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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Alcohol abuse is dangerous for the health...

...of cameras too!
I have already mentioned in different places that you should not use alcohol to clean a camera. On Zenit, it erases the names or lightmeter marks. On a Praktica, it directly removes the black paint.
I should receive shortly a Zenit, on which I'll have to replace the focusing screen, here too cleaned with alcohol! I will have to plunder another camera, which did not deserve it.
For really dirty camera bodies, I clean with water and soap elements previously removed, otherwise you can use glass cleaner, provided to make a small test in a corner and avoiding the writings. For the internal parts (mirror, focusing screen) do not touch, unless you really know what to do!

Here I announced that I would receive for repair a Zenit TTL whose owner had destroyed the sight glass. So I bought on eBay a set of two TTL for parts (the glass sight is specific to TTL), and warned the "client" I was ready to repair. Well, he had changed his mind, fearing I'd take advantage of the operation to "loot" his Zenit TTL! (that is really true, it has such a great value, a TTL, should not be no longer 100% authentic!). I have since had another TTL to repair, it is true that it is no more fully true now, I exchanged the electrical circuit with one from my wrecks, but this other client is happy, he can take pictures!