Pentax 67II winding issue - needs service? in Europe

[atone71]

 

 

<p>Hi, I am p67II owner, yesterday something went wrong with it. My beloved camera just stuck. Can not wind up can not fire. With or without film. Battery just changed to fresh. Really scared. Someone knows any trustworthy service at Europe? In my country there is no one who can repair it.(Hungary) I spent half days in forums here just can't find any same situations with solutions. Any advise will be appreciated very much. Thanks</p>

 

 

[steve_rasmussen]

<p>Is the wind lever stuck at the fully extended position?</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>Make sure the "new" battery has power before doing anything else.The P67's all have electronically controlled shutters, and won't run w/o power.</p>

<p>Unfortunately throughout the years and various models. The winding mechanism has always been the P67's Achilles's heel. The early models used nylon gears that just couldn't with stand the forces. But your later camera is supposedly "beefed up" in this critical area. Even so there is a lot tension on the tiny wind levers and sooner or later they all seem to have drama.</p>

<p> Has the camera seen a lot of use? As great as these cameras are. Their massive parts will need adjusting about every 5,000-10,000 frames. Depending on type of use and conditions. If you have put thousands of rolls through the camera, it will likely need a rebuild.</p>

<p>A complete rebuild at the factory in the USA runs around $400 USD. I'm sure Pentax must have a corporate presence with repair in Europe? (I personally will always use the camera maker's repair service when it's available.)</p>

[dweezil]

<p>According to their website (http://www.pentax.hu)the pentax contact for Hungary is in Germany :<br>

PENTAX Europe GmbH<br /> Maria Pirpan<br /> <br /> Julius-Vosseler-Str. 104<br /> D-22527 Hamburg<br /> <br /> Telefon: +33 (0)1 30 25 86 56</p>

[brian_alworth1]

<p> Ahh, my friend. I had a 67ii for about 10 years and finally had to give it up because of the very problem that you describe. Over the last few years it was locking up about twice a year, to the tune of a $300 repair each time. Pentax USA claims that this is a very rare problem, but my camera repair guy says he has three other 67ii's with exactly the same problem. This is one reason I've just acquired a 'new' old Pentax 67... I do wish you better luck...this is a great camera when it works.</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>The key to keeping them running is to wind very deliberately and very gently! Think of all the film you are moving, plus re-cocking the shutter each time you use the advance. It will not take rough treatment say the way an ancient Nikon F will. Wind with "kid gloves" as they say.</p>

<p>The other big problem is dust and dirt tends to eat them up. An inside camera, will last much longer than an outside camera.</p>

[brian_alworth1]

<p>If Agoston's experience is similar to mine, then he probably did nothing wrong at all. I had this happen to me several times in the past few years- the winding lever would simply lock in the closed position mid-roll...and no amount of battery changing, tweaking or twiddling would get it to move. Strangely, this usually happened not while I was actually shooting, but while the camera was sitting for a day or two in a case or backpack. After several expensive trips to various repair shops for 'film transport mechanism' replacements, I sold the camera for parts...and got my P67. I will miss the 67ii metering and exposure compensation, however.</p>

[thomas_janik]

<p>Agoston:<br>

Unless you have a Pentax service center near you, I would recommed contacting Eric Hendrickson at <a href="mailto:pentaxrepairs@aol.com">pentaxrepairs@aol.com</a> . He is in the US, so there would be a high shipping charge, but he stands behind his work and his charges are fair. I have had several items he repaired and he does as well as Pentax. I had the same problem by the way. </p>

[atone71]

<p>Well, sadly read your responses about it, but heartwarming as well because I am not alone with that scary situations, so first, thank you for all. <br>

Brian, I decided not to give up, I try to repair somewhere near here (EU)first, and if several times will be the same I going to bury him.<br>

Steve, my 67II not really used as a work horse, probably 40 of 120 roll went through during a 4 years period. As I bought it looked mint shape, but there was a hidden error, witch, I believe was the reason for sale, of course at eBay. You can read about this counter reset error here: <a href="00V84o">Pentax 67II random film counter reset issue solved here</a> Alvays kept in a dust free place.<br>

And yes, when it happened there was not any rough movement. When I did try to load the film just realized: impossible to repositioning the film reel for feed up the its tail. Before it, just changed the battery, because just looked like flashing the symbol. Probably that makes the camera confusing.<br>

Thomas, I going to contact Eric and will asking advice and estimate for repair.<br>

Really appreciate your effort, thanks.</p>

 

[atone71]

<p>Thomas, would you let me know how much did you pay when your P67II healed by Eric? Hope I am not impolite.</p>

[atone71]

<p>Steve R. : the wind lever stuck at the closed position. No ideas was left with cocked or not. I think, I used at the end of august, last time.</p>

[thomas_janik]

<p>Agoston:</p>

<p>Less than $200 USD</p>

[tin_ho]

<p>My P67II ran into this same winding problem about a year and a half ago. I believe it was caused by dust getting into the winding mechanism. Not sure if my problem was exactly the same as everyone's. What happened to mine was after firing the shutter the winding mechanism was supposed to be reset (or whatever it is called) to a state that you could wind again for another frame. But this reset appeared did not happen. So the camera would appear to be locked up and you could not advance the film.</p>

<p>Well, each time it happened I tapped the advance level by my index finger repeatedly for a while. Or I would wiggle the advance level back and forth (with little force though) repeatedly. This of course only allowed me to move only about half a centimemter because the level was basically still locked. But after half a minute or so of tapping and wiggling the advance level the winding level would eventually unlocked itself and I could wind the film for another shot again. Usually it happened only once and I could finish the roll. But it would keep coming back in the near future or even in the next roll and you really can not predict how soon it would be back.</p>

<p>For some reason it stopped doing it after the summer. I have almost forgotten about it because it simply did not occur again. I now believe that it is probably a problem caused by dusts getting into the camera. I hike with my P67II all the time. The camera was usually covered with quite some dusts on the body and lens when I got home. The problem had gone away with no hint whatsoever just like the way it started. I don't think I will send the camera to service until it is locked up solid. Right now it just works wonderfully.</p>