Yar, spoke to soon, Mamiya 1000 DTL

[JDP]

Ok, so I picked up a Mimiya 1000 DTL the other day, thoroughly examined it and it looked like it was fine.

Ran an older roll of kodak B&W through it, and most of the roll seemed fine, but there's a few problems.

1. The shutter stuck once
2. The meter seems off. I went and had the battery replaced, and it still seems off - off as in, if I set exposure to 1/8, then everything is correctly exposed according to the meter - there's no variance with aperature. 1.4, exposure fine. f/22, exposure also fine.
3. The self-timer seems odd, it worked fine a few times, then seemed reversed for a bit, and wont work right. A few more advances, it was fine once more.

So, I'm thinking it might just need a general cleaning? The seals and such seem fine though I couldn't really examine the mirror damper. Im getting ready to send it to camera repair.com, but was wondering if there was anything I could do before that.

Thanks!

 

[mysteryscribe]

old meter are notoriously cranky.... if they work at all....

Cleaning sounds like a good idea. Most shutters if they work at all just need a little cleaning.

That all said. I would work the shutter at least a hundred times before I sent it out. The oil my be thick and just needs to be worked a little. If it doesnt get better after that for sure have it cleaned.

DO NOT DO THIS OR IF YOU DO... DO NOT HOLD ME RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW IT UP.

For sticky vintage shutters, I put them in a plastic bag. One i know has no leaks. Then I run a plastic container of hot water. I let the lens sit in it about two minutes. Then I reheat the water in the microwave while I work the shutter.

Sometimes it takes a half dozen reheats, but it (so far) has fixed all the sticky shutters I have tried it on(about five) the heat I think softens the oils and returns it to its correct viscosity and working the shutter relubes it. Now that is only a guess and I would not even suggest that anyone else do it. They also have not returned to a sticky state as of this time some are a year old since being fixed and sit around unused a lot. they have always worked when I pick them up to shoot.

Again if you try it do not hold me responsible for your results..

 

[JDP]

Ah, ok, that's a really good idea. Perhaps the oil is a tad to thick and I hit a rough spot with it. I'll cycle it through some more shots and then I'll re-read what you wrote about heating it, think twice, and go have someone else service it