| Author |
Message |
    
John Mitchell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 01:20 am: | 
|
Hello All,
I have two Fujica V2 rangefinders that I took to a repair shop to see if the meters could be fixed and for an overall CLA. They CLA'ed one of them, which included repairing and adjusting the film winding assembly, repairing and adjusting the film loading assembly, and basic CLA. With the other camera, they said "damaged beyond economical repair." The damaged one is the better of the two, because it goes to 1/1000th of a second. I'm thinking of trying to repair it on my own.
The thing that I've noticed that is mostly wrong with it is that the aperture blades are stuck wide open. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to take this rangefinder apart and get to the aperture blades to fix them? And if so, would it be extremely difficult for a complete novice at camera repair?
I would appreciate any replies. Thanks! |
WernerJB
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 02:17 pm: |
|
As a "complete novice", as you write, I would not put the idea of servicing/repairing a V2 into practice. It took me more than a year and quite a number of cameras with different problems before I was able to do that, including easier ones like Yashica Lynxes etc. Save it for later, when you are more experienced or, if you think tinkering could become a serious leisure activity (and a repair failure does not mean too much to you) check the net for any source of information there is on the V2, and start working, slowly and carefully, but be aware that your chances are not too good.
You say the aperture blades are wide open: if you look at the lens from the front the ones you see are the shutter blades. If you look in the lens from the rear and push the release button the aperture blades should easily close and open again when you do no longer push. Most probably the shutter and aperture blades are gummed up and as an effect of this a small spring inside the aperture "Auto" mechanism is broken /unhooked. All these problems can be solved, but professional CLA people are not interested in a repair, as this repair takes a lot of time, and time is money among professionals.
Please keep in mind that most novice's first repair are nothing but spare parts in a plasic bag stored away in a remote drawer ! |
John Mitchell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 05:10 pm: |
|
Thanks WernerJB,
That was just the kind of advice I was looking for.
You're right, the shutter blades are the ones you see from the front and the aperture blades are the ones you see from the rear. And I am sure that it is the aperture blades that are stuck. The shutter blades work just fine at all speeds, although I'm not sure if the speeds are exact.
I'm thinking of going ahead with the project, since the camera is useless anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will probably order Tom Tomosy's first couple of books and see if I can find a V2 repair manual just so I can feel somewhat prepaird.
Once I have the camera opened and the shutter and aperture blades exposed, I will look for the tiny spring that you mentioned. Do you, or anyone else, know of any special tools I might need?
Thanks,
John |
WernerJB
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 04:31 pm: |
|
Hi John,
have a look at Henry Taber's article on "Repair Tools - What tools do I need to fix my camera" in this forum, it will certainly be useful.
The V2 is one of the few classic RF cameras on which the lens barrel (which contains the lens, the shutter, the self-timer, the flash socket) can be separated from the body without even stripping down the leatherette by merely removing the central screw (the one with the two notches) around the lens barrel's basic outward thread (it also holds the rear lens group in its inner thread): there are no wires, no contacts and the like, all the mechanical transmissions slip or fit in the corresponding holes in a central brass take-up ring on the camera body (this ring also contains the helicoil and is part of what is usually called the front plate). I have made myself a makeshift spanner from a piece of scrap sheet metal, it is quite precise and works fine (a cardboard model helps a lot to find the right size) as there is not much space inside the camera. The spring I mentioned is of vital importance to the automatic aperture function and links the aperture activating lever and the auto device, and mounting it correctly requires some patience and/or skill.
All this does not offer access to the light meter which is located deep down inside the camera. If anything has to be done there the camera has to be knocked down almost completely, and once the (protective) top cap is off and RF array and viewfinder front glass screen are out of the way ... people ruin the aperture indicator, I bet.
But this is stuff for a new boring entry. |
WernerJB
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 03:55 am: |
|
Hi John,
the following link says more about the afore mentionedthan wordy explanations with possibly inadequate technical expressions: http://kans1948.zero-yen.com/html/p93.html. |
|
