i have been shooting with an old iiic for about a year now. i like it being small. i like it being relatively tough. i like the images from the (gasp) nikkor on the front.

my problem is i am vain.

as i was loading film the other day i tweaked the vulcanite on the back just right. it had been chipping a bit before this and had just spent two days out in the direct hot sun. the glue for the back half of the vulcanite gave way. so the front of the camera still has vulcanite. the rear half does not. it came off in one relatively solid chunk.

should i just try to glue it back on, or just cover the camera in gaffers tape to cover the gross brass and make it feel nicer or get the camera recovered in vulcanite some time down the road? how much will it cost for new vulcanite? is it even worth it? especially since this camera is used. and where could i get vulcanite for it?

thanks for the help.

-m

-- michael meyer (mnm207@stern.nyu.edu), June 21, 2001

Answers

Unfortunately, Vulcanite is apparently no longer available. The M6 cameras are covered in a plastic that looks like it, but is slick and feels slightly oily. If you can glue your real Vulcanite back on, you should definitely do it.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), June 22, 2001.

I seem to remember having seen replacement kits for sale on e-bay for the III C. Check it out.

-- Jean-David Borges (jdborges@home.com), June 22, 2001.

You can buy a modern replacement material by the sheet from Fargo Enterprises for under $20. It's got sticky on the back, with a cover sheet, so it's easy to work with. I recovered my IIIa. The material is very nice, and the camera looks great, but doing the job isn't for you if you're not comfortable taking your camera apart. At the minimum you'll have to remove the lens mount and the slow speed dial (and be able to get them back right, too :-). The four screws in the front have to come out, too, but not all at once.

Someone was selling precut pieces on ebay--probably you wouldn't have to unscrew anything if you had one of those--but I haven't seen him there in a while.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), June 22, 2001.