[blackest]

Hi I just bought a Z1P on ebay with 1 little fault The pop up flash wasn't really.

Delving around i found a spring attached to a metal plate in the middle and i dragged it up to the centre screw at the top where it got a grip. putting the flash up in the top position. But now it will not lock in the down position. I really need to get a look at how it is supposed to work. I may be a spring short as the the long metal bar with the central spring seems to have a hole for another spring on the left side looking at it from the rear.

On the right hand side is a white micro switch which I think tells the camera when the pop up flash is up.

So now i have some black electricians tape holding it down but i would like to do a proper fix if its possible.

Does any one have a diagram or a photo or 2 showing where things should be?


thanks if you can help

[jopenmx]

I have a Z-1p since year 2000 and never had such problem. I don´t have any diagram of the flash unit , but I think there´s some inner spring that pops up the flash when the flas switch is pushed.. I am afraid that didn´t fully understood what could I help you , but if you wish , can try take a couple of photos of the flash in the upright position, from the right and left sides of the camera, and even from the top .

[blackest]

I have a Z-1p since year 2000 and never had such problem. I don´t have any diagram of the flash unit , but I think there´s some inner spring that pops up the flash when the flas switch is pushed.. I am afraid that didn´t fully understood what could I help you , but if you wish , can try take a couple of photos of the flash in the upright position, from the right and left sides of the camera, and even from the top .

Yes if you can get into it, its pretty hard to see not so bad with the top off there are 2 screws which hold the top cover in place. but potentially a pretty high voltage in the flash. I think there should be 2 springs there may be a plastic hook at the centre back and some kind of spring on the left. It's not too bad if you can shine a torch in there. cell phone with a light on it might be easiest ( worked well for a fella with a broken sd slot was actually a trapped piece of plastic from a card had got under the pins).

If it's too tricky no worries it is useable as is just doesn't look perfect with black insulating tape. It's a really nice camera and very much fits in with my k5.

[jopenmx]

Sorry , but wasn´t possible to unscrew the top cover since I don´t have the right tool ( screwer ). What I´ve seen is that the system for opening ( spring or hook ) is only at the right side ( lloking at the camera from back and with the flash open) . The flash system esed in K10D or K3 is much more easy for acces to inner part . In Z-1p the top cover opens in a very short angle. I will try to enclose some photos, if I´m able to do it .
Regards

[blackest]

Sorry , but wasn´t possible to unscrew the top cover since I don´t have the right tool ( screwer ). What I´ve seen is that the system for opening ( spring or hook ) is only at the right side ( lloking at the camera from back and with the flash open) . The flash system esed in K10D or K3 is much more easy for acces to inner part . In Z-1p the top cover opens in a very short angle. I will try to enclose some photos, if I´m able to do it .
Regards

Are you sure it's a spring on the right? That was my initial impression like a flat wound spring but i think it is actually just a black looped wire on the right the spring i found in the middle is like a tightly wound tube which hooks perpendicular to that. Oh well not to worry black tape will do for now and maybe a real pentax flash with p-ttl

thanks for looking for me

you might like this old article I dug up from 2003

https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20110923195744/http://www.photosig.com/articles/1159/article

This is a link for the manual (disappointing quality though)
http://ricoh-imaging.ca/pdf/o_manuals/om_PZ1P_e.pdf

[blackest]

Are you sure it's a spring on the right? That was my initial impression like a flat wound spring but i think it is actually just a black looped wire on the right the spring i found in the middle is like a tightly wound tube which hooks perpendicular to that. Oh well not to worry black tape will do for now and maybe a real pentax flash with p-ttl

thanks for looking for me

you might like this old article I dug up from 2003

photoSIG Pentax PZ-1p Camera

This is a link for the manual (disappointing quality though)
http://ricoh-imaging.ca/pdf/o_manuals/om_PZ1P_e.pdf

Here is an exploded diagram of the pz1-P flash housing

Q9 is the spring which pops up the flash it is attached to G122 in the middle of the horizontal bar the other end is supposed to hook to the back of the flash housing this is a scrawny piece of plastic which breaks off. just above it is a screw which can be used to reattach the end of the spring which stretches the spring a little further but when it is up it is up.

What I can't figure out is the catch for the pop up flash all I see is a black plastic button which pushes in but not what it is supposed to push or how this catch works.


This page may be useful
https://www.blackestknight.com/index.php/2017/04/20/pentax-pz-1p-review-35mm-slr/

[jopenmx]

Thanks a lot for all such interesting information ¡¡¡ . After a carefully study of the flash diagram I have to recognize that you was right concerning the spring which pops up the flash. Don´t worry for the bad quality of the owner´s manual , since I still conserve the original one ( in spanish ) .
I wasn´t able to include some photos and files ( leaflets, and manual in english, ) concerning Z-1p But if you wish some of them , please let me know your mail adress and will send you.
Regards

[blackest]

Thanks a lot for all such interesting information ¡¡¡ . After a carefully study of the flash diagram I have to recognize that you was right concerning the spring which pops up the flash. Don´t worry for the bad quality of the owner´s manual , since I still conserve the original one ( in spanish ) .
I wasn´t able to include some photos and files ( leaflets, and manual in english, ) concerning Z-1p But if you wish some of them , please let me know your mail adress and will send you.
Regards

There is a small screw slightly above where the spring is supposed to be attached it's a small stretch to hook the spring there. It holds the pop up flash quite firmly in the extended position. The problem I have is that when the flash goes down it is supposed to catch on something which latches it closed and pressing the flash button should unlatch it and the spring pull the flash to the upright position. I cannot figure how that works, I've had a knack for figuring out systems since I was a kid and being defeated by this is really annoying.

I knew there was a problem with the pop up flash mechanism, when I bought the camera and i didn't think it would bother me, but honestly it does

One thing the diagram does show is that just one spring attaches to that bar so the extra hole seems to be misleading. Although why take the time to create a hole which is not used? That makes zero sense unless the part is designed to be used in a different camera, there is always a reason behind something in engineering.

[Jose Andres]

Hello, guys! I know I'm 5 years late, but recently I had the exact same problem on my Z1-p, the spring had come off since the plastic tiny part it was attached to had broken, so my dad and I attached it to the base of the screw on the back and now the flash is popping up again! I cand send pictures if needed. Cheers,

Jose

[tonyzoc]

The spring goes from the lower plate center hole to a plastic post up by the prism apex. What usually happens is the metal spring breaks off the plastic pin. I've fixed this several ways... I glued a small (3mm) post (clipped from a paper clip) to the spot where the plastic pin was. This method may work for a while but mine eventually popped off. A better method I use now is the get some UV light curing resin and build up a little post...like a whipped cream point... and cure it with the UV light. It gets pretty hard when set and seems to hold. Be sure to prep the spot first by cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and scuffing up the surface with a file to give the resin something to hold onto. If you search this forum you should find my previous posts on this topic.



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Z-1 pop-up flash problem