[lenarae]

Hello! I have a beautiful Pentax 645 that I’ve done about 10 rolls on so far with perfect results and no problems until now. I went to load a roll after a 10 day break from shooting to find it stuck on “f16” in the light meter no matter what I do, and no exposure counter despite it making the sounds of winding to 1, and firing just fine. It just says “m1000” on the little top screen, I can press mode and cycle through the options but can’t change settings within the modes (i.e. can’t change the shutter in manual) and I can also still change the iso. No matter what mode is selected once I let go of the button it goes back to m1000. The film is loaded just fine (same as I did when it worked perfectly) and I’ve tried two different rolls, as well as fresh batteries and multiple checks of said fresh batteries. I am very close to taking it in to the shop but hoping there’s some simple answer someone can give here.

Thanks in advance!

[texandrews]

Hello! I have a beautiful Pentax 645 that I’ve done about 10 rolls on so far with perfect results and no problems until now. I went to load a roll after a 10 day break from shooting to find it stuck on “f16” in the light meter no matter what I do, and no exposure counter despite it making the sounds of winding to 1, and firing just fine. It just says “m1000” on the little top screen, I can press mode and cycle through the options but can’t change settings within the modes (i.e. can’t change the shutter in manual) and I can also still change the iso. No matter what mode is selected once I let go of the button it goes back to m1000. The film is loaded just fine (same as I did when it worked perfectly) and I’ve tried two different rolls, as well as fresh batteries and multiple checks of said fresh batteries. I am very close to taking it in to the shop but hoping there’s some simple answer someone can give here.

Thanks in advance!

I have moved your post here into the Medium Format forum because I think it is more likely to get an answer here.

[ProfessorBuzz]

What lens is on it? Perhaps the lens contacts are problematic. Have you unmounted the lens and re-attached it?

[lenarae]

What lens is on it? Perhaps the lens contacts are problematic. Have you unmounted the lens and re-attached it?

Yes I’ve tried 2 different lenses and still no good - I actually just got annoyed and took it into my local shop and he couldn’t find anything quickly so I left it with him to diagnose. Will update if we find a cause in case anyone else ever looks for the same issue! I couldn’t find anything quite the same as this online.

[tonyzoc]

I just bought a 645 on ebay for $120 with what sounds like the same problem. I figured $120 was a good price for just an extra 120 back and a battery grip.

I was able to get the camera working (I think) by first putting a new set of AA batteries in, followed by cleaning the battery contacts both on the battery holder and contacts inside the grip. Next I took the mechanical winder knob off the bottom and attached it on the left side port on the body. I kept turning the winder and firing the shutter and eventually it got back into sync and seems to be operating correctly.

Why I say "I think" is because the camera back had a roll of VPS loaded on it. So I shot the whole role. When I unloaded the back, all the film was outside of the paper and crinkled up. The paper backing was rolled up on the spool so I'm pretty sure it was turning as it should. I think the film was old and it broke free from the leader end...so I'm thinking that problem was an old film issue. I'm going to put a fresh roll in and see what happens. The camera seems to be working though its hard to tell for sure...maybe the takup spool isn't turning as it should...we'll see.