Help with a Tpocon RE-Super

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

I bought a Topcon RE-Super a long time ago. I ran a roll or two through it and it worked fine. I took the battery out and put it in a closet.

I haven't touched the camera in over a decade. I took it out and put a fresh 1.5v battery in it. The meter didn't seem to work, no deflection, and no indication that it responded to light.

I changed aperture and shutter speeds and the meter began to respond to light, but it indicated exposures that were horribly incorrect. It was as if the shutter speed was the only indicator that was being used in exposure calculations. For example an indoor scene on every camera and meter I own using ISO 400 indicated a correct exposure of f1.4 @ 1/60, but the camera meter only centered at f1.4 @ 1/8.

I pulled the lens and noticed a tab on the top of the lens mount that seemed to be stuck to the far right when viewed head on. I carefully fiddled with it and it could be moved all across the range but it moved stiffly. Here is a picture with the tab in it's current state of repose.

P5030124 by Tim Murphy, on Flickr

I took a picture of the rear mount on the lens and here it is.

P5030125 by Tim Murphy, on Flickr

I figure the set screws on the rear of the lens mount located at 12 and roughly 11 o'clock somehow couple with the tab some in the top center of the body but I can't figure out the how or why?

Does anyone have any tips on what is wrong and if it is easily corrected by a dufus at home? Barring the self-repair option can anyone suggest a repair facility in the US I can contact? If you have experienced this problem and you have an approximate idea of the repair cost I'd appreciate that as well.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA 🙂

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Tim,
I had something similar in one of Minolta SLR's, that utilizes similar system. i ended up gently applying some lighter fluid into the slot, because restrictive movement is most likely due to lubricant hardening. it should loosen it up somewhat. Exercise it afterwards and it should get better with regular use. It will stiffen again, if not used.

 

[tunalegs]

I think (but may be wrong) that the tab on the camera mount should be spring loaded, so that when the lens is mounted and twisted into place, the tab on the lens will catch it. If that spring is broken or the tab isn't sliding freely, then it won't read the f stop from the lens.

The "set screws" have nothing to do with it. One is just what the mount release lever latches onto (not sure what the other one is for).

 

[Tim Murphy]

Apologies to Janis Joplin but it's a combination of the two

Apologies to Janis Joplin but it's a combination of the two

Dear Fedya and Tunalegs,

From the way the tab on the top of the lens mount responds to aperture changes it's clearly a combination of both. The set screws definitely engage the tab and shift it.

It may well be missing a spring but just maybe some Zippo will fix it?

I'll try the Zippo first.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA 🙂

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Tim,
That tab should be definitely spring loaded. It is moved by small lever in the cut out on the back of the lens. Try adjusting aperture of the lens while watching it. This is how aperture information is relayed from the lens to the body.
Hardened lubricants restrict the movement of the tab on the camera. Once you soften them with some Zippo fluid, tab should be moving again.