RZ67 Early 1982 Body: Mechanical Release Failure
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
Servicing a Mamiya RZ67 for a release issue. When these do not allow mechanical release, the problem is quite often an issue with the body not fully cocking the mirror. Mamiya had several revisions of many wind mechanism parts after the initial introduction of the RZ67 in 1982. This particular example is an early production model from 1982 and it did not benefit from any revised parts being installed. This is why I feel a used body these days that shows some light use may be better than a unused one as the “unused” body (if an early version 1982-maybe 1987 or so) has not had enough use to flush out problems that would have been taken care of by Mamiya in the early days of the camera via updated parts.
This camera came in with no shutter release and the problem was caused by the wind shaft lever. Photo four shows the new part on the left (that I installed) and the old part on the right. Visually, really not much difference. But the part was worn just enough to cause the mirror to not fully cock and the shutter would not release. The difference was very small, less than a millimeter.
