RB67 Not Economically Repairable: Worn Winding and Bellows
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
A certain percentage of the cameras that come into my shop, I deem not economically repairable. While Mamiya cameras were made for heavy duty professional use, I believe all machines have a certain service life. My goal when repairing cameras is to return the equipment back to factory specs (or as close as possible in some cases). If that takes major parts replacement and lots of labor then I will advise that the camera is probably not feasible to repair.
These photos show a recent RB67 that arrived for repair (winding issue) but on examination I notice that the bellows needs replacing and the camera shows evidence of hard professional use. And the winding mechanism showed wear. This camera was sent back to the owner not repaired. Even though it is possible to repair these sort of cameras, I’m not interested in patching up a camera to get it to work.
When purchasing a used Mamiya, keep in mind these were professional tools and used as such and most are 30-50 years old by now. Choose carefully.
