andyfalsetta

Exactly! And with the dwindling number of shops that re-cement lenses, soon there will be no alternative other than DIY. This is why I am sitting on the edge of my seat with this one.

Couldn't agree more. My 532/16 produces amazingly sharp hand held results and I would expect the same from the 531/2. Let us know which way you decide to go.

A photo of your "three glass" jig would really be helpful once you get this all going. I am very interested in your progress and wish you well. You GO girl!

Are you sure this is not a dark slide issue? Your third image still has a faint band of lighter exposure on the right side of the image (dark slide side). Has the dark slide seal been changed recently? Since this is your "not used as often" film back, do you store it with the dark slide in place? This compresses the foam for as long as you have the slide in place which increases the time it takes to fully decompress once the slide is removed.

Unfortunately very often the case! :)

I'm glad you are back on the path to getting your body and lens back. What is stranger to me than the notion that the spring would disable the lens mount (which is not that unlikely if it was the spring that retains the mirror release mechanism, which launches the mirror, which opens the barn doors, and then allows the shutter control mechanism to release the shutter), is that David needed to get the body out of the case in order to access and replace the spring. To do that, the lens needed to come off, which is where this all started. Somewhere in that process David worked his magic. Bravo to him for solving this problem for you.

On the subject of Mr. Nordin, would anyone know if he still is with us and if so how to contact him?

I am continually impressed by Orsetto's depth and breadth of knowledge! Hat's off; I don't know how you accumulated so much good "stuff". :) As a last ditch effort, have you tried cleaning the contacts in the battery compartment and (if there is) the contacts on the battery door? Sometimes a perfectly clean looking contact can have a microscopic layer of contamination on it and a little friction across the contacts removes it. Also, can you feel the switch going to work when you lightly depress the shutter release? Does it feel the way it always did?

^ good for you! Keep us posted once it arrives.

Excellent! You speak "eBay" better than I. Yes, the concept of plausible deniability is probably covered well somewhere deep in the eBay seller's User License Agreement :)

With experience you will learn to speak "eBay". A statement like "in storage for 12 years" usually can be translated as: "it doesn't work and I know it".

On the SQAi there is a mirror lock up lever that selects three different modes (normal, single shot, and continuous). The plastic lever had a small crack in it at the point where the plastic lever is closest to the camera body. The crack was allowing the lever to sometimes slip on the shaft that controls the three different modes. I carefully pinched the crack closed and held it while I moved the lever to the N position also making sure the shaft could not be turned further and was in the N position also. Once I knew the camera body and the lever were in the same mode, I applied a two-part epoxy to the lever at the area of the crack. Its been fine since. Not sure if this is your problem or even if the GS works that way but it is worth a look.

One more thing to check. The plastic levers sometimes split and slip on the shaft. The lever doesn't actually put the body into the mode that appears to be selected when this happens. My SQAi would act just like yours until I found this little flaw and corrected it.

A Mamiya 3 series (C3 C33 or C330) is a nice way to get into TLR and have the ability to change lenses. They are around for under $350 with a couple of lenses. I agree with all the sentiments on a Pentacon 6. Unless they have had a full refurb to rid them of the old lubricants, they are money pits. Mine took mucho hours to get right but once it was, the price of a complete system was cheap compared to other medium format offerings and the Zeiss lenses were sharp as a tack. A TLR is a great start as others have said, but honestly, if you are looking to have a couple of lenses, and don't want a Mamiya C series, a great alternative is an SQa or better yet, an SQAi Bronica with PS lenses. They too have very affordable lenses despite each one having its own leaf shutter. Its not unreasonable to expect to find three lenses for a Bronica SQAi all for under $500 and the shutters would be bang on. You can find a nice SQAi with a metered finder for under $400 all day. If it were a Hasselblad, one lens would set you back a minimum of $300 and would still need a $300 CLA to get it right. The Seiko electronic shutter controls in the SQ series lenses are just about the most reliable out there and in my opinion, above reproach for the cost. Pat yourself on the back for returning the S2. While the problems may not have been intentional, someone elses problems shouldn't be yours. .

First place to look for your focus error solution is at the viewfinder screen. Nothing should be loose and the glass should be properly placed. Don't get discouraged by your first experience - its medium format; get used to it. ;) Seriosuly, few people get great results right out of the gate. Once things get sorted out, you'll appreciate your gear and medium format that much more. When you say "bulb mode" isn't working, what is the symptom?

Isn't it so true Orsetto! Honestly though, if we could have interviewed the original engineers I don't think one of them would have envisioned their products being used 60 years later. Had the quality of lubricants been up to the level of engineering the Zeiss boys routinely performed at, we wouldn't be talking about it today. These devices were simply amazing then, and clearly impressive today. I feel blessed to be able to bring something like this lens back to its original splendor. I hadn't posted anything about the 1000f but that too was in the same useless condition when I got it; and right now, with nothing more than a cleaning, it is performing at the same level it was when new. I shudder to imagine what the world would be like if Victor Hasselblad had decided to build automobiles.

I just finished repairing this Jena 180mm 2.8 in a Hasselblad thread mount. What a challenge! The lens retaining rings each were frozen as was the secondary helicoid. When I got the lens it would not budge. The aperture would work fine but the focus was locked. The culprit was the secondary helicoid (very fine threads) but getting to it and freeing it prior to cleaning proved to be a bear. The old lubricants had turned into the equivalent of “thread locking compound”. I thought the threads would be damaged from constantly moving the rings clockwise and counter clockwise over and over and over again. But interestingly there was no damage to the threads each time I removed a ring other than some scratches to one ring, not the threads, when the lens wrench gave way. It took hours and hours to get this right and the only thing that worked was heat. Orsetto knows from a previous conversation that this has worked for me in the past. Don't underestimate the power of a hair dryer, welding gloves (the metal gets too hot to hold) and some naptha. I didn't have to resort to using the barbeque grill this time as I had to with a Contarex 135mm. This was a labor of love because it would be cost prohibitive for a tech to spend as much time as I had to. The end result is a dust free optics package and smooth focusing once again. I’m looking forward to a dry day so I can start using this “Bokeh Bomber” (18 aperture blades!). Here is a shot of it on my 1000f.

Not sure if you are handy or not. This video seems to cover all you would need to solve your problem. If you don't feel like "jumping in" one option is to point your local camera tech to this video. Although I know little about Rollies, the III and IV appear to be very similar.

Not unless there is a "tang", button, or key that the back has that causes the insert to roll freely when the insert is in the back...

It doesn't look like any "magic" is taking place within the insert. Driven gear rotates the take up spool, dragging the film out of the canister. I would take a second look at/inside the film back itself.

In contention for "Most Understatement of 2019". :) They are built so well and the quality of materials is such that after a good "windex" job, most of them look like they are a year old.

I've had my IIa and IIIa apart and they are pretty accessible. Top cover comes off pretty easily and a little naptha goes a long way with the speed controller. You can get at the rangefinder too. The III is probably pretty similar in this regard. Congrats on a good score. As others have said, the 1.5 is worth more than what you paid for the camera.

Ben, Is it a III or a IIIa? They are different.

Great suggestion Rick. I think I'll take mine into my dust-free lab (the bathtub) and give it a go.

How about stopping by a vehicle graphics company and seeing if they can "wrap" your camera in a flat black film?