[Leica] Iskra and Jurgen (OT: bronica 645 RF?)

[phong at doan-ltd.com (Phong)]

Matt Powell wrote:
> I've been looking for a 6x6 alternative to the much more expensive
> Rolleiflex F or a Mamiya 6 kit - the only downside to the Iskra's is
> that I've heard the film advance is fragile.

I bought a Iskra 2 from Jurgen Hreckel (certo6),
and was willing to pay a premium for his experience.
Jurgen assured me that the sample was as good as
any he had seen, and I am reasonably happy with the 
camera.

Two things you might want to watch out for:
Film thickness seem to matter; Tri-X (both TXP and
TX) perform flawlessly; a couple of other films 
I tried  (TMAX and a Fuji color negative, probably NPH) 
did not work consistently.  Upon loading, sometimes
the film just went to the end, without locking on 
the first frame.  I did not try a lot of different 
film types.

The second thing is that many of these cameras
were repaired with do-it-yourselfers who are not
always experienced enough.   This is true with
all sort of vintage cameras (time increases the
probability), and inexpensive origin (who would
want to pay a lot to fix a cheap fixture ?).
Make sure you can buy with return privilege.
Any respectable seller would not have a problem
with that.

With respect to Jurgen himself, my experience while
not negative, was not entirely positive either.
One thing I can say is that he is very prompt,
and I don't think he is dishonest.  If I were
to buy from him, I would also insist on return 
privilege, as I would from anybody else.

Hope that helps,

- Phong