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2022
81 posts from 2022.
645 Pro: Intake Testing of Shutter Speeds
When a camera comes into the shop I like to do a function test on intake to get an idea of its health. This 645 Pro is shown having shutter speeds checked…
Mamiya 645 80mm f/1.9: Sand in the Focus Helicoid
The 80mm f/1.9 lens for Mamiya 645 came into the shop with a complaint of possible sand damage. The focus ring turned smoothly but every once in a while…
Mamiya 7II: Wind Lever Jammed by Broken Self Timer Button
This Mamiya 7II came into the shop with an advance lever locked up in the position shown in the first photo. After much examination, I found a very small…
Packing Cameras for Shipping: RB67 and RZ67 Damage Examples
I get a lot of cameras shipped to me via USPS, FedEx and UPS. Most make the trip safely. But this month I have received several packages that were badly…
645 PRO: Fixing a Botched Mirror Stop Replacement
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…
Mamiya 7 80mm Lens: Drying Out Moisture with Desiccant
This post is about desiccant. Please use it around storage of your cameras. This lens (Mamiya 7 80mm lens) had some moisture on the elements so it has been…
Mamiya 6: Stuck Frame Lines and Broken Viewfinder Glass
This Mamiya 6 came into the shop with a complaint of the frame finder lines not moving (stuck on 50mm). This tells me that the frame finder mechanism is…
Mamiya 645E: Counter Repair and Model History
A Mamiya 645E on the bench for repair to the counter system. The 645E is a bit of an oddball: introduced in May 2000 and made concurrently with the 645 PRO…
Mamiya 7: Replacing the Frame Finder Window with 7II Style Glass
This Mamiya 7 had a broken frame finder illumination window. The second photo shows the replacement window in place. In this case, I replaced the window…
Mamiya 7 65mm Lens: Replacing a Broken Flex Cable
This Mamiya 7 65mm lens came into the shop with a very common issue: broken flex cable. This cable connects the shutter to the camera connection pins on…
RZ67 110mm Lens: Straightening a Dented Filter Ring
Client sent in a photo of his dented lens filter ring on a Mamiya RZ67 110mm lens (photo one). While it is nicely dented, I could tell that this would be…
Mamiya C3: Replacing and Calibrating a Broken Focus Screen
This Mamiya C3 came into the shop with a fairly common issue- a broken focus screen glass. Replacement is straightforward, but the finder needs to be…
Mamiya 645 45mm C Lens: Oily Diaphragm Blades and Reassembly
Servicing a Mamiya 45mm C lens for the 645 system. Very common issue, oil on the blades causing the diaphragm to stay open wide. The 45mm lens (and the…
Mamiya 7II: Cracked Curtain Opening Knob and Rangefinder Fix
Servicing a Mamiya 7II with a few issues. The most obvious is that the rangefinder was off by quite a bit. Also, the first photo shows the curtain opening…
Mamiya 6: Battery Drain From a Loose Metal Part
This Mamiya 6 came into the shop with a complaint of a broken frame finder glass and problems with the battery not making connection. On initial…
Lens Filter Quality: Testing UV and Skylight Filters
This post is about lens filter quality. There seems to always be a debate about whether UV or Skylight filters should be used on a lens. I'm not going to…
RZ67II vs Mamiya 7: Measuring Camera Vibration
This is a post about vibration analysis. I happen to have these two cameras on the bench (Mamiya RZ67II and Mamiya7) right now so thought it would be a…
Mamiya 7 vs 7II: Rangefinder Differences Explained
I get asked quite often about the rangefinder differences between the Mamiya 7 and 7II. And I read a lot of misinformation on the internet. So, here again…
Mamiya 645 80mm f/2.8: Diaphragm Stuck Wide Open From Oil
This Mamiya 80mm f/2.8 lens for the 645 wins the contest this week for most oil on a set of diaphragm blades. The symptom that this produces is a diaphragm…
Mamiya C 80mm Lens: Taking and Viewing Lens Focus Mismatch
On intake, all Mamiya C series lenses get examined to insure that the taking and viewing lenses are focusing at the same point. This particular 80mm lens…
Mamiya 7II With Impact Damage: Not Repairable
Some cameras that come into the shop I feel are not repairable. This Mamiya 7II suffered impact damage: cracked top cover, rangefinder mostly inoperative…
Mamiya 7: No Finder LED Display After Impact Damage
Interesting repair on a Mamiya 7: the camera was impact damaged and the obvious sign was the damaged battery compartment. The complaint was that the LED…
Mamiya 7 43mm Lens: Checking the Rangefinder Cam
I was recently asked about my process for evaluating lenses for the Mamiya 7. In addition to other inspections, every lens has an initial check up of the…
Mamiya 7 65mm Lens: Measuring Front and Rear Group Spacing
Inspecting a Mamiya 7 65mm lens for potential focus issues. All lenses that I service get certain parameters evaluated and on the Mamiya 7 65mm and 43mm…