Mamiya 6 issue

[zenza]

Hey guys, I've run into an issue with my Mamiya 6 that has me worried.

A few weeks ago while camping/hiking my Mamiya quit firing on me. The camera would not fire with any of the 3 lenses mounted. I was able to get an extra frame or two fired off by switching the timed exposure switch back and forth a few times but after a few more shots this way it stopped firing all together. I attributed this to the batteries being dead so after the trip I went and bought 2 brand new ones.

I loaded these into my Mamiya and went on another camping/hiking trip this past weekend. Again my Mamiya randomly stopped firing. I was on frame 12 of my first roll of 120 of the trip. The meter readings still show up and at this point it definitely can't be the battery because the batteries are less than a week old (and the meter still works). Again switching the timed exposure switch back and forth allowed for me to fire off the last frame eventually but I'm completely at a loss as to what can be happening. I'm heading to the Caribbean in a week and this was my main camera (my other MF camera is currently 2000 miles away back at home). Any ideas as to what could be the issue? Any steps or tests I could do to maybe narrow down the problem?

Completely bummed. 🙁

 

[Matus]

Sorry to hear your troubles. I am a Mamiya 6 owner, but unfortunately can not really be of much help. Mamiya 6 uses a lot of electronics. I would guess that it may be directly related to shutter (button) or something. As you tried all 3 lenses with the same result the shutters are probably not the reason.

You mention that metering is OK so it would seem that the body is OK. But what about the contacts between the lenses and the body? Maybe just slightly corroded or dirty - try to clean them (not with a sandpaper though). Dirty contacts could indeed cause problems. Or maybe the cables that connect to the collapsible mount need a repair (it is a moving part after all) though I have not heard that this should be a weak place on Mamiya 6.

Any chance to get a second body - if financially feasible (BIN on eBay or somthing)? Or any local repair shop that could maybe have a look a with bit of luck eliminate the problem if it is not a serious one?

I am sorry not to be able to offer more help. Cases like yours remind me that I should probably get a second body if I should plan a longer trip in the future.

 

[zenza]

Thanks for the sympathy. The contacts are immaculate looking. The thing that's really throwing me off is the whole timed exposure switch giving me a few extra frames before the camera completely craps out.

Buying another body isn't exactly financially feasible right now (I'm a 21 year old university student haha). I sold my complete light set-up with Pocket Wizards and my DSLR to afford this camera. I may look around at local repair shops in the mean time.

 

[rlouzan]

Dirty magnet?

 

[zenza]

Excuse my ignorance but what magnet and where would it be located?

 

[john_s]

Could be this (reference to a magnetic switch, i think):

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/008QDh

In the end, I didn't have it repaired. I've kept it as a source of winder spares if the well-known winder problem occurs with my good body>

 

[john_s]

Dirty magnet?

I made the above post which i think refers to a magnetic switch. If it's just dirty, is it feasible for a user to clean it?

 

[Jack Conrad]

Just a thought, but be sure to clean the battery compartment and contacts thoroughly, including the cover. You may get lucky and have it turn out to be a small voltage reduction from a dirty contact.
The shutter may require a bit more juice than the meter.

 

[zenza]

Well this is embarrassing. Apparently when I bought new batteries I stuck one new battery in the camera and somehow got mixed up and put an old battery back in as well. I noticed this last night while messing with the camera when one battery said KODAK on it and the other did not.

The 6 is up and running well. While we're on the topic however, how common is that magnet issue that john_s posted a link about? Sounds scary.

 

[john_s]

..... While we're on the topic however, how common is that magnet issue that john_s posted a link about? Sounds scary.

I have read of it at least three times. I read once that someone, to avoid a costly repair, had someone just disconnect (or maybe short out) the switch. The downside is that winding the film on could be done repeatedly without taking a frame, so the user had to be conscious of whether or not he had wound on. (Otherwise he would go through a lot of film).