juierie Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 <p>Hi All,<br> This is my first time posting. I recently bought an <strong>Agfa Isola II</strong>. It looks new and in mint condition. However, The <strong>aperture blades</strong> doesn't seem to move. I guess the blades are<strong> jammed</strong>. I live in India. I have no way of getting the Isola repaired here. Has anyone had issues like these before? If yes, <strong>How can I fix it?</strong> I have never repaired any camera before. But I'm willing to try. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.<br> Thank you all.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Goose Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 <p>The Isola is really simple to repair, you just need to get the front off and you can see all the mechanics inside.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juierie Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Thank you. Will give it a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_1577653 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 <p>What exactly happens when you press the shutter release? Are you able to depress it all the way down, and if so do you hear/see anything happen in the shutter? Can you see that the shutter blades are stuck completely open or closed (or perhaps part way)? Any difference if you set it to bulb (B) mode?</p> <p>I have a few ideas about what might be going on depending on some of those kind of details, so let me know and I will see if I can point you in the right direction. The Isola II that I purchased a couple years ago had its share of issue too, and in the end I performed a complete overhaul of the thing, including tearing down and rebuilding the shutter. It really is a great little camera in a lot of ways, so I hope you will persevere in getting it working again.</p> <p>Jeff</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juierie Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Hi Jeff, I went through the camera to check again. I am able to press the shutter all the way through. Once I wind it, the shutter is ready to release again. But I don't see any movement in the blades. I released the shutter in bulb mode and I saw no opening. I don't know if the issue is with the shutter blades alone or aperture too. Thanks for the help. -Rohan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_1577653 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 <p>Well that was the first thing I was hoping to hear - you know that you have to wind the film knob before you can actuate the shutter (due to the doube-exposure prevention mechanism). So that's a good start!</p> <p>There are quite a few potential causes for the shutter blades not responding - something in the shutter mechanism jammed, a broken spring, the blades themselves might be popped off their pins, something broken in the linkage from the release button to the shutter, etc. In all likelyhood you will have to disassemble the shutter/lens assembly to troubleshoot the problem. But the last possibility I just mentioned is worth checking first: if you open the camera back and look into it while pressing the shutter release, you should see an inner barrel within the lens tube which rotates to trip the shutter. Is that happening? If not then there is a linkage problem in the shutter release mechanism, in which case the shutter itself may be completely fine.</p> <p>In the end if you have to disassemble and repair the shutter to fix this, I can provide some guidance and tips, and might even have a picture or two of from when I overhauled mine. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.</p> <p>Jeff</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juierie Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Hi Jeff, the inner barrel within the lens tube does indeed rotate but ever so slightly, maybe a centimeter. I will be travelling on a shoot for the next one month. How about I msg you when I'm back so you can share the images and I'll go about fixing it. Thank you for all the help and your generosity with your time. I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_1577653 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 <p>Sounds good. Have a nice trip!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juierie Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Hi Jeff, It's been a long haul. But I'm finally back home from the trip. Could you help me solve the issue with the help of your images? It would be much appreciated. Thanks, Rohan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_1577653 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 <p>Welcome back Rohan. It's a bit late at the moment for me to give a very detailed response, but while you're waiting you might want to have a look at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/agfaisola/discuss/72157624213302904/">this post on Flickr</a>, which is what I just remembered was the reference I found before starting the repair on my Isola. Actually, there is some pretty good information in there that I had forgotten about! :)</p> <p>Jeff</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juierie Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Thanks Jeff. Will follow through the repair and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the help again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_1577653 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 <p>I just uploaded the repair photos I was referring to, to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/40109331@N06/sets/72157654419246278">this album</a> on Flickr. That might help a little. Feel free to ask if you get stuck though, either here or in the Flickr group. </p> <p>Good luck! </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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