Mamiya RB67 questions

[kurtschneid]

I recently purchased an old RB67 pro (possibly pro s) with a 90mm

lens. I have never owned or used a medium format camera and have a

couple questions.

 

First, I ran through a roll of film and dropped it off for

processing. The film came back as being unexposed prior to

processing. Could this be due to being loaded backwards/upside

down? I do think I loaded the film incorrectly now that I downloaded

an owners manual and read through it.

 

Second, there is some form of black sticky substance around the edges

of the 120 back. I would like to clean it off as whenever I remove

the back it gets all over my hands, however feel it may be some old

gasket to prevent light from entering through the sides. Any input

on this would be greatly appreciated. While cleaning the camera the

same substance appeared to be inside the box as well in different

areas.

 

This would be much easier to show someone than try to describe...

[diego_gallarate]

Hi Kurt,

hopefully the camera is in good shape anyway: I had one 67 Pro years ago, and I loved it! Great pictures, beautiful format, and a real panzer camera... ;)

If I remember well, you have to act on two different levers: one to reload the shutter on the side of the camera, and one to advance the film on top of the magazine... but I think by now you should have discovered it already reading the manual; as for the film, it's very simple as par instructions on the manual: just be sure you align the arrows on the protective paper to the marks on the holding block of the camera, before closing the magazine, and advancing the film to its starting frame...

About the sticky substance you've found, I fear it may very well be some of the rubber-foam washers gone bad, after so many years... I suggest you take the camera to a good technician and have them replaced: I had to replace them on my old Leica too, and it was made by a generic lab here in Italy for just a cheap money and in a perfect way.

 

I hope I was of some help.

 

Take care.

Diego

[calvin_lee]

From what you are describing, it does sound as though you loaded the film incorrectly. Another possiblility would be forgetting to remove the darkslide, if using a non S or SD back. The newer Pro S & SD backs have an interlock to prevent the firing of the shutter if the darkslide is not removed.

 

The black sticky substance that you are seeing is the old foam light seal material that has turned into a sticky goopy mess. This tends to happen over time to most of these older cameras. You should clean it off using Denatured Alcohol and replace the seals with new ones obtained from www.mamiya.com or from various sellers on ebay or www.microtools.com. There are also light seals around the mirror inside the camera, so those will need to be cleaned off too.

 

Whenever possible, try to shoot with the camera on a tripod using the mirror-up function. Your photos will be consistently sharper. When I shoot with my RB handheld or without using the mirror-up function, I can see a difference in 12x18 inch prints.

[disneyry]

I had the same problem (old light seals) on my Pro S Back. You can replace them yourself. I bought a kit off of that auction site from "interslice" for $10. It was worth it and very easy. If you can use a ruler and an x-acto knife, you can do it.

[tree]

With regards to the loading issue: if you followed the directions in the manual and followed the arrows painted on the back showing the path of the paper, you should be all set. Forgetting to remove the darkslide is a very likely problem if using an older back. Another think to check is to make sure that the multiple exposure switch isn't on: this is under the winding lever.

[joel.schuess]

The other thing you might want to check is to make sure the lens is not set to the mirror lock up position. There should be a small knob with markings N and M on the side of the lens. Make sure it is set to N if you aren't using a cable release. Otherwise when you press the shutter release it will only fire the mirror, and not the shutter. I wasted a couple of rolls of film on mine doing that when I first got it. Good luck

[byronlawrence]

I have a quick question to add. I just got a similar camera (a pro s version) and read a mention of the multiple exposure tab under the winding lever. which is the multiple exposure setting, and which is not? one way shows a red dot the other doesn't. Also can anybody email me a copy of the manual? I have figured out the camera and even have a couple pictures posted from its use (if you want to see them they are the fence picts), but a manual would be nice.

[pavelp]

Byron,

 

if the red dot shows, you are in multiexposure mode. The manual fro RB67 is available for free from Mamiya's website. It's somewhere under Customer Service or Support. For some reason you need to use Internet Explorer to access the webiste, otherwise menus will not show.

[byronlawrence]

Many many thanks. i had looked at the Mamiya site before (using IE) and just had not found it.

[disneyry]

I hate the Mamiya website. The manual is there though.

[joseph_schneid]

The whole thing is a mystery. I would trade it in for a Nikon D2x.

[diego_gallarate]

No mistery... you say you'll prefer a battery loaded electronic image to the

unfathomable richness of the alchemy of transformed silver coated polymer

and the genius of micro-mechanics...

 

Way to go!

[kurtschneid]

Yes, the film was loaded incorrectly. I cannot take photos without first removing the darkslide, which I admit did attempt a few times. Looks like I will have to replace the seals, will attempt myself.

 

Joe, sure I will trade you for a D2X. Are you going to require the seals replaced first?

[kurtschneid]

Picked up pictures from try number 2 today. This time there were prints, however light does appear to be getting into the camera back. The photographs have the information found on the paper superimposed on the images. The photos were a bit overexposed, however the light leak was suggested as teh probable source for this phenom.