Mamiya M645 repair?

minicoop1985 · Feb 5, 2014

Well, I've found myself with three Mamiya 645s. Two of them are going to be sold, but one of them is staying with me. Unfortunately, it's got some issues. First, it appears that the secondary shutter release near the finder screen is stuck. Second, when I spin the crank, the shutter "fires" sorta. The curtains both move together, so there's no light that gets through when it fires. Is this due to the stuck shutter button? And is it something someone with moderate DIY skills could shred into and hopefully not break? Thanks!

gsgary · Feb 5, 2014

Have you tried hitting it with a hammer ?

minicoop1985 · Feb 5, 2014

Why do you think I'm in this mess? :wink:

beachrat · Feb 7, 2014

If I had three of them,and one of them didn't work,that ain't the one I'd keep.

Get the hammer!

minicoop1985 · Feb 7, 2014

Well, I said to hell with it already and am selling that one. Bought another body and will cannibalize whatever I need to make one REALLY good one. Sometimes you win, sometimes you buy a broken Mamiya 645.

Rick58 · Feb 8, 2014

minicoop1985 said:
Well, I said to hell with it already and am selling that one. Bought another body and will cannibalize whatever I need to make one REALLY good one. Sometimes you win, sometimes you buy a broken Mamiya 645.

Good choice. With the price of the bodies, it probably wouldn't pay to fix it. I have a third Bronica body that developed shutter speed issues. KEH said it would cost $50 to fix. It's still sitting in the box, broken.

minicoop1985 · Feb 8, 2014

Bronica bodies are that cheap? Sheesh. What model Bronica?

Rick58 · Feb 8, 2014

Ya know, I would have to check :lol:

.
I have a good C and S. I had second body of one of these and I don't remember which. I think I had a second "S". The shutter speed dial just spins. KEH say's it a common issue and quoted me $50 over the phone.
It's crazy. you'll spend only $50-$80 for a body, but you'll spend just as much for a simple waist level finder for the same camera

minicoop1985 · Feb 8, 2014

I found that with Mamiya 645s, the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts. Hasselblads and Leicas are generally worth more pieced out than as a whole. It's quite interesting.

My wife's got a Bronica ETR_Si she's selling. I got a chance to use it, and it got me hooked on 6x4.5. Great little camera aside from being plastic, but ergonomics was a word that hadn't been invented yet.