Aperture Stays Closed Down

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pbasswil

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May 19, 2008
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5
Hi there,

I'm interested in a 70's era fixed lens RF I've spotted for sale on the web.
It's one of those shutter-priority auto ones.

Part of the description reads:
"Aperture Stays Closed Down"

What would that mean? I mean, when you choose a shutter speed, the iris should stay where the exposure system tells it to stay, right? Does that description suggest that it's not working right?

Thanks in advance,

pbass
 
Aperture isn't working right now. Either sticky aperture blades (may be easy fix) or pins out of guide rack or even broken (may be hard to fix, especially if replacement parts are needed).
 
It sounds as if the seller is confused.

If he is used to SLR's then he will expect the aperture blades to close for a fraction of a second during the exposure then open up again.

With any rangefinder camera that I know the aperture ring is directly connected to the aperture blades. So if you want f8, for example it goes straight to f8 and stays there.

Does he sound like he understands cameras and camera technology?
 
Thanks for both perspectives, guys.

My impression is that he has some knowledge of cameras; other than that ambiguous phrase he wrote all the right things, conveyed the important specs accurately, and posted pics from all the relevant angles. But you can never be 100% sure, huh? Maybe his RF experience is limited (as is mine).

pbass
 
I have a Canonet 1.7 with sluggish aperture blades. When I set a small aperture, say f16 with the aperture control ring, and then to a larger aperture like f4, the aperture blades stay closed down at the f16 position. If I jiggle the camera, or even just let it sit, the aperture opens up gradually. Either the leaves are sticky or a spring is weak.
 
pbasswil said:
Hi there,

I'm interested in a 70's era fixed lens RF I've spotted for sale on the web.
It's one of those shutter-priority auto ones.

Part of the description reads:
"Aperture Stays Closed Down"

What would that mean? I mean, when you choose a shutter speed, the iris should stay where the exposure system tells it to stay, right? Does that description suggest that it's not working right?

Thanks in advance,

pbass
Click to expand...

That means that it is stuck on f/22 or so and the aperture control isn't working. The probable cause of this is that old lubricant has strayed onto the aperture blades and dried out, gluing them together. This is easy to fix. You just remove the lenses and wipe the blades down with naptha (lighter fluid) until they unstick. However, it could be a more serious problem, and may not even be repairable (for example, some of the Bolsey cameras have shutters with a lot of plastic that can almost entirely self-destruct), so buying that camera will be a gamble. Figure on a 70% chance it is just stuck. Are you prepared to accept those odds?

Edit: BTW, if the particular camera you are looking at is a Canonet, or a Hi-Matic, I'd advise you to pass it up. Neither of those are good cameras for a beginner to learn repair with, and it's a cinch that the rest of the shutter is gummed up if the aperture blades are.
 
Last edited:
pbasswil said:
Hi there,

Part of the description reads:
"Aperture Stays Closed Down"

What would that mean? I mean, when you choose a shutter speed, the iris should stay where the exposure system tells it to stay, right? Does that description suggest that it's not working right?
Click to expand...

In my Ricoh 500g when aperture is set to Auto mode it's being closed all the time - until you want to shoot and press shutter release half way - then it's opening up to F stop measured by light meter and closing again after shoot.

regards
 
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