My Fed 2 troubles

[seany65]

Hello all,

I've had a Fed 2 for a few months and finally got around to shoving a film in it.

I've noticed a few problems:

1) The collar around the shutter button doesn't have an index mark on it, so I don't know if it's lined up properly with either the 'B' or the 'C'.

2) The collar just rotates in either direction and won't 'stay down' like it should when loading/unloading.

3) I can rewind a film if I just hold the collar down.

4) The wind knob won't rotate freely without tensioning the shutter, so I'm having trouble setting the film counter.

I think I could manage to use the camera like this, but I don't know if I should because I don't know if it would cause trouble down the line.

Do these problems sound fixable and if so would they be a failry easy/cheap fix?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

When the clutch is engaged and film is being wound it should be up and, obviously, must have been turned towards the letter C.

To disengage the clutch you push it down and turn towards the B. After rewinding the film into the cassette you rotate it towards the C and it comes up.

So up or down rather than marked to align with the letter B & C.

Hope this helps. I presume you've a copy of the little yellow covered instruction manual or else a PDF of it...

Regards, David

 

[seany65]

@David Hughes,

Thanks for the reply and the info. I understand the idea of turning it to B and the collar sinking down to disengage the clutch, and turning to C and the collar rising to engage the clutch.

The problem is that the collar doesn't stay down when I turn it. I can hold it down, but that's not 'right'.

I presume the turn of the collar should basically be limited by some internal 'thing' so that it doesn't turn more than it should?

But there is no limit on the collar's turn, it can 'spin' non-stop to the left or right.



I've had another look at my pdf of the manual, and i've worked out why I couldn't set the counter to '0', I was turning th entire wind knob and I should've been turining the collar with the frame numbers on it. So that's one problem sorted out.

Regards,, seany65.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Poking about inside them is not something I like to do with my lack of experience, parts and tools etc but there are many here who can probably answer that point.

Or, if you mention what part of the world you live in you'll probably then get recommendations for technicians who can repair it.

Regards,David

 

[mcfingon]

It may be just a small set screw that holds the collar steady that has come loose. If you've got a small screwdriver you may be able to tighten it yourself. Look on page 4 of the Fed 2 repair manual here:
http://www.pentax-manuals.com/repairs/fed2service.pdf

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

That's a fascinating and tempting link, thanks - perhaps. ;-)

Regards, David

PS If your ears start burning....

 

[mcfingon]

I will watch out for burning ears David. I was able to improve the film-counter behaviour on my Leica III as a result of looking at the link. I noticed that there are a number of small washers under the winding knob film counter disc in the illustration, and none in my Leica III which had a too-easily moved film counter. I stole one washer from a non-functional Fed-2 I have and made another one from some shim stock I have and now my III has a better film counter. Great!

 

[seany65]

@mcfingon, thanks for the link. I was wondering about the screw in the collar. It has always looked right, but I did think it may not be screwed into something on the inside of the collar as the collar turns both ways without tightening or loosening.

I have a had a quick fiddle with that screw with a tiny screwdriver, by loosening it about halfway and then tightening it, and now the collar stops turning after a moment or two, but can be turned again with a little effort.

I've prolly made things worse.

There is a shop I could take it to not far from me in Manchester, called 'The Real Camera Company', but I've had a few problems with a couple of cameras (bought on ebay) and when I asked them about possible charges for repairs, they said the technicians they use rarely estimate costs as being less than £60.

That's more than I paid for any of the cameras, and fed 2's can be bought for less, so I may just hold the collar down with my thumb when rewinding a film.

@David Hughes, That's a good suggestion : I'm in Stalybridge, Cheshire, a few miles outside Manchester, so if anyone knows of a repairer who could do it for less than £60 please let me know and I may be able to get them to do it after xmas.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

You could try Newton Ellis and Co, no idea of their charges but they have sorted out several serious problems for me, including both tapes on a Contax II and a never used since the 30's Leica Std.

They are at:-

http://www.newtonellis.com/

Regards, David

 

[seany65]

@ David hughes, Thanks for the link. Could be useful. I'll email them for a rough ball-park guesstimate.

 

[wolves3012]

It's been years since I had a FED 2 apart but...there's a set-screw in the rim of the collar that locks it and prevents it being unscrewed. If the screw is loose or missing this could give the problem you have, although it should still be possible to tighten the collar and get "rewind" easily enough. From memory, the mechanism below has a rod inside a tube, the tube has a cut-out with an angled path that gives the up-and-down movement. A guide screw is screwed into the inner rod. If the guide screw is missing this would allow the collar to be pushed down but not operate by turning, as it should be. This seems the most likely problem.

 

[seany65]

Hello wolves3012,

The little set screw is there and not loose.

Is "the mechanism below" actually inside the top of the camera and can't be seen even with the back open? I've had the back off and I can see a couple of tiny screws in the cylinder with the sprocket holes and some stuff behind, but I can't see any angled cut-out. There is a straight cut-out, but that's in the sprocket hole cylinder.

 

[wolves3012]

Hello wolves3012,

The little set screw is there and not loose.

Is "the mechanism below" actually inside the top of the camera and can't be seen even with the back open? I've had the back off and I can see a couple of tiny screws in the cylinder with the sprocket holes and some stuff behind, but I can't see any angled cut-out. There is a straight cut-out, but that's in the sprocket hole cylinder.

I'm afraid you need to take off the whole top-plate to access the part I meant, no you can't even see it by taking the back off.

 

[seany65]

@wolves3012. Ah, I see. Thanks. Any repair would be quite expensive then.

Would it cause any damage to the camera if I just hold the collar down with my thumb when rewinding a film?

 

[wolves3012]

@wolves3012. Ah, I see. Thanks. Any repair would be quite expensive then.

Would it cause any damage to the camera if I just hold the collar down with my thumb when rewinding a film?

Assuming the sprocket is free to turn when you do (seems likely else you'll rip the film) I can't see how it'll do any harm. It's not that hard to take the top plate off a FED 2 but unless you know what you're doing I'd advise against it.

The biggest problem with most FSU cameras is that their financial value usually doesn't justify the cost of a professional repairman. Meaning they generally either get mucked about with by home DIY-ers or they get no repairs.

 

[seany65]

Could've sworn I'd just replied to this thread.

Anyway:

@wolves3012, thanks for the info. At least I can console myself with the knowledge that my fed 2 is a 'correct' FSU camera that real photographers use, and not one of those weird, ridiculous 'properly working' cameras, which mere 'snapshooters' use.