stuck shutter blades on a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex super

[mrwestphal]

Any thoughts on how I might free them up with out shipping it off for a CLA?

 

Thanks,

Doug W.

[aslan_ivo]

This is a famously-hard to fix problem if you don't have experience. I shipped mine off to Ken Ruth Bald Mountain and got it back 3 mos later.

[jon_goodman1]

I still service models I, II, and sometimes III and IV, but not the Super. There are several little one-way streets in the later models, and a mistake can be an expensive fix. I know you'd like to find an easy solution, and I do sympathize with this idea, but I've never found one. One of the troubles is the rear element floats in the mount. Remove it incorrectly, and the likelihood of getting it back in the same spot is not all that good. Get it off even a hair, and the lens won't perform right. This is one of the little traps the service manual does mention, but in an almost hidden passage. Good luck.

Jon

[mrwestphal]

Thanks Jon, that's what I was afraid of. I have seen your posts several times around the net on these cameras and kinda had the feeling that was going to be my problem too.

 

Doug W.

[jon_goodman1]

Doug, I have one of these I've used for years which has a slow shutter on 1/1 and 1/2. I just compensate for that and use a live and let live approach. Given the cost of repair, I might suggest finding a working one could be a good alternative.

 

Jon

[ralf_j.]

Jon - I totally agree with your suggestions to Doug. My repair man is very reasonable with cost of repair, maybe b/c I have been going to him for years, yet when I asked him about the contaflex he said he wouldn't touch any of them, and he knows how to repair them; the price would start at $100. For this money one can get two working ones on eBay these days. The contaflex super-s are very common as a lot of them were sold in the sixties. It is easy to find their lenses as well, albeit some suffer from separations and so on.

 

Bottom line, it is not worth repairing them unless you are sentimentally attached to a particular one ;-)

 

They produce excellent results however, and the meter, although selenium based is usually ver close to being accurate, even though it is 45 years later.

 

I have two myself, one operating properly, and the other will not open the blades after the first shot, and then it works ok on all consecutive shots. So other than the nuisance of having a couple of blank frames, no harm done :-).

[warren_d__r.i._1]

Hey Doug,

Be very careful but I've gotten stuck shutter blades to be back to normal by soaking(this is an old timers trick, even though I'm only 35 years old) a Q-Tip longer the better, pick them up at Raido Shack, you'll find uses for them anyway. They come in packs of 50 or 100. Anyway, soak a long Q-tip in lighter fluid and rub it over the blades while working them lightly with the Q-tip and fireing the shutter with no film. Andd eventually the lighter flud has a degreaseing quality to it. Be careful not to get it in the lens that is faceing you. It worked on many cameras I've had forgin or U.S. made. JUst a thought that has worked for me and also it's worked on sticky shutters that cock. It's up to you buddy, just a process that has kept me out of the camera shop and was taught by a camera repair shop person. Get back to the forum and if it works great tell us all about it. The blades seem to get gunk on them and rust(not nessacerally orage rust) but gunk that is like rust. Even take a dry Q-tip and run it over the blades and see what comes up and you'll know what if any setamate is on the blades if any, good luck.

[mrwestphal]

Thanks Jon, Ralf and Warren for the continued replies. Let me explain a little more of my problem, the blades in the leans are frozen closed(or maybe a broken issue unseen?), they are not opening at all. I thought of trying what Warren said but the blades are encased by lens glass on the inside of the body and on the front of the lens under the removable part of the outside of the lens.<p>

The camera was given to me so I am not out any money at all, I just really like the solid feel of the camera and the fact that it looks like it just came out of the box got me excited I might have a great find.<p>

I guess if I can't repair it that it will have too settle being a really nice dust collector (sad face on now):(

 

Doug W.

[bueh]

Douglas, so at least you learned why "like new" vintage cameras look like they just came out of the box -- they are often irreparably broken and have never (or only for a very short time) worked at all. As a photographer stay away from pristine cameras, always go for used ones which are cheaper anyway.

<p>

However, my Contaflex Super developed exactly the same problem -- two-thirds into a roll of film when I was about the shoot a very interesting scene in a nightclub. I could wind the film and release the mirror but the shutter wouldn't neither be cocked nor fired. The viewfinder would stay dark because of the closed shutter blades and pressing the release wouldn't even fire a flash unit.

<p>

In the end, after a lot of shaking, working the film advance, "firing" the shutter at all speeds (and even rewinding the film), the camera came back to life and the shutter works now as if nothing happened. I hope you get lucky with your camera, too, because a working Contaflex is a wonderful and very capable shooter. A true classic Zeiss Ikon beauty but all my three Contaflexes have or had issues with their shutter/aperture coupling mechanism.

[jon_goodman1]

Hi, Doug.

You can try this...no promises that it will work, but you never know. Take the camera to work with you and park your car out in the sun. Leave the camera in the car and let it get nice and warm. Don't worry about it getting too hot. It won't do that. At the end of the day, see if the shutter blades will release for you. It is a chance.

 

One thing that constantly causes problems in these is the self-timer. If the self-timer does not go through its cycle, the shutter won't work until it does. This can be a real problem, too...some folks will try to force the timer to re-set itself, and that can lead to a broken self-timer. The problem when you get one that isn't working is that you often don't know where to start, and you don't want to just wander into a swamp you might not walk out of, either. I do wish you luck with it. If you want to send it to me, I will take a look and tell you what I think. If you need my address, please contact me at Jon_Goodman@yahoo.com

 

Jon

[mrwestphal]

Hey Jon,

Thanks for the continued help, it is very much appreciated.

I did mess around with the self timer and it does not work well, you do have to "help it along" lightly but seams to finally finish??

I will take it to work tomorrow and park in the sun and leave it out. hopefully it will get as warm as they say it might be (80F).

Also, thanks for the offer to look at it, that is very nice of you and I hope not to have to bother you with what I unfortunatly thing is going to end up just being a nice book end(sigh).

till tomorrow, thanks again.

 

Doug

[jon_goodman1]

Good luck, Doug. I really don't mind looking at it, and I wouldn't charge you to do that...postage is punitive enough these days! Since I don't service these, I don't keep parts or spares, but every so often the problem is something minor.

 

Jon

[mrwestphal]

Hey Jon,

Guess what!

Not a darn thing! I tried the lettin' it sit in a hot truck in the sun all day and unfortunatly nothing happened. Oh well, I really wasn't that hopefull anyways. I am pretty sure it is either a really rusted set of blades or a linkage problem.

 

IF you have time and that is a real big IF, I would appreciate a quick look from you if the offer is still open. I don't want to much effort put into it on your end.

 

If you do not respond to this tread I will contact you via your email address in the next day or so.

 

Thanks again,

Doug W.

[jon_goodman1]

Sure...I'd be happy to look at it. Please contact me at Jon_Goodman@yahoo.com for my address. Sorry for the delayed reply, but we had a power outage here today.

 

Jon