← Blog

All posts

From the bench ·

RB67 Lens: Fitting a Newer Shutter with External Sync Terminal

Mamiya RB67 lens replacement of shutter. I am getting ready to replace an old style RB shutter (circa 1972) with a newer designed shutter. The new shutters…

RB67 · Shutters · Lenses

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 80mm f/1.9 Lens: Repairing a Lens in Two Pieces

Mamiya 80mm f/1.9 lens for 645. This lens arrived in two pieces. Not sure how this happened but after some repair to the helical guides, complete cleaning…

645 · Helicoid grease · Focus · Lenses

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 Pro: Battery Drain Caused by a Loose Spring

This has been a week of Mamiya 645 Super/Pro repairs. I have serviced a lot of these cameras and this is the first time seeing this issue: camera (645 Pro)…

645 · Electronics · Testing

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 Super: Mirror Stop Replacement Techniques

Today was a day for Mamiya 645 Super mirror stop replacements. The Super is a bit more challenging for mirror stop replacements than the Pro as Mamiya…

645 · Parts

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 Super Film Back: Repair and Red vs Blue Dark Slides

Mamiya 645 Super film back repair and differences between the versions. I'm servicing a 645 Super film back damaged from impact. The outer film knob was…

645 · Film backs · History

From the bench ·

Synchro Compur Shutter: Testing Flash Contact Efficiency

As part of the intake process on all shutters, I check contact efficiency and insulation of the flash circuit. After repairs these figures are checked…

Shutters · Testing

From the bench ·

RB67 65mm Lens: Checking for Oil on the Shutter Blades

Mamiya RB67 65mm Lens. This lens arrived for service and the first thing I do when checking leaf shutter lenses such as the RB series, is examine the…

RB67 · Shutters · Cleaning

From the bench ·

RZ67: Light Trap Not Closing Properly

Mamiya RZ67 Repair. This RZ67 came into the shop with a light trap that would not close properly. To service the light trap, lots of disassembly needed on…

RB67 · RZ67

From the bench ·

Nikon FM: Focus Screen Replacement

Nikon FM focus screen replacement. While the Nikon FE, FE2 and FM2 have user replaceable focus screens, not so much with the Nikon FM. On early FM bodies…

Nikon · Viewfinders & meters

From the bench ·

Canon Pellix: Semi-Transparent Mirror Design and Service

Servicing a Canon Pellix. Interesting design using a fixed semi-transparent mirror that diverts some of the light to the viewfinder. This was the first…

Canon · Viewfinders & meters · History

From the bench ·

Hasselblad 80mm CF Lens: Sticking Shutter, Broken Cocking Shaft

Hasselblad 80mm f/2.8 CF Lens Repair. This lens came into the shop with multiple issues: focus ring goes through infinity by quite a bit, shutter sticking…

Hasselblad · Shutters · Focus · Parts

From the bench ·

Mamiya Sears Auto CS 1000MXB: A Rare NC1000 Variant

Mamiya Sears Auto CS 1000MXB. This is the second lowest production number SLR from Mamiya (2000DTL was the lowest). Produced for Sears in 1978 very few…

History · Winding & transport · Parts

From the bench ·

RB67 65mm Lens Variations: Single Coated, NB and C

Mamiya RB67 65mm Lens Variations. Although there were five different styles of RB67 65mm lenses (not counting the k/l version), these three variations…

RB67 · Lenses · History · Buying advice

From the bench ·

RB67 Lens: Removing a Filter Ring Dent

Removing a dent from a Mamiya RB67 lens. The first photo shows the dent at around the 4.5 marking and the last photo shows the lens ready to accept a…

RB67 · Lenses

From the bench ·

Mamiya 2000DTL: One of the Rarest Mamiya Cameras

Rarest Mamiya camera of all time? Well, almost, with a production figure of 1,130 units (OK, the Prismat of 1960 had only 455 units produced).this 2000DTL…

Nikon · Canon · Pentax · History

From the bench ·

Mamiya 7: Adjusting Viewfinder Parallax and Rangefinder

Mamiya 7 adjustments. Using a ground glass on the film plane of the camera I can check and adjust parallax of the viewfinder. Also, as seen in photos three…

Mamiya 7 · Rangefinder · Viewfinders & meters · Calibration

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 Pro: Straightening Impact Damage

Mamiya 645 PRO repair. This camera had some impact damage so took a bit of disassembly to straighten everything out. Seen in the photos are the wind side…

Mamiya 7 · 645

From the bench ·

RB67 with Lizard Skin Covering and Gold Plated Parts

Interesting RB67 variant. Mamiya made this model with lizard skin covering and gold plated parts. A bit flashy for my taste but I suppose it does appeal to…

RB67 · History

From the bench ·

Nikkor f/1.1 LTM Lens: Replacing a Damaged Diaphragm Blade

Nikkor f/1.1 LTM Lens Repair. I did this repair a while ago and image quality is not the best but will post it now because it is an interesting lens. When…

Lenses · Parts

From the bench ·

Canon FX: Full Service and Prism Replacement

Canon FX repair service. This model, circa 1965, is not as common as the later FT series, uses the FL lenses and does not have through the lens metering…

Canon · Shutters · Viewfinders & meters · Light seals

From the bench ·

RZ67: Tracking Down a Loose Screw Inside the Camera

Mamiya RZ67 repair. The owner of this camera has plans to sell it so he sent it to me for an operation check. First thing I noticed was a rattling sound…

RZ67 · Testing

From the bench ·

RZ67 50mm f/4.5 Z Lens: Damaged Cemented Rear Element

Mamiya RZ67 50mm f/4.5 Z lens damage. Photos show the damage done to one of the cemented rear elements. The third photo is at 35x magnification and the…

RZ67 · Lenses · Fungus · Buying advice

From the bench ·

Mamiya 645 Super/Pro: Gallery of Broken Mirror Stops

Gallery of broken Mamiya 645 Super/Pro mirror stops. An important word about this part: The mirror stop on the Mamiya 645 Super/Pro is made of a plastic…

645 · Parts · Buying advice

From the bench ·

Mamiya 7: Checking a Dropped Body and 65mm Lens

The owner of this Mamiya 7 told me that it had been dropped along with the 65mm lens. First thing I check when a camera has been dropped is the lens and…

Mamiya 7 · Testing · Rangefinder