Miranda Sensorex - loose shutter-speed dial ...

[Luddite Frank]

A few weeks ago, I picked-up a first-generation Miranda Sensorex among a lot of cameras.

Basically in very nice condition, clear optics, etc.

Only issue is the shutter speed dial ( on top of film-advance lever ) seems to spin w/o changing the actual shutter speed, and there is a "clicking" sound, as though something inside is slipping. The shutter fires as though set on "B", regardless of how the shutter speed dial is manipulated.

This evening I was fiddling with it a bit, and noticed that the shutter speed dial seems "loose" on top of the wind lever: it rocks from side to side a bit...


There are two screws, diametrically-opposed through the shutter-speeds dial; I think that if I remove those, and the dial, this should reveal whatever anchors the shutter speed knob to its corresponding shaft ?

The thing that frightens me a little bit is that the ASA selector is also part of the shutter speed knob, and I'm a little wary of what might coming flying out of there when the screws / speeds dial are removed...😱

Has anybody here dug-into a Sensorex, and could perhaps offer some do's or don'ts ?

Thanks !

Luddite Frank

 

[alienmeatsack]

A little late to this thread party. I hope my reply is still relevant.

I own 2 Sensorex bodies myself, one is my original SLR from high school and the other is a parts body.

This does not sound like normal behavior, your shutter speed dial issue. It should be firm and when rotated, should move from notch to notch within the settings for each shutter speed. The ISO/ASA setting is also achieved from this same dial by pulling the whole knob up and rotating it as well.

I've not opened the top part of mine before, but from what you describe it sounds like it's possible the gear or spring that engages the shutter speed assembly is not connecting to whatever it is connected to.

If you've not already opened it, just be wary that as you said, parts and or springs could leap out and free themselves as you do so.

If I remember, I will dig my parts body out and see about pulling the top apart to see what is going on in there. If it's a broken part on yours I most likely have a working one here. Or at very least I can see if I can document it enough to help you find the problem.

Sadly, the Sensorex bodies are pretty cheap and when they break most of the time it's easier to just replace them. I hold onto mine for dear life since it's been with me since I was a teen. It's also still one of my favorite SLRs to shoot and has one of my favorite 50mm lenses.

If you are still in Sensorex trouble-land and this thread reawakening gets your attention give me a shout here and I'll see if I can help. 😀

 

[Luddite Frank]

Hello AMS,

I reached-out to Rick Oleson a month or so ago about the issue, and he offered some helpful tips.

It turned-out that the set-screws that secure the shutter speeds collar to the shaft the runs through the take-up spool to the bottom works were loose.

I didn't have to dig-in too far, and once those set-screws were tightened, the selector worked nice and "snappy", and the shutter speeds seem to be in the ball-park. I borrowed a battery from another camera ( a still-working P625 !), and the meter seems to be within reasonable range too.

I am waiting to get some prints back from a new lab, and if the results are promising, I will run a test roll through the Miranda.

I would love to play around with an LTM adapter on the Miranda.

 

[alienmeatsack]

Great news! Glad it was such a simple fix for your Miranda.

I know mine still works like a champ. It's never been serviced or CLA'd and the shutters speeds and meter still work perfectly. I've compared the metering to quite a few of my other cameras and it seems to be spot on. Well as much as one camera vs another can be. All of them are all different in that regard. And I think most of us figure out each camera's metering and how much to compensate for over or under exposure as a result.

I've not shot a roll with the LTM adapter yet but I did put on a few of my lenses to see how they worked. Since it's focal length is different then a M-Mount camera, the lenses behave as close up lenses... The results I get visually from my 50mm lenses put the focus area approximately at the same location as using my diopters on the Auto Miranda 50mm lens. The difference is that the depth of field is much greater in that mode I think.

Since I have three LTM lenses that are all 50mm, each with a unique personality, I am looking forward to doing a test roll and trying each to see how it renders the images.

I also have the Nikon mount for it which makes any Nikon lens work pretty close to what it would on any Nikon camera. I've shot a roll through my Nikon 50mm lens with it and the results are identical to as if I shot via the Nikon.

The only adapter I have left to find is the Exakta mount. I don't have any lenses with that type of mount but I am hopeful to find the adapter affordably just to add it to my kit.

 

[_goodtimez]

I just bought a Miranda Sensorex and I fixed a shutter curtain issue.
I advise you to open the bottom of the camera as well; here you really can see what you control by rotating hte speed selector at top. It will help you set it all correctly I think