[Melissen-Ghost]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and hope to finally find help here.
Im from Germany and there were not a single person who could help me online with the little problem I have with my Pentax 67.

I recently got this camera and wanted to test a fresh role of film to be sure that everything was alright with the camera.

I use a TTL metering viewfinder and a SMC Pentax-6x7 45mm F4 lens on my Pentax 67 (just in case this makes any difference regarding the following problem).

The first two shots were okay, but after that the viewfinder went totally black after using the film transport lever. I really saw how the viewfinder went gradually black with the motion of the film advance. It only happens when I have a roll of film inside the camera. When I dry test the camera (with the little "finger on shutter dial" thing) the effect does not occur.

I dont know if the mirror went up or something. To me the most mysterious thing about it is that it happens when I advance the film. It had nothing to do with MLU function since I have never touched the switch or something. I am also sure that it has nothing to do with a weak battery since the effect where the mirror gets stuck half way looks totally different and only happens after firing the shutter...

It was about 3°C outside and I heard about the battery issues when its to cold outside, but the TTL metering was working fine and the battery control light was red and bright (I even use a 4SR44 and no alkalines).

2 weeks later the same thing happend like described above...so it was not an effect coming from not using the camera over a long period.

I hope that somebody knows something about the issue.

Thank you in advance and kind greetings from Ratisbon Bavaria.

[Silent Street]

The TTL meter and lens combo (excellent for starting out with the P67) are not in question. But the camera has a gremlin. Or two.

The description sounds very much like an unsynchronised mirror-shutter-winding mechanism, whereby you are winding the lever and the mirror is coming up slowly, blanking out the viewfinder. What should happen when the shutter is fired is the mirror goes up, the shutter opens/closes and when the frame is wound on, the shutter is cocked ready for the next exposure. Simples. So at the moment, that is not happening, and I suspect there is a fault with the camera, possibly the mirror solenoid or winding mechanism. As you know, Pentax 6x7 and 67 cameras are designed not to fire unless film is loaded; dry-firing is certainly possible, and the fact that the fault you have described is not present during this procedure may also suggest a problem with the film advance — obviously it's difficult to make a diagnosis when the camera is in Bavaria instead of Ballarat where I am in Victoria/Australia!! The mirror solenoid is an oft-reported irksome thing that can get sticky or dysfunctional over a long period of time (particularly a long period of no use).

There is a Pentax 67 repair facility in the USA, but I could well understand your concern in shipping the camera there and back and not knowing for certain if repairs+freight will cost more than the camera (this is unfortunately a big problem for many people living outside the US or not close to a reputable repair centre).

You have certainly come to the right place where there are many other Pentax 67 users.There should be more responses following that can throw more light on what is bothering your beastie.

[Melissen-Ghost]

The TTL meter and lens combo (excellent for starting out with the P67) are not in question. But the camera has a gremlin. Or two.

The description sounds very much like an unsynchronised mirror-shutter-winding mechanism, whereby you are winding the lever and the mirror is coming up slowly, blanking out the viewfinder. What should happen when the shutter is fired is the mirror goes up, the shutter opens/closes and when the frame is wound on, the shutter is cocked ready for the next exposure. Simples. So at the moment, that is not happening, and I suspect there is a fault with the camera, possibly the mirror solenoid or winding mechanism. As you know, Pentax 6x7 and 67 cameras are designed not to fire unless film is loaded; dry-firing is certainly possible, and the fact that the fault you have described is not present during this procedure may also suggest a problem with the film advance — obviously it's difficult to make a diagnosis when the camera is in Bavaria instead of Ballarat where I am in Victoria/Australia!! The mirror solenoid is an oft-reported irksome thing that can get sticky or dysfunctional over a long period of time (particularly a long period of no use).

There is a Pentax 67 repair facility in the USA, but I could well understand your concern in shipping the camera there and back and not knowing for certain if repairs+freight will cost more than the camera (this is unfortunately a big problem for many people living outside the US or not close to a reputable repair centre).

You have certainly come to the right place where there are many other Pentax 67 users.There should be more responses following that can throw more light on what is bothering your beastie.

@ Silent Street. Thank you for your help and the detailed response. Do you know what a repair for an issue like that would normally cost in the US (or in Australia in your case :-))? Of course I would take it to a repair facility here in Germany but I dont know where I could do that.

To be a little bit more specific about the problem: It is very strange, because today I got my negatives and all negatives where properly exposed. I belive that the shutter curtain is not affected and only the mirror will come up.

In my case it wouldnt be a good idea to return the camera to the Ebay seller since I got the Pentax 67 + SMC Pentax-6x7 45mm F4 lens + Wood Handle + TTL Meter Prism for just 700€ which is a real bargain.

I hope that there are more people who have experienced the same issue with their Pentax 67 and maybe know a way to fix the problem with little money.

[Silent Street]

That second paragraph adds confusion to the situation so I can't shed any more light on it (sorry, no pun intended). It is possible a sticky/lazy mirror solenoid is responsible (to get a picture of what/where that solenoid is, have a look at this excellent DIY article: Pentax 6X7 & 67: Mirror stuck repair ? Step-by-step guide & Maintenance).

In my case it wouldnt be a good idea to return the camera to the Ebay seller

Why isn't it a good idea to return the camera? It just might be the best action, especially if the seller did not state there was a pre-existing fault with the camera ("I didn't know that was present when I offered it for sale", is not a valid defence!), as so happens too often on eBay.

Keep that lens — it is one of the best in the SMC Pentax 67 line-up, the little brother to the 55mm f4.

There are no P67 specialist repair centres here in Australia; some people have gone to the trouble to post their camera to the USA to Eric (Home-Pentaxs / pentaxrepairs@aol.com), who is a well-known specialist Pentax 6x7 / 67 repairman. If you have difficulty returning the camera to the eBay seller, or the return is refused (I would be alarmed by that), you would effectively be stuck with the camera and legging it for repairs would have to be done.

---------- Post added 30th Dec 2017 at 11:12 AM ----------

That second paragraph adds confusion to the situation so I can't shed any more light on it (sorry, no pun intended). It is possible a sticky/lazy mirror solenoid is responsible (to get a picture of what/where that solenoid is, have a look at this excellent DIY article: Pentax 6X7 & 67: Mirror stuck repair ? Step-by-step guide & Maintenance).

In my case it wouldnt be a good idea to return the camera to the Ebay seller

Why isn't it a good idea to return the camera? It just might be the best action, especially if the seller did not state there was a pre-existing fault with the camera ("I didn't know that was present when I offered it for sale", is not a valid defence!), as so happens too often on eBay.

Keep that lens — it is one of the best in the SMC Pentax 67 line-up, the little brother to the 55mm f4.

There are no P67 specialist repair centres here in Australia; some people have gone to the trouble to post their camera to the USA to Eric (Home-Pentaxs / pentaxrepairs@aol.com), who is a well-known specialist Pentax 6x7 / 67 repairman. If you have difficulty returning the camera to the eBay seller, or the return is refused (I would be alarmed by that), you would effectively be stuck with the camera and legging it for repairs would have to be done.

[Melissen-Ghost]

That second paragraph adds confusion to the situation so I can't shed any more light on it (sorry, no pun intended). It is possible a sticky/lazy mirror solenoid is responsible (to get a picture of what/where that solenoid is, have a look at this excellent DIY article: Pentax 6X7 & 67: Mirror stuck repair ? Step-by-step guide & Maintenance).



Why isn't it a good idea to return the camera? It just might be the best action, especially if the seller did not state there was a pre-existing fault with the camera ("I didn't know that was present when I offered it for sale", is not a valid defence!), as so happens too often on eBay.

Keep that lens — it is one of the best in the SMC Pentax 67 line-up, the little brother to the 55mm f4.

There are no P67 specialist repair centres here in Australia; some people have gone to the trouble to post their camera to the USA to Eric (Home-Pentaxs / pentaxrepairs@aol.com), who is a well-known specialist Pentax 6x7 / 67 repairman. If you have difficulty returning the camera to the eBay seller, or the return is refused (I would be alarmed by that), you would effectively be stuck with the camera and legging it for repairs would have to be done.

---------- Post added 30th Dec 2017 at 11:12 AM ----------

That second paragraph adds confusion to the situation so I can't shed any more light on it (sorry, no pun intended). It is possible a sticky/lazy mirror solenoid is responsible (to get a picture of what/where that solenoid is, have a look at this excellent DIY article: Pentax 6X7 & 67: Mirror stuck repair ? Step-by-step guide & Maintenance).



Why isn't it a good idea to return the camera? It just might be the best action, especially if the seller did not state there was a pre-existing fault with the camera ("I didn't know that was present when I offered it for sale", is not a valid defence!), as so happens too often on eBay.

Keep that lens — it is one of the best in the SMC Pentax 67 line-up, the little brother to the 55mm f4.

There are no P67 specialist repair centres here in Australia; some people have gone to the trouble to post their camera to the USA to Eric (Home-Pentaxs / pentaxrepairs@aol.com), who is a well-known specialist Pentax 6x7 / 67 repairman. If you have difficulty returning the camera to the eBay seller, or the return is refused (I would be alarmed by that), you would effectively be stuck with the camera and legging it for repairs would have to be done.

You are absolutely right . I contacted my Ebay seller and he was okay with exchanging the camera with another one....I just hope that he will send me another camera since this is not officially via any Ebay function like "Return your order" or something like that.

[feanolas]

Strange that it would not occur without film, because there is no obvious relation between film advance and mirror mechanism (other than being wound at the same time). Would probably go away with a CLA.