Arrrrrrggghhhhh!!!!!

photobug

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Okay, here's the deal-

I bought a set of extension tubes for my Contax RTS II so I could do some macro work. Cheaper than buying a macro dedicated lens & more versitile anyway, since they work with any lens.

Sooooo.... I'm sitting here last night playing with the tubes in differing combinations, with & w/o a doubler while watching the Mariners game on TV. During an exciting moment in the game I mounted the doubler on the camera body when I should have just been watching the game.

The result? The doubler is stuck on the body. Can't get it off. It won't rotate far enough to disengage the lugs on the lens mount. Seems doublers & extension tubes (at least in Contax/Yashica mounts) have free-floating levers (to operate the lens aperture). If you aren't careful you can get the thing on the body with the lever in the wrong position, allowing it to go on, but not allowing it to come back off.

Since the "God-who-protects-idiots" took last night off I left it alone hoping the "camera fix-it faeries" would make an appearance whilst I slept. No suck luck. I still can't get it off. So, now, I'm going to have to send it somewhere to get it removed. This will probably require completely disassembling the camera to the last screw. Which will mean it'll probably cost $200 (or more) to fix something I only paid $300 for to begin with.

On the bright side (& this sad tale surely needs a bright side!) I'll know the damn thing should be good for another 20 years or so. The only really good part about this is this is my backup body, so I'm still in business, but... this... just... sucks! :lol:

Sorry, had to do a mini-vent thing here. Less expensive than throwing the thing off a bridge. This'll probably be funny 5 years from now when I'm telling it at a party. :roll:

Jim
 
<waves from Seattle> That is a bummer. But did the Mariners win? (Sorry, I should know that answer but I was at a concert last night)
 
Oh my goodness! This sounds so much like something I would do. In fact like several things I have already done. I would so have screamed. Arg. man, do I know the feeling.
 
My testosterone would never allow me to send it out to be fixed. I'd be out in the garage with vice grips, a flat head screwdriver, power saw, blow torch..... :oops:
 
That sucks

The other night, I checked out a basic camera repair book from the library. I spent $20 on a Mamiya rangefinder. The shutter didn't work so I thought this would be my introduction to the inner workings of a camera. Well I started disassembling the lens to get to the shutter and got to a point where i couldn't figure out how to go any further. No more screws.

So I start to put it back together and dropped a tiny screw. Little bastard was lost, so I decided it was time to force my way in. To make a long short, it is now in the dumpster in about 300 little pieces. Amazing how easy that lens came off with some pliers and a screwdriver.
 
metroshane said:
My testosterone would never allow me to send it out to be fixed. I'd be out in the garage with vice grips, a flat head screwdriver, power saw, blow torch..... :oops:


sounds like Mr. doxx :lol:
 
naw the final solution is a little pipe bomb, shove it down the tube and watch the magic happen baby!
 
Percussive maintenance was my first thought, believe me. :evil:

And I'm not worried about my manhood, I'm gonna blame it on the "friend" I "loaned" the camera to. 8)

Jim
 
After several days of pondering, it occurred to me that I could see 2 of the 3 (turned out to be 4, but...) screws on the rear mounting ring of the doubler.

So, I found a itty-bitty phillips screwdriver and removed the two screws. This allowed the offending lever to pop under the ring and let the doubler rotate far enough to be removed.

I'd gotten used to having 2 bodies to play with. The weekend is looking up! 8)

Jim [doin' the Happy Feet dance]
 

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