Newbie help - Pentax 67

THEM! · 10-10-2011, 03:25 PM

Hello Pentaxians (is that a word?),

I am a new Pentax 67 owner and super excited to begin shooting 6x7. I received a beautiful recently CLA'd 67 today and I am having an issue loading film + getting the shutter to cock. Here's whats happening:

1. I load 120 film exactly as I've done a thousand times in other medium format cameras. I reviewed the manual to make sure that I was doing this "by the book". The inside pressure plate is set to 120. The knob by the winding lever is set to 120.
2. I advance the film to the arrow and close the back and continue to advance the film until the counter shows the first frame.

At this point I'm suppoosed to be able to frame and expose an image but the shutter is not cocked (the shutter protection is unlocked) so I advance the film. Still not cocked. At this point I can advance the film using the lever through the entire roll of film. Ugh.

I have reloaded the film that I ruined many, many times to see if it continues doing this, and it does,

Trying to determine what the issue may be I tried turning the 120/220 key by the shutter to the 220 marking. At this point the film will advance and the shutter will cock and fire normally. It seems to me that for some reason that the camera is not recognizing that there is film loaded at the 120 setting and will just keep advancing.

The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks. The only thing I can guess is that there is an issue with the "sensor" or whatever tells the advance mechanism that there is film loaded when the key is set to the 120 setting.

I want this camera to work correctly and this is frustrating. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you run in to this issue before?

Thanks everyone in advance for your help!

Tim

Last edited by THEM!; 10-10-2011 at 03:39 PM.

MysteryOnion · 10-10-2011, 04:07 PM

That sounds like the gearbox or lever inside is not clicking into the 120 mode. The person who CLA'd the camera... did you have him do it or the seller? A spring could have been missed and the lever is not engaging.

The camera relies on a dual gear sort of system and the selector when turned to 120 should have not odd tension and be a smooth turn and like wise from 120 to 220.

Try...
Set the camera to 120 and do the dry-fire while the counter is set to somewhere past frame 2.

To setup dry fire...
With back open, use the thumb know at center of the counter dial and turn to 2 or more, hold it and close the back, advance lever to cock the shutter... did it work?

desertscape · 10-11-2011, 10:25 AM

Originally posted by THEM!

The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks.

On a normal 67, the tension will increase once the first frame is wound into place, whether in 120 or 220 mode. It sounds like your 120-220 selector is faulty. This is a rare failure. I've used several 67s since 1988 and never heard of this.

MysteryOnion · 10-11-2011, 11:19 AM

The selector is an easy enough failure to have if it was serviced by someone who was careless about putting the camera in the right condition prior to setting the gears. My camera was sold to me as "inspected by our factory qualified technicians" and I too had several issues traced back to the selector. Mr. Hendrickson fix all of that after having to replace a fried gearbox and broken spring from the selectors actuating arm.

Banjo · 10-11-2011, 04:13 PM

Originally posted by THEM!

....The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks...Tim

Tim,

I have two Pentax 6x7s. Both are permanently set for 120 film usage (as 120 is all I use). In both cases, there is a very noticeable increase in the stiffness of the "pull" when advancing the "film" as from the backing paper only to the first frame of actual film together with paper (and there onwards till the film is all used up). It loosens up again once we are onto the backing paper only once again.

It seems (as stated above, by desertscape) that this part of what you're seeing is normal.

However, if using 120 film when the camera is set to 220, there should be some hiccups at the other end of the wind, as the frame counter would keep counting frames you don't actually have (and cocking the shutter?)

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can comment on this aspect?

THEM! · 10-12-2011, 11:49 AM

Thanks everyone! I turned the 120/220 "switch" back and forth a few times and ran my dummy roll through a few times and she started working. I shot one roll of film and it is being processed today. Can't wait to see the images! Hoping that this was a one-time issue. We'll see...

10-10-2011, 03:25 PM	#1
THEM! New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2	Newbie help - Pentax 67 Hello Pentaxians (is that a word?), I am a new Pentax 67 owner and super excited to begin shooting 6x7. I received a beautiful recently CLA'd 67 today and I am having an issue loading film + getting the shutter to cock. Here's whats happening: 1. I load 120 film exactly as I've done a thousand times in other medium format cameras. I reviewed the manual to make sure that I was doing this "by the book". The inside pressure plate is set to 120. The knob by the winding lever is set to 120. 2. I advance the film to the arrow and close the back and continue to advance the film until the counter shows the first frame. At this point I'm suppoosed to be able to frame and expose an image but the shutter is not cocked (the shutter protection is unlocked) so I advance the film. Still not cocked. At this point I can advance the film using the lever through the entire roll of film. Ugh. I have reloaded the film that I ruined many, many times to see if it continues doing this, and it does, Trying to determine what the issue may be I tried turning the 120/220 key by the shutter to the 220 marking. At this point the film will advance and the shutter will cock and fire normally. It seems to me that for some reason that the camera is not recognizing that there is film loaded at the 120 setting and will just keep advancing. The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks. The only thing I can guess is that there is an issue with the "sensor" or whatever tells the advance mechanism that there is film loaded when the key is set to the 120 setting. I want this camera to work correctly and this is frustrating. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you run in to this issue before? Thanks everyone in advance for your help! Tim Last edited by THEM!; 10-10-2011 at 03:39 PM.

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10-10-2011, 04:07 PM	#2
MysteryOnion Giveaway winner! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: beantown Photos: Albums Posts: 944	That sounds like the gearbox or lever inside is not clicking into the 120 mode. The person who CLA'd the camera... did you have him do it or the seller? A spring could have been missed and the lever is not engaging. The camera relies on a dual gear sort of system and the selector when turned to 120 should have not odd tension and be a smooth turn and like wise from 120 to 220. Try... Set the camera to 120 and do the dry-fire while the counter is set to somewhere past frame 2. To setup dry fire... With back open, use the thumb know at center of the counter dial and turn to 2 or more, hold it and close the back, advance lever to cock the shutter... did it work?

10-11-2011, 10:25 AM	#3
desertscape Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,272	Originally posted by THEM! The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks. On a normal 67, the tension will increase once the first frame is wound into place, whether in 120 or 220 mode. It sounds like your 120-220 selector is faulty. This is a rare failure. I've used several 67s since 1988 and never heard of this.

10-11-2011, 11:19 AM	#4
MysteryOnion Giveaway winner! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: beantown Photos: Albums Posts: 944	The selector is an easy enough failure to have if it was serviced by someone who was careless about putting the camera in the right condition prior to setting the gears. My camera was sold to me as "inspected by our factory qualified technicians" and I too had several issues traced back to the selector. Mr. Hendrickson fix all of that after having to replace a fried gearbox and broken spring from the selectors actuating arm.

10-11-2011, 04:13 PM	#5
Banjo Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 207	Originally posted by THEM! ....The other interesting note is that when I set the 120/220 key to 220 the advance becomes much more tensioned as the film is advanced and the shutter cocks...Tim Tim, I have two Pentax 6x7s. Both are permanently set for 120 film usage (as 120 is all I use). In both cases, there is a very noticeable increase in the stiffness of the "pull" when advancing the "film" as from the backing paper only to the first frame of actual film together with paper (and there onwards till the film is all used up). It loosens up again once we are onto the backing paper only once again. It seems (as stated above, by desertscape) that this part of what you're seeing is normal. However, if using 120 film when the camera is set to 220, there should be some hiccups at the other end of the wind, as the frame counter would keep counting frames you don't actually have (and cocking the shutter?) Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can comment on this aspect?

10-12-2011, 11:49 AM	#6
THEM! New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2 Original Poster	Thanks everyone! I turned the 120/220 "switch" back and forth a few times and ran my dummy roll through a few times and she started working. I shot one roll of film and it is being processed today. Can't wait to see the images! Hoping that this was a one-time issue. We'll see...