Ricoh XR' Mirror stuck..... I know this is the Pentax forum... but I need some help....

[maiku]

Hi,

 

I bought a Ricoh XR7 for 4$ USD. I figured why not for 4$. Anyway, I got it home interested some batteries and the

camera fired up. The meter is in working order. I adjusted the apreture ring on the lens I had attached and the shutter

speed arrow moved up and down. I fired at 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60 everything was fine, but when I fired it at 1/30

the mirror stayed up. Now, I cannot get it down. When I move the little latch or lever down, which is to the left side of the

mirror, as you face the front of the camera, the mirror moves down with the latch or lever. It appears the latch or lever is

now catching on something. Well, I will leave this question out there......Any ideas why the mirror stayed up and now will

not come down?

 

I hope someone can provide some suggestions. I would really like to try this camera out. It has a lot of nice features like

depth of field preview, EV -2 and 2, Auto, etc. It also can take all my K mount lens.

 

Any suggestions are welcome... thanks in advance.

 

Mike

[personalphotos]

First question would be are the batteries fresh? If they died, the mirror could easily lock up. If the batteries

are good, then change the shutter speed and see if the mirror will drop. If it comes down you should check the

foam bumper in the top of the camera 'mirror bucket'. It should be on the front edge of the prism. These foams

can degrade over time and get very sticky. Be very careful to not get it on any other parts of the camera. If it

has degraded, then you need to clean it out very carefully (lighter fluid can do this) and replace it. I'd send

it to Eric for a CLA but that would probably cost $60 or so and I'm not sure he does Ricoh.

[andrewg_ny]

I don't know just how likely this is to work but consider removing the batteries as well even if you believe them fresh. I read something from one person suggesting this when someone else had a similar-sounding problem.

[musings]

I concur with Andrew and Peter. The mirror lever latch is mechanical so it should release the mirror when you move the lever, but the mirror lock-up is electro-mechanical. There should be a small magnet to keep the mirror in place in the up position and if you don't have fresh batteries in the camera, there may not be enough juice to de-energize the magnet and release the mirror back down. That is likely the "catching" feeling you sense when releasing the lever.

[shaloot]

how the heck do you guys know this stuff?? :) i mean i can guess how you know but that is amazing... i thought that problem would be so obscure and difficult to explain and then bam! Mike has answers!

very cool...

[musings]

Hi Somanna -- I used to get those books when I was a kid that had cutaways of how things worked and I pored over the camera one many times. I later tried my luck in dissecting a few 35mm cameras (including my dad's Nikon...he was NOT happy) to look at the mechanical innards. Back then, everything was largely mechanical so you could see parts move and how they all interconnected. I found this to be great fun. Cheers, Jeff

[maiku]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question.

 

I went to my local camera store. We replaced the batteries, but the mirror did not release. We took off the bottom plate.

We had a look inside. He showed me a small pin that releases the film winder. After three or four cranks on the winder the

mirror released. I then went through the enitre shutter speed dial. Everything was fine, except the shutter exposures were

too long for the speed I set. The meter readings seem spot on, the self timer works etc. But all in all but I am happy. I will

need to have some work done to get it up to par, but it seems like a good 4$ spent. I learn somethings about the innards

of a camera.

 

Now, I just have to figure out why the batteries, which I took out of my Pentax ME, to test the Ricoh were extremely low. I

just bought them 2 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe, I left it unlocked and ME`s meter kept reading. Anyone got any

suggestions for that problem. HA!

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

Mike

[personalphotos]

The meter shuts off automatically after 30 seconds or so on the ME. So unless something in the camera bag was pushing a button down, I'd suggest the batteries were bad from the beginning.

 

I know my local repair shop has a calibration machine and he could tell me how much the shutter was off by. So if it stays open 2 stops too long you can adjust the ASA speed by 2 stops to compensate and shoot as if it was normal but it may not be linear across the range.

[maiku]

Hi Everyone,

 

Well, I am even happier now. I had the camera`s shutter speeds tested. Every speed is with the correct limits. As

the person, who tested the camera, stated over and over again `JUST` with in the limits. I could have sworn the

shutter speeds were slow, but the machine cannot lie.

 

I do not know why the camera was priced for 4$ USD, but someone`s mistake became my good fortune. I would sure

like to know why though. It would be interesting to know.

 

Now, I just need to clean it up and put new seals in and away I go. HA!

 

Thanks again to everyone for the help, without it I may have tossed out a perfectly good camera.

 

Mike

[musings]

Great news, Mike...go forth and enjoy your $4 camera. You won't find a better bargain than that...!

[snik75]

I've been watching Ricoh stuff - they seem to go for cheaper than Pentax. Even less brand recognition, if that's possible? I have been very happy with my XR7, I think you'll like yours.

[jim_grey1]

<p>I know it's years later, but this thread helped me fix the same problem with my Sears KS-2, which is the same camera, rebadged.</p>

<p>I took off the bottom plate, looked around for something that looked like the pin mentioned earlier, and guessed right at which thing it was. I moved it so that the winder would move freely, and wound 4-5x, and the stuck mirror came back down. I moved the pin back and fired the camera a bunch of times; looks good. </p>

<p>Here's hoping the problem doesn't recur, but at least I know how to reset the mirror now.</p>

<p>-Jim</p><div></div>

[kenneth_loen]

Again, many years later, I had the same problem with a Sears KS-2 that I bought for $10. I put new batteries in the camera and the shutter fired 3 or 4 times, then the mirror locked up. I followed these instructions and now the camera works perfectly! Probably the easiest fix ever. This is a really fantastic camera, with a wide range of shutter speeds, exposure lock, multiple exposure button, metal shutter curtains, etc. Well worth the minor trouble to get it working!