Mamiya RB67 Back not rotating

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KevinVH

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Dear friends

My boss gave me a RB67 today. It's the Pro S model, but while checking in quickly the back isn't rotating. I have yet to inspect it properly, and the dark slide didn't come with it. So is it normal that I can't turn it? Maybe the darkslide needs to be in to turn the back? Although I doubt that.

I'll take some pictures tonight and upload them. But maybe there is a trick to turning the back.
 
Mark Schretlen said:
The back should easily rotate with or without the darkslide. Perhaps the rotating back is not properly locked onto the body.
Click to expand...

After tinkering with it for a while, it is rotating, but it is really hard to turn. The camera has been tucked away in a room for years, so the lubricant that's making it turn has clogged up, it's becoming more smooth by usage now.

Now that I can turn the back the shutter wont fire when it's turned to the portrait position, if I take the back of, but leave the RB plate on, it does fire. What can that be?

thanks
 
Ok, after playing for with it for a while more, I can get it to fire in landscape mode by turning the multi exposure switch to where it shows the red dot. What's the normal for the switch to be in? Without the red dot or with the red dot?
 
This camera has a number of safety features. I had one a while ago and I would recommend you try to get a manual. It will save you a lot of headache.
 
Yeah that's what I thought. And I get that you can't keep firing the shutter when there isn't any film loaded, but it's weird that I can in landscape mode without touching the multiple exposure lever, but in portrait mode I have to switch it to multiple exposure.
 
Can you confirm that you have a Pro S (or later) back? IIRC the first generation (half-interlocking) backs will block the release on the (full interlocking) Pro S and up unless you disable the interlock by setting them to "multi". Maybe that is a orientation dependent issue - or one of the couplings has come stuck.
 
sevo said:
Can you confirm that you have a Pro S (or later) back? IIRC the first generation (half-interlocking) backs will block the release on the (full interlocking) Pro S and up unless you disable the interlock by setting them to "multi".
Click to expand...

My apologies, I was wrong! Just came home and fiddled with my backs. It is exactly the other way around - Pro S backs have to be set to multi when used on a early RB, as the body will not release the transport lock on the magazine. Plain backs on a Pro S always work like they would on a plain RB, without full interlock - they don't even have the multi switch, as that is their permanent mode of operation.

With Pro S backs on a Pro S, I can't come up with a setting that causes a failure similar to your observations. So you probably aren't dealing with a operator error. There is something wrong on your magazine or camera - my first guess would be that one of the coupling pins (or back or slider sensing tabs) is stuck.
 
Danke, for checking Sevo. I took a picture yesterday of the camera with sone rolls of film my boss gave me too. I'll take some better pictures today in the afternoon, it was already late yesterday ( Please forgive the cellphone picture)

It's a Pro S body with a Pro S back. so maybe it just needs to have some pictures taken with it to become loose again. I estimate it hasn't been used for 10 years and has been sitting on a shelve here in Ecuador

GIft by DarthVador, on Flickr​
 
Ok so this weekend ?'ve run the first roll thorugh the camara, I'm getting the roll developed tomorrow, since it's color I can't develop it myself at home (yet). It took pictures in landscape and portrait mode without a problem. It's a joy to shoot with.
 
Lovely camera. I used to have several of the Pro-S's.

Now I use the Plaubel Makiflex (see my avatar). I think Mamiya bought a Makiflex,
then studied it intensely. Then they created the RB-67. Same camera in many ways.

A real workhorse you have there. Learn the instruction book, that will help you.
 
Nokton48 said:
Now I use the Plaubel Makiflex (see my avatar). I think Mamiya bought a Makiflex,
then studied it intensely. Then they created the RB-67. Same camera in many ways.
Click to expand...

The Makiflex would be better described as a continuation of the German strain of focal-plane shutter large format pro SLRs from 1900 on (it almost looks like a shrunk Reflex Primar). The RB67 borrowed far more from the US variations of the genre - down to copying the rotating back and magazine mount from the Baby Graflex RB.
 
Thanks everyone, I'll see if I can find the PDF online and print it, to study it. But I think I've got the hang of most of the camera. It's always interesting to read the manual though.
 
Ok so I just developed the first roll. Since I work in FujiFilm Ecuador, I have a big machine for C-41 at my disposal. I developed a roll of 160NPS, and it came out pretty good. I scanned them really fast yesterday, but I'm going to scan them better tonight. Gorgeous images. I'm falling in love with MF. I'll post the first pictures tonight.
 
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