Konica C35 sticky shutter

cerber0s · Feb 16, 2021

Hey!

I have this really sweet little Konica C35 with a sticky shutter. The shutter opens when I fire it but closes slowly and sometimes doesn't close completely, until I release the shutter button. The B setting behaves inbthe same way, it doesn't stay open.

Any tios onbhow to fix it myself? It was a $16 camera...

The below video isn't mine but it's the exact same symptom.

cerber0s · Feb 16, 2021

A drop of oil on the fly wheel didbthe trick. Works perfectly now.

Jeff L · Feb 16, 2021

Glad it worked.
I really enjoy using my C35. It has a nice lens IMO.

cerber0s · Feb 17, 2021

A few sample shots from today.

Huss · Feb 17, 2021

I hope you used B&W film otherwise your shutter problems sucked the color out of those scenes.

cerber0s · Feb 17, 2021

Huss said:
I hope you used B&W film otherwise your shutter problems sucked the color out of those scenes.

Nah, I accidentally held the film upside down. The color seeped out of it

ic-racer · Feb 17, 2021

I recall in 7th grade I was using a fixed focus, fixed exposure plastic camera and one of my friends got a C35 for his birthday. He was a really lucky kid! Everyone was very impressed with that little gem. His images were well focused and exposed. I thought the way the aperture follows the focus with flash was very clever.
I'm glad you got it working.
As I recall it was one of the smallest rangefinder cameras back then and still today only a few rangefinder cameras are smaller.

cerber0s · Feb 17, 2021

ic-racer said:
I recall in 7th grade I was using a fixed focus, fixed exposure plastic camera and one of my friends got a C35 for his birthday. He was a really lucky kid! Everyone was very impressed with that little gem. His images were well focused and exposed. I thought the way the aperture follows the focus with flash was very clever.
I'm glad you got it working.
As I recall it was one of the smallest rangefinder cameras back then and still today only a few rangefinder cameras are smaller.

Yeah, the size is an advantage, I'll start carrying it in my jacket.

gone · Feb 18, 2021

The C35 is a great shooter, and was such a successful design that it led to a lot of Konica C35 clones. It has everything I'd want on a rangefinder camera (although a 50mm or even 60mm lens would suit me better). Unfortunately, the build quality is a little cheap, and after a while something breaks and they just stop working. Fortunately you can buy a replacement for small money, or maybe even repair it yourself as the op did.

The lens is a killer. If anything, it may even be too sharp. I have 12x18 photos on the wall from one of these that look really good. This is one of the most attractive 35mm cameras ever made, and it's so simple to shoot even a child could take pics w/ only a few minutes of instruction. Mine nearly always attracted admirers, most of whom were younger, and surprised that it was an old film camera and not the latest digital wonder.

Why hasn't some manufacturer brought this camera or a clone back into production? The patents on it are surely expired? Even a kickstarter seems doable. I'd buy a new one in a second.

ThijsKen · Jun 10, 2022

cerber0s said:
A drop of oil on the fly wheel didbthe trick. Works perfectly now.

I have a C35 with exactly the same issue! Where do you apply the oil? I cant seem to find the flywheel...

HooMe · Nov 27, 2022

And I have TWO C35's with exactly the same problem.

On both the shutter fires and the aperture responds correctly to light levels but is then very slow to close - in fact it usually stays open until you take your finger off the release - like a B setting - then it slowly closes. I removed the lens unit and cleaned the shutter blades on one camera but that didn't fix it. So I'm not entirely convinced the cause is actually a sticky shutter.

cerber0s can you remember what you oiled to get your C35 working?

HooMe · Nov 29, 2022

momus, I completely agree. I was very impressed on receiving my first C35. I wasn't expecting much but everything is just right - looks great, small and light, handles very well, has a good viewfinder, and an excellent lens judging by the shots from cerber0s above. A Goldilocks camera for me and no wonder it influenced other manufacturers in the 1970s. Pity about the slow closing shutter... has anyone overcome this problem?

HooMe · Jan 19, 2023

cerber0s said:
A drop of oil on the fly wheel didbthe trick. Works perfectly now.

Sure enough, this is the solution...

I revisited my lazy C35 (Automatic), removed the bottom cover, observed the mechanics whilst firing the shutter, and immediately spotted the "flywheel" creeping along to close the shutter in its own sweet time. A drop of watch oil each side of the wheel and the shutter instantly snapped shut as it should! Same success followed with my C35 (original model) - slightly different mechanics but the same lazy flywheel.

Thanks cerber0s, I must remember there is an L in CLA.

cerber0s · Jan 22, 2023

HooMe said:
Sure enough, this is the solution...

I revisited my lazy C35 (Automatic), removed the bottom cover, observed the mechanics whilst firing the shutter, and immediately spotted the "flywheel" creeping along to close the shutter in its own sweet time. A drop of watch oil each side of the wheel and the shutter instantly snapped shut as it should! Same success followed with my C35 (original model) - slightly different mechanics but the same lazy flywheel.

Thanks cerber0s, I must remember there is an L in CLA.

Glad it worked for you!

Lazydaydream · Nov 27, 2023

Just wanted to post here confirming that this method worked on an original c35. As HooMe mentioned you can see the flywheel lag following a shutter press. What you are looking for is a smooth gold wheel directly under the lens. It is attached to a small silver cog, that is what you want to oil. I used two small drops of fishing reel oil from a syringe. In my particular case the shutter would not only lag closed as OP described but also failed to open fully. After the oil its back to perfect working order.

adi_h · Oct 11, 2024

Lazydaydream said:
Just wanted to post here confirming that this method worked on an original c35. As HooMe mentioned you can see the flywheel lag following a shutter press. What you are looking for is a smooth gold wheel directly under the lens. It is attached to a small silver cog, that is what you want to oil. I used two small drops of fishing reel oil from a syringe. In my particular case the shutter would not only lag closed as OP described but also failed to open fully. After the oil its back to perfect working order.

Is the small silver cog you're referring to deeper in the camera and kind of difficult to reach? I'm trying to fix my c35 automatic that has the same issue described here and I don't wanna mess anything up.

Konica C35 sticky shutter

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