Bronica S sticky mirror

[spinningyarn]

Hi

I have just purchased a Bronica S circa 1961. The camera looked and sounded in good condition. Today I ran a couple of films through it to test the shutter at various speeds, and to make sure the wind-on functioned ok. I am very pleased with the results. However the camera has one annoying problem. The mirror does not always return to the correct position after firing the shutter. It stop about a centimeter before its correct position. This is noticeable because of a shadow in the viewfinder. The way to rectify this is to tilt the camera up after each shot. This is going to be very annoying when I come to use a tripod! If I leave the camera by a warm heat source for half an hour, the problem goes away, so it seems to be a lubrication issue. But then the stickiness comes back.

My question: is it possible to lube the pivots of the mirror in situ, rather than take the camera apart? As everything else works fine, I'm trying to avoid finding a reliable repairer for a CLA (difficult in the UK for these early Bronicas). Anyone had any experience freeing up the mirror?

Thanks

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The mirror and shutter mechanism on the early Bronicas is about as complicated as it gets on a medium format camera, due to the falling mirror design. If the mirror is in the state you describe, it really would be a good idea to have the whole camera serviced to avoid shutter problems that are very likely to happen if there is dry or dirty grease in there.

I'm not sure who services these in the UK or on the continent, but in the US there's Frank Marshman at CameraWiz in Harrisonburg, VA and Koh's Camera (www.kohscamera.com).

 

[paul_c5x4]

Try giving the guys at Norfolk Camera Centre a call on 01362 701180. Although not specifically Bronica, I had a problem with a Copal shutter recently and they did a quick check, fix, and calibrate while I waited.

Also used Advanced Camera Services (01953 889324) for a Canon service and they had an ETRS next in line.

 

[spinningyarn]

Thanks for your info. It's actually the horizontal blind that covers up the viewing screen when the shutter is operational that is slightly sticky. Axco in London seem to be the only repairers who are prepared to deal with S's and S2's, which they say are amongst the most complicated cameras ever made. Anyway they're trying to sort the problem for me. Fingers crossed!

Try giving the guys at Norfolk Camera Centre a call on 01362 701180. Although not specifically Bronica, I had a problem with a Copal shutter recently and they did a quick check, fix, and calibrate while I waited.

Also used Advanced Camera Services (01953 889324) for a Canon service and they had an ETRS next in line.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The viewfinder blind is particularly fragile, and seems most prone to this sort of problem, though I don't believe it should be difficult to fix. It should just be a matter of cleaning the channels on either side of the blind and relubricating it.