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Benny Stevens
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 03:44 pm: | 
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Hi, I have a Zeiss Contina 529/24 with Pantar 45mm/f2.8 lens and Prontor SVS shutter. The slow speeds are very sluggish (1s, 1/2s and 1/4s). How can I reach into the shutter after removing the front lens cell? I can see 4 screws around the lens mount (with the lens taken off) but then there are also 3 tiny set screws sunken into the fixed black ring closest to the camera body... Also, is it easy to remove the top cover without parts flying into orbit? (I don't see an easy way to remove the winding lever/counter) Thanks in advance for any tips. |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 10:21 am: |
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I've worked on a Contina II; in that, once you've removed the front element there's a serrated retaining ring that just unscrews and then the face plate lifts off of the shutter.
If this is one with the interchangeable front elements, you remove 4 small screws under the front element, then lift off the trim ring and shutter speed ring; then there's another plate holding the second element - remove 4 larger screws from that and it lifts off, and you're in. |
Benny Stevens
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 02:30 pm: |
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Hi Rick, Tonight I removed the 4 screws holding the trim ring and both the shutter speed & aperture rings, revealing another set of 4 larger screws as you descibe. I got cold feet and backed off because these screws seem to hold a rather substantial metal 'chassis' and I wasn't sure to reach the shutter itself that way. From inside the film chamber I then removed 4 large screws and the whole square lens front plate came off : o acces here either unless I removed yet another set of screws and who knows what will drop out there... I was glad to be able to get the whole thing back together again :-) The Prontor shutter seems well stashed away and for once I stopped where I felt my skills ended. I will try to free those slow speeds with lots of excercise. The camera costed EUR20.00 but looks too nice to ruin, even if it is not thàt much money... Thanks for you input anyway. |
Rob
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 10:22 am: |
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Dan Mitchell has a service thread on his website for Prontor SVS shutters. I got my Contina III on E-Bay for $10.00, and his site got me into the shutter which now works like new. It will involve a minor naphtha flush on the slow speed mechanism on the left side of the camera. Do the self timer mechanism at the bottom at the same time. I shot off a roll of film this vacation with it, and it came out beauuuuutiful. It's a nice compact camera. The site is http://daniel.mitchell.name/cameras/prontor/prontor.html |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 07:09 am: |
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On all genuine Prontor shutters you can take out the slow speed escapement without major problems (some japanese imitations have oversized screw holes for adjustment) and flush/dunk them in lighter fluid, this usually works better than just putting on some drops of lighter fluid.
The self timer on older Prontors is not difficult to take out, too. On the SVS it is more difficult due to the self timer cocking lever train.
If you ever try to swap parts from one Prontor shutter to another one: there have been several modifications concerning this lever train of the SVS and concerning the internal shutter release levers of other Prontor shutters, so parts cannot always be swapped between shutters with identical designators. |
Benny Stevens
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 07:16 am: |
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Thanks for the link Rob. With this info and Rick's tips I will gather all my courage and dig into the camera again this week-end. BTW, what seemed unusual to me is that the first release at 1/4s (after a days rest) seems to work better than evey following release. I expected it the other way 'round... |
Benny Stevens
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 07:22 am: |
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Oops Winfried, our posts must have crossed in space. Thanks to you too, but I will not adventure myself so far. No camera has ever been better after one of my interventions... |
Scott
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 08:52 am: |
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Oh, while we're on the subject of the slow speed escapement on a Prontor SVS...
Winfried, you mention that the escapement comes out without major problems. In my Arette 1D, it looks like there's a single screw holding it in place. If I remove that screw, can I just pull off the assembly? Or has it got springs and such attached? Any tricks to getting it back in? Do gears have to meshed, etc.? I haven't removed it because I'm not confident about getting it back in.
Any tips would be appreciated! |
Dan Mitchell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 12:27 pm: |
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There are two screws in the escapement. One of them is hidden underneath the speed setting pin and sector gear. You have to tension the mainspring to get the main cam out of the way so that the sector gear will swing down and expose the screw. If there is a problem with the winder or latch, you can still pull the main cam around by hand and hold it out of the way. Sometimes the speed setting pin assembly will be stuck with oil and won't move until you put a drop of solvent on it. |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 04:12 pm: |
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All Prontor shutters are designed pretty modular, and subassemblies can be removed and put back without major problems.
The same applies for all Copal shutters I have encountered. They follow the general outline of the Prontor shutters. |
