peterphotography

Hey all,

So I recently acquired a stunning Bronica ETRS with AE II Finder from a friend. I've been shooting film for a while (namely with 35mm cameras) and my beloved Mamiya RB67 and M645 1000s. However this is my first Bronica experience and I'm a bit confused.

So I placed the AE II prism on the body, heard a click and it appears to be rigid/firm in place. When I look through the viewfinder, it's blurry. Not completely blurry but enough I can't be certain of the focus when shooting. I wear glasses (-2.75) whilst my flatmates (both 20/20 vision) also struggled to see through it. So after doing some research, it appears that the diopter on it could be responsible?

I unscrewed it and it was a -1.5 diopter. When I looked through it without the diopter, it was nice and crisp but lacked the magnification to see the details. So I put it back and now I'm a tad confused.

I was planning on gifting my dad the Bronica but I'm unsure what to do now. He has 20/20 vision (lucky guy) and I'm wondering what diopter I need to buy or magnifier for the Bronica so he can use and for it to appear non blurry?

Secondly, after I screwed the diopter back, it appears that I can't unscrew again (screwing anti-clockwise). The screw just turn & turns in place. How do I take it out?

Really appreciate your responses.

"from another city"

 

The films could be a mixture of imported rolls from different places then sold by the one seller. Were all the films new, were they expired, were they sold by a reputable eBayer ? Short story: I bought a few films on eBay once and one of the rolls was already exposed. By a quirk of fate I accidentally developed it before putting it through a camera. Not bad shots as well. Just as well I didn't multi expose them, but they're no good to me, trying to get someone to post them on facebook so owner can retrieve them

 

Regarding camera faults, the attitude I adopt is always imagine the camera when it was new, working properly and with no light leaks etc, and then proceed to get the camera back into it's "like new" working condition again, or almost like new, but as long as all the functions are back very close to original specs

 

I'm betting that your shutter is at fault, I've thought this all along even though, in one post, I said it may be a light seal problem. Everything has been covered, you used tape to block light, you resealed the back, you exposed more film but the problem persisted. So it's either Joe's suggestion of a worn seal near the mirror hinge, or a "hesitating shutter. But because of the sharp edge of the light mark on your film, I'd say it's a shutter problem. Probably the second curtain is momentarily hesitating halfway and exposing half the image an extra stop or so, but not happening every time

 

Possibly a helpful link ...

F3 shutter problem

The films were new and they got it from the supplier from US to Aus.

Thanks for the link! I'll investigate it further and I also share the similar rhetoric of restoring the camera to as-new as I can. But given the lack of repair shops around me and the need for the CLA which will likely cost more than the actual camera... I may sadly need to replace it.

What about the films themselves, were they imported and went through airport customs xray machines?

I'd assume so. I bought it on eBay from another city, but I also bought 35mm film in the same order and there's never been any troubles.

"peterphotography was last seen: Monday at 12:00 AM"

 

I'm really hoping the OP checks back again with a progress report.

 

Abandoned 'puzzle' threads with no resolution are really annoying!

I totally agree with that as well ;)

So update: I went ahead and resealed it with new body foam. Same problems. On top of that, I pretty much covered the entirety of the camera (I'm talking about over-the-top level of gaffer tape) and still had 1-2 photos with markings.

In terms of lens cap, I always keep it on during film advancement so I guess that didn't seem to work?

Since I bought for $180AUD or $132USD, and the rare camera repair store in Sydney which charges $100 for the initial quote, I've decided to sell this camera off for whatever peanuts I can get and just buy a different M645 1000s.

You can also check out this thread about repairs to the M645. Mamiya M645 1000s Repair Shops

Thank you! If only I lived in US, would've been so much easier to find the parts and repairs :/

The width of light seal foam needed is all over the place on M645s. It varies from around 1.5mm at the sides of the film chamber to 2mm at the top, and maybe 2.5mm around the inside of the door.

 

Best bet, as someone else suggested is to buy a sheet of 1.5 mm thick foam, and to cut strips from it as needed using a steel straight-edge and a craft knife.

 

I stuck double-sided tape to one side of the foam before cutting it. That way I could 'just' push the foam into the camera channels. I say 'just' because foam that thin has a tendency to twist over at random. So good luck with finding and fixing the leak.

 

P.S. I still think you ought to double check the shutter blinds. They only exclude light by overlapping, and if one of the metal edge-stiffening strips has got bent, then you'll have a gap that can let light onto the film as the shutter is re-tensioned for firing.

I'll give it a try. I'm gonna look for a thick foam from a hardware store. I'm still confused in that sense as I've gaffer taped/sealed the back and all hinges when I tried it with roll #2, and I still got the same amount of light leaks. So I'll check out the shutter blinds.

Your seals look a bit rough, but what you get on eBay for a 1000s are just as rough. They are made from open cell sponge like you've already got in your camera. Closed cell sponge would be better. It comes in sheets of various thicknesses that you can cut strips from

 

Link

1-2-3 SET of 155*203mm LIGHT SEAL REPLACEMENT FOR CLASSIC AND VINTAGE CAMERAS | eBay

 

Before you re-seal it, you can place a miniature LED torch, switched on, in the where the film goes and close the door. Take the camera into a dark room at night and check for leaks. You might also be able to place the torch in the camera body if you have mirror lock up, and refit the lens

 

I took a quick photo of my torch to show how small and how bright the torch needs to be

[ATTACH=full]1270166[/ATTACH]

 

The seal near the door hinge should be felt if I'm not mistaken, certainly not open cell sponge. But not any old felt, it should be proper camera lid felt, the right thickness and wide enough (5mm) to cover that whole surface where that scraggy bit of sponge is residing now. It's important to seal the hinge with care

 

See how you go with it

Thank you! I'll grab my LED torch and see if I can locate a leak. If not, I'll just go repair it :)

Regarding light leaks from sources other than a faulty erratic shutter, I concur with Joe and Maris, check light sealing in the back of the camera, it's more likely to be that problem than a hesitating shutter curtain

 

Light leaks can be intense or gradual. A wide gap produces intense light leakage, a small gap produces noticeable leakage over time, this is bad for films sitting in the camera for extended periods while the camera is in daylight or in room light, the camera really should be covered up while it's sitting around with a film in it. I've found light leaks so small, it took sitting in a dark room for no less than 10 minutes before I could see them, and of course shining torch light right inside the camera, sometimes on the outside of the camera, and just waiting until my eyes adjusted sufficiently to see them

I've tried gaffer taping the back of the camera (2 layers of black tape) and still had light leaks with my 2nd roll. Also attached are the photos of the light sealing. They seem okay? Should I still get them replaced just in case?

Is the light leak only in the picture area? This suggests a problem in front of the film...shutter, mirror, lens?

Is the light leak extending beyond the picture area? This suggests a problem in the light seals at the back of the camera.

How would I be able to check? These are the scans I got from the lab and with the negatives, they seem to be contained in the picture area.

 

The camera may need "exercising" to free things up but the PDF has precautions about releasing the shutter without film in the camera

 

Use cheap B&W film for testing for a while

What do you mean in terms of 'exercising'?

It looks to me as if you might have an intermittent shutter problem.

 

The picture of the lady in the bikini, in particular, looks typical of this. The rest are a bit too indistinct.

 

What might be happening is that the shutter curtains might be opening as they're being 'cocked' for the next picture. At this point the mirror will be down and partly obscuring direct light from the lens - hence the dead straight cutoff of the fogging, where the shadow of the mirror falls on the film.

 

It should be easy to diagnose this by opening the camera back with the filmholder removed. Use the multi-exposure lever and fire the shutter a few times to see if the curtains (stay) open as the wind-on crank is operated. They shouldn't.

 

Sometimes faults like this clear themselves with use. This may be the case if the camera's lain unused for a while. Good luck!

 

"Or should I just go grab a new Mamiya.."

 

- Stay well away from the newer plastic-bodied M645s (Super, Pro, Pro-TL or E). They're really badly made and far more likely to be faulty, or quickly become faulty.

Just tested it! Fired the shutter 7x each for 1/1000, 1/500, 1/125 and 1/60. Curtains did not appear to stay open.

In terms of being unused, I can't say. Owner did say it hasn't been touched for a while.

In terms of grabbing a new Mamiya, I meant grabbing another 645 1000s! Heard about the faultiness with the newer models plus I love the aesthetic of the 645. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Hey all,

I've recently jumped on board the medium format train with a Mamiya 645 1000s I bought from a market? I've been absolutely loving it. I shot my first roll and came across 2 streaks which I assumed were light leaks. So 2/15 had a light leak.

https://i.imgur.com/yHX6mcA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iuLmW4V.jpg

2nd roll, I decided to gaffer tape up the back of the camera to prevent any light getting through. 1/15 had a light leak. https://i.imgur.com/qiTwKK8.jpg

3rd roll, no gaffer tape on the back. Only 1 had a light leak. (Warning may be NSFW, did a shoot with a female friend of mine on the beach)

https://i.imgur.com/9hjhYHa.jpg

So I'm kind of lost now in terms of how to resolve this issue. Is it a light leak, if so, why is it being so unpredictable? Are there any ways I can fix it since the gaffer approach didn't help much? Or should I just go grab a new Mamiya (this body costed me $180 AUD)