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May 2010: Leningrad

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Voir texteThe Leningrad, produced by GOMZ (LOMO) from 1956 to 1968 in... Leningrad (St Petersburg), compact 135 rangefinder camera, has the particularity of being motirized, thanks to a spring located inside the cocking button. This system would allow up to 12 views in a row at 3 frames per second.
This one presents three problems:
-The cocking spring jumps,
-The rangefinder is offset in height,
-The film gets stuck after 2 or 3 frames.

Voir texteThe spring: the small triangular piece of metal that should hold it is broken and wanders inside. Will require a new cutting.

Voir texteDisassembly to access the different parts

Voir texteControl and regreasing at the level of advance and rewind mechanisms that might be involved in the blocking of the film.

Voir texteAdjustment of the rangefinder: two adjusting screws are loose. I stop them with a drop of nail varnish after adjustment.

Voir texteThe Leningrad was designed to use Contax (Kiev) cartridges. You can see that the cartridge is fully seated, by the two ends and the locating pin. I opened the cartridge for having a better view, in reality it is closed and opens when you lock the back of the camera. This sort of cassette has not felt, the film comes out freely (it's easier for the spring!). More, the spool of the Contax cassette has a different shape than that of the "Kodak" cartridges, it is centered by the pin of the back lock.
More pictures and explanations about cassettes: here.

Voir texteThe common film cartridges are not wedged, they tend to rotate and skew, which causes the blockage. I made a small piece of wood to hold the cartridge in place and prevent it from rotating.

Voir texteThe wedge in place.
There's not 12 views before you need to bend the spring, about 10, it makes sense, the felt in the cartridge slows a little. But it no longer hangs.

Voir texteReassembling finished.

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