Kowa 6 / 66 stuck or jammed or hung - winder busted, etc - SOLUTION INSIDE!

A lot of frustrated Kowa owners out there - HELP!, they cry out, My

Kowa is jammed! The mirror is down, the winder is jammed, the shutter

release operates but no shutter activity! I broke the damned handle

off the winder trying to force it around! WHAT DO I DO!?

 

The only response I ever seem to find is: Shoulda not bought that

Kowa, didnt you hear they suck?

 

Bullshit.

 

The problem seems to be lost tension in the cocking device. An

engineering flaw. Weak materials. Whatever. Read on:

 

In order to view your scene you must have the camera cocked. Cocking

the unit lowers the mirror into place. No problem as long as you

remember to release the shutter before stowing the camera in the event

you have it cocked and determine that your shooting is complete for

the day. This will cost you a frame in the worst case scenario. I have

learned to NOT cock the camera until I have visualized my shot and am

ready to compose and fire. What seems to happen is this:

 

If left cocked for a prolonged duration - say twelve hours or so,

maybe less, still investigating to determine minimum time before this

will occur - if you leave it cocked for a long period, something in

the mechanism seems to lose tension. Now, trouble comes when you

finally get around to firing the camera. The mechanism, having lost

some of the "charge" will not rotate completely. When you next try to

cock it by advancing the film, the advancing can not be completed

entirely. You are now, effectively, jammed.

 

Here is where people get screwed. They might have their little lever

down on the winder, and when they hit this jam they probably,

instinctively, try to force it around - SNAP! - the lever breaks off.

No problem, the lever isn't needed to wind on, cosmetic issue only.

Still, the camera is jammed.

 

If you have a changing bag, you can remedy the problem without losing

a frame to exposure. If not, will cost you a frame.

 

To fix this, remove the lens from the camera. Take a small

phillips-head screwdriver and insert it in the upper hole on the

mechanism that the pins on the shutter go into (this mechanism

operates the release on the leaf shutter) and pull gently but firmly

until the mechanism comes into top position. Jam is now fixed.

Re-mount the lens.

 

If you did this in the light, advance and shoot. Don't leave it cocked

overnight in the future. Lesson learned. If you did this in the

changing bag, you may compose and take your shot.

 

There. I had to learn this hard way. But it was relatively intuitive

to figure out once I managed to jam the camera. Have fun. Shoot yer

Kowa til the Kowas come home. Etc.

...However, the problem is very fequently a broken gear or lever in the winding system. For this, the best fix is Ross Yerkes in CA (if he's still around). He does excellent work.

Granted, gears strip, break, etc., but I do not see the gears breaking before the handle busting free. Hopefully, folks who do jam will find this thread before they go ballistic and twist off something more important than the handle. I would be willing to bet a majority of Kowa 6 jams are directly related to this tension issue - the MAJOR damage is secondary.

 

Yerkes is the man to go to, according to legend, should you have a major repair or lens CLA issue. Of that there is little to dispute.

I followed the instructions and it works really nicelly now.

Nelson - I have a question for you. Do you know neck strap that binding correctly to the supporting knobs of the Kowa, other than the original kowa strap. Op/tech sells such items but they don't provide any informations that allow the user to sellect the correct binding system.

 

All the best.

 

Great photos you have posted.

 

Pedro

Pedro - I purchased a strap from KEH. You can also find them on eBay. I am not certain what it is you are asking me, but appears you are seeking some aftermarket manner of putting a strap/strap lugs on a Kowa 6?

 

I am happy that my little tutorial was of help to you. Kowas are wonderful cameras. They have a bad reputation. I'm glad to help.

Thanks for this tip. March 2007 and it just bailed me out of a jam, so to speak.

My jams have never been like this. mainly because my jams were complete - meaning the

lens wont come off either, lens ring won't rotate past the stop pin.

 

To Un-jam is pretty easy:

 

Take the left side of the camera off (the one without the winder.

Manually pull back the stop pin for the lens ring. It's somewhere near the release button.

Remove the lens and wind through until cocked and you have un-jammed the camera.

 

I have had this happen twice (on a super) and both times it was a faulty lens that wouldn't

cock, so keep your lenses serviced. I have done this and been up and shooting again in 15

minutes (with a different lens of course).

 

People say that Kowas jam because of poor quality, They jam because of the auto dark flap

mechanism, which cannot allow anything to be removed from the camera unless it is

wound.

 

To the poster: I ALWAYS leave my cameras wound, sometimes for months at a time and

have never had a jam as you described. I suggest you have the mirror lifting spring

checked as I have had jams on release resulting form poor tension on this spring (in a SIX).

 

P (Super 66 and Six)

<p>Today my Kowa 6 suffered the dreaded "Jammed Shutter". Not only was the shutter jammed but I was not able to remove the lens either, much like Paul mentioned above. Thankfully, due to hints provided by both the original poster CE Nelson and Paul Langmead, I developed a method that works quite well for lens removal on the camera that is totally jammed, with no need to disassemble the left side of the camera.<br>

Looking down on your camera ,as if shooting, you will notice in the vicinity of your left thumb that there is a small pin visible in the gap between the front of the camera body and the lens ring. Placing your camera down with left side up rotate the lens ring to the open position as far as you can. Taking a razor blade ( exacto knife..) work the pin much in same way as you would in opening a door lock with a credit card. This will release the lens ring allowing you to remove the lens. Then just follow CE Nelson's instructions above for recocking the camera body. Voila that Kowa is back in service in no time...</p>

i just bought a jammed kowa super 66. ive always been curious about that soft gears n

weak tension thing. well here is what the autopsy showed.

 

soft gears... well i got to the soft gear n pawl. it seems it showed alot of wear. the gear

had signs of extensive tooth wear from the pawl that pushes the gear. the pawl itself

had damage as well. there is only one pawl pushing a small gear so the weight demand

is way too much on these tiny teeth.

 

but after doing my repair, the body is working flawlessly. BUT..... when i mounted the len

the body jammed again. now this surprised me since the lens seemed to be working fine

aside from a hard locking as it was almost full cocked. that hard locking is what jammed

the camera. maybe the rotating driver that carries the pis slips n that causes the out of

phase that jams her up.

 

i cleaned n lubed the lens, gave her a good going over. now this lens is silky smooth n a

slight tug as she locks... now working flawlessly!

 

but... hahaha just when you think you cured it. no way! the film back is now locking the

camera up about a quarter crank. if too much preasure is exerted, it will strip the gear n

pawl again. i think this is the straw that breaks the camels back.

 

i tried fixing the film back but unfamiliar with kowas, i still haven't cured the back

problem.

 

but the body and lenses are working great!

 

if only i had a repair manual.

<p>I bought a Kowa 6 30 years ago and had jam issues. All that seemed to fix it was taking out the film and shooting off that frame. Of course that ruined the roll. No amount of winder manipulation or taking off the lens worked. I fiddled with the camera, took it to my local (very knowledgeable) repair shop, and nothing worked. After 100's of rolls throught it I inadvertently dropped it last month and broke it. My 55mm lens broke along with denting the body so severely that it was not fixable. I should have kept it for spare parts but I thought I'd just sell the lenses and get something else. But instead I bought another body. And you guessed it......this body jams too. I didn't test I for too long and now own it. I checked it out after it jammed on the first frame. Taking out the roll of film unjammed it. Putting the roll back in jammed it again. I pressed every part of the film transport mechanism and could not get it to jam but put the film in and ....jam!!! I'm stumped. I took out the pressure plate and no jam. Put it back in and jam. I put all the pressure I could generate on the top roller and no jam. I put pressure on the film against the guides and no jam. Put the film in and ....jam. Any help?</p>

its so damn finiky. my working old 66 ive had for at least 20 years has never given me a single

problem. but this newer one is a pita!

 

im going to sell it n pass the problem along to another pioneer willing to give it a go.

A lot of frustrated Kowa owners out there - HELP!, they cry out, My

Kowa is jammed! The mirror is down, the winder is jammed, the shutter

release operates but no shutter activity! I broke the damned handle

off the winder trying to force it around! WHAT DO I DO!?

 

The only response I ever seem to find is: Shoulda not bought that

Kowa, didnt you hear they suck?

 

Bullshit.

 

The problem seems to be lost tension in the cocking device. An

engineering flaw. Weak materials. Whatever. Read on:

 

In order to view your scene you must have the camera cocked. Cocking

the unit lowers the mirror into place. No problem as long as you

remember to release the shutter before stowing the camera in the event

you have it cocked and determine that your shooting is complete for

the day. This will cost you a frame in the worst case scenario. I have

learned to NOT cock the camera until I have visualized my shot and am

ready to compose and fire. What seems to happen is this:

 

If left cocked for a prolonged duration - say twelve hours or so,

maybe less, still investigating to determine minimum time before this

will occur - if you leave it cocked for a long period, something in

the mechanism seems to lose tension. Now, trouble comes when you

finally get around to firing the camera. The mechanism, having lost

some of the "charge" will not rotate completely. When you next try to

cock it by advancing the film, the advancing can not be completed

entirely. You are now, effectively, jammed.

 

Here is where people get screwed. They might have their little lever

down on the winder, and when they hit this jam they probably,

instinctively, try to force it around - SNAP! - the lever breaks off.

No problem, the lever isn't needed to wind on, cosmetic issue only.

Still, the camera is jammed.

 

If you have a changing bag, you can remedy the problem without losing

a frame to exposure. If not, will cost you a frame.

 

To fix this, remove the lens from the camera. Take a small

phillips-head screwdriver and insert it in the upper hole on the

mechanism that the pins on the shutter go into (this mechanism

operates the release on the leaf shutter) and pull gently but firmly

until the mechanism comes into top position. Jam is now fixed.

Re-mount the lens.

 

If you did this in the light, advance and shoot. Don't leave it cocked

overnight in the future. Lesson learned. If you did this in the

changing bag, you may compose and take your shot.

 

There. I had to learn this hard way. But it was relatively intuitive

to figure out once I managed to jam the camera. Have fun. Shoot yer

Kowa til the Kowas come home. Etc.

 

 

Hi I realize this is an old thread but maybe you or someone can help me. I'm having the exact problem you describe - I have a kowa super 66 that I bought and shot a few rolls through fine but now, after swapping the lenses, is jammed. I know lens has to be cocked prior to putting it on. As far as I can tell the body is cocked, lens is cocked, mirror is down but shutter button will not activate the shutter. See picture for reference. I'm not sure what you mean by "pull gently but firmly until the mechanism comes into top position." When you say "pull" do you mean "turn"? Shouldn't the body already be cocked if it allowed you to take the lens off? As far as I can tell the mechanism is in the top position. Any help would be appreciated.

 

It's been awhile since I owned a Kowa Six MM, got lucky and never had a cocking or jamming problem with it, so I never had to clear a jam like this. Based on your pic, it seems cnelsonphoto was suggesting placing the tip of a phillips screwdriver in the uppermost slot in the upper cocking plate (exactly under the red mark on the mounting collar), and using it to slide (turn) the mechanism counterclockwise (to the left and down) to complete any slack left in the cycle. If you feel heavy resistance, don't force it: the slots look correctly aligned (cocked position), at most they might move a hair to finish the cycle.

 

In a similar thread some years ago, it was recommended to try removing the film magazine, activating the multiple exposure switch, and see if that allows the crank to complete the cocking cycle and prime the shutter button. Fiddling with the button collar might free the button to fire if the locking mechanism has drifted a bit or gotten sticky.

Edited April 7, 2020 by orsetto

I'm hoping you're not expecting the camera to fire with the lens off . The first thing I might suggest with the lens off and

the back of the lens facing you , make sure the 2 larger pins are wound all the way towards the red dot . Then press the small

pin in and apply light clockwise pressure to the 2 large pins . Do this a few times at different shutter speeds and check that

the shutter mechanism is going through it's operations of opening the diaphragm and shutter blades . The need for applying

this clockwise pressure is because the camera body has a significant spring to complete this action on the bottom of your camera.

The tripod mount is held on by 4 small screws and when removed should reveal the spring loaded shaft . It may be binding . It

applies the return tension to the lens through a 90 degree gear coupling . It's kinda convoluted all that goes on to cock and

fire the lens shutter . So basically I'd suggest the lens test first before moving on to possible body problems . PM me if I can be

of further help , I have some pics , but they'd probably be better sent through an email as they're on my phone and may be too

large for this site . Best of Luck . Peter

I have a similar problem. Camera fires perfectly with no film. With film, the film advance will lock. Usually after taking a few pictures. Mirror retracts perfectly. Lens on correctly. Sounds like a film counter/gear issue??? I read someone had a similar problem with Ilford film only but that doesn't sound right. Is there anybody out there with any knowledge about this issue? Thanks a million! Gary P.S. I have a Kowa Six.

Does your film counter work ? The gear train inside the film advancing mechanism has quite a few gears and some

of them have a number of gears on the same pin . I have a Super Six that had one of those pressed together gear

clusters slip after one or two shots , was quite the nightmare to find , but It was easily fixed by putting a small ball

bearing on the end of the pin and gently squeezing it in a vice and presto after about 15 to 20 hours I had that part

of the repair finished . :) . Patience is a prerequisite for working on these , But they are really nice cameras when

up and running properly . I had the original failed one ( I bought it that way ) apart so often , that I ended up punching

small holes through every screw location on the covering to allow easy access to all the fasteners .

Does your film counter work ? The gear train inside the film advancing mechanism has quite a few gears and some

of them have a number of gears on the same pin . I have a Super Six that had one of those pressed together gear

clusters slip after one or two shots , was quite the nightmare to find , but It was easily fixed by putting a small ball

bearing on the end of the pin and gently squeezing it in a vice and presto after about 15 to 20 hours I had that part

of the repair finished . :) . Patience is a prerequisite for working on these , But they are really nice cameras when

up and running properly . I had the original failed one ( I bought it that way ) apart so often , that I ended up punching

small holes thruough every screw location on the covering to allow easy access to all the fasteners .

Peter, thank yo so much for the reply. The film counter works perfectly. Of course, when the winding mechanism freezes nothing works. I'm not familiar with the guts of the Kowa Six. How do I get to the gear clusters that affect the film counter? I assume it is where the film counter is located? Do I take off that half of the body, removing the leather covering first? Again, thanks for all your help. Gary

This should be similar to what you may see . This is from the Super 66 model . My Kowa Six has not required any

work and so I'm hesitant to take it apart to try and show it's inner workings , however I'd like to believe it must be

very similar . The winding crank must come off first , 4 screws under the covering and then 2 holding the winding

crank to the shaft . I recall that there's 5 screws around the perimeter holding the plate on the Super 66 . A hair

dryer should help soften the covering and a 1/2" wide very thin scraper should allow pulling the covering back near

the edges to access the screws . They're Phillips head screws . Peter

Thanks a million Peter. I'll take a look and report back.

 

Gary

All I can add is that if you want to keep the frame spacing (reasonably) even, do not use the winder handle; but instead wind the camera gently using only the knob. Keep the winding handle folded into the knob.

 

But quite honestly, these cameras are so finicky that they're more of a camera and lens-repairing hobby than a viable means of taking photographs.

Hey, hey hey , they take great pics ( that was kinda the reason behind fixing them :) ) . And I do agree with the knob usage vs the crank . Imagine

where all the hasselbads would be ,( considering the endless threads on their quirks and failures ) . Peter

I know I'm a hopeless Kowa addict , but I really enjoy my Pentacons too . Now that should solicit some responses !

Hey, hey hey , they take great pics ( that was kinda the reason behind fixing them :) ) . And I do agree with the knob usage vs the crank . Imagine

where all the hasselbads would be ,( considering the endless threads on their quirks and failures ) . Peter

I know I'm a hopeless Kowa addict , but I really enjoy my Pentacons too . Now that should solicit some responses !

 

If I may split some hairs here, I think the best way to advance film in a Kowa is to use the crank, but slowly and gently.

Using the knob works fine, but the necessary amount of rotation needed is beyond the range of movement of the human wrist.

At some point you will have to let go of the knob and start over. Every time this occurs there's a clutch mechanism that must

dis-engage and re-engage. With the crank this doesn't have to happen.

Hair splitting indeed, but from a purely mechanical point of view, the most desirable method of film advance is with the crank and just

"ticking" over gently. Don't get excited <g>.

If I may split some hairs here, I think the best way to advance film in a Kowa is to use the crank, but slowly and gently. Using the knob works fine, but the necessary amount of rotation needed is beyond the range of movement of the human wrist.

 

Come to think of it, this was also true of my infamous Bronica S2 and C cameras. Just as with my Kowa Six, usual advice was to not use the crank at all if possible, but all the flaps and shutters in a Bronny require so much cocking force its really hard to do with only the knob. I found a combination of putting most of my winding torque on the knob but using a finger as additional steady leverage on the edge of the unfolded crank shaft distributed the forces evenly enough to wind more easily while avoiding damage to the gears.

Every time this occurs there's a clutch mechanism that must

dis-engage and re-engage.

There is? Never noticed one in the Kowa 6 and Super 66 I've had apart. What brings the winding to a halt, is a pawl dropping into the over-soft slot of an under-engineered spacing wheel. If the crank is used, you get extra leverage, which puts more force on the chewing-gum-like spacer wheel, with a higher likelihood of the wheel teeth bending against the pawl. When that happens your frame spacing goes awry and you'll eventually get overlapped frames. That, to me, is a much more serious fault than making a clutch (if there is one) do what it was designed to do a little more frequently. In fact a slipping clutch would prevent too much force being put on the spacer wheel, and IMO that could only be a good thing!

 

WRT the Pentacon 6. Another good camera when it works. Mine gave great service for a lot longer than my Kowa 6 lasted. It eventually needed a CLA, which was a total PITA. The slow speed adjustment entails carefully 'nipping up' the gear-train assembly to the focal-plane mechanism, within a fraction of a millimetre precision and only a single screw-head to hold it in place while the rest of the camera body is assembled round it. An exercise in total frustration.

 

OTOH, my metal-bodied Mamiya 645s have just soldiered on for decades with only the need for minor attention, plus the replacement of their foam light seals. Perfect frame spacing every time and an instant-return mirror. No lens or shutter jams, and the camera doesn't care if it's wound on or not when you change lenses! Or if you slam the film door closed a bit too hard.

Edited April 19, 2020 by rodeo_joe|1