645 PRO: Fixing a Botched Mirror Stop Replacement
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
While I don’t like to critique other technicians work, I am going to say something about a recent repair that came in for work on a 645 PRO. My client had the mirror stop on his 645 replaced at a camera shop and after that, the mirror angle was not correct. The camera was sent to me to adjust the mirror angle but the problem was much more than that.
First, I noticed that the mirror stop adjusting screw was put in backwards. This is a common error that I see because the large slotted flat head that you might assume is the adjustable end is actually the end that faces into the camera. The adjustment end is the small slotted end that faces outward for access. With this in backwards, it would be impossible to adjust the mirror angle correctly. Oh, they tried by putting a drop of epoxy on the mirror stop adjusting post to build it up!
Well, the only thing to do was replace the mirror stop and after I started removal of the adjusting screw the stop just cracked. So, poor material choice of the stop. Also, the return spring had its end snapped off. Photo two shows the cracked stop and if you look carefully at the end of the screw, you will see the blob of epoxy put in for “adjustment”. Photo three shows the new stop installed and the camera is ready to go.
Gets the award for sloppiest repair of November.
