Full-circle and HWGA ... :)

[dmr]

Well, gang, to make a long story long ...

Some of you may actually remember that I stumbled on this place back in February when I was on a quest to obtain the camera that I had sold about 30 years ago and have been kicking myself for doing so ever since.

The fine folks here easily identified my old camera as a Mamiya Super Deluxe, and they have been popping up occasionally on Ebay, but in every case somebody else wanted it more than I did. 🙂

I then picked up an as-is QL17 GIII, which I used to get my baptism by fire in camera repair. 🙂 I've grown to like this one more each time I use it. I'm very impressed.

However (comma) a couple weeks ago I was surfing around in Ebay, actually looking for what I could expect for another camera that was given to me if I decide to sell it. All of a sudden I ran across a listing that read in part (cut-paste from Ebay)...

"THIS IS A MAMIYA SUPER DELUXE CAMERA , FROM THE 1960 TO EARLY 1970’S WITH THE ORIGINAL CASE. IT HAS BEEN TOTALLY OVERHAULED AND IS IN WORKING CONDITION."

This was mis-filed under "Medium Format", with no apparent cross-listing in any 35mm category. The bid at the time was $13 and change.

I watched the thing for a few days and the price stayed in the $13 range. A couple hours before it ended I made a bid, which registered $14 and change and I waited. Sure enough, this time I wanted it more than anybody else. 🙂 Somebody DID try sniping me in the last minute, raising the selling price to a whopping total of $17.50. 🙂 That's the good news.

It came today about an hour ago. It's exactly the camera I've been looking for. However, " IT HAS BEEN TOTALLY OVERHAULED AND IS IN WORKING CONDITION" is somebody's vivid imagination! First of all, it's really grungy, as in dirt. The meter switch was in the ON position, so the battery was obviously dead. The battery thing was filled with a ton of green crumbs encasing a very old battery. I did get that cleaned out.

Light seals are so-so. Those on the ends look very good, but the long ones are showing wear.

Here's the interesting point. Sometimes the shutter fires, but sometimes it sticks, and it looks like it's a similar problem to the one with the GIII. Let's see if the same magic that worked on the GIII works on this one. I'll report on anything significant.

But anyway, it looks like I've now gone full circle, ending up with the same camera I had when I was in my late teens. Will it make me 18 again? No, I'm not expecting it to, but I do think I can now more fully appreciate such a thing. 🙂

Anyway, wish me luck on the second attempt at camera repair. 🙂

 

[ABarGrill]

Good luck, indeed. Isn't it wonderful to take on great experiments that don't threaten the pocketbook too much?!

Alan

 

[cp_ste.croix]

Congrats on getting your camera back (so to speak). I hope the repairs go well, and am looking forward to seeing some pics!

 

[dmr]

Good luck, indeed. Isn't it wonderful to take on great experiments that don't threaten the pocketbook too much?!

I was surprised at the selling price. I did re-read the Ebay item, and if I had indeed paid my max bid I would have definitely complained, since what I got was not whatr was described. (Yeah, maybe it was overhauled, like 20 years ago!) However, I'm not going to gripe and try to get my $17 back. Maybe I'll keep looking and make one good one out of two bad ones.

One thing I don't seem to find on the web is a service manual for it. The manual for the GIII was very handy. However (crossing fingers) this one looks like it might be easier to take apart. It's also heavier than I remember.

And even if I don't get it working just so, it's still good experience. 🙂

 

[dmr]

Hey🙂

Hey hey, my my ... 🙂

Have you tried HERE? Don't know if they do service manuals, though.

Thanks. I just sent them a note asking if they have a service manual. (I already know how to take photos with the thing.) 🙂 🙂

 

[rover]

You know, I think I saw that one and actually thought of you. Well, I am glad it has found a home, and my fingers are crossed that you can get it back on line.

 

[dmr]

You know, I think I saw that one and actually thought of you.

Oh really? It was just by chance that I stumbled onto it.

Well, I am glad it has found a home, and my fingers are crossed that you can get it back on line.

Well, right now I am at a standstill, without a manual (the guy who had the owner manual on Ebay wrote back and said he didn't have a service manual) I don't know what can safely be done now. I have the first 2 lens elements safely out and I'm kinda inspecting it to see what comes apart now. The shutter is consistently sticking now. When I first got it this afternoon, it would occasionally stick, then mostly stick, now almost always sticks. My guess is that this has not been used for a while.

So, kinda in a holding pattern. Thanks for all of the encouragement! 🙂

 

[Stephanie Brim]

The camera experimentation thing is something that I'm getting myself into and the Voigtlander Vito B that I'm getting with my mixed box of cameras is going to be my baptism by fire in camera repair. I know what you mean and I highly doubt that it's going to be a short affair either. Ever since I came to this place I've grown an inexplicable desire to pick up old, beat-up cameras on the Bay and try to fix them into some kind of working condition. I'm going to give myself a crash course in repair and then possibly give myself a better one as I go along now that I'm thinking about looking into doing it for a living and/or a very intensive hobby.

I'm sorry that your camera didn't come to you exactly as it was described, but at least you'll get to have fun fixing it. And since you got one so cheaply, there's always taking it somewhere if you can't figure out how to get it to work. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

Hey, good luck with it! I'm confident that you'll manage to rescue it.

 

[dmr]

Ever since I came to this place I've grown an inexplicable desire to pick up old, beat-up cameras on the Bay and try to fix them into some kind of working condition.

This place definitely has some effects on us. I didn't even know what GAS was when I got here, and then I thought I was immune, and now I'm starting to acquire cameras one by one, plus I've got a new negative scanner on the way and I find myself instinctively looking at the new Ebay listings each night.

I'm going to give myself a crash course in repair and then possibly give myself a better one as I go along now that I'm thinking about looking into doing it for a living and/or a very intensive hobby.

I wish I could find a good comprehensive text on the repair of cameras that was written in the 70's or so. (As well as a service manual for this one.) The web is great, but the information comes in spurts and bite-size chunks. Last night I stumbled on an item on the Classic Camera Repair Forum that said I could have removed the entire front lens assembly in one piece instead of several. It's hard to "RTFM" if you don't have "TFM" to read. <bfg> 🙂

but at least you'll get to have fun fixing it.

Well, I really don't think of it as fun. I would much rather be taking pictures with it, but it has to work properly first. I do feel a sense of accomplishment at each step, but I'm still such a rank beginner I don't yet have a sense of feel to it.

And since you got one so cheaply, there's always taking it somewhere if you can't figure out how to get it to work. 🙂

True, and I'm actually considering that if I can't figure out the rest of this. There's really no place locally that has a good reputation, and I really don't know if places like that one in New Jersey or the one in North Carolina will work on this model. I might do that for a good CLA if/when I get this working.

Oh well, I'm making progress at least. 🙂

 

[dmr]

Hey, good luck with it! I'm confident that you'll manage to rescue it.

Thanks for the encouragement Pherdinanand (and everybody). 🙂

Where it stands now is I have the front lens assembly out exposing the shutter blades. It looks VERY much like the Canon QL17 GIII when it's stripped this far down. I used the Ronsonol on the shutter blades and I now have it so it will reliably snap each time IF I press the release rapidly. It's very consistent. If I press it slowly, even being sure to get it all the way down, it will not fire. If I press it rapidly, even if I don't take care to get it down all the way it will fire. I have a feeling that there's a sticking or linkage issue here.

Tonight I'll play with it a bit more. Things look encouraging, but it's not out of the woods yet.

Film at 11, thanks again, gang. 🙂