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zburke11 · Joined: 29 Jun 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Peoria, IL

so i'm extremely new to this whole camera thing let alone old school models like these, but I decided to give it a shot. Just got a ciro-flex model E in decent shape. the shutter was getting stuck so I took it took a local shop and he got it working and just said I couldn't use any setting below 25, which is fine with me I guess. Anyway the viewing glass was really dirty so I took the top off and cleaned it out and was able to clean the mirror as well. however the mirror wasn't attached? just kind of loose in the camera. So my question is... how is the mirror attached to stay in position? It looked like maybe double-sided tape of some sort? or could I just use some glue? Thanks for any help!

Zack

45PSS · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 6:30 pm Post subject:

Just looking at some pictures on ebay of ciroflex listed I would say just glue the mirror in place on its frame.
A quick way to tell is to set the camera up on a tripod, tape a piece of wax paper or run a few parallel pieces of magic transparent tape across the film guides, focus infinity with the taking lens then check the view lens and position the mirror so that the view lens shows infinity in focus also.
Do not use Gorilla Glue as it foams up as it dries. Rubber cement or contact cement should work fine.
The camera is from the late 1940's or early 1950's so I doubt they used double sided tape. The glue used on mirrors in other camera equipment of that era fails frequently.

Sounds like the shutter needs a Clean-Lube_Adjust. I hope the camera store did not charge you much to "get it going" as a full CLA will run around $65 for the shutter.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

zburke11 · Joined: 29 Jun 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Peoria, IL

Thanks for the reply. I'll definitely use the rubber cement. The only reason I thought it might be double sided tape was because underneath the mirror there was a very thin strip of paper. Obviously no longer sticking to the mirror but still stuck to thence camera body where the mirror was. The camera shop guy was super nice. He didn't charge me anything because all he did was basically set the shutter speed at like 30 and then continues to cock the shutter and press the release till it finally loosened up. Then he told me most likely it would cost $100 to get it worked on. Thanks again for the help!

45PSS · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:25 pm Post subject:

Paper shims are used to accurately position ground glass in camera backs so using them on a reflex mirror would not be out of line. .001 inch in lens movement will translate to several feet in focused distance.

check your private messages.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.