Rolleiflex TLR Shutter Mystery

[john_elder1]

I bought a Rolleiflex 3.5E in 2000 and had it cla'd by Fleenor with

Maxewell screen. In the last 3 weeks I have been shooting a project

with this camera. On 11/7/04 I shot 6 rolls of film during which the

shutter failed to fire on 1 frame only. I did not use a cable release

during this 11/7 shoot although I used a tripod. Good negs, shutter

speeds correct. 2nd time out I shot another 6 rolls and was surprised

to find 25% of negatives blank indicating the shutter didn't fire. I

set up the camera at home and dry fired the camera with and without a

cable release with no malfuction:Iwas looking at the shutter when it

fired. Yesterday I again shot another 6 rolls on this project, trying

to pay attention to whether I could hear the shutter fire. Sometimes

I used the cable release and others not. On developing film I again

lost 25%of negatives due to shutter not firing. Now I'm starting to

get upset because I lost some really cool shots. Again I set up

camera at home and using outdated color film I ran 4 rolls of 120

film thru the camera , sometime using a cable release and other times

not. Again I am looking right at the shutter during this test with

film in camera. Only 1 time the shutter didn't fire and that was with

a cable release. The cable release is high quality but has a long

prong. During my home tests I was very slow and deliberate, careful,

and except for 1 exposure shutter fired 47 out of 48 times. Can't

figure out what is going on in the field. Temperature was 50 degrees

during shoot. Anybody have a clue as to what is going on?

[pavelp]

I've had some dirty leaf shutters that got worse when the temperature dropped to around 30F. My guess is that some kind of gunk builds inside the shutter but is slick enough at room temperature to allow the shutter cycle to complete. When you take it outside, the same gunk thickens and creates enough friction for shutter to fail. Or something is misaligned inside the shutter mechanism and when the shutter contracts in cold weather, there is not enough space for something to move correctly. I would take the camera to a shop and have them check the shutter.

[larry_benjamin]

Hello,

I have found with some cable releases, that they are temperature dependant. What is happening (Rollei cable release) is the outer plastic sheath is becoming limber with heat & stretches preventing a shutter release.

 

The Rollei pistol grip has an adjustment (knurled screw)to adjust for this. This has happened to me also, so i ensure when the cable is warm it functions well.

I'm not sure but i think earlier cable releases did not use a plastic sheath (or vice versa ?)However, i have one that i trust (Nikon)

 

 

Just my 10c worth. Cheers, Larry

[larry_benjamin]

Just another thought. Make sure the cable release "sheath" is well connected to the end ferrules.

 

Cheers, Larry