Mamiya 180 tlr lens problem

I picked up this lens recently, and was told it had just been cleaned and adjusted. When fitting it onto my C330, I may have pushed the small chrome button down (maybe a self timer button?) located on the side opposite to the shutter release button. At any rate, the lens fits onto the body with no problem, but the shutter won't release and the aperture doesn't adjust. Is there some sort of secret to this lens that I don't know about?

No self-timer -- that is the shutter cock, on opposite side of shutter release. Can you cock and then trip the shutter when the lens is unmounted? As for aperture, you will need to hold the shutter OPEN (at Bulb) to see the iris stopping down.

Looking from behind the camera...

The C330 camera body has two levers:

1) a lever that pushes down on the shutter cocking lever on the left side of the lens when you wind the film; and
2) a lever that pushes down on the shutter release lever on the right side of the lens when you push the shutter release button(s).

When you put the lens on the body, you have to make sure that:

a) the shutter cocking lever on the lens is below the shutter cocking lever on the camera when the lens is mounted, otherwise the camera lever cannot push down the lens lever; and
b) the shutter release lever on the lens is below the shutter release lever on the camera when the lens is mounted, otherwise the camera lever cannot push down the lens lever.

Usually you run into a problem with a) if you have partially wound the film before starting to change lenses. Alternatively, if you have already wound the film before changing the lens, the levers will be in the right locations, but the shutter in the lens won't be cocked. You can solve the latter by just cocking the shutter manually. When you wind the film after the next exposure, it should work fine.

Sometimes the multi-exposure setting can confuse the whole process. Switching back to single exposure usually solves this.

The other thing that happens for me from time to time is that when changing lenses I sometimes accidentally engage the shutter release lock near the shutter release. Disengaging that lock solves the problem.

I don't own a 180 lens, but I have heard that due too its size, the connections with the automatic cocking mechanism may be susceptible to being bent or going out of alignment.

As for the aperture problem, is the setting lever not moving, or is the aperture not changing even when it does move?

Matt

180 bugs

In the 180 lens set the shutter actually sits forward on an extension, compared to the shorter lenses I use. There is an 'extension cocking arm thingie' that can sometimes bind in the cocking arm of the body.

Look to see how your 80mm etc lenses are cocked. Then note how the extra bit on the 180 projects the cocking motion out to the shutter of the 180 lens. Mine had worn, and would not quite apply enough force to actully cock the shutter, even though it looked like it had done everything right. A careful application of force in bending the extension cocking thingie set that problem straight.

In the camera repair biz bending is not done! It's called reforming.

Found the problem. The shutter release lever on the right hand side was caught below the cocking mechanism, so the shutter wouldn't fire. Tricky little devil.

thebanana said:

Found the problem. The shutter release lever on the right hand side was caught below the cocking mechanism, so the shutter wouldn't fire. Tricky little devil.

Click to expand...

And the iris blades (aperture)?

It's all good.

A related question....in the lens case that came with this unit, there are two "masks" or at least that's the best way I can describe them It appears that they came with the lens when it was new, as the lens case has a sleeve that they fit into. What are these for?

thebanana said:

A related question....in the lens case that came with this unit, there are two "masks" or at least that's the best way I can describe them It appears that they came with the lens when it was new, as the lens case has a sleeve that they fit into. What are these for?

Click to expand...

On the flip up part of the view finder, the center section can flip back to make a sports finder for your camera. That mask is the sports finder for the 180mm lens.

Or maybe that is the 135 mask for my Yashica 635...


tim in san jose

I'm thinking that I will need to post a picture of these things. They look like they would fit between the lens and the camera body, but I don't know why.

thebanana said:

I'm thinking that I will need to post a picture of these things. They look like they would fit between the lens and the camera body, but I don't know why.

Click to expand...

Two thoughts come to mind:

1) as mentioned by tim, the sportfinder masks that clip into the front of the WLF (see picture here):
Dead Link Removed

or

2) a body cap for the camera?

Matt

MattKing said:

Two thoughts come to mind:

1) as mentioned by tim, the sportfinder masks that clip into the front of the WLF (see picture here):
Dead Link Removed

or

2) a body cap for the camera?

Matt

Click to expand...

See the square with the two pins next to it in that photo? The square swings up and the mask hangs on those pins.

tim in san jose

Could be, but since I use a Porrofinder I guess it's a moot point

thebanana said:

Could be, but since I use a Porrofinder I guess it's a moot point

Click to expand...

Clearly, you need a prism finder. .

After all, I'm sure you will agree that the C330 with 180mm lens isn't large enough or heavy enough .

Matt

P.S. I've shot A SIGNIFICANT number of weddings with my C330, with prism finder, since the 1970s, and I still think it ideal for that use.

Of course, I used a 135mm lens as my moderate telephoto.