M645j woes

[Christopher Walrath]

Hi all. A couple of questions. First, my Mamiya M645j's exposure counter has never as long as I have owned it reset itself. I always have to manually roll the gear back myself. No prob, b een doing this for a couple of years anyhow. Is it worth getting it looked at?

Second. Twice (months and numerous rolls apart) as I wound on the film, the exposure counter did not leave 'S' and the entire roll wound through. Is this related to my counter reset woes? Should I get it looked at?

These are VERY intermittent problems. Hardly worth worrying about except it's a pain in the ass when it happens. What are your thoughts?

Thanks, all.

 

[crabby]

Sounds like a couple of weak springs. I had the same problem with no resetting. Never had the "start" issue.

Used to be an easy fix years ago when camera repair shops were common. I guess these days you could send it to Essex in Carlstadt, NJ. They have an inventory of used bodies and could just switch out what you require.

Or, the eBay solution -- used 645J bodies are not expensive.

 

[thebanana]

I had a similar problem with my 1000s. Luckily there are still 2 repair shops in the area, and I was able to get it fixed for less than $100.

 

[mawz]

Hi all. A couple of questions. First, my Mamiya M645j's exposure counter has never as long as I have owned it reset itself. I always have to manually roll the gear back myself. No prob, b een doing this for a couple of years anyhow. Is it worth getting it looked at?

Second. Twice (months and numerous rolls apart) as I wound on the film, the exposure counter did not leave 'S' and the entire roll wound through. Is this related to my counter reset woes? Should I get it looked at?

These are VERY intermittent problems. Hardly worth worrying about except it's a pain in the ass when it happens. What are your thoughts?

Thanks, all.

The film counter is the issue in both cases. The M645 series has some issues with film transport durability. They're well worth getting serviced if it's inexpensive, but you may find upgrading to a later body more economic. A 645 Super with a plain prism and a 220 back is relatively inexpensive and will use your current lenses and inserts. And it's a far more flexible system (I recommend the 220 backs as they are usually cheaper than 120 backs and the only actual difference is the included insert).

 

[Greg_E]

Get a 1000s or a Pro model. The Super is said to have a shutter curtain flaw, and when that flaw rears its head, the shutter is gone. Not sure about flaws with the 1000s, but I have one and it seems to continue to work fine. I do have a Pro and Super, which also work just fine.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

I'll look into the spare bodies and NJ is only a state away so I'll check that out as well. Thanks, all.