Lens repair guide for Kowa Six and Super 66

Noyel · Apr 29, 2020

I am eager to offer guidance and advice for anyone with Kowa medium format lenses that need cleaning or repair. There is little to no information available on the web. Please let me know if this is something anyone would be interested in.

thuggins · Apr 29, 2020

This guy has a pretty good video.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...IwAHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0pMzar49G-d3UUdDW7SJin

Perhaps you could put together a document and post it here?

Noyel · Apr 29, 2020

thuggins said:
This guy has a pretty good video.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDv3LLLjF6w&ved=2ahUKEwisz-3Y6YzpAhUBX60KHQmAC0sQtwIwAHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0pMzar49G-d3UUdDW7SJin

Perhaps you could put together a document and post it here?

This video is okay. However, if you are trying to thoroughly clean the aperture and shutter blades, the lens needs to be completely disassembled. If I do create a guide I will certainly post it. I guess I just wanted to see if it would do anyone any good before I invested the time into it.

jvo · Apr 29, 2020

welcome to photrio....

Dan Fromm · Apr 29, 2020

OP, there may well be a need for for the guide you have in mind. Thing is, photrio.com doesn't publish articles. A long long post here or a post here with a link to an article posted somewhere else will soon be buried and forgotten. The French LF site https://galerie-photo.com/ has room for articles. It has put up articles in English and one member there has translated several into French. Use the contact link there to start a discussion with the owner.

thuggins · Apr 29, 2020

Google searches do a good job at finding old posts here. Give the thread a title like Kowa Six Shutter Repair and it would probably be retrievable far into the future. The only drawback there is that pictures don't seem to survive for some reason.

Jeremy Mudd · Apr 30, 2020

I'd be interested. I've been doing a lot of Kowa Six work lately (seal replacement, mirror fix, and grip refurbish) and having that additional knowledge would be great.

Jeremy

Marcus Edwardius · Mar 7, 2021

Omg! Please! I need all the help I can get! I recently moved into the world of medium format when I purchased a Kowa Six with 55, 85 and 150mm lenses (it may have actually been a 135nn ... I can't recall as it was very clearly broken and I took it in for probably a $400 repair the day after I bought it and don't yet have it back)

So, just today, I discovered that the aperture blades on both the other lenses are stuck open. (I'm seriously wondering if I just don't know how to use them and have made them this way). I'm not willing to take these lenses in and exponentially augment my purchase price ... So.ive been hunting forma guide on HOW to fix these myself and I came across this post!

I've mostly dismantled one lens so far but don't want to mess things up!!

ANY assistance you all could provide would be som welcome! Thanks!!!

moto-uno · Mar 7, 2021

I'll search for some pics I have , I cleaned up a few Kowa six lens for Beau photo out here , after I spent countless (120) hours learning how to
do this same task , with some help and a few parts from Ross Yerkes . By the time you're down to cleaning shutter leaves it's kinda important
to understand that patience and no coffee are almost a necessity ( and I always crave coffee ) Pm me, I live in Burnaby . Peter

moto-uno · Mar 7, 2021

This is 4 screws away from the blades falling to the desk . Peter

moto-uno · Mar 7, 2021

This is what you have to remove to get to the shutter assembly ( lower right ) , then the fun begins ! Peter

Marcus Edwardius · Mar 7, 2021

moto-uno said:
I'll search for some pics I have , I cleaned up a few Kowa six lens for Beau photo out here , after I spent countless (120) hours learning how to
do this same task , with some help and a few parts from Ross Yerkes . By the time you're down to cleaning shutter leaves it's kinda important
to understand that patience and no coffee are almost a necessity ( and I always crave coffee ) Pm me, I live in Burnaby . Peter

Marcus Edwardius · Mar 7, 2021

Hey Peter, amazing to.find you! I cannot PM because I just joined this forum today and there's an anti-spam policy preventing me from sending you a PM. But maybe, just maybe, it will allow me to respond to you if you PM me. Otherwise I'll try to find a creative way to insert my contact info here, in code that will make the Enigma code look ... Well ...

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Marc

Jacob Hurn · Sep 15, 2021

Noyel said:
I am eager to offer guidance and advice for anyone with Kowa medium format lenses that need cleaning or repair. There is little to no information available on the web. Please let me know if this is something anyone would be interested in.

Hi, do you service KOWA Super 66 cameras? Looking for help with mine, might be a shutter issue but not sure?

thanks,

Jake

Jeremy Mudd · Sep 16, 2021

Jacob Hurn said:
Looking for help with mine, might be a shutter issue but not sure?

thanks,

Jake

Is it the leaf shutter in the lens, or the mirror in the camera? On the Super 66 there is also the complication of the "moving dark slide" in the removable back. There are a lot of things that have to actuate/move in the Super 66 to capture an image.

Jeremy

Jacob Hurn · Sep 16, 2021

Jeremy Mudd said:
Is it the leaf shutter in the lens, or the mirror in the camera? On the Super 66 there is also the complication of the "moving dark slide" in the removable back. There are a lot of things that have to actuate/move in the Super 66 to capture an image.

Jeremy

Thanks for the reply Jeremy!

I’m not sure, I just got two rolls of film back where everything is shifted out of focus. It looks like a shutter issue, but the shutter was set between 1/125 - 1/500 on the lens? Here’s a couple images.

Jeremy Mudd · Sep 16, 2021

That looks like motion blur to me. I know you said you were between 1/125 and 1/500, but on the surface the images look like they were shot handheld with a slow shutter speed and suffered from mirror vibration/slap or hand movement.

Can you shoot another test-roll with it on a tripod with a cable release to ensure its not that?

I have also seen where people have their second hand holding the camera on the focus ring of the lens and accidentally move it when firing with the other hand. These look more like motion blur to me though.

Jeremy

Jacob Hurn · Sep 16, 2021

Jeremy Mudd said:
That looks like motion blur to me. I know you said you were between 1/125 and 1/500, but on the surface the images look like they were shot handheld with a slow shutter speed and suffered from mirror vibration/slap or hand movement.

Can you shoot another test-roll with it on a tripod with a cable release to ensure its not that?

I have also seen where people have their second hand holding the camera on the focus ring of the lens and accidentally move it when firing with the other hand. These look more like motion blur to me though.

Jeremy

Thanks! I just shot a roll today on the tripod at 1/500 for reference. Afterwards I fired the camera looking through the lens at 2.8 with the film back open, and I can see the blades crawling to a close at the 1/500 shutter speed. I tried other speeds and it does the same, like it’s closing in slow motion.
So, probably a shutter issue, yeah? I’m gonna bring it to a shop unless you or someone you can recommend is a great tech fir these and I can pay for a CLA and fixing the shutter.

thanks again!

jake

Jeremy Mudd · Sep 17, 2021

Jacob Hurn said:
Thanks! I just shot a roll today on the tripod at 1/500 for reference. Afterwards I fired the camera looking through the lens at 2.8 with the film back open, and I can see the blades crawling to a close at the 1/500 shutter speed. I tried other speeds and it does the same, like it’s closing in slow motion.
So, probably a shutter issue, yeah? I’m gonna bring it to a shop unless you or someone you can recommend is a great tech fir these and I can pay for a CLA and fixing the shutter.

thanks again!

jake

Sticky leaf shutters can be an issue with these lenses. I would have expected these images to have been more over-exposed though if that were the case - however being C41 film, it can take over-exposure fairly well and maybe the exposure was adjusted during the scans.

That said, most *good* repair places should be able to handle a CLA on Kowa lenses. Its worth having the body/back(s) done also at the time. There are a lot of seals and moving parts in the Super 66 so its worth it for that if you are going to shoot with it often and want it to be dependable and predictable.

If you are looking for a Kowa expert, there aren't many around anymore. Do a search for "Ross Yerkes" in California. He is known for his Kowa work.

Jeremy

Lens repair guide for Kowa Six and Super 66

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