[Wavetech]

Hey folks!
I'm extremely new to the world of photography, and I need some help.
I stumbled upon my grandfather's Pentax H2 (in pristine condition) from somewhere along the 70s era, I reckon.
Aside from a laggy film transport (which works after a few tries and I guess just needs a bit of oil), the camera is missing
its mirror. I really do not know what to call it other than that, since I'm no expert. Maybe it's the focusing microprism or the reflector mirror.
I have no idea.
I read the manual about it having the Fresnel lens, and I think it's all gone for some reason. When I opened the camera I just saw
black through the viewfinder, so I guessed there was nothing there. And I was correct 😅
I'll attach a photo of the inside below.

I would really appreciate any help at all. Suggestions, comments, anything goes. I don't know what to buy, or how to fix this!
Thanks in advance!
Cheers 😊

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[MarkJerling]

Hi and welcome to the forum. It's not missing it's mirror - The mirror is stuck in the "up" position. Your photo shows the underside of the mirror carrier.
Others here should be able to advise what to do to get it to drop down without damage.

[Wavetech]

Oh thank you so so much! As I said I'm a total noob! You actually relieved me of some stress, so thank you very much. I look forward to a solution. Lovely of you to answer so quickly

[MarkJerling]

Here's some links:
Sticky shutter in an old H (or S) 2 - PentaxForums.com
Spotmatic F mirror stuck - PentaxForums.com
Spotmatic Mirror return - PentaxForums.com

And also this:

You Tube

You Tube

[MarkJerling]

Oh thank you so so much! As I said I'm a total noob! You actually relieved me of some stress, so thank you very much. I look forward to a solution. Lovely of you to answer so quickly

You're most welcome.

[Wavetech]

alright so I actually fidgeted a bit with the position of the mirror and managed to easily put it back down. But after taking my first "shot" without film in the camera it seemed to have put it back in the "up" position. And that keeps happening. So...now what?

[Wavetech]

Oh cheers my friend. I'll do my due diligence!

[ismaelg]

Hello,

You need to lubricate the mirror return gear at the bottom of the camera.
Carefully remove the bottom plate. Make sure the area is clean of any residue and brush the SMALLEST amount of light machine oil around and in the center of the round gear shown here. Leave it upside down overnight and exercise it.



This picture is from an H1a but it should be very similar to yours.

Thanks,
Ismael

[sergysergy]

I'm not an expert myself but based on your pictures my guess is that the mirror isn't going down because the curtain isn't closing completely. If you gently move the curtain to close that gap the mirror should come down. If that is the case your camera will need some cleaning to fully close without help.

[pentaxus]

The second curtain may need to be adjusted to travel faster.

[womble]

It sounds as though this camera has strong sentimental value. If so, send it to a pro for a CLA (clean, lubricate and adjust). If it has sentimental value, you'll be upset if you make things worse. People here can recommend someone depending where you are based.

K.

[Wavetech]

Thank you all so much for the replies. I think the curtain not closing completely is indeed what's causing this problem. I think I'll take womble's suggestion and send it for a CLA to a pro. Thanks again to all of you!

[Bosse]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! You usually get some good advice here. By the way; the Asahi Pentax S2 (Heiland Pentax H2) was released in 1959.