Ricoh 519 sticky shutter question.

[Benishoga]

Hello folks.

So I’ve managed to get my hands on a really nice Ricoh 519, it’s in mint condition the previous owner had bought it as old new stock, the focus is beautiful just perfect amount damping it was stored in a humidified controlled cabinet and was only taken out a couple of times and so I was told. Anyhow. I took it out today and loaded a roll of film. I tested all the shutter speed prior to loading the film, sounds good to my ear.

I’ve noticed though, that every 4 frames or so the shutter doesn’t feel like it’s releasing at 1/100 sec just doesn’t feel right. Anyways I took it home after taking the roll out, I looked at the shutter and it looks like theres a bit of shinny grease that making the the shutter stick. Sometimes it won’t even close completely.

This model is not so well known and even with the other pictures I saw of the previous model (Ricoh 500) the front elements looks different from this one.

Is there anyone here has some info on how to disassemble the front elements so that I can clean the grease off the shutter blades? I’ve done similar maintenance with other rangefinder before some I’ve been successful in bringing it back to working state.

I’m not sure if I have to take the whole front glass element, I’ve managed to get the first element out but looks like there’s another one but that one won’t lift off like the first one did. So I just cleaned the glass and put it back together again, without gaining access to the shutter blades.

I looked at the back of the camera and looks like no access from there either.

I love the way this camera feels and I’d really like to keep using it but not the way it is at the moment.

Anyways I hope everyone is going okay and hope to hear from someone soon,

thanks all.

 

[Benishoga]

All good! So if anyone comes into this.

After the black front name plate comes off by unscrewing it counter clockwise, the silver collar just lifts off, just make sure the flash sync tab is positioned in the center, before trying to lift the collar up. Otherwise you might encounter something is catching underneath, this is when I stop before as it feels like it doesn’t want to come off easily, and I don’t force anything when I feel something might break.

All you can see after this is the shutter assembly, with the front elements brass block/housing attached to the shutter assemble. Only thing you need to do now is the get some rubber to wrap around this lens block housing, to protect the outside thread, mine is a little tight so I had to use a small plumbers’ wrench to unscrew the whole front lens assembly, you can even probably use a jar top opener to grip and unscrew this counter clockwise.

when it’s off, you should see the leaf shutter blades, mine had grease that’s making the shutter sticks, just carefully clean the surface blade with lighter fluid on cotton buds, or iso alcohol, I tend to use both until the cotton bud is clear of grease, leave it for 30 mins, if it’s still releasing the shutter without any issue when it’s throughly dry. I’ll then proceed to assemble the whole thing back.

It’s a fantastic camera and now the shutter sounds snappy and crisp before this simple clean up the shutter will randomly slow down and sometimes won’t even open.

thanks again hopefully it’ll help someone as there is really not much out there in terms of simple maintenance for this model.

cheers.

 

[KoNickon]

I just suggest you wait before reassembling -- this grease or oil, whatever it is, is remarkably persistent, and you may find you need to repeat the procedure at least once. But nicely done all the same -- excellent cameras, and well worth the effort!

 

[nhchen]

Good job getting it working again! But I also agree with waiting a while before reassembling. I’ve found the only time when you are completely sure it’s free from oil is if you’ve taken the shutter blades out and cleaned and the housing.
nathan

 

[farlymac]

All good! So if anyone comes into this.

After the black front name plate comes off by unscrewing it counter clockwise, the silver collar just lifts off, just make sure the flash sync tab is positioned in the center, before trying to lift the collar up. Otherwise you might encounter something is catching underneath, this is when I stop before as it feels like it doesn’t want to come off easily, and I don’t force anything when I feel something might break.

All you can see after this is the shutter assembly, with the front elements brass block/housing attached to the shutter assemble. Only thing you need to do now is the get some rubber to wrap around this lens block housing, to protect the outside thread, mine is a little tight so I had to use a small plumbers’ wrench to unscrew the whole front lens assembly, you can even probably use a jar top opener to grip and unscrew this counter clockwise.

when it’s off, you should see the leaf shutter blades, mine had grease that’s making the shutter sticks, just carefully clean the surface blade with lighter fluid on cotton buds, or iso alcohol, I tend to use both until the cotton bud is clear of grease, leave it for 30 mins, if it’s still releasing the shutter without any issue when it’s throughly dry. I’ll then proceed to assemble the whole thing back.

It’s a fantastic camera and now the shutter sounds snappy and crisp before this simple clean up the shutter will randomly slow down and sometimes won’t even open.

thanks again hopefully it’ll help someone as there is really not much out there in terms of simple maintenance for this model.

cheers.

I found that if you don't completely clean out the shutter and aperture blades the lubricant will once again jam things up in a short period of time. My Five-One-Nine is still not finished because I didn't have the proper size spanners to get the assembly off the camera (by removing the rear elements, and assembly retaining ring). Now that I have the right tool I haven't found the time to finish the job. However, I do plan on cleaning out the helical of all the old lubricant, and applying new. It's the only way you can ensure it will be a long period of time before having to clean it out again.

PF