Lecina 8v 8mm camera

[Brainteaser]

First of all Merry Christmas!!

now with that being said I have been wanting either the Leicina Special or Super for a while now and my girlfriend wanted to surprise me for Christmas. Unfortunately she's not the type to research anything before jumping in and going for it and she bought me a Lecina 8v regular 8mm camera rather than super 8. I'm actually not totally opposed to the idea of shooting with an old 8mm but I'm seeing a couple of issues with the camera she purchased.

1. I opened the battery compartment and put in new batteries exactly as the diagram of the batter case shows but the motor will not power on. I double and triple checked that the positive and negative ends of the batteries are facing in the correct directions and that the battery cover was lined up properly, so that shouldn't be the issue. I notice that the camera was probably stored with batteries in the battery cover and there is some (but not a lot) of corrosion on the contacts but it doesn't seem like enough to hinder the flow of juice. Anyone have any experience in cleaning up the contacts and getting their 8v up and running? I also don't have any film stock to load in the camera is this why the motor is not powering up? is there some latch in film compartment that completes the circuit when film is present that I need to manually depress in order to trick the camera into thinking it is loaded?

2. the manual that came with my camera is for the 8v but it describes using double 8mm film, this stock is not easy to find and I'm just wondering if I get past my battery/power issue will I be able to load regular 8mm stock in this particular camera?

The model number reads
Leicina 8v - 20257

My girlfriend bought it on Ebay but luckily the camera store she purchased it from through Ebay is only about 15 miles from here so there is the possibility to take it back if it really is broken. I can trade it in toward a super 8 possibly but I want to make sure it's really broken before I claim it and then look like an ass when the sales guy makes it work at the store. know what I mean??

Thanks in advance for any insight on the subject!!

Brian

[71er]

I guess your battery holder is the same as in my Leicina 8SV. I experienced similar problems and what I found was: the battery holder contacts have to be blank; the batteries have to be put in to the limit (not every make of battery is slim enough to fit and if you press too hard you might even brake the plastic); the screw of the holder has to be closed really tightly; if this all doesn't help you can take some aluminium foil, form some short rolls and connect the batteries just as the wires in the holder do - but this is really fiddly and you have to get it right as wrong connections might create a short circuit. I checked for the right voltage on the contacts of the holder with a meter; if you get it right don't take the batteries out anymore until they are finished.
With the right voltage on the battery holder contacts your camera should be working even without film.

[Brainteaser]

the battery holder is a little red plastic rectangular box with a threaded rod running through the center which connects to a little hand nut at the end basically holding the two ends together. I was using duracell copper top batteries do you suggest a battery manufacturer with a better fit? Also I'll give the aluminum foil a try as well but I'm waiting for the camera store to check their warehouse for a Leicina Special or Super. Hopefully they have one of those laying around that I can trade up to.

Thanks a lot for your time I appreciate it greatly!

Brian

[kII]

Hi, regarding the batt holder, I've found 'eveready super' batteries fit into the holder, they are slightly thinner than duracell batts. You will also require a 'wein' 1.35v button cell for the exposure meter. It has been said 1.5v button cell damage the auto iris, and this was certainly was the case on one of my leician 8s.
Dwayne's photo supplies 8mm film, Wittner in Germany and of course John Schwind http://www.zerelda.com/internationalfil ... lfilm.html

Cheers

[Brainteaser]

Thanks I'm going to try these suggestions and get back to you guys with the results. Thanks again!

[Brainteaser]

eveready batteries no dice, I'm thinking this cam is shot. I spoke to the camera store and they will refund me 100% or find me something from the store to trade for so thats good news at least.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help!

[richard p. t.]

by the way, regular 8mm is double 8mm is standard 8mm - just different names.
rt