Mamiya 645: Water Damage and Battery Drain, Not Worth Repairing
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
A Mamiya 645 came into the shop with a list of issues: shutter stuck open, battery drain, finder not fitting properly, light seals deteriorated. On examination, I found evidence of water damage. I do a current test on all electronic cameras to get an idea of electrical health. The Mamiya 645 should pull zero current when the main switch is in the off position. This camera pulled 40mA at all times with the main switch on or off. This would drain the battery within an hour or so. Since this camera showed signs of water damage and also heavy use (these were professional tools in the day) I recommended that the camera not be repaired as it would not be economically feasible. A certain number of cameras come into the shop every month that I recommend as not repairable due to water/wear and that I don’t feel I can bring to factory specs without major heroics (and money)!
