papasnap
Well-known
hola all, I had a worrying problem happen with my new zeiss ikon on the weekend, and need to call on your collective wisdom & experiences! It concerns the shutter, and I need to figure out if this was just a harmless minor glitch, or the onset of a serious problem. I'm leaving next month to go to thailand + vietnam + cambodia + laos for 4 months and need the camera operating flawlessly.
I bought my ikon new about a month ago, and it's been a wonderful, trouble-free experience up to a couple of days ago. You can read in detail all about my thoughts & experiences up till now with the ikon plus 35mm f1.2 nokton in this thread here (link).
Quick explanation of problem: half way through a roll, the shutter got stuck in the open position, and I had to use my fingernail to unstick it, at which point it sprang shut and I've shot a roll and a half since then without it happening again, although I'm now I'm wondering if I need to send it back to zeiss for repairs/investigation.
Full explanation of problem: I was shooting away at friends birthday dinner on saturday night (at fatima's lebanese restaurant on cleveland st, for any sydneysiders out there). There's a great backlit sign at entrance (drawing of a woman staring intently at the mans head like she's gonna eat it, I don't think they planned that), when my friends went outside for a cigarette I thought it would make a nice shot (the moment of lighting up, with the sign as the backdrop).
Anyway, to cut to the chase, as I depressed the shutter to take my shot it went off with an odd feel, like only part of the mechanism engaged, nothing like the reasuringly precise feel/sound the shutter usually has. If I remember right, I then tried to wind on, but the wind wouldn't go past half way. I tried to push the shutter release many times, but it was unresponsive (just as if I'd never wound on). I rewound the film and removed it, to see if there was a misfeed causing the problem, but I couldn't see anything wrong there, and the problem didn't go away. I was pretty dismayed at this point (as I was planning on a big night of shooting).
Eventually, I removed the lens and take a look inside. I immediately saw that the shutter mechanism was stuck in the open position, and used my fingernail to drag it up slightly, before it sprang up the rest of the way itself. The film advance and shutter then worked fine, I reloaded the film, and shot for the rest of the night without any more problems.
Here's my questions:
I really don't want to have to send the camera off if I can avoid it (repair jobs can take months, and I'll be overseas by then - and in the meantime, I hate the idea of going without a camera for a couple of months again!). On the other hand, if you think it sounds like the ikon's about to die, I'd better bite the bullet and get it sorted now, rather than have it miss out on the whole trip. I guess if it breaks while I'm there, I can go to bangkok and buy a used leica M6 as a backup (then maybe sell it after the trip). This problem aside, I think the zeiss is a great camera (for the reasons outlined in my other thread, link above), and want to keep it for many years yet.
Hopefully someone can share their wisdom with me! Thanks for your time!
I bought my ikon new about a month ago, and it's been a wonderful, trouble-free experience up to a couple of days ago. You can read in detail all about my thoughts & experiences up till now with the ikon plus 35mm f1.2 nokton in this thread here (link).
Quick explanation of problem: half way through a roll, the shutter got stuck in the open position, and I had to use my fingernail to unstick it, at which point it sprang shut and I've shot a roll and a half since then without it happening again, although I'm now I'm wondering if I need to send it back to zeiss for repairs/investigation.
Full explanation of problem: I was shooting away at friends birthday dinner on saturday night (at fatima's lebanese restaurant on cleveland st, for any sydneysiders out there). There's a great backlit sign at entrance (drawing of a woman staring intently at the mans head like she's gonna eat it, I don't think they planned that), when my friends went outside for a cigarette I thought it would make a nice shot (the moment of lighting up, with the sign as the backdrop).
Anyway, to cut to the chase, as I depressed the shutter to take my shot it went off with an odd feel, like only part of the mechanism engaged, nothing like the reasuringly precise feel/sound the shutter usually has. If I remember right, I then tried to wind on, but the wind wouldn't go past half way. I tried to push the shutter release many times, but it was unresponsive (just as if I'd never wound on). I rewound the film and removed it, to see if there was a misfeed causing the problem, but I couldn't see anything wrong there, and the problem didn't go away. I was pretty dismayed at this point (as I was planning on a big night of shooting).
Eventually, I removed the lens and take a look inside. I immediately saw that the shutter mechanism was stuck in the open position, and used my fingernail to drag it up slightly, before it sprang up the rest of the way itself. The film advance and shutter then worked fine, I reloaded the film, and shot for the rest of the night without any more problems.
Here's my questions:
- Is this a common occurance with cameras like the ikon (ie with manual film advance, etc), or is it unusual?
- Based on your experiences, does this sound like a harmless glitch, or should I send it off for repair/maintenance?
I really don't want to have to send the camera off if I can avoid it (repair jobs can take months, and I'll be overseas by then - and in the meantime, I hate the idea of going without a camera for a couple of months again!). On the other hand, if you think it sounds like the ikon's about to die, I'd better bite the bullet and get it sorted now, rather than have it miss out on the whole trip. I guess if it breaks while I'm there, I can go to bangkok and buy a used leica M6 as a backup (then maybe sell it after the trip). This problem aside, I think the zeiss is a great camera (for the reasons outlined in my other thread, link above), and want to keep it for many years yet.
Hopefully someone can share their wisdom with me! Thanks for your time!
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kshapero
South Florida Man
Never had this problem.
DelDavis
.
Never had the problem. Nor have I heard of others having it.
If it were me I'd find a relatively inexpensive but durable second body to take on the trip, then perhaps sell it upon return. If the Ikon exhibits the problem again, send it to Zeiss.
I edited this to ask if you forgot to remove the lens cap, but I see by re-reading that this is very likely not the cause!
If it were me I'd find a relatively inexpensive but durable second body to take on the trip, then perhaps sell it upon return. If the Ikon exhibits the problem again, send it to Zeiss.
I edited this to ask if you forgot to remove the lens cap, but I see by re-reading that this is very likely not the cause!
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mfogiel
Veteran
This problem sounds strange - almost as if it were an electrical problem. The only type of problem related to the shutter I am aware of is related to incomplete winding of the frame and/or winding the frame before the previous exposure has been terminated - maybe inadvertently you have done something of this kind on the previous frame. I'd send a mail to the Zeiss assistance to ask them for a clue.
papasnap
Well-known
thanks guys! sounds like it's not a common problem then.
mfogiel, I'll do as you suggest and email zeiss
cheers!
mfogiel, I'll do as you suggest and email zeiss
cheers!
papasnap
Well-known
A quick update: the ikon has been working just fine, have put another 5-6 rolls through since I last posted, and it's all worked without a hitch.
Thinking more on what happened, I think mfogiel hit the nail on the head - I'd been shooting very rapidly before the problem happened, it was probably a case of me winding on incompletely (perhaps winding on 99% of the way) &/or winding on while the last frame was still being exposed.
by the way, I haven't emailed zeiss yet - as the camera has been fine & I think I now know what the cause was - but if I do I'll be sure to update this thread.
Thinking more on what happened, I think mfogiel hit the nail on the head - I'd been shooting very rapidly before the problem happened, it was probably a case of me winding on incompletely (perhaps winding on 99% of the way) &/or winding on while the last frame was still being exposed.
by the way, I haven't emailed zeiss yet - as the camera has been fine & I think I now know what the cause was - but if I do I'll be sure to update this thread.