Replace or repair the shutter?

Hi everyone. Today i received a new Nikkor W 210 f5.6. The problem with its

copal shutter(#1), is that the ring for the velocity can rotate only from 400

to 250. From 250 and down is not rotating. Does anyone had any similare

experience? I don"t know what to do? Send the lens back(to B&H photovideo)

loosing the money that i payed for the custom taxes and maybe pay again them,

whith the replacement, or if this is not something really serious just to send

it to a repair service of my country? Thank you.

The customs form in America has a specific box to check that what's being shipped out of

the country is a repair, last time I checked. I don't know what country you are writing from,

so you'll have to check into that yourself.<p>The problem with your shutter could be a loose

screw inside, or a broken part. The screw may have loosened during the flight over to you,

so it may have worked perfectly when B&H shipped it out.<p>Your local camera repair shop

should be able to fix it for you, but Copal shutters don't age well. You might want a

replacement shutter.<p>I would check with your local customs agent about the rules for

repaired items, and call or email B&H.

Hi Noah.

Thank you for your time.

What do you mean that <copal ahutters don"t age well>?

Copal shutters are designed to give you fast shutter speeds, so they are 'highly stressed'. (

Frankly, if you use a leaf shutter with the aperture wide open on a fast shutter speed, the

shutter blade 'bent star' pattern will screw with your highlights and 'bokeh'. You should

use a fast shutter speed stopped down to avoid that, which would usually defeat the

purpose of having the fast shutter speed in the first place ! ) Copal shutters are also made

out of very brittle metal, compared to old German and American shutters, so if internal

posts become loose, the base plate can actually crack when you try to re-rivet them in, as

you would with older shutters. I recently riveted a post onto the release lever on a Copal

shutter, and it broke right off. Since Copal shutters are the only game in town, now, most

of us have resigned ourselves to them with a heavy sigh. But if I wanted to be sure, I

would replace the whole shutter rather than repair it. I tend to think of them as disposable

rather than repairable, but I'm sure there are those who would disagree with me.<p>But

you say this is a brand new lens, so I would think you should ask for a complete

replacement from B&H or whomever covers the warrantee. Not just a repair.

<p><em>"... this is a brand new lens, so I would think you should ask for a complete

replacement from B&H or whomever covers the warrantee. Not just a repair..."</em></p>

 

<p>And they should make good on the customs, VATs, etc. so you don't have to pay them

twice. B&H is a pretty good company and I wouldn't expect too much trouble from them.

Have you tried to contact them yet?</p>

Years ago I bought a LF lens from B&H, which was in a Copal shutter. The shutter worked but the speed setting ring was very difficult to turn, so much so that I was sure that the lens would always rotate on the lensboard when I set the speed. I sent the entire lens back and they promptly sent a replacement. If you send the lens back to B&H, fill out the customs form with something like "returning defective merchandise to seller for repair or replacement. This is a re-importation, no duty should apply." This should keep keep B&H from having to pay duty. B&H probably knows how to return the item to you, or you could try asking your custom office how the form should be filled out going in your direction.

Copal shutters are IMHO more reliable and consistent than later Compurs. Compurs produced pre-1980s were extremely sweet and well-made, after that, they underwent a radical redesign and build-quality became, quite frankly, poor. The shutter blade material was also "upgraded" to a more brittle material. The only real advance was in making the preview mechanism more foolproof.

 

Christos, I would send your shutter to a reputable repairer for an overhaul. Replacing a shutter gives you all sorts of headaches, like calibrating a new aperture scale for a start. Nikon had Copal specially style shutters for their range of LF Nikkors, and fitting a replacement will alter the appearance of the lens and reduce its re-sale value.

Thank you all.

I gave the shutter to a local repair service at Athens and today i received it in perfect working condition.

B&H answered me, that could replace the entire lens but it was very complicated situation about the customs and apart that B&H was disposable to pay the shipment costs, i had to pay another $120 here at UPS, so i spent "only" $75 to the repair service here in Greece.

Thank you again for your time.