter Mic-X 12 minutes 5x7 Aristo #2 RC print Omega DII Omegalite Diffusion head Multigrade dev. Plaubel Makina sheet film holder was utilized.

Key Day Full Sun. Great I can shoot handheld with XRay film. The Makina II is getting to be my favorite Makina. Plaubel used to market it as "The World's Smallest View Camera". I will agree with those sentiments after using it for a while.

 

[Nokton48]

Plaubel Peco Profia 6.5x9cm Makina Film Plate Back restored by Nokton48, on Flickr

I have over fifty of these 6.5x9cm Plaubel Makina Sheet Film Holders. I want to be able to use these plates in my Plaubel 4x5 Peco Profia view cameras. I like shooting single sheets, although these holders are surprising heavy when stacked together! BTW this unit came from a shop in France.

Yesterday I finished partially restoring this 70's vintage original Plaubel 6.5x9cm holder. I cut a piece of thick cardboard to go on top of the rear groundglass frame area, and secured it tightly with a lot of layers of black photo masking tape. I then taped the black Peco Profia Bag Bellows Viewer to the cardboard frame. This is good enough for now but next I will cut something out of some nice hard wood that I can paint black. I can see 100% ground glass at once and see more than enough detail to obtain perfect focus. I bought a 3x4" fresnel and cut it with bench grinder to precisely fit behind the ground glass and it works a treat. Good as new as far as I can tell.

Right now I have J Lane Glass Dry Plates, ORWO NP20 (very old from Bulgaria), FOMA 100, Fresh FP4+, and some other B&W emulsions loaded and ready to be exposed.

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

Hello All,

I'd like to enter this discussion by first introducing myself. I am Ares, and in the past couple of months I have developed what can only be described as an obsession with the Plaubel Makina Camera system, reading virtually all available resources found online and scouring through any and all photographs related to the system available. Obviously, this particular thread has been a great resource and is of great interest to me, which is why I would now like to contribute, since as if by allignement of the stars, 2 months ago an excellent Plaubel Makina IIIR outfit went for auction on Ebay and I just had to have it, for reasons I will explain below.

Here is the complete outfit I got:

Starting with the camera, it is a beatiful Makina IIIR in used but great condition overall, with what I can describe as a truly unique and rare feature. The front sports finder wireframe has been fitted in a dark green synthetic covering, similar to what is used on wires I imagine. In my research, this is the only example I haver ever seen displaying this modification. Upon inspection, the application looks too clean to have been an aftermarket thing. Perhaps it was a customization Plaubel offered, or maybe a unique customer request ? Besides giving the camera a beatiful highlight, especially in contrast to the brown flash connector point, it has served well in preventing rubbing of the bare metal wireframe against the chrome front plate, which would have resulted in brassing often seen in other well used examples. Below a closer look.

Next are the lenses. All 3 came with their original caps, which has ment they've been preserved in an amazing condition. The Telemakinar especially, as it also came with a bottom cap, is actually the cleanest second hand lens I haver ever purchased. Its in such prestine conditon I am allmost afraid to use it ! The other two lenses are also well kept, but the Anticomar has this weird brown gunk built up across the outer rimm of the front element. I do not think it will affect photography ( I havent shot it yet), but I am curious as why this has formed. The Orthar is probably the worst of the lot, has quite a bit of dust in it, or at least considering the small surface area of it, but as I am lead to believe it is the sharpest of all 3, it should not be an issue.

Moving on to the extra bits, probably the most helpful is the quite rare tripod mount, which is in 1/4 threading same as the camera, which by the way has all markings in feet as does the Tele Makinar. Infact without it, I do not think the camera would be able to be mounted on a tripod for an extended period of time without causing damage to the tongues from the leveraging force of the frontal assembly, especially if one was to mount the TeleMakinar, which is probably the only lens you'd definately want to mount the camera on a tripod for anyway.

In addition to the Wide Angle Viewfinder mask, I also got a highly unusual rendition of the TeleMakinar Mask. It is bronze "in the white" with no post processing, and also made out of bended sheet metal construction, unlike regular masks which from what I've seen online were probably milled. Again, this really raises the question if this is a genuine Plaubel article, or whether it was an aftermarket part. If it is genuine Plaubel, it could be that they tried to simplify the construction of these viewfinders, as indeed this one works just as well, and is propably a heck of a lot easier to make. So much so, that I am infact considering copying the design to reconstruct all the masks I am missing. Moving on, I also very conviniently got not 1 but 2 lens hoods, though one of them is quite rickety on account of the rivets of the hinges being on their last legs. This is probably the reason the previous owner got a second hood in the first place, but if they eventually give out installing new rivets should be a short task, and the hood is in great condition otherwise, infact even better than the fully working one. Yet another very curious attachment included in the lot is a universal flash mount. It is infact a Plaubel Flash mount, that has been modified with a piece of aluminium and a cold shoe on top, allowing any type of flash to be used with the camera, and in fact any other cold shoe attachement one might wish to use, like a light meter, level etc. I also can not tell if this a home job, an aftermarket offering or factory attachment, but the microscrews used to attach the aluminium piece onto the mount indicate to me its probably of factory fabrication. A normal person, or even after market dealer would have used normal screws, as the mount is more than capable of accomodating them. In combination with a direct modern flash socket that has been fitted on the camera next to the brown normal connector, the camera is ready to be used with a flash without having to find the Maki Blitz attachment, though it means having to lift the wireframe somewhat.

I also very interestingly got an extra rangefinder cover included in the lot, which to me means the camera has certainly been worked on before, which is certainly substantiated by the fact that the rangefinder works wonderfully. Very conviniently, the covers are of the two different styles, i.e. the fixed and telescoping viewfinder, which made a comparison between them possible. In actual fact the fixed viewfinder is much more convinient overall. While the telescoping viewfinder does allow to bring your eye closer to it with a camera back installed, it is about 0.7x the size of the fixed viewfinder, which means in effect the resulting image is the same, eventhough the fixed viewfinder is viewed from further back. Additionally, if you're using single sheets and there is no need for extention, the fixed viewfinder hands down wins with a larger resulting image, and add to this that the telescoping viewfinder provides a possible hazard in accidentally knocking said viewfinder and bending the telescoping pieces, the fixed viewfinder certainly is the superior choise. Very peculiarly, the rear wireframe viewfinder attached to one of the rangefinder covers is of the Plaubel Makina II "peep sight" style.

Moving to the backs, I was lucky enough to get both a 6x6 back & a 6X9 back with the very rare and often lost 6x4.5 mask included. Additionally the 6x9 back has the half way indicators between frames to facilitate use of this mask, which is not the case for most 6x9 backs. I have since bought an additional 6x9 and 6x6 back which are on the way, as well as a 35mm Back and Pack Film Back which are already here. Sadly the Pack Film back is for the Plaubel Makina IIs only I imagine, as the camera lock can not engage with this back installed, and the back itself does not have a lock of its own like the other backs. I have infact ordered the proper Pack Film Back since, which from the photographs does come with the proper lock attached. Why would I get the packfilm backs you ask, when theres no packfilm around, well I am planning to make my own as a future project, which would mean I could get 12 6x9 frames, for half the volume of a normal roll film back which only gives 8 frames. It is a long shot prospect, but hey ho, at least if anything the back will look pretty and complete the collection On the subject of backs, what really irks me is the fact that at least with my camera, even with the lock engaged there is a 3mm play from left to right when the back is slid onto the rails. The felt light traps provide enough friction that this is not really an issue unless you delibaretely move it, and it seems as if it would be light tight at both extremes anyway, but my OCD just kicks in and it bothers me. I am planning of making an aluminium L bracket to JB weld at the left end of the top rail, so that when the lock engages there is no more play. In fact if Plaubel could not make the rails precise enough to facilitate tight locking across the board (which to me seems very strange considering the otherwise high quality of the camera), this simple tolerance correction method is so rudamentary (honestly engineering 101) that it really buffles me they did nothing about it. In any case, I was also lucky enough to get a pretty minty focusing screen, with an extremely well preserved ground glass. The cloth coverings were a bit messy and overfolded, but I ironed them out using a kitchen iron and ironing glue, and now they are as good as new.

Unfortunately, not all was great. The camera can not be set to the 1/400th speed for some odd reason. All other speeds work perfectly, but as soon as the ring is set to the 1/200th speed it does not want to move any further. I cant even move it a mm further, its as if it hits a solid wall. Additionally, when the camera is set to the wide angle position, and the range is set close to infinity, the upper tonge locking tab becomes loose, so much so that if I were to depress the bottom botton locking the lower tongue, I could disengage the upper tongue without even touching the upper tongue locking botton, just by sliding the front panel back and forth. I am guessing the upper slotted spring tab in which the upper tongue locks has been deformed over time, and needs either bending back or replacing. This issue is not catastrophic, as the camera still locks from below, but again just knowing the camera is not perfect, and the left side corner might move if I assume the correct holding position, makes me uneasy. The felt light trap also appears to me thin at some points, but having not had experience with such light traps before, I'll need to shoot first before I can descern if it really is problematic. In any case the camera is in need of some looking at. Following the advice found on this thread, I have contacted wizcam, which has said he'll happily "fix" all these problems if I send the camera to him. However, his poor english, and the fact he is half a world away from me, with no way of monitoring his work as I can with my local camera technician, has put me off it for the moment. Any reasuring words from people with experience dealing with him would be appreciated.

I am looking forward to taking part in further discussion of this system, and seeing all of your guys collections and future acquisitions, as well as photographs. In regards to the last one, I too am hoping to post some photographs soon. I am also planning to acquire the "Buch der Makina" System Guide, to have a look at. As I am fluent in german, I am planning to translate and post any sections of particular interest here, once I've gotten and read the book of course, I am afterall still a student with a busy schedule.

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

I forgot to mention, after looking at pictures of original Plaubel Camera straps, I was able to find a replica here in the UK, sold as a reproduction strap of WW2 US Binoculars. The fabrication is exactly the same, same cut of leather (the straps fit the holes precisely) same metal studs, but instead of the leather being black and the studs chromed as the originals, both leather and studs for the reproduction are left in the white, which is to say the leather is still brown, and the studs in their original brass finish. Making them true to the originals would be trivial. The natural leather can be painted black using readily available black leather paint, and the brass studs could be electroplated into chrome. However, I quite like the colour palette of the system with the strap as it stands, though I am planning on getting a second to make it 100% true to the original for the collection's shake, and to try different combinations, e.g. brown leather + chrome studs, black leather + brass studs etc.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hello All,

I'd like to enter this discussion by first introducing myself. I am Ares, and in the past couple of months I have developed what can only be described as an obsession with the Plaubel Makina Camera system, reading virtually all available resources found online and scouring through any and all photographs related to the system available. Obviously, this particular thread has been a great resource and is of great interest to me, which is why I would now like to contribute, since as if by allignement of the stars, 2 months ago an excellent Plaubel Makina IIIR outfit went for auction on Ebay and I just had to have it, for reasons I will explain below.

Here is the complete outfit I got:
View attachment 265177
Starting with the camera, it is a beatiful Makina IIIR in used but great condition overall, with what I can describe as a truly unique and rare feature. The front sports finder wireframe has been fitted in a dark green synthetic covering, similar to what is used on wires I imagine. In my research, this is the only example I haver ever seen displaying this modification. Upon inspection, the application looks too clean to have been an aftermarket thing. Perhaps it was a customization Plaubel offered, or maybe a unique customer request ? Besides giving the camera a beatiful highlight, especially in contrast to the brown flash connector point, it has served well in preventing rubbing of the bare metal wireframe against the chrome front plate, which would have resulted in brassing often seen in other well used examples. Below a closer look.

Next are the lenses. All 3 came with their original caps, which has ment they've been preserved in an amazing condition. The Telemakinar especially, as it also came with a bottom cap, is actually the cleanest second hand lens I haver ever purchased. Its in such prestine conditon I am allmost afraid to use it ! The other two lenses are also well kept, but the Anticomar has this weird brown gunk built up across the outer rimm of the front element. I do not think it will affect photography ( I havent shot it yet), but I am curious as why this has formed. The Orthar is probably the worst of the lot, has quite a bit of dust in it, or at least considering the small surface area of it, but as I am lead to believe it is the sharpest of all 3, it should not be an issue.

Moving on to the extra bits, probably the most helpful is the quite rare tripod mount, which is in 1/4 threading same as the camera, which by the way has all markings in feet as does the Tele Makinar. Infact without it, I do not think the camera would be able to be mounted on a tripod for an extended period of time without causing damage to the tongues from the leveraging force of the frontal assembly, especially if one was to mount the TeleMakinar, which is probably the only lens you'd definately want to mount the camera on a tripod for anyway.

In addition to the Wide Angle Viewfinder mask, I also got a highly unusual rendition of the TeleMakinar Mask. It is bronze "in the white" with no post processing, and also made out of bended sheet metal construction, unlike regular masks which from what I've seen online were probably milled. Again, this really raises the question if this is a genuine Plaubel article, or whether it was an aftermarket part. If it is genuine Plaubel, it could be that they tried to simplify the construction of these viewfinders, as indeed this one works just as well, and is propably a heck of a lot easier to make. So much so, that I am infact considering copying the design to reconstruct all the masks I am missing. Moving on, I also very conviniently got not 1 but 2 lens hoods, though one of them is quite rickety on account of the rivets of the hinges being on their last legs. This is probably the reason the previous owner got a second hood in the first place, but if they eventually give out installing new rivets should be a short task, and the hood is in great condition otherwise, infact even better than the fully working one. Yet another very curious attachment included in the lot is a universal flash mount. It is infact a Plaubel Flash mount, that has been modified with a piece of aluminium and a cold shoe on top, allowing any type of flash to be used with the camera, and in fact any other cold shoe attachement one might wish to use, like a light meter, level etc. I also can not tell if this a home job, an aftermarket offering or factory attachment, but the microscrews used to attach the aluminium piece onto the mount indicate to me its probably of factory fabrication. A normal person, or even after market dealer would have used normal screws, as the mount is more than capable of accomodating them. In combination with a direct modern flash socket that has been fitted on the camera next to the brown normal connector, the camera is ready to be used with a flash without having to find the Maki Blitz attachment, though it means having to lift the wireframe somewhat.

I also very interestingly got an extra rangefinder cover included in the lot, which to me means the camera has certainly been worked on before, which is certainly substantiated by the fact that the rangefinder works wonderfully. Very conviniently, the covers are of the two different styles, i.e. the fixed and telescoping viewfinder, which made a comparison between them possible. In actual fact the fixed viewfinder is much more convinient overall. While the telescoping viewfinder does allow to bring your eye closer to it with a camera back installed, it is about 0.7x the size of the fixed viewfinder, which means in effect the resulting image is the same, eventhough the fixed viewfinder is viewed from further back. Additionally, if you're using single sheets and there is no need for extention, the fixed viewfinder hands down wins with a larger resulting image, and add to this that the telescoping viewfinder provides a possible hazard in accidentally knocking said viewfinder and bending the telescoping pieces, the fixed viewfinder certainly is the superior choise. Very peculiarly, the rear wireframe viewfinder attached to one of the rangefinder covers is of the Plaubel Makina II "peep sight" style.

Moving to the backs, I was lucky enough to get both a 6x6 back & a 6X9 back with the very rare and often lost 6x4.5 mask included. Additionally the 6x9 back has the half way indicators between frames to facilitate use of this mask, which is not the case for most 6x9 backs. I have since bought an additional 6x9 and 6x6 back which are on the way, as well as a 35mm Back and Pack Film Back which are already here. Sadly the Pack Film back is for the Plaubel Makina IIs only I imagine, as the camera lock can not engage with this back installed, and the back itself does not have a lock of its own like the other backs. I have infact ordered the proper Pack Film Back since, which from the photographs does come with the proper lock attached. Why would I get the packfilm backs you ask, when theres no packfilm around, well I am planning to make my own as a future project, which would mean I could get 12 6x9 frames, for half the volume of a normal roll film back which only gives 8 frames. It is a long shot prospect, but hey ho, at least if anything the back will look pretty and complete the collection On the subject of backs, what really irks me is the fact that at least with my camera, even with the lock engaged there is a 3mm play from left to right when the back is slid onto the rails. The felt light traps provide enough friction that this is not really an issue unless you delibaretely move it, and it seems as if it would be light tight at both extremes anyway, but my OCD just kicks in and it bothers me. I am planning of making an aluminium L bracket to JB weld at the left end of the top rail, so that when the lock engages there is no more play. In fact if Plaubel could not make the rails precise enough to facilitate tight locking across the board (which to me seems very strange considering the otherwise high quality of the camera), this simple tolerance correction method is so rudamentary (honestly engineering 101) that it really buffles me they did nothing about it. In any case, I was also lucky enough to get a pretty minty focusing screen, with an extremely well preserved ground glass. The cloth coverings were a bit messy and overfolded, but I ironed them out using a kitchen iron and ironing glue, and now they are as good as new.

Unfortunately, not all was great. The camera can not be set to the 1/400th speed for some odd reason. All other speeds work perfectly, but as soon as the ring is set to the 1/200th speed it does not want to move any further. I cant even move it a mm further, its as if it hits a solid wall. Additionally, when the camera is set to the wide angle position, and the range is set close to infinity, the upper tonge locking tab becomes loose, so much so that if I were to depress the bottom botton locking the lower tongue, I could disengage the upper tongue without even touching the upper tongue locking botton, just by sliding the front panel back and forth. I am guessing the upper slotted spring tab in which the upper tongue locks has been deformed over time, and needs either bending back or replacing. This issue is not catastrophic, as the camera still locks from below, but again just knowing the camera is not perfect, and the left side corner might move if I assume the correct holding position, makes me uneasy. The felt light trap also appears to me thin at some points, but having not had experience with such light traps before, I'll need to shoot first before I can descern if it really is problematic. In any case the camera is in need of some looking at. Following the advice found on this thread, I have contacted wizcam, which has said he'll happily "fix" all these problems if I send the camera to him. However, his poor english, and the fact he is half a world away from me, with no way of monitoring his work as I can with my local camera technician, has put me off it for the moment. Any reasuring words from people with experience dealing with him would be appreciated.

I am looking forward to taking part in further discussion of this system, and seeing all of your guys collections and future acquisitions, as well as photographs. In regards to the last one, I too am hoping to post some photographs soon. I am also planning to acquire the "Buch der Makina" System Guide, to have a look at. As I am fluent in german, I am planning to translate and post any sections of particular interest here, once I've gotten and read the book of course, I am afterall still a student with a busy schedule.

Congratulations for finding your version of the perfect camera.

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

Congratulations for finding your version of the perfect camera.

Thank you Sirius ! Ever since watching a random youtube video about it, I just fell in love with this system, though I would not call it perfect, as perhaps evident from my long winded comment I have several gripes with it. But then thats true with all things one comes to like/love.

 

[Nokton48]

Welcome Ares_der_Ruderer
Lovely Makina IIIR set with some unique accessories. Looking forward to your further posts.
I do not find it to be a perfect system either, but I get great enjoyment from using it.

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

Just had to share this extremely cool image of a Plaubel Makina used in action that I found.

Titled "A shared interest", this photograph was taken by Vilho A. Uomala from the Finnish Tiedotuskomppania (Information company), and subsequently colourised by Julius Jääskeläinen . The Finnish photographer is clearly seen carrying a Plaubel Makina IIS (one could presume the Finnish photographer that took the picture itself perhaps was also using a Makina to do so !). Very curious to see the Makina being used as a field camera in a military context, as despite looking quite overbuilt, at least in handling mine it seems quite delicate and prone to damage. Interesting to see it being used by actual people of the era in any case !

 

[Nokton48]

Makina II HRU Handheld by Nokton48, on Flickr

Plaubel Makina II Handheld Fuji HRU cut from 8x10. RADA plate holder with film insert, Plaubel Yellow filter. 1/200 at f6. 5x7 Aristo #2 Omega DII 4x5 glass carrier Multigrade developer. I produced four perfect negatives from this shoot. Successful test with no scratches. This film scratches very easilty

 

[Nokton48]

Makina II HRU Handheld by Nokton48, on Flickr

6.5x9cm Plaubel Makina II HANDHELD Fuji HRU cut from 8x10. RADA plate holder with film insert, Plaubel Yellow filter. 1/200 at f6. 5x7 Aristo #2 Omega DII 4x5 glass carrier Multigrade developer. I produced four perfect negatives from this shoot. Successful test with no scratches. This film scratches very easily.

For many decades the land my house sits on was an apple orchard. Here is one of the original trees, gone wild

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

Hello all, been a while since I last posted, so figured I'd do a little update on my Makina collecting. Here is the result of scouring eBay for the past couple of months.

First of all, I managed to acquire (and in one go no less !) cases for both suplimentary lenses (Telemakinar and Orthar) as well as for the lens hood.

All cases are original, as noted from the Plaubel logo, and interestingly the Orthar case even makes accomodation for the Viewfinder Mask that is necessary to use it. I believe the cross-link leather pads for straps are post-manufacture modifications, but would certainly make the cases and their contents more transferable. On the subject of cases, I also managed to track down a genuine case for the Camera itself.

Unfortunately, while the case type would be the one for allowing the camera to be stored with a back attached, the case seems to have been made for a Makina II, as with the protruding quick release Anticomar, the camera only fits with no back attached. I am actually not sure if this type of case was made to accomodate a Makina IIS or III/IIIR with a back attached, as I have never actually seen a picture showcasing this, and judging from the width of such a configuration, an appropriate case would need to be quite bulky. In any case, it will do for now. In the meantime I also managed to modify the back lock mechanism as I previously suggested, in order to remove the play when a back is to be attached. As previously envisioned, I simply filed an L-shaped aluminum extrusion down until appropriate shimming was provided when said filed piece was placed on the upper back way. I then simply superglued the piece. All my backs can now be placed and locked onto the camera with zero play, although some had to have their locking tabs slightly bent to clear the shimming piece (yet another indication of the variation when it comes to backs, of the same kind no less.

I am also finally gearing up to have the camera serviced. I plan to employ a local technician with over 50 years of experience in repairing analogue cameras, as I can have more direct communication with him and better oversight. If he does not succeed, I might bite the bullet and send it off to Wizcam. One of the repairs involves replacing the mirror and beam splitter, which I think have faded a bit with time. I have found an online seller on ebay for Makina IIS mirrors/spillters, which claims the correct sizes are 8x15mm. If any of you have had experience in replacing mirrors/splitters for this camera, I'd be grateful if you could confirm if these are the sizes I need, before I go ahead and order these replacements. The same seller can cut to custom sizes so if a different size is needed for the Makina III, it should not be a problem. While at the subject of asking for help, scouring as I have, I have yet to locate certain items I wish to add to my collection, so if any of you have spares you might not be impartial in parting with, please let me know. Specifically, I am looking for the 35mm Viewfinder Optical mask, as well as Red, No2 Yellow and Blue filters in chrome (as seen in the pictures). I am also in search of the Reflex Ring 1:4.5.

I might as well end this contribution with a couple of tests I run using the Anticomar 2.9. Both pictures were taken using Foma FIlm, (200@100 for the first, 400@200 for the latter, both deved in Fomadon LQR). Both pictures indicate the quality that is achievable with the Makina, even with this lens which is for some reason looked down upon. Perhaps the fact mine is coated helps it somewhat. In any case beatiful contrast is achieved, though definately in part due to the developer I used. A point to note is that the first picture had to be heavily post processed as after development, the backing paper numbers were visible across the sky. I do not know what to ascribe this to, as the reasons could be many. The film was close to expiry, and was also not developed right after shooting. Foma films are also known to develop such problems, especially with certain camera transport mechanisms (of which the Makina might be one). In any case, the problem did not occur with the second roll so for now I'm writing it off as an irregularity.

 

[Nokton48]

Makina3 #2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Japanese Garden Innis Woods

Plaubel advertised the Makinas as "the worlds smallest view camera". Using a Makina in some ways is like that in terms of use.

Foma 200 developed in replenished straight Microdol-X. Exposure bracketed in half stops to give myself a choice. Plaubel Makina III with 100mm F2.9 Anticomar Plaubel 6x9cm back Arista #2 RC paper Omega DII laser aligned Multigrade dev Omegalite diffusion head

 

[Ares_der_Ruderer]

On the subject of backs, I have been growing my collection, and trying to procure only the late chrome-type. So far I have a mint Film Pack Back, a pretty clean 35mm Back, two 6x6 backs, one 6x9 back and one 6x9 back with accomodation for the 6x4.5 plate and the appropriate markings on the frame counter. The latter is unfortunately quite manky, and I am looking to replace it, but so far no back in better condition and with the intermediate notches has come up for sale. With that I think I would be set in terms of backs, though I still need to also look into getting more of the plate holders.