Photo notes From Mr. Bo Hultberg:

I just finished your article on MF SLRs and found out you are missing pics of the PRIMARFLEX. To help this out I borrowed a Kodak DC260 and took some photographs of mine. I bought it some years ago from an elderly gentleman who told this was the father of the Hasselblad much as you do in the article. At the same time I photographed the cameras I talked about in my previous mail. [see Fujita 66 and Kalloflex TLR]

The Primarflex is very torn and the shutter is not working at the moment so I have not been able to test it. From the pics you can see that the eyepiece of the 'sports viewer' is missing', but judging from it there must have been at least 3 lenses made for it. The back has been corrected many times which is no wonder as it is made from very thin aluminum. I also believe some of the levers may have been remade during the years. The curtains seem to be OK so it should be possible to make it work once again. By the way shutter speeds are marked 1, 2, 5, 10, T, B, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000. The lens is a Meyer Trioplan 1:2,8 f=10cm Nr. 688067. It has some minor scratches, but I suppose it will give acceptable results anyhow. The serial no. of the camera might be 26 460 but I am not sure.

...

[Mr. Bo Hultberg goes on to note that none of his cameras are for sale! ;-)]

[Ed.note: Mr. Small is a noted expert on Zeiss and Rollei lenses, cameras...]
From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000
From: Marc James Small [email protected]
Subject: [Rollei] Military Cameras

Richard Knoppow wrote:

>  The US military used Speed Graphics. There was a special verison called
>the Combat Graphic, which had rigid sides. The Navy also used Kodak
>Medallist cameras, maybe others.
>  Post WW-2 the government bought many cameras including Leica and a
>special 70mm camera made by Graflex which looks like a giant Contax.

The latter "Contax on Steroids" was designed by Hubert Nerwin, the fellow who earlier had designed the Contax II and III and the Contax S.

And the US Submarine Force in World War II tested quite a few cameras before discovering that the best periscope camera they could obtain was the Bentzin Primarflex. There was only one hitch -- it was made in Germany!

Six were found on the used market and were held at Pearl to be assigned to patrol subs as needed. Some of the finest pictures were made by USS NAUTILUS -- the Diesel-Electric one, not the later atomic-powered sub.

Marc

[email protected]

From Medium Format Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [medium-format] Primar-Reflex II - Filmloading?

Per,

I am a longtime collector of Primarflex models and have 8 different variations of them in my collection.

The trick of loading the camera is impossible to discover, as you would never think it, and it goes against all reality of loading film and fogging film.

I had to get the original instructions to learn what this bizarre procedure was which allowed one to start the first frame properly without starter marks or red windows.

Here it is - believe it or not:

1- Open camera back - pull spring loaded wind knob out and remove film insert.

2- Load film from bottom (like old Bronica or Hassy) around this insert and put in takeup spool on top - give it a turn or two to hold film in place.

3- Pull out wind knob again and replace insert in camera.

4- Snap knob which turns counter DOWN to its lower position and turn the knob all the way counterclockwise to 0.

5- Turn wind knob in either direction until it snaps into the two holes on the gear on the film insert.

6- IMPORTANT HERE - Keep the back of the camera open. Turn wind knob SLOWLY until the first SNALL AMOUNT OF THE MASKING TAPE WHICH HOLDS THE NEGATIVE STOCK ON THE BACKING PAPER BECOMES VISIBLE FROM THE FULL ROLL OF FILM THAT IS UNSPOOLING - Now - Stop and lock camera back.

7- Snap knob which turns counter UP until the counter gears mesh in place.

8- Now wind to Number 1 and start taking pictures until you shoot number 12 - at that point snap the counter knob DOWN and (this disengages the shutter winding) and wind the wind knob until all of the film is wound onto the takeup spool.

That's the secret and Good Luck.

- Sam Sherman

>Hello everybody,
>
>I have got a Primar-Reflex II. Even though I have used it a bit, I never
>could figure out how I am supposed to load the film. Of course i maneged to
>load it to get most of the
>frames (or all) on the film, but I wonder, what the proper trick is. There
>are no red dots, no red window, no indication whatsoever of how far to wind
>the film before turning the
>counter on.
>
>I have searched the web for information about this camera, but did not find
>anything except a few pictures and a few for sale.
>
>Per B.

From Medium Format Mailing LIst;
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [medium-format] Primar-Reflex II - Filmloading?

Per,

Thanks for writing back and you mention several interesting issues.

First, the island of Oland. Many years ago in the US there was an actor originally from Sweden, Warner Oland, who was the great star of the early Charlie Chan mystery films for 20th Century Fox. Could he have taken his name from this island?

Second, I am very interested in what you have used to soften old dried focal plane curtains as some of the 1950s East German Primarflexes and Exaktas have this problem. I would like to know exactly what this is you used and how to apply it. Were there any long term problems or did the curtains remain soft?

The Primarflex is a great classic camera and Hasselblad, Bronica and all similar cameras have evolved from it.

Your 35,000 serial number camera is one of the latest models made and my latest model only goes to 34,000.

In searching for a more sophisticated later camera based on the Primarflex I have found the Bronica C with fixed back. I also have several other early Bronica focal plane shutter models.

You can read some of my articles about Bronica and adapting unusual lenses to them on Bob Monaghan's Classic Bronica Mega site-

http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/bronica.html

If you go through this site you will find something on the Primarflex in the history of medium format cameras or use the search engine on the site under "Primarflex".

I know of no other site on this camera and I believe I am the main source of information on it.

The original model I, originated about 1936 and these are probably some of the best made models. They don't have internal flash sync, but if you find a good one the curtains are usually in better shape than the poorer quality materials used in the 1950s. The camera went through several revisions from the orginal model which had a wooden body with leather covering to later models with various cast aluminum bodies. The real changes in the camera came after World War II, about 1947 and then several variations on the basic theme until the Primarflex II, which also has several variations. Some of these can be very nicely made with good quality. They are very hard to find in working condition or in really Mint physical condition. I know of nobody who can fix them except myself or someone experimenting with one like yourself. I would guess that really top techncians can fix them, make new shutter curtains etc.

The basic problem with the camera is that the shutter curtains dry out and become hard and then need more shutter spring tension to get them to move fast enough. Adding tension to the shutter springs makes the camera harder to wind and then the wind clutch slips and will not wind the shutter all the way every time. The wind clutch is a sandwich of two gears connected to the wind knob with a fibre washer between the two gears which allows them to slip. If they slip too much and don't have enough tension (on old very used cameras) the shutter does not wind far enough to lock onto the latch which locks the curtains in the up or wound position. I have removed this wind clutch gear combination and tighted this up slightly. Doing this too tight makes it impossible for the gears to slip and wind and too light and the shutter will not latch. It must be tightened up very slightly. I suggest you don't attempt this as it is easy to ruin this part.

The later model cameras came with either only a plain ground glass screen or a ground glass and fresnel combination. Since the finder hood is removable on the later models, it was done so to accept a Prism finder. I have only seen pictures of them, never an actual one, so I don't know if they were actually made. I made my own from a Pentacon 6 TTL meter prism.

I have quite a variety of lenses in my collection -

Normal (85MM and 105MM variations from Zeiss Jena and Meyer), 150MM and 180MM Meyer, 165MM Zeiss Tessar, 180MM Meyer - these are all post war lenses and I have a prewar Schneider 180MM tele. In addition I have some sheet film holders, extension tubes, microscope adapter, bellows and other odds and ends including an adapter to take 39MM Kilfitt Tele lenses.

I have used some of these cameras over the years, but mainly for my collection. I don't consider them to be as reliable as the Bronica focal plane models.

The Bronica cameras allow a wide variety of strange and inexpensive lenses to be adapted and are quite versatile.

In the USA in the early 1950s the Primarflex II was sold under several names.

The official importer (Ercona) called the camera the Primar-Reflex II. Peerless Camera stores had a limitd quality with their own name plate as Peer-Flex. A large quantity of cameras was sold by Sterling-Howard as Astraflex II, which they sold for half the price of the official Primar-Reflex II. It turns out that the Astraflex II cameras all had some defect and were not first quality as were the Primar-Reflex II and Sterling-Howard had to repair each one before they could be sold.

They turn up sometimes on Ebay but are fairly rare today.

Good luck with your Primarflex study.

Best,

Sam

----------
>From: "Per Backman" [email protected]
>To: "[email protected]" [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [medium-format] Primar-Reflex II - Filmloading?
>Date: Fri, Feb 2, 2001
>
>....
>
>Many thanks!
>
>I have been asking about this wherever there was a small chance anyone
>would now. Believe it or not, but I have loaded the film exactly the way
>you described, but I
>thought, or hoped, there would be a better way.
>
>The camera I have has the production number 35130, made by "Feinopt. Werk
>G�rlitz" with a GDR quality mark. The mirror is a bit bad, and I am not
>shure if the screen is
>original, there is no fresnel lens, just a plain matte screen. It was badly
>set, when i bought the camera. Someone has tried to make it work by
>lubricating the filmtransport, I
>managed to get the most of the oil away, so now it works. The shutter is
>fairly OK, I can not remember if it was when I bought it.
>
>I have manages to soften up old dried out focal plane shutters by using
>silicone for rubberdetails in motorcars, it is intended for lubricating the
>rubber around doors and
>windows to prevent them from freezing.
>
>Is it hard to find these cameras and lenses for them in a working
>condition? I have a 10,5/3,5 and a 16,5/3,5 as well as a set of extension
>tubes for it.
>
>Are there any sites that deal with Primar-Reflexes?
>
>Thanks again,
>
>Per B.

From Medium Format Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Primar-Reflex II - Filmloading?

Per,

Thanks for writing back and you mention several interesting issues.

First, the island of Oland. Many years ago in the US there was an actor originally from Sweden, Warner Oland, who was the great star of the early Charlie Chan mystery films for 20th Century Fox. Could he have taken his name from this island?

Second, I am very interested in what you have used to soften old dried focal plane curtains as some of the 1950s East German Primarflexes and Exaktas have this problem. I would like to know exactly what this is you used and how to apply it. Were there any long term problems or did the curtains remain soft?

The Primarflex is a great classic camera and Hasselblad, Bronica and all similar cameras have evolved from it.

Your 35,000 serial number camera is one of the latest models made and my latest model only goes to 34,000.

In searching for a more sophisticated later camera based on the Primarflex I have found the Bronica C with fixed back. I also have several other early Bronica focal plane shutter models.

You can read some of my articles about Bronica and adapting unusual lenses to them on Bob Monaghan's Classic Bronica Mega site-

http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/bronica.html

If you go through this site you will find something on the Primarflex in the history of medium format cameras or use the search engine on the site under "Primarflex".

I know of no other site on this camera and I believe I am the main source of information on it.

The original model I, originated about 1936 and these are probably some of the best made models. They don't have internal flash sync, but if you find a good one the curtains are usually in better shape than the poorer quality materials used in the 1950s. The camera went through several revisions from the orginal model which had a wooden body with leather covering to later models with various cast aluminum bodies. The real changes in the camera came after World War II, about 1947 and then several variations on the basic theme until the Primarflex II, which also has several variations. Some of these can be very nicely made with good quality. They are very hard to find in working condition or in really Mint physical condition. I know of nobody who can fix them except myself or someone experimenting with one like yourself. I would guess that really top techncians can fix them, make new shutter curtains etc.

The basic problem with the camera is that the shutter curtains dry out and become hard and then need more shutter spring tension to get them to move fast enough. Adding tension to the shutter springs makes the camera harder to wind and then the wind clutch slips and will not wind the shutter all the way every time. The wind clutch is a sandwich of two gears connected to the wind knob with a fibre washer between the two gears which allows them to slip. If they slip too much and don't have enough tension (on old very used cameras) the shutter does not wind far enough to lock onto the latch which locks the curtains in the up or wound position. I have removed this wind clutch gear combination and tighted this up slightly. Doing this too tight makes it impossible for the gears to slip and wind and too light and the shutter will not latch. It must be tightened up very slightly. I suggest you don't attempt this as it is easy to ruin this part.

The later model cameras came with either only a plain ground glass screen or a ground glass and fresnel combination. Since the finder hood is removable on the later models, it was done so to accept a Prism finder. I have only seen pictures of them, never an actual one, so I don't know if they were actually made. I made my own from a Pentacon 6 TTL meter prism.

I have quite a variety of lenses in my collection -

Normal (85MM and 105MM variations from Zeiss Jena and Meyer), 150MM and 180MM Meyer, 165MM Zeiss Tessar, 180MM Meyer - these are all post war lenses and I have a prewar Schneider 180MM tele. In addition I have some sheet film holders, extension tubes, microscope adapter, bellows and other odds and ends including an adapter to take 39MM Kilfitt Tele lenses.

I have used some of these cameras over the years, but mainly for my collection. I don't consider them to be as reliable as the Bronica focal plane models.

The Bronica cameras allow a wide variety of strange and inexpensive lenses to be adapted and are quite versatile.

In the USA in the early 1950s the Primarflex II was sold under several names.

The official importer (Ercona) called the camera the Primar-Reflex II. Peerless Camera stores had a limitd quality with their own name plate as Peer-Flex. A large quantity of cameras was sold by Sterling-Howard as Astraflex II, which they sold for half the price of the official Primar-Reflex II. It turns out that the Astraflex II cameras all had some defect and were not first quality as were the Primar-Reflex II and Sterling-Howard had to repair each one before they could be sold.

They turn up sometimes on Ebay but are fairly rare today.

Good luck with your Primarflex study.

Best,

Sam

From MEdium Format Mailing List:
Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2001
From: Per Backman [email protected]
Subject: Re: [medium-format] Primar-Reflex II - Filmloading?

...

>Second, I am very interested in what you have used to soften old dried focal
>plane curtains as
>some of the 1950s East German Primarflexes and Exaktas have this problem. I
>would like to know exactly what this is you used and how to apply it. Were
>there any long term problems or did the
>curtains remain soft?

To be honest, I can not remember if I used this for the Primarflex, I did it with a Reflex Korelle, I am sure about that. It was over five years ago, and the shutter still works. It is not even, but it was softened up enough to operate.

The thing I used is a fluid, silicone based, at least it used to be, which is smeared on to the rubber borders that tighten motorcar doors, to stop dust and water to get in the carriage while driving. It can also be used around the windows in the doors. I smeared very little of this on the curtains, and waited for some time, then the shutter worked. I think the curtains in the Primar-Reflex were OK, it was just the film advance that had to be deoiled.

I have two Reflex Korelle, the one with the dried out curtains is the newer one, it has a silver plate with black text that says "Reflex-Korelle". The lens was an uncoated Xenar 80/2,8. It has a self timer and long shutter times. Unfortunatedly I broke of one of the eyes holding one of the rolls over which the film runs, so I suppose I can only use it to pick parts from now.

These two Korelles as well as a long telephoto lens have been lying untouched for years waiting for me to finish the repairs I once started.

I would think that any fluid used to soften rubber or artificial rubber, would do the trick. I think there is something for diving glasses, that perhaps could be used.

..........
..........

>I know of no other site on this camera and I believe I am the main source of
>information on it.

What information do you have and what information do you want? Not details, but categories. I have not checked the Bronica pages yet (not for Primar-Reflex anyway, I have a Bronica ETR too). Maybe I can find out something.

Per B.

http://hem.fyristorg.com/pbackman/

From: [email protected] (FLEXARET2)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: 06 Jul 2002 
Subject: Re: THE SHOCK OF SEEING THE FIRST HASSELBLAD IN AMERICA


Yes, I will chime in about the great Primarflex - which I both collect and
use and I do have 8 variants of model I and II in total.

There would be no Hasselblad without the Primarflex which inspired it.
Victor Hasseblad owned and used one and was inspired by it, just as Zenaburo
Yoshino owned Primarflex, Hasselblad and other such cameras
which he admitted inspired the first Bronicas.

The style of a boxy small (Graflex-like) SLR for 120 film is no doubt a
landmark design.

All of these cameras from Primarflex I and II, to Hassy 1600/1000, Bronica
Deluxe through S2A and all of the Kiev/Salyut models can still be made to work
perfectly today by fine repairmen like Ken Ruth of
Photography on Bald Mountain.


This is nothing to argue about, if you have one of these cameras and really
like it - have it serviced to work properly and use it, as I do.

- Sam Sherman