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From the bench
Real repairs, start to finish.
Mamiya 80mm C Lens: Replacing the Seiko 0 Speeds Escapement
Servicing a Mamiya 80mm C lens. This lens had several issues, main one being that the shutter was not working properly at the slow speeds. Usually…
RB67 250mm Lens: Impact, Separation and Fungus
This Mamiya RB67 250mm lens wins the weekly trifecta for issues: 1.) impact damage 2.) separation in the element group 3.) lots of fungus. Looks like this…
Mamiya 645 Pro: Checking Bayonet Flatness After Impact
This Mamiya 645 Pro came into the shop with what I suspect might have been some impact damage. In cases like this, I carefully inspect the camera for…
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E: Insect Shells Inside the Lens
Servicing a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E lens. This lens was in exceptional condition except for one issue: there was a small family of three insects living…
Mamiya 7II: Replacing the Cable Release Socket
Replacing the cable release socket on a Mamiya7II. Mamiya made a major change in the cable release socket from the model 7 to the model 7II. On the Mamiya…
Mamiya 645 80mm f/2.8: Oily Diaphragm and Loose Focus
This 80mm f/2.8 lens for the Mamiya 645 wins the prize for most oil on lens diaphragms this week. Also, the focus was very loose and uneven. For the lens…
Mamiya 6: Loose Wind Lever and Glue Residue
Servicing a Mamiya 6 and lenses. There were a few issues to deal with, most obvious was the wind lever that was loose. After removing the rubber covering…
A Fascinating Custom Camera
A quick look at a fascinating custom camera. Still don’t know what to call it.
Recommended Book for Camera Collectors
For anyone just starting out in camera collecting or learning about photography, this book is a great start.
RZ67: Wind Lever Locked After Electronic Release
Working on an RZ67 with a release issue. Actually, in this case, the issue was that the shutter would release electronically, but the wind lever would…
Mamiya 645 80mm f/1.9: Lens Out of Focus Tolerance
This Mamiya 645 w/80mm f/1.9 lens came into the shop with a complaint of poor focus. In checking the lens, I found it to be plus 0.16mm out of tolerance as…
Focus Fixtures for Adjusting Mamiya Lens Infinity
My once a year dusting of focus fixtures. The tools are used to adjust focus on Mamiya medium format and 35mm lenses. Each fixture has a small mirror at…
Flange-to-Film Distance Fixtures for Mamiya Cameras
Still doing spring cleaning at the shop and thought this would be a good time to show some of the fixtures used for Mamiya flange to film distance and…
Mamiya 645 PRO Mirror Stop: Pitfalls of 3D Printed Replacements
While replacing the mirror stop in this Mamiya 645 PRO, I feel it is time to talk about this procedure again. By now, many have decided to replace the…
Mamiya 7 150mm Lens: Calibrating the Rangefinder Cam
Servicing a Mamiya 150mm lens for the Mamiya 7. After checking focus on the lens, next stop is checking rangefinder cam movement. Until the rangefinder cam…
Mamiya 7: Bent Rangefinder After an Impact
I did not repair this Mamiya 7. It came in with the complaint that the frame finder marks were not correct for the attached lens and that the rangefinder…
RZ67 Early 1982 Body: Mechanical Release Failure
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…
Mamiya 7 80mm Lenses: Separation and Fungus in the Rear Group
I have had two Mamiya 7 80mm lenses in for service this week and was unable to fully resolve the issues with them. Reason: separation and fungus on the…
Mamiya 6: Replacing Broken Viewfinder Glass
Servicing a Mamiya 6 with a broken viewfinder glass. For some reason, I see more Mamiya 6 cameras with broken finder glass than Mamiya 7. No idea why…
Mamiya C220 After a Fall: Finder Glass and Filter Ring Repair
This Mamiya C220 had a rough time recently . It was sent to me by @sirjakethomas and he told me that during his recent London trip, it had a bit of a fall…
Mamiya 7 and Mamiya 6 Repair Tools
I'm doing some spring cleaning/reorganization so thought it might be a good time to show some of the Mamiya 7 repair tools that I use (all of the items in…
Mamiya 645 1000S: Corroded Battery Compartment and Broken Latch
This 645 1000s came into the shop for the typical slow film counter return and shutter calibration (I have documented the counter return issue on a…
Fuji GS645W and GS645S Wide 60: Similarities and Differences
Servicing two Fuji 645 rangefinder cameras today that share some body traits. This gives me a chance to show some of the similarities and differences…
Mamiya 7 vs 7II: Four Frame Finder Versions Compared
While doing some service on Mamiya7 bodies today I thought it would be a good time to document the differences on the various versions. While officially…