Since the last update there have been a few newbies to the collection…

Firstly what seemed like a bargain - a boxed Ukrainian Kiev 35A 35mm compact. It is in excellent cosmetic condition, but is suffering from what I now know is a common fault with the alignment of the shutter cocking lever inside. Unfortunately it cannot be adjusted enough at the top of the lever’s travel to actually cock the shutter. To be honest, I am not that bothered - it would have been nice to have a play, but it is more just to add to my line of Kiev cameras.

Next is the humble Wirgin Edixa - a simple 35mm viewfinder camera, but one I owned several years ago. The one I had was in probably the worst condition a camera could be, so it got binned! Seeing this one in pretty good condition, and a very good price, why not get a new one.

Following on from the Edixa, but a whole different level is the Edinex. And what a gorgeous little thing it is! The design with the thin body and cylindrical grips is wonderful, and the whole thing is actually perfect. The Steinhell Cassar f2.8 lens is clean and clear, and the Compur shutter is really sharp and snappy and perfectly usable with speeds of 1s to 1/300th plus B. It is currently loaded with Ilford FP4, so hopefully will create some nice images over the next few weeks…

And finally a real oddball… the Chinon CG-5 Medical!

This setup is a standard CG-5 body with a Databack 2 and Elicar V-HQ Medical 90mm f2.5 1:1 macro lens with ring flash. It is awkward and heavy but extremely cool!

When it arrived it needed some work (and cleaning), and is now partially functioning! Repairs included stripping down the Powerpack and fixing loose parts inside, repairing and cleaning battery compartment that has seriously corroded batteries inside as well as minor fixes. It still has issues like the LCD on the Databack doesn’t work, the plastic bottom of the ringflash is cracked, but the plastic feels like it will fully break if I try to do anything with it, and the CG-5 body has developed a fault (but I have another body so it’s ok). Lastly although I have managed to get power to the ringflash, and can here the capacitor charging - the flash will not discharge!

The plan was to use it for photographing insects, and fungi in the Autumn, so it will have to go on the bench again for some more surgery!

Four new cameras…

Mount Babadag on film…