Mamiya C220 experts: is this right?

[villagephotog]

I just bought a Mamiya C220, and I'm going to return it for other reasons, but I noticed something that puzzled me.

The back does not close exactly evenly; the upper right corner does not slide in as far as the upper left corner (as shown in the picture). I'm 100% sure I'm closing it correctly; both corners give a nice audible latch sound.

Is this normal or common for the C220? My concern would be potential affects on film flatness, but the back does feel otherwise securely and tightly closed.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

This happens on my C220 and my C330 and I worried about it when I got the camera too. I was mostly worried about film flatness and light leaks. On the film flatness front, you can take a peek in the hole for the taking lens and see there is no issue: the pressure plate is articulated and works very well. On the issue of light leaks, I get none. Mine was particularly bad so I bent down the locking tabs a bit and it helped but did not completely remove the issue. Developing a roll from before I bent down the tabs, there were still no light leaks. So I think it is really nothing to worry about.

 

[MattKing]

If both corners latch securely, it is probably okay.
Film flatness is maintained by the interaction between the film rails and the spring loaded pressure plate.
What you see may be a function of there being more spring in the seals at one location as compared to another - how do the seals appear?

 

[Grim Tuesday]

If both corners latch securely, it is probably okay.
Film flatness is maintained by the interaction between the film rails and the spring loaded pressure plate.
What you see may be a function of there being more spring in the seals at one location as compared to another - how do the seals appear?

It is unlikely to be spring-of-seals and more likely the very powerful spring on the right side that activates the frame counter when the door is closed and the spring depressed.

 

[xya]

I've got 6 or 7 of these, they are my everyday tools and yes, the backs do not always close evenly. but I had never any issues, neither film flatnes nor light leaks. the seals are easy to change in case of, but even with bad seals, no issues. these cameras are incredibly reliable...

 

[Grim Tuesday]

I've got 6 or 7 of these, they are my everyday tolls and yes, the backs do not always close evenly. but I had never any issues, neither film flatnes nor light leaks. the seals are easy to change in case of, but even with bad seals, no issues. these cameras are incredibly reliable...

6 or 7... Holy crap that's a lot of the same camera! Do you use them like film backs?

Since you have so many I also have a question. On my C220, I had an issue with the counter getting stuck and not moving forward. Like, it worked fine up until frame 6 and then it was stuck there and let the film advance as much as I wanted, beyond where it should have stopped for the frame.

This was on my dummy/test roll that I put through to see if the camera was working. I did it ten more times and there were no subsequent issues. Was it just like a "first time coming out of storage" issue or something that's normal to happen once in a while on these cameras?

 

[villagephotog]

Thanks for all the helpful and quick replies, guys. If I see this again on the next C220 I buy, I won't be worried about it.

 

[tessar]

Hello Grim, I had a C330 that worked well for years until the film advance suddenly failed to stop for any frame and just passed the entire roll right through to the end. I did some looking around the web and found this is a common problem caused by the cam on the advance mechanism getting gummed up over the years and stuck in the open position, thus failing to engage the gear wheel.
I suspect that the mechanism on your 220 is showing preliminary signs of this problem. What I did was buy a C330s body in good working condition, obviously used frequently through the years. Buying the body was cheaper than the estimated cost of repair.
What I would do is run a few dummy rolls through the camera every couple of weeks or so to keep the mechanism exercised. This might correct the problem, for a while anyway! All part of the fun of using old cameras.

 

[xya]

6 or 7... Holy crap that's a lot of the same camera! Do you use them like film backs?

Since you have so many I also have a question. On my C220, I had an issue with the counter getting stuck and not moving forward. Like, it worked fine up until frame 6 and then it was stuck there and let the film advance as much as I wanted, beyond where it should have stopped for the frame.

This was on my dummy/test roll that I put through to see if the camera was working. I did it ten more times and there were no subsequent issues. Was it just like a "first time coming out of storage" issue or something that's normal to happen once in a while on these cameras?

in the beginning - that is nearly 40 years ago - I only had 2, one 330 for studio work and a 220 to take with me outside as it's less heavy. then the prices dropped and I got a third one for colour film. now they are really cheap. as I'm living in germany and france and I have a set in either place.

the frame counter question has already been answered, I never had this. I only had a body with the film transport completely stuck. I gave it to my cologne repair man and he solved it. wasn't very expensive, so it must have been a minor default.