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Halina 35x - worst design flaw in a 35mm camera ever?
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:08 pm    Post subject: Halina 35x - worst design flaw in a 35mm camera ever? Reply with quote


Just finished shooting a test roll in this camera. Then the camera really finished the roll.

Apparently the advance sprockets won't disengage for rewinding if there is any tension on the film. Like say the tension you get when you reach the end of a roll. Or the tension you get when you try to rewind a roll.

Predictable results ensued.

Next time I guess I'll just rewind when the counter reaches 0 regardless of whether there is another exposure or two on the roll.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A terminal quirk indeed. My medalist 1 is still locked up from just trying to load a roll of film. Engineering at it's worst. LOL


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I did start to shoot one roll with this camera and I did give up Wink perhaps just throw out camera with film all together, one of my worst experience.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
On the other hand, it looks very nice in my cupboard! Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
I did start to shoot one roll with this camera and I did give up Wink perhaps just throw out camera with film all together, one of my worst experience.


I already took the time to take apart and clean the lens - so I've got to get at least one roll out of it. Laughing

Kind of funny, the center element of the lens is uncoated... cheapskates.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think that referring to it as a "design flaw" gives far too much credit to Halina, and assumes they even spent any time at all at the design stage Laughing

Please, just put it on a shelf and look at it from time to time, and use valuable film in something much, much better. Like a Kodak Instamatic Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The whole "Halina" name is a design flaw in itself, much like the "Miranda" brand. It's wrong to give cameras girl names. As a result, both do not exist anymore Laughing

Think about it, would Canon still exist if they called their cameras "Priscilla"?


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
But at least Miranda was nice. Wink

Actually I've seen some pretty good pix come out of these 35x cameras: http://www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/4557756937/in/photostream/

Although most of these cameras seem to have aged pretty poorly.

Last edited by Mos6502 on Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:24 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spotmatic wrote:
On the other hand, it looks very nice in my cupboard! Laughing


Proper usage Smile perhaps this will be next camera of my bird, as replacement of her Minolta SLR.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Interesting thread on APUG "Most disappointing cameras?"......Don't think anyone has mentioned Halina35x yet Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Excalibur wrote:
Interesting thread on APUG "Most disappointing cameras?"......Don't think anyone has mentioned Halina35x yet Laughing


Nobody was same silly than me to try it out Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Excalibur wrote:
Interesting thread on APUG "Most disappointing cameras?"......Don't think anyone has mentioned Halina35x yet Laughing


Nobody was same silly than me to try it out Laughing Laughing


Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mos6502 wrote:
Actually I've seen some pretty good pix come out of these 35x cameras: http://www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/4557756937/in/photostream/


But the maker of the picture tells it costed him two years to learn using it properly! Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 1:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've been a vintage camera hunter for many years and there are certain cameras that are just guaranteed to be nonfunctional when found.
Examples: any Bolsey or most any Kowa 35mm

On the other hand: Argus cameras almost always work even with rusty shutter blades. Go figure.


PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The problem with the Bolsey is usually the Alphax shutter... which unfortunately was used on lots and lots of old American cameras. Usually a pretty simple fix with a flush of naptha, but I do have one that's stuck tight. I try to avoid cameras with this shutter now.

The argus C3 shutter fires anyway because of the ridiculous spring tension it uses haha, I don't think anything can kill it short of getting dropped in mud.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:58 am    Post subject: Re: Halina 35x - worst design flaw in a 35mm camera ever? Reply with quote
Mos6502 wrote:

Apparently the advance sprockets won't disengage for rewinding if there is any tension on the film.


Are you sure?

I had a problem with my Kiev rewind: the sprocket did disengage but the taking spool didn't? What was the problem? Asked R. Pinchback and he said it shouldn't even do that, but there is a spring that lets the taking spool slide. The spring system was just stuck and started working with a little bit of force (not the skywalker style ..)


PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm pretty sure. Whether it was like that originally or not I do not know. But I checked to make sure the rewind worked as soon as I got the camera - by pressing the rewind button and spinning the sprockets backwards. Seemed free enough to me at the time.

Then with film, the rewind button wouldn't budge at all.

After I pulled the film out, I tried again. Pushing on the sprockets even gently made it near impossible to push the rewind button in.

In any event I did manage to get the second roll rewound.


PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Probably wear and tear - but hardly a design flaw if the majority of 35Xs worked perfectly well. I don't recall any rewinding problems at all.


PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had one in the 70's. The film has to be wound a full frame and the shutter cocked before you could rewind the film. My Agimatic has the same problem.


PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laughing so you know it well, cool!


PostPosted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Laughing so you know it well, cool!


I had some good photos from it. It was a nice little camera, pocketable but heavy!
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