Newer lenses on a "Gothic" Pen F

[Dez]

I recently bought a very nice original meterless "Gothic F" camera, and am having troubles with a lens that worked fine on an FT. The firing cycle doesn't complete- either the diaphragm lever or the meter are being interfered with somehow. If I attempt to fire the shutter and then remove the lens. a slight touch on the aperture closing lever or the mirror allows the mirror to complete its swing and the shutter to fire. There is no obvious drag in the aperture mechanism of the lens, and the shutter fires just fine without a lens mounted. Has anybody out there encountered this problem?

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Lee Rust]

I experienced this very same issue. It seems to be a common problem with the original "F" and the mirror release mechanism was completely re-designed for the "FT" model.

Underneath the bottom plate, you might try cleaning or slightly lubricating the sliding trigger linkage that's held down by two flat-headed screws. but be careful not to bend anything. There's a perforated disc that controls the mirror spring and the tension can be increased by loosening and re-positioning the disc, but I'm not qualified to tell you how to do that. I believe Rick Oleson and others have posted some discussion and procedures here and elsewhere.

 

[Dez]

Thanks Lee, I pulled the baseplate off, cleaned and lubed the mirror linkage mechanism, and that appears to have done the trick. I had initially assumed that there was interference with the edge of the mirror, but that turned out not to be the case.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Karlovak]

I have a similar issue with the Gothic version.

In my case the firing cycle completes, just the shutter stays open for around two seconds when fired. The shutter speeds work fine when the lens is unattached.

A few drops of Ballistol, and it works. Thanks!