Agfa Super Silette with Self Timer / Shutter Problem

[Dave S.]

I recently picked up a Agfa Super Silette with a Solagon f2 lens and a Synchro-Compur shutter. I was very excited. The camera worked very well at all speeds. I sat on the couch and ran through shooting the camera at different speeds and apertures just to give it some exercise before running a roll through it. I was about to load a roll of film in it, but decided I'd try the Self Timer for the heck of it.

MISTAKE! :bang:

The self timer ran very slow (like it was never going to complete its cycle) and I decided to move it back down to its finished position by hand. I'm not sure what happened, but now the camera shutter only fires intermittently.

Anybody know what caused this shutter problem and how I might fix this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[farlymac]

One thing I read time and again about the old Compur Synchro, is don't use the self timer. It's probably going to need a rebuild now.

PF

 

[Dave S.]

Thanks for your input PF. That's the gist I'm getting. I called one repair shop in my area and the guy said to stop by and he would try and get it unstuck while I waited, but if that didn't work it might not be worth fixing. It sounds like this isn't something I can do myself. How I wish I had known not to mess with the self timer...

 

[ludoo]

Opening the shutter is pretty easy, don't toss the camera away. The front of the lens unscrews with your hands, you'll then see a small screw that keeps a plate in place. Take pictures, go slowly and you'll be able to fix it yourself.

Or a professional repairmain should be able to clean the shutter in very little time, and for not much money.

 

[Dave S.]

Not a toss away...

Not a toss away...

Thanks for your input ludoo.

Yes, I'm going to take it to my local repair shop tomorrow and see what can be done. If he tells me its a full overhaul at a high price I will try to repair it myself. I found a thread online that demonstrated how to dismantle and repair a sticky shutter / self timer problem. In fact, perhaps it was a thread you were involved with - one persons username was "Ludo"?

If you own this camera, have you been happy with the results it produces? How does it handle?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[farlymac]

I got my Super about a week and a half ago, and it was in sorry shape, mechanically. Focus was frozen, shutter speeds are way off, and the front plate is somewhat, I don't know, corroded isn't the proper term. I've seen enough of these Agfa/Ansco's to know that the front plate is made of a different material than the rest of the camera, so I suspect it is electrolysis slowly detroying the surface.

I have an Ansco Memar (the twin to the non-rangefinder Silette) that has some of the same problems, but I was able to get the lens apart and cleaned up of all the green sludge that the original lubrication turns to. Now I just have to relube it with Lithium, adjust the focus for infinity, and it will be back in operation. Luckily, the shutter is fine on the Memar. I think a cleaning is all that is really needed for the Super, but won't know till I get into it.

I found a site along the way that has a complete teardown of a Super Silette, and I thought I bookmarked the page, but aparently it is only part of the site, and I can't remember which one it was on. I'll look for it again and put the url here so you can get an idea what it will take to work on your camera. He doesn't go into the repair details, but there are other sites with repairs of various iterations of the Compur shutters.

Here is one on the Compur Rapid:

http://www.davidrichert.com/zeiss_521_16_compur_rapid_shutter.htm

It gets a bit more involved when working on a Synchro.

Later,
PF

 

[ludoo]

A few pictures from when I fixed my Super Silette with the Solagon lens earlier this year. The front optical group just unscrews, then there's a ring kept in place by a single tiny screw which you have to remove.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

What you don't see in the pictures is the small lever connecting to the self timer gears, as it popped off when I opened the shutter. It snaps under the black spring visible on the larger wheel of the self timer gears, and after that its position is obvious.

Just remember to never fire the shutter without the plate visibile in #3, and to use the right screwdrivers for the job. The rest is easy.

 

[Dave S.]

Update

Update

Thanks farlymac and ludoo for your help.

I stopped by my local camera repair shop and he took a look at it. For $48 he said he would remove the self timer and overhaul it which will not only fix the self timer but also "release" the shutter so it can work again as it did before. Plus, he said he would do whatever he could to improve the shutter speeds (not that they're that bad) short of doing a complete shutter overhaul. He's also going to give me a report on the actual shutter speeds so I know how they're performing when I go out to shoot. Of course, cleaning the elements and such is thrown in to.

For the price, it seemed worth it to me. I should get the camera back next week. I'll update this thread after I pick it up from the shop.

Dave

 

[farlymac]

Sounds great Dave. That's a good price for such service. Nice pics and info Ludoo.

PF

 

[ludoo]

Sounds like a good price. While he is at it, you'd maybe better ask him to also clean the viewfinder and rangefinder lens/mirror. It usually makes quite a noticeable difference.

 

[farlymac]

This is the site that had the Super Silette teardown. It doesn't look too complicated, you just need to have the right tools.

http://feuerbacher.net/photo/frame.html

Now if I could find one on the Kodak Signet 40....

PF

 

[hanskerensky]

I have had experience with a dozen or so Compurs and Prontors where the selftimer got stuck after activation. Trying to push the selftimer lever back is generally a bad idea as you run a big risk of damaging the mechanism permanently. The normal way to overcome this is an overhaul (CLA) of the shutter mechanism which not everybody would be inclined to do.

There is one trick i discovered which in many cases eventually forces the selftimer to run down. I have a nice metal Parker ballpoint with which i give the shutter housing some gentle but sharp taps. Apparently this generates some vibration in the selftimer mechanism which lets the mechanism run down some (gear)teeth again. Just repeat till it has run down completly and never try that selftimer again !

Of course it doesn't has to be a Parker, i guess that any piece of similar metal tube will do the trick ;-)

 

[farlymac]

There is one trick i discovered which in many cases eventually forces the selftimer to run down. I have a nice metal Parker ballpoint with which i give the shutter housing some gentle but sharp taps. Apparently this generates some vibration in the selftimer mechanism which lets the mechanism run down some (gear)teeth again. Just repeat till it has run down completly and never try that selftimer again !

I had completely forgotten about that. I remember doing that trick to an old folder many years ago, and always hoped I would never have to use it again. Thanks for re-awakening some of my neurons.

PF

 

[Dave S.]

Update:

I picked up my Agfa Super Silette last week. It ended up costing me $68. The repair person had to fix the cocking gear (it was bent) so that cost me an extra $20. He didn't end up cleaning the rangefinder / viewfinder, but they really didn't need it. My repair person said it works perfect now - and it seems that way to me to 😀. As soon as I shoot a roll I'll post some pics.

 

[hanskerensky]

Ok, good luck with the Super Silette Dave.

That Solagon is a heck of a lens but don't forget to use a sunhood !

 

[farlymac]

That's great news Dave. The bent lever is probably what happened when you helped the timer along. Or it could have been that way, and activating the self timer just forced the issue. Either way, it's good to have it back in running order, eh?

PF