I just came into a Fujica V2 with a stuck shutter and I plan to do the cleaning as described by FallisPhoto - if I can find a lens wrench or spanner that will work. I have polyester swabs instead of cotton swabs; I use these to clean the sensor on my DSLR, so will they also work? They do not leave any fibers behind so I would think they would be better. The rangefinder is also off a bit. The ghost image moves left and right just fine, but it is substantially higher than the actual image in the viewfinder. Is this an easy fix? I have not tested the meter yet but will tonight. Also, I understand the aperture blades can get stuck sometimes? If so, do those also get cleaned with lighter fluid and swabs?
I really appreciate the time people take to respond to these questions. The internet sure makes the world a lot smaller.
Hi Tony,
I have never owned a V2 but have a few older Fujica rf from the early 1960s including the 35-SE & 35-EE. I have had the top off those a couple of times. They're slightly easier because they are a bottom winder but the V2 doesn't look too bad. You will need to get the top off, what from I can see in some pics I googled, in order to reach the RF adjustment screws. If you are going to do this I suggest you check the taking lens focus and the rf patch focus against infinity while you are in there. Naturally the rf focus must correctly coincide with the lens focus on the film plane.
It looks like a pin wrench or rubber tool is all that is required to get the wind lever off. Being a rear thumb wheel focus like the older Fujica RF, you just need to loosen the two screws on the outer serrated wheel your thumb slides on first. The wheel has a flat machined into it. With the screws loose, slide the wheel around until the flat faces the back and then the top cover will slip off over the flat on the focus wheel. Sneaky! You won't lose your focus by loosening the wheel, it is just there for your thumb to actuate and once loosened will 'freewheel' around the inner wheel which does set focus. You may have to position the lens focus to infinity before you loosen off the screws, it's been a few years and I can't recall precisely.
Of course the side mounted rewind crank has to come off also. This should be just one centre screw holding the crank handle onto the key on the rewind gear shaft (they have a little bevel gear set to turn the drive from the end shaft down to the rewind shaft itself, it's kind of neat actually).
The round DOF indicator has a spring clip and washer underneath it. It's positioned as I recall by a couple of tabs that engage the washer etc. Just make a note of where it sits at infinity, before you take the cover off, so it can be re-set correctly, no real surprises or problems there, though, it's not hard to work out.
It has been a few years, as I said, since I had the cover off a Fujica RF, but I don't recall any difficulties with the RF adjustment. I would expect the V2 to have the usual two screws for vertical and horizontal adjustment like the older models. I had to set up one of the ones I pulled apart from scratch, when I replaced the prism that had discoloured badly, and was able to do this without incident (actually, it was the 35-EE that started me on the slippery slope of DIY camera repair, but that's another story for another time!).
I have not needed to get into the shutter of any of my Fujicas, happily. I have heard they are devilishly complex, and not known for necessarily working correctly again, if stripped down and re-assembled. I would therefore caution you not to be too liberal with the lighter fluid. I would not really want to have to open one up, if it could possibly be avoided. In your shoes, my aim would be to do clean the shutter blades in the first instance, without delving deeper.
So this means conventional flood cleaning is not the best approach, as it will loosen up a lot of lube, and send it through the shutter and into the escapements, where it will do more harm than good. Probably better, then, to lightly moisten a swab, wipe the blades, wipe off residue with a dry swab, and fire shutter. Repeat ad nauseum, until it fires good.
Bear in mind, too, that naptha is not a lubricant in the conventional sense. But, my experience with Compur shutters has been that a shutter that is not properly clean, can fire correctly for a few hours or a day, until all naptha has flashed off. So it really is necessary, in my opinion, if you aren't stripping a shutter right down (and for the aforementioned reasons, I don't recommend you do with this example), to leave the camera a day or two to dry off and recheck for correct function. If it fires perfectly on all speeds a few dozen times, a couple of days, later you are probably good to go.
In some rf or TLR installations, it could be argued that if aperture blades will move correctly on adjustment with a little oil on them, there's not that much to gain, by touching them. This is in contrast to an auto aperture set up, such as an SLRs, that requires the blades to rapidly stop down, when the shutter is pressed.
I note, however that the V2 features shutter priority auto exposure, linked to the built-in meter. This generally entails a spring powered linkage driven from the meter, that will stop the aperture blades down to the required exposure value.
If there is also oil on the aperture blades, it is therefore quite possible the camera will operate correctly used manually. But, any oil contamination is likely to make the blades sluggish enough to mean that they will not respond quickly enough to the spring, in auto mode.
Given this, unless you are content to use the camera manually only, it seems likely you are going to have to gently wipe the aperture blades with lighter fluid, as well. These are generally much thinner, and more delicate, than shutter blades, so a careful touch is needed. The main thing is not to catch the swab on the edge of a blade, and, if you look at the way the blades close together, there is usually one direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise) that is likely to minimise the likelihood of this, if you wipe the swab accordingly.
By selecting bulb speed and using a locking cable release, you can keep the shutter open to access these from the front. I would expect the Fujica will have a couple of notches in the rear lens mount for a lens spanner to be applied. Again, make a note of the position of the mount relative to the camera body for correct re-installation. By removing the rear lens group, not only will you prevent contamination of this, it will also enable you to access shutter and aperture blades, from both sides, making the in situ cleaning more effective.
You may also want to open the aperture up slightly as well, because, of course, with it fully closed, there are portions of the blades covered by each other. Again, it is necessary to use the bare minimum of lighter fluid, to prevent it spreading to areas it is unwanted, and, you will need to manually open and close the blades periodically, to work the contamination to the surface. Periodically change the swabs, to avoid simply re-applying the contaminants back onto the shutter/aperture blades.
This method is a short cut of sorts, as opposed to shutter removal and complete strip down. However, given a methodical and patient approach, eventually, it should be effective, although, be prepared to put a couple of hours or more into the cleaning process, and do not be too surprised if, after the first attempt, you find it needs further effort. This isn't that unusual, and simply means it is not quite clean enough (hence my suggestion to leave it a day or so and re-check).
Keep us posted, and good luck!
Regards,
Brett
