Mamiya 645 front shutter not working

earthmanbuck · Oct 8, 2017

I recently picked up a Mamiya 645 for a not-too-bad price on eBay. I haven't shot with it yet, but it seems to be in good working order...except for the front shutter button, which doesn't do anything when I push it in. The top shutter button works fine, and so does the front one if I use a release cable, but I'd like to be able to use it with the grip that came with it. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to fix this, short of taking it in?

compur · Oct 8, 2017

There is a ring around the front shutter release to lock or unlock it. Is it locked?

earthmanbuck · Oct 9, 2017

compur said:
There is a ring around the front shutter release to lock or unlock it. Is it locked?

Nope, not locked—the lock affects both shutter releases, so if it was on neither would work. I tried locking and unlocking it a few times too just to be sure. There's also a new battery in there, so it's not that either.

The weird thing is, I bought the camera and lens from two different sellers...the camera arrived first, and when it did I played around with it a bit and I'm pretty sure I got the front shutter release to work at least once.

compur · Oct 9, 2017

Then I'd say it's a repair issue.

earthmanbuck · Oct 11, 2017

Ah heck. Thanks. I'll probably shoot a roll with it first before taking it in to make sure nothing else needs work.

earthmanbuck · Oct 12, 2017

I'm still planning on taking it in after I shoot a roll, but I have been able to get the front shutter release working by jabbing at it quickly. It doesn't work if you press it (or use the grip), but if you give it a quick hard poke it does fire. Not at all practical for use, but that makes me think the problem is just with the button itself rather than something more internal. This is good news, I think.