Well, the Mamiya C220 went back for an overhaul. Seemingly it was the lens unit that was completely out (as in, taken apart and fecked beyond belief by some wazzock) so I waited.
And waited . . .
And waited!
A new lens unit was sourced, body was overhauled, screen adjusted properly (I had to explain that one to them!) and 3+ months later, I got the camera back.
It looked lovely and squeaky clean, however . . . .
The Single/Multi button still moved with the breath of a gentle breeze, meaning it would need to be taped over for day-to-day use.
The 'new' Sekor-S lens looked wonderful, but the shutter speeds were well out and worse still, the aperture lever was louder and less smooth than the Salt Mill in our kitchen. It made an intense grinding sound that felt as bad as it sounded - I dunno - it was like the ball-bearing had gone or else there were large chunks of sand in there.
Man was I peeved, so. getting back on the phone, I let rip in a vaguely Sheephousian fashion, which is actually, fairly pleasant.
In all fairness to the vendor, there were no arguments, the whole lot was sent back and, to be honest, I have no desire to explore Mamiya stuff ever again, which I guess is a good thing in some ways.
It's a great shame though, because the C220 was fairly easy to use; however, having spent years with little wonders like a Rollei's considerably lighter weight and its lovely, moving parallax indicator, I can see in hindsight somewhere down the line, me and the C220 wouldn't have been pals.
It's better off in someone else's hands.
I am quite sad about it on one hand - all I wanted was a small carry about MF camera, and, ostensibly, the 220 fitted the bill, but yeah, excuse me whilst I type, justify and think, the parallax thing would have been really annoying.
Bruce at the The OD says he rarely missed shots with Mamiyas due to parallax, however from my own point of view, I still do it with the SW, so I cant see it stopping anytime soon!
So, the hunt went on. I made enquiries about getting the T overhauled, and it seemed to approximate to £180, and no guarantee over the longevity of the rubber speed/aperture bands [If you're a camera restorer, I can really recommend for ALL rubber bits (older, pure rubber that is) a product by the French Welly manufacturer Aigle; it is called Swipol. All their boots are the highest quality rubber and Swipol suits pure rubber - this being said Bruce says he uses silicone spray on his car hoses (I had no idea such a thing was available). But anyway, Swipol. I've used it on Vulcanite (lightly) and it has been very good indeed.]
And then I decorated some more, and you know what - the feeling of G.A.S. went away and I came to think that really, maybe I had enough cameras - 13 serious ones at last count! - and I really should be making do with what I have. Phew.
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| Make Do Hasselblad 500C/M, 40mm CF/FLE Distagon, Ilford HP5+ |
Been a loooong time coming.
This being said I can still see myself with a Rolleicord - I haven't quite given up on that!
And that is the end of that little tale. The old adage still rings true - Caveat Emptor.
It is especially appropriate in this day and age where a lot of people have no idea what they are selling, or indeed, even whether it is fit for sale.
Over and out.
H xx
