Konica Hexar AF shutter release problem

Nugard

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Good day to you, folks!

Unfortunately today was a bad day for my black Hexar AF, which was perfectly functioning until this day.. When I turn it on it operates as usual with a small exception - it doesn't take a shot when I press shutter release button completely... It does focus, it does exposure, and everything else seems ok... Also, I might have thought that this issue is caused by the low battery, but I just recently put in a new one... So I'm confused here... And would be really greatful if someone could help me out...:confused:
 
Sometimes it does take a shot thought, but I have to press shutter release button like seven times...

is there someone here at all?

where are you, all hexar lovers? can somebody tell me what's wrong with my camera?.. or should I just sell it for parts?
 
I have just started having the same problem. I have seen the fix.. but I'm under pressure for time, so if anyone know of a repairer in Europe who can do the job, it would be appreciated!
 
I have the same issue. If you are the DIY type, try this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhT3jwYx0LM&t=4s

In this video camera from the beginning of the repairs operation was behaving other way than mine...

My camera is functioning, lcd shows information, it focuses ok, it does meter ok, the only issue is that when I press (after half pressure) complitely - it doesn't fire the shutter... So I have to repeat the same operation again and again until it finally (somehow??) does fire the shutter and takes a shot, rewinds to the next frame and everything starts from the beginning...
 
In this video camera from the beginning of the repairs operation was behaving other way than mine...

My camera is functioning, lcd shows information, it focuses ok, it does meter ok, the only issue is that when I press (after half pressure) complitely - it doesn't fire the shutter... So I have to repeat the same operation again and again until it finally (somehow??) does fire the shutter and takes a shot, rewinds to the next frame and everything starts from the beginning...
This is well-known, i think it's termed the sticky shutter fault.
There's a fix here but unfortunately the pix have expired:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107262

How is this different to your fault? This camera seems fully-functioning except for the shutter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhT3jwYx0LM
 
Special kudos to Valdas, and the original poster of course.

The tutorial has excellent photos. It looks to be an easier fix than many.
 
I "fixed" mine by giving the shutter button an extreme workout, repeatedly pressing it over and over and giving it a little sideways pressure at times. After that it it seemed to be happy to work properly again. Might work, might not, worth a try. I may have given it a small squirt of electrical cleaner in there too, can't remember.
 
I have a similar experience with Steve M. At first I had a camera I got from a used camera swap that seemed to work fine but 4-5 times a roll it would fail to fire after 1/2 press, or lose focus after half-press erratically.

After a couple rolls dealing with this occasionally it seems less frequent and I can hold the finicky half-press well enough to reframe. Had this looked at with Weber Camera in Nebraska, but he says it's not the 'sticky shutter button' problem highlighed by the youTube fix / DIY fix, and that it's a problem with the logic board.

Btw, if it were simply a shutter button problem, Greg Weber with Weber camera swaps the button contact with one from a Konica SLR that's brass and wears better over time.
 
So, what can I say dear fellas...

I've tried advice kindly given by
I "fixed" mine by giving the shutter button an extreme workout, repeatedly pressing it over and over and giving it a little sideways pressure at times. After that it it seemed to be happy to work properly again. Might work, might not, worth a try. I may have given it a small squirt of electrical cleaner in there too, can't remember.

I did only 10-30 pressures as the camera was off, and when I turned it on to try if it works, it actually did fire the shutter almost the hole roll every shot from the first try, so I assume, it was in fact sticky shutter release button issue with dirty contacts inside...

I'm glad that it went that easy and I did not have to take camera apart, thought it's always good to know how...:eek:

Anyway, thank you everyone who answered... And I hope this thread may be useful for some other Hexar owners...
 
Thanks very much to valdas for sending me a PDF with the missing photos. I performed the fix and it worked.

As the original thread is hard to find (doesn't have the word 'sticky' in it!) I thought I'd repost the instructions here combined with my pix, for anyone else who encounters the problem. I found it an easy fix - the trickiest part was levering off the silver metal button cover.
 
I'm adding the pix as attachments, as that way they won't expire.

First, you need to carefully peel back the covering on the front just enough to get at two screws. Some parts are stickier than others, but with a small flat screwdriver, both screws, on right and left of the lens, come out easily.
 

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and the other side, where the screw is a little further under the cover.
 

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After removing the other three screws on the top plate, two at the back, one at the side, you can lift it up carefully.

Lift the top plate carefully out of the way. The leads are long enough that you can work with it attached.

Next look at the shutter assemble. You can see the button, on a circuit board connect via a ribbon cable. This is easy to remove.
 

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On my camera, the plastic cover for the small display fell out as I took off the cover. No matter. I reglued it later - but it's tricky actually, use superglue as I did and you might get a smear on the glass.
 

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The plastic lock slides over easily. Then slide the ribbon carefully out. I marked mine with a sharpie to show me that I had it inserted the right distance when I reassembled.
 

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