Koni Omega Rapid 200 shutter firing automatically.

[byte]

I just acquired an omega rapid 200 and during testing, it appears that advancing the frame counter seems to fire the shutter release automatically. When I take the lens off and manually cock the shutter on the lens, it seems to work fine (waits until I trip the shutter to fire). Wondering if anyone has any insight to this issue. Would a new film back fix this? Is it possibly the lens? Could it be the body? Any help appreciated.

 

[Alex Varas]

Film back and shutter release are independent in this camera.
My guess is the shutter release lever at the body is lock in release position and that’s why the shutter is release just after cocking.

 

[Sharktooth]

Alex is right, the shutter release is not dependent on the back. The only way the back could affect things is if the advance mechanism doesn't travel far enough to cock the shutter. In that case, the shutter wouldn't fire at all.

The shutter release in the lens is a steel lever that travels down to release. That lever fits into a slot in the camera body. If you look in that slot you'll see a horizontal pin. That pin moves down when you push in the shutter release button. When you let go of the shutter release button that pin should move back up as the shutter release button goes back to it's normal extended position. Check to see if that pin in the slot goes up and down as you depress the shutter release button. If it doesn't move, then it must be stuck. The easiest thing to try is to squirt a bit of naptha in there (lighter fluid), to see if you can get it unstuck. The shutter button itself could also be sticking. If that's the case, then squirt a little naptha around the barrel of the shutter release, and any other open spots in that area. Keep working at it until things start to work smoothly without sticking/binding. When everything seems to be moving freely, then put the lens back on and see if the problem is resolved.

Oh yeah, ... and no smoking!

 

[byte]

Thanks! I've attached an image. Could you confirm that the pin is what the yellow arrow is pointing to? If so, yes it does seem stuck and doesn't move even when the shutter release button green dots are aligned.

 

[Alex Varas]

I think that’s the shutter release button lock. Preventing accidental shooting.
Has your camera dark slide? If you remove it, does that tab moves away?

 

[byte]

I think that’s the shutter release button lock. Preventing accidental shooting.
Has your camera dark slide? If you remove it, does that tab moves away?

Yes the tab moves away when I take out the dark slide and I'm able to press the shutter. Where do I find the lever you mentioned earlier?

 

[Sharktooth]

The tab in your picture is the shutter release blocker that prevents you from taking a picture with the dark slide in place. This is a safety feature, since you could waste a lot of film if you forgot to remove the darkslide. With the darkslide removed, the two green dots need to be aligned to push in the shutter release. You can turn the outer ring, which allows you to lock out the shutter release if you want to prevent accidental shutter firing.

The pin I was referring to is not in this area. Maybe it's better to go to first principles. If you remove the lens from the camera, you can still cock and release the shutter. The cocking lever is on the bottom of the lens. It is a long cylindrical pin. Just push that pin clockwise to cock the shutter. The shutter release is on the back of the lens. It is a vertically flat lever that moves up and down. When the shutter is cocked you just push that lever down to release the shutter. Try cocking and releasing the shutter several times with the lens off the camera, to make sure that the lens is functioning properly, and not sticking.

Once you've determined that the lens is working fine, you can then easily see where the shutter release lever in the lens mates up with the camera body. There's a slot in the camera body where the lens shutter release lever fits. There's a mechanism in the camera body that pushes the lens shutter release lever down to release the shutter. Now check that that mechanism in the camera body moves up and down as you push in the shutter release button on the camera body. If not, then apply the naptha in that area.

 

[Sharktooth]

I should also note that the shutter release in the camera body is a simple spring loaded plunger. If you push in the shutter release button, it should pop right out again once you release your finger. If it doesn't, then the shutter release plunger area could also use some naptha to get it working freely.