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CJ
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 03:20 am: | 
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Hello All,
I enjoy using my Pentax ME Super, however, it came to my attention one evening that any shutter speed as indicated by the meter/finder Christmas tree as being one second or more (up to for, IIRC) is anything but. By the sound of it, the shutter seems to default to X sync speed (1/125).
Does anybody know what this might be happening? Is there a possible fix for this, short of taking it in for a CLA?
Thanks,
-CJ |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 11:12 am: |
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The low speeds use an escapement, which can get dirty or stiff with age. I don't think there's any way around a CLA if they don't work properly, but it's pretty common and usually pretty simple to fix. One alternative, if you haven't been using the camera a lot might be to dry fire it a number of times without film, and see if the mechanism limbers up. I have a Leica that misbehaved when I bought it 35 years ago, but after some exercise it recovered, and has been fine ever since. |
rick
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2005 - 06:35 am: |
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I don't think that's the case with the ME Super: it has an electronic shutter and aperture priority automation. I don't know of anything offhand that would selectively disable the slow speeds in that camera.
Exactly which speeds are working properly and which speeds are not? For the higher speeds you can check with a TV screen: http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-135.html |
rick
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2005 - 06:37 am: |
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On the larger question, though, a CLA is probably going to be required. |
CJ
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2005 - 09:15 am: |
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Rick, et. al:
Thank you for the information. I had a thorough look at that problem last night, and found that the slow-speeds-malfunctioning is intermittent; sometimes the slow speeds work just fine.
The problem arises when the meter automatically shuts off, and minutes later I trip the shutter. This will cause the afoarementioned "X-sync sounding" speed to be used, (too fast) as opposed to 1-4".
Put simply, the slow speeds appear to be MIA when the finder meter isn't woken up properly. Strange.
-CJ |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2005 - 03:06 pm: |
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I have no repair knowledge of the ME Super, but the mode of failure is easy to explain. When the meter shuts off the camera is defaulting to the no battery/discharged battery mode, ie the mechanical 1/125 sec.
Now I do not know if camera is supposed to work at all electronic speeds when meter has been off for 'minutes', but as you have noticed this problem I suppose it used to. So I would surmise that you have a faulty switch or a broken/corroded wire from the main battery circuit to the shutter circuit.
When the meter is on, the shutter is being powered via the meter feed. Switch meter off and the shutter will go dead also.
This could just be caused by a high resistance in a main feed wire. I suggest you try and find a circuit diagram or schematic before diving in, unless a look around the battery 'box' reveals the dreaded black conductor wires. |
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