![minolta autocord cds iii price minolta autocord cds iii price](https://live.staticflickr.com/8493/8310513888_762e1eac15_b.jpg)
the screen(s) can be removed from the finder by pressing the two spring clips out of their retaining brackets once you flip the finder over you will see what I mean be careful doing this as they can fly across the room and land somewhere never to be seen again Gently lift out the finder and all will be accessible. Richard - you can get at the screen, mirror and the rear of the viewing lens by removing the four small screws around the perimeter of the viewfinder frame. Other than the fragile focus lever and thin leatherette, all else seems the equal of my Rolleiflexes, at least by my initial impressions. Still, I wonder about the focus being off if indeed the fresnel is non-standard issue? Hoping for anyone who's owned one of these to chime in here, or even played with double-layering a fresnel over GG.īTW, I am very impressed with the build quality of the Autocord. I haven't taken it out in the field yet, but peering through it around my workshop things certainly seem bright and clear. The viewfinder in its present setup appears to work well. The fresnel seems to be of different origin, however. The ground glass is tab-less, and fits cleanly edge-to-edge, so it looks like a stock piece. OTOH, I still think the fresnel in my camera is an add-on, as it has those little tabs along the edges which are found on many screens, but which serve no purpose in the Autocord finder - there are no slots for them to fit into. That may indicate the fresnel was stock after all, but not conclusive as the model from the article may have different ground glass than mine. The pic through the finder shows the same framing lines etched in the ground glass as mine, and, interestingly, the centre focus circle is also there which (on mine) is part of the fresnel but not the ground glass. Did you know it has stately unadorned leatherette panels? Can Jag boast that? Kind of reads like an ad for a Jag or Porsche in places. This seems to be a very common problem with these cameras, and their only weak point from what I hear. PS - if anyone would like to hear how I freed up the stiff focus lever in about 5 minutes, without taking the whole face plate apart, then let me know and I would be happy to start another thread. Looking forward to hearing back from anyone who knows these cameras. So what's up with this screen? If stock, is it now configured properly - fresnel on the bottom, etched lines down, and ground glass above? If not stock and/or inserted incorrectly, will the present arrangement throw my focus off? I am guessing Yes, as the ground glass is a few millimeters farther from the viewing lens. I've since flipped it over, ridges down, and it now snaps into focus nicely, whereas before the focusing was very vague. Thirdly, the fresnel seems to have been placed in upside down with the etched ridges facing upward, which is incorrect if I'm not mistaken (sort me out if I'm wrong). Secondly, my understanding was that if adding a fresnel to a GG screen, they were to be placed on top of the ground glass, not below it.
![minolta autocord cds iii price minolta autocord cds iii price](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-UIAAOSwqvJe7jKd/s-l640.jpg)
Rolleigrid) or as a DIY add-in, I have never heard of it as a factory installed item. This is because, while I have heard of fresnel lenses being added and combined with ground glass to cameras as a separate accessory (eg. My initial reaction is that it's a mod, and not stock. Was this stock with this model? And on all Autocords in general? I have never seen another arrangement like it on any camera. What's fitted to the camera is a two-layer screen consisting of a ground glass upper layer and a fresnel lens lower layer. However, I am a bit puzzled by the focus screen and am hoping to get some insight into this from others here. This lens has a 10-bladed aperture - neat! I'm looking forward to seeing how it renders the out of focus areas compared to my other TLRs (as an aside, does anyone else cringe when they read the word "bokeh"?)
Minolta autocord cds iii price free#
Otherwise it's all good - clean lens focus lever works (initially a bit stiff, but I've managed to free it up considerably) shutter is reasonably accurate within acceptable tolerances (+/-0EV to -1EV.not bad) and it fires at all speeds. The only less-than-perfect thing about it is some of the thin leatherette is peeling off in a a couple of small areas, but that is easily fixed. Apparently it hasn't been fired in 20 years. The camera is very clean and looks barely used. I just obtained a 1958 Autocord LMX in excellent condition. Are there any Minolta Autocord owners here?