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Paul Clayton
Tinkerer
Username: Starside
Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 21, 2006 - 09:20 am: | 
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I have a Ricoh 500g compact RF, and there seems to be a problem with frame spacing. Approx 50% of a roll suffers from there being no gap betweeen two exposures. The frames don't actually overlap each other, but with there being no gap, they are difficult to cut.
I asume this has something to do with the winding mechanism. Any ideas on how to fix this? I dont really want to take the camera apart too much as I will probably never get it back together again. Thanks, Paul |
Werner J. Becker
Tinkerer
Username: Wernerjb
Post Number: 16
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - 04:10 am: |
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Your assumption is most probably right, but I'm afraid without opening the camera nothing can be done against that problem if at all.
You can find out whether film transport is correct by putting in an old film and, with the back door opened, mark each frame with a felt tip and measure its length during the usual wind and release procedure, maybe it is just the rewind spindle that does not move freely and kind of puts too much friction on the mechanism.
If you appreciate this type of camera but do not dare open it for a DIY repair you can try to find another (hopefully fully functional) specimen off ebay for close to nothing.
On regarding the somewhat unusual body design many people say the R 500 G is a complicated camera to open or work on, but in comparison to other cameras of the same era that is definitely not true. It is, however, not an ideal object for beginners to start tinkering.
The net and this forum's archives offer useful info on how to fix it, W. |
Tom Bennett
Tinkerer
Username: Tom_b
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - 12:01 pm: |
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Paul,
I had exactly the same problem on my 500G. Took it to a repair shop and the cost to repair was twice the cost to replace. They said they would need another camera for parts to fix it. Apparently some "play" develops in the bushings around the take-up spool. Ended up getting a couple very nice G's on eBay and while I had to replace the foam on both it was not rocket science. |
Wernerjb
Tinkerer
Username: Wernerjb
Post Number: 21
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 03, 2006 - 04:02 am: |
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Hi, Tom and Paul, I think it is quite logical that repair shops (obviously with the emphasis not on repair) apparently aren't interested in keeping yesteryear's photogear going. Yes, they were right, spares are scarce. The question that has to be asked and answered is whether any spares were necessary.
Who says that cameras offered on ebay are better than the one people are asking to be repaired?
I have a number of R 500 Gs (off ebay, of course), all of them were more or less defective in one or several respects on arrival, but none of them had developed 'play' "in the bushings around the take-up spool", in other words, all of them were repairable except the one with a broken meter.
In my understanding the challenging idea behind DIY tinkering with old cameras (one of this forum's prime targets) is to save old and/or defective photo equipment from either the bin or too eager repairpeople and get it properly working again.
And Paul's question was what was wrong with his camera.
A new ebay purchase aiming at a fully functional camera is a fake solution, as it does not solve the initial problem. He may end up with an assortment of half-rotten "as is" cameras sold to him. |
Starside
Tinkerer
Username: Starside
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 02:37 am: |
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Many thanks for the advise guys. For the meantime, I will live with the problem, as the frame overpal is not overly sincere as I mention in my post. When it gets too bad, I think I will have a tinker and try to sort it myself. |
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