For my first (functional) medium-format camera, I recently bought what was sold to me as a black S2 for THB 9,200, which is about 290 USD. Looking a little closer, it has the winding knob of the S2A, so I believe it is an early-model S2A. Mechanically, it seems to be intact inside. All the speeds work, and it stops down ok. I’ve attached two test shots on one year expired Foma 200.
My main concerns:
Is there any alternative to finding the dedicated strap for this camera itself? There’s not much I hate more than having to swing around a camera this precious and risk dropping it, but damn are those wing-lug straps hard to find.
Seemingly 100% of the foam inside this thing has melted and turned into easily-aerosolized dust within the body. I know the mirror and ground glass are simple enough to do on my own, but are there any other spots I may be missing? (or for the price, should I just return it?)
There’s these lines of black adhesive inside the body under the ground-glass screen (photos 4, 5). Is that signs of a shoddy repair, or just how they made the GGFS curtain?
That famous focus screen drift plagues this example as well. On the ground glass, it seems to only focus to maybe 20 meters. I’m pretty sure replacing the foam can help in this situation, but you can correct me on this if I’m wrong.
(Photo 3) the interior looks weird and fuzzy with these white spots all over. One or two other cameras of mine exhibit this, is there any way to remedy it? Will it cause a problem down the line if I don’t remedy it?
(Photo 2) The combination latch cover / memo holder on the magazine is a bit loose. It doesn’t have enough tension to hold the torn-off film box side, and just a little touch will flick it open. Any way to remedy this?
Anything else? I feel like I’ve been pretty thorough in my checks, but I could of course be missing something. Please let me know.