Mark's Vivitar 220SL Page
2-5-23: Bought at Goodwill online auction, paid about $13 bucks. It is actually a Cosina Hi-Lite 202, 1975 to and comes with a Vivitar 50mm f/1.8 Lens. This mounts M42 lenses. It has a metal Copal shutter which goes to 1/1000th, which I really like. The light meter used 1.3 volt mercury cell button batteries. The camera itself is completely mechanical. It doesn't have a shutter lock function. It's a heavy camera, which is believed to convey quality and durability. Of course we used to judge cars that way too. I was looking for bodies to use my M42 lenses on, and if it still works this may be a very good one.2-11-23: Camera arrived from Goodwill. Shutter seems to work OK, although I see some wear on one of the curtains. The lens diaphragm is slow, probably why it was donated. I have lots of M42 lenses. The film advance is OK.
7-21-23: Click any pic to enlarge full screen in a new tab, close tab to return.
7-28-23: Installed a hearing aid battery and a roll of Arista EDU 100 ASA film. Didn't need an O-ring. Wish it had a shutter lock of any kind. Almost dropped my flash unit. The hot shoe doesn't have any "stop" at the front. I slid the flash on from the back and it went right out the front. Until it fires you're not sure if it's positioned right in the shoe. I shoot a couple of flash shots with each test roll to see if it fires at all, and if the sync speed is accurate. Sync speed on this camera is 1/125th, thanks to the Copal shutter. It's a painless way to see if the shutter is reasonably accurate.
8-10-23: Replaced light seals with cotton yarn and adhesive-backed felt.
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7-28-23: A few pics from the first test roll, shot on Arista EDU 100 ASA, developed in Ilfosol-3. No light leak, shutter and meter seem OK.
