Broken Focus Lever

[Nathan Cooperman]

Hi all,

I recently have found a vintage Agfa Karat 36 in working condition, only the focus lever will not budge. Does anyone have any tips for fixing this?

Thanks.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Nice rangefinder. Try here. AGFA Karat 36 v1.5 (1950) - mike eckman dot com

Mike Eckman's article has a link to Mike Butkus' camera manuals site, you might take a look at that. It also has a link to a video that he recommends but talks like it gets rather involved (takes more of the camera apart than necessary for this); he suggests what to tryto get parts un-gunked.

I've had cameras seem jammed and sometimes using one is enough to get it loosened up and usable, but if it's that frozen you might need to see if you can clean it. There's always a chance it won't go back together and work, but it's probably either try cleaning it, or just take photos of subjects that are in focus where the camera is currently set (and use your feet, move around to get something in focus!). It might just turn out to be shelf art but would probably be a nice camera with a nice lens to actually be able to use it