Hello, fine people!
I recently purchased a Mamiya M645 1000s from eBay. The camera was promised to be in "mint" condition, but already I've encountered a serious problem when taking long exposures outside. I say "outside" because all my indoor long exposures were fine.
On two separate occasions while shooting in temperatures between 0 and -5 C (23-32 F) I put the camera on Bulb and clicked the cable release. After about 8 or 10 seconds, I heard the sound of the shutter (or mirror?) click again even though the cable release was locked and the shutter button was still visibly depressed. I then tried to advance to the next frame but instead of stopping at the next frame, I was able to freely wind through several frames until the end of the roll. When I looked through the viewfinder I saw that the mirror was still up. I flipped the Mirror Lock Up lever back and forth, which brought the mirror back down.
On another occasion, the same thing happened, but then the shutter kept clicking over and over again on its own, making multiple exposures, as if there was a ghost in there!
O how I hope I've explained this properly! The camera functioned perfectly indoors and for my first few pictures outside, until these shutter/mirror problems occurred. This happened on 2 different days on 2 separate rolls.
May I please ask for your advice? The seller assured me that the camera was in Mint condition. If this is a cold weather issue and the camera's battery (6 volt 4LR44) is to blame, should I accept that this is simply not a cold weather camera? If you were me, would you find these malfunctions unacceptable and request a refund?
Thank you truly for your time and erudition. I am most grateful.
I recently purchased a Mamiya M645 1000s from eBay. The camera was promised to be in "mint" condition, but already I've encountered a serious problem when taking long exposures outside. I say "outside" because all my indoor long exposures were fine.
On two separate occasions while shooting in temperatures between 0 and -5 C (23-32 F) I put the camera on Bulb and clicked the cable release. After about 8 or 10 seconds, I heard the sound of the shutter (or mirror?) click again even though the cable release was locked and the shutter button was still visibly depressed. I then tried to advance to the next frame but instead of stopping at the next frame, I was able to freely wind through several frames until the end of the roll. When I looked through the viewfinder I saw that the mirror was still up. I flipped the Mirror Lock Up lever back and forth, which brought the mirror back down.
On another occasion, the same thing happened, but then the shutter kept clicking over and over again on its own, making multiple exposures, as if there was a ghost in there!
O how I hope I've explained this properly! The camera functioned perfectly indoors and for my first few pictures outside, until these shutter/mirror problems occurred. This happened on 2 different days on 2 separate rolls.
May I please ask for your advice? The seller assured me that the camera was in Mint condition. If this is a cold weather issue and the camera's battery (6 volt 4LR44) is to blame, should I accept that this is simply not a cold weather camera? If you were me, would you find these malfunctions unacceptable and request a refund?
Thank you truly for your time and erudition. I am most grateful.
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