Airesflex still lives!

jcdeboever · Jan 14, 2016

I fixed my Airesflex that got damaged during an attempting mugging in Detroit some time ago. It was given to me by someone special and I felt like I needed to keep it going. I am good with electronics so I had at it. Well I found a couple of super cheap broken ones, plus leather kit, and managed to square away this one after 3 attempts and many hours of pure frustration. The first two attempts rendered me with extra tiny parts (3 the first time, 1 the second), finally figured it all out after some time. I thought I was going to have an issue with the mirror alignment, must have got lucky. I did not expect this thing to work as I did not have a thorough understanding of the mechanics. Plus the shutter seemed to fire way to easy but after thinking about it, seeing the pics, it probably was botched (sticking) before it was broke. Also, the viewing lens seemed to be a touch crooked but seems O.K. It's not a perfect rebuild but I am not getting into the camera repair business. All that matters is that I am confident to use my old friend again. I need to practice as noticed by my tilted photos. They never looked this sharp and they have the same coral lens but from one of the scrap ones I bought. Really is very gratifying. I brought 3 camera's to this tractor show. Pentax K1000 / 50mm 1.2, Nikon D3300, and the Airesflex. My dog saddled them all for me and did a great job considering he was only 8 months old. However, it did get a little scary when other dogs were around. All photos Ilford HP5 Plus 400. No post processing.

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#5 A double exposure, my favorite.

Derrel · Jan 14, 2016

Way cool! Those old 1950's era Japanese made TLR's are cool! After WW II there were many companies making low- and moderately-price TLR cameras. A LOT of companies. Post-WW II Made in Japan TLRs are a neat collector's niche. Glad to hear that you managed to get tis one going again, that is way cool man.