Mamiya 645 - can't see anything, need help!!

cromatt

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Hi

I just bought this camera but I can’t see anything through the viewfinder - can anyone help?

I’ve attached a few pics

Thanks
 

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koraks

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Is the mirror up? Remove the lens and see where the mirror is. There's a MLU lever on the side of your camera; maybe it's in the mirror-up position.
 
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OP

cromatt

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Also, the shutter keeps sticking (well, both of them do), will this change when I’ve got film in?
 

koraks

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I never noticed a difference in shutter behavior with or without film. So it sounds like you may need to investigate this a little further. Maybe it helps if you exercise the shutter a couple of dozen times. Your camera may also need a fresh set of batteries; the shutter speeds on these is electronically controlled I believe. With empty batteries it generally doesn't fire at all if I recall correctly, but maybe on low batteries it could do funny things; idk.
 

Dustin McAmera

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What do you mean by 'both of them'?

I don't think the shutter should work without film, unless you set the multi-exposure switch on. This is from the manual for the 1000s:


Testing to See if the Camera Functions Properly
To release the shutter when there is no film in the camera, proceed as follows.

1. Insert a battery into the camera (p.21).
2. Set the multiple-exposure lever to “MULTI” (p.50).
(If you have just purchased the camera and the vinyl tube is still on the take-up
spool, there is no need to move the multiple-exposure lever.)
3. Set the shutter speed dial to any shutter speed other than the 0 red mark
(p.27).
4. Turn the film advance crank until it stops.
5. Align the shutter release lock ring with the white dot and release the shutter
(p.30).
When ready to load the camera with film, return the multiple-exposure lever to
its normal position. If this is not done, the film will not advance.
If the shutter is released without a battery in the camera, the mirror will lock in
the up position. To return the mirror to its normal position, depress the battery
check button (21) as far as it will go.
If the shutter is released with the shutter speed dial set to the red 0 position,
the mirror will lock in the up position. To lower the mirror, turn the shutter speed
dial in either direction (B or 1/1000 sec.).
At times it may be necessary to rotate the film advance crank two full turns to
cock the shutter when an empty take-up spool (without its original vinyl tube) is
in the camera.
 
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cromatt

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So I’ve checked a few things and the problem seems to be that after every time I take a picture, the mirror gets stuck upwards and I have to remove the lens and then press the MLU button to make the mirror come back down (I’ve got a new battery in but no film at present)
 
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cromatt

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Any more ideas? I’m tempted to put a film through to see if the mirror still sticks but would rather not waste a film if the only way the mirror resets is by taking the lens off
 

BrianShaw

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If you have an old 120 spool and backing paper you can use that to test.

(I assume that you've read and understand the manual. If not, I suggest that too.)
 

Alex Benjamin

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Alex Benjamin

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And also...

 

skylight1b

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This happened a lot on my first roll through my 645e. The battery was weak and was causing the mirror to slap up but the shutter wasn't actually opening. If the battery is in fact new, I'm wondering if the contact is not great.
 

ant!

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On my Pentax 645, I had some similar behaviour, the mirror was not coming down (unless I held them camera downward to help the mirror, there is no mirror lock on the Pentax). Needed a CLA, I think some grease or dampening was getting stiff...
 

drboone

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I believe that the camera draws power from the battery for as long as the shutter is open, so if you managed to open the shutter and it didn't close for whatever reason, the battery is dying fairly quickly.

There _is_ a 70mm lens for this system that has a leaf shutter in, btw.

I'm trying to decide if my inherited M645-1000S has an electrical leakage of some sort that adds to the battery drain, or if I've just managed to stumble into the interlocks keeping the shutter open.
 

Nige

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Have a look at the foam the mirror shuts against. I think that can 'catch' the mirror if it's gone gunky!
 
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cromatt

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So I’ve had a good look through everything and the mirror works when there’s no lens attached - the knob that releases the mirror send to be getting caught on a part of the lens (I think). I’ll attach pics
 
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cromatt

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And of course, All the photos are too large ha. But if this sounds familiar to anyone, then let me know. in the meantime, I’m going to give it to another good clean and I’m going to have a look out for camera shops and try and get it serviced.

Thanks everyone for your help so far
 

koraks

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cromatt said:
I’ll attach pics
Click to expand...

cromatt said:
All the photos are too large
Click to expand...

Posting pictures here is the easiest IMO from a desktop / laptop computer. View the picture on your screen, make a screen capture and then paste that into a post.
Windows snipping tool: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...eenshots-00246869-1843-655f-f220-97299b865f6b
Mac equivalent: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102646

Alternatively, use any app of your choice to resize/resample photos and then upload as images/files. I generally limit the longest dimension of the photo to 1000px or so. More generally doesn't add any value. DPI's don't matter.
 

Dustin McAmera

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When I've wanted to show a photo here, I put it up at Flickr, and just include the flickr url in my post here. It works well. I daresay the board software works with other photo hosting sites too.
 

Dustin McAmera

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If the operating instructions really haven't helped, you could try the service manual:
Code: 
https://www.scribd.com/doc/35453483/Mamiya-M645-Service-Manual
 
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