Is my S2 behaving normal?

S

snegron

Established
Local time
4:09 PM
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
83
View My Gallery
Sorry for reposting this question in a new thread. I posted it at the end of another thread ("I'm a Believer") but didn't get any responses. I'm hoping someone might help out with this question:


I noticed that the film advance lever doesn't spring back as quickly as on other cameras. Is this normal? Sometimes it springs back faster than other times. It will spring back quickly after I shoot one or two frames, but then on the third or fourth frame it springs back slowly, almost stalling. It does this for a couple of frames then springs back quickly again.

Also, is there a way to activate the shutter when the back is removed? I would like to see the shutter curtain in both stages (before winding and after pressing the shutter release), but when the back is removed I am unable to click the shutter and advance to the next frame. Is there a trip switch somewhere? Will I damage something in the process?

Regarding the flash sync dial, if I leave it at 1/500, will I be able to sync with a flash at 1/500 AND all slower speeds, or do I have to actually have to set the dial to the speed I want to sync at?

Last, is the viewfinder actually supposed to be a very light green?


This is my first rangefinder, so I don't really have any other camera I can compare it with to know what is normal operation behavior, etc. Thanks in advance for the info and for being patient with me! 🙂
 
snegron said:
1) I noticed that the film advance lever doesn't spring back as quickly as on other cameras. Is this normal?

2) Is there a way to activate the shutter when the back is removed?

3) Regarding the flash sync dial, if I leave it at 1/500, will I be able to sync with a flash at 1/500 AND all slower speeds, or do I have to actually have to set the dial to the speed I want to sync at?

4) Last, is the viewfinder actually supposed to be a very light green?
Click to expand...

1> No, this is not normal for the S2 I owned. It sprung back the same every time.

2> Take the back off and try it. Without an S2 here I can not try it, but I DOUBT there would be any interlocking between the shutter and the back.

3> I think it will work fine as long as you are using Flash Bulbs. Electronic flash is 1/60 at best if I remember right. Take a look via google for S2 manuals. Copies are free out there. If you come up dry, drop me a line and I will dig through my computer and send you what I have. Not sure where I left it and need to get Dinner started.

4> Mine was kind of a yellow green, very light. That is one of the reasons I went with a new S3-2000.

B2 (;->
 
Thanks! Does this mean that I need to send my S2 in for repair (regarding the film advance lever)? If so, any recomendations on a reliable place that can service it? The light greenish viewfinder doesn't bother me too much, I can live with that. I am a bit concerned that the winding mechanism might need repair and parts availability might be an issue.

p.s., I just tried an experiment with it. Apparantly, when I turn the film advance lever and press down on it slightly, it returns quickly as any other camera. However, when I turn the lever without any slight downward pressure it stalls on the return, even stops in the middle of the return before it reaches the start position. I wonder if there is something loose?
 
Last edited:
I can recomend Pete Smith in Florida who did a complete CLA on my S2 , for a reasonable cost and had it back to me in a Week. Flash Snyc is only at a 1/30 of a second,at 1/500 you will get nothing on the film or a very narrow slit.If you need to use flash a lot I would get a more modern camera.
 
michaelging said:
Flash Snyc is only at a 1/30 of a second
Click to expand...

Not a great improvement over 1/30 of a second, but the flash synch on the S2 is actually 1/50 of a second. You can set it by setting the upper shutter speed dial to the X position inbetween 1/30 and 1/60.
 
Speaking of manuals, does anyone here have either a link to a copy or a hard copy of an S3 manual that they'd like to sell/share/whatever? The cameras are so simple and intuitive that it's really not necessary to have one, but you never know. Maybe the camera has a secret compartment for the Decoder Ring or somesuch that I'll never find out about unless I RTFM.
Anyone? Please and thank you.
 
michaelging said:
I can recomend Pete Smith in Florida who did a complete CLA on my S2 , for a reasonable cost and had it back to me in a Week. Flash Snyc is only at a 1/30 of a second,at 1/500 you will get nothing on the film or a very narrow slit.If you need to use flash a lot I would get a more modern camera.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I have heard others say good things about Pete Smith as well. I think he is about a 3 hour drive away from me, so I will probably make it a day trip sometime soon.

As for the flash synch, I was mostly curious. I sometimes use fill flash for shadows under harsh lighting, but I have that covered with more modern stuff. I thought that maybe the flash synch on the S2 was like the leaf shutter synch with my Mamiya RB67.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom