Mamiya C220 film transport problem

[jdsanika]

My wife picked up a C220 at a garage sale for very little ($40). The camera body is in good condition, the 80mm f/2.8 (black) lens is in excellent condition but there is a problem with the film transport. The first roll I developed had 4 frames overlapping, tried another roll thinking it might just be operator trouble but the second had two frames overlapping as follows:
Frame 1 and 2 had a wide space, 2 and 3 overlapped, all the rest had very equal spacing with no problems. My questions are, is this a common easily repairable issue, is a KEH CLA @ $135 worth the cost (quote is for a CLA and film transport repair), should I look for another body on an auction site and take the chance of a another problem? I like the C220 camera and the images that turned out were very nice indeed.

thanks
John

 

[benjiboy]

I've been using Mamiya TLRs for more than twenty years and I.M.O If you want a reliable picture making machine I would get it CLAd it still would only stand you at $175 and would probably last another twenty years, the value of what Mamiya TLRs have is not in their resale value, but in the quality of pictures you can take with them, the lenses and accessories can be bought at a very low cost these days so that one can put together an inexpensive medium format interchangeable lens system capable of professional quality 20"X16" prints without breaking the bank.

 

[Ian Grant]

There some gears that wear out & skip occasionally, I had to have them changed on a C33, it was a routine repair, happens with the Yashica 124g as well.

The C33 is slightly better featured than the C220, and all metal, apart from that it's the same as the C330, I found the camera a bit faster to work with than a C3/C220.

Great lenses and C330's are plentiful.

Ian

 

[grahamp]

There are a few things you can try before getting the camera serviced. They are non-invasive.

The film advance system handles the frame counter, film distance measure, and the shutter interlock. This is all driven by a toothed wheel on a sprung shaft in the film take up chamber. This wheel is driven by the film backing and effectively measures the film travel. If this is not sprung well, or the internal gears have trouble, the system is off.

The C220 uses a simple lever to change from single to multi exposure mode. This can slip. Fortunately it slips to single, not multi, but if the camera is in multi mode the shutter will operate many times instead of once per frame. Tape the control in single mode as a test. I doubt that it is slipping between modes during film advance, but it is possible.

The Mamiya C cameras have a quick wind-off feature. If you keep the shutter depressed and advance the film, the film advance stop will not trip. This feature is not used very often (early colour film was less than 12 frames so not having to fire dummy frames to wind off was useful), but it is easy to trip by mistake if you use a cable release that does not retract. The C330/f/s models with the chin release are notable examples, but the side release models can be made to do it.

So, one mechanical possibility, one mechanical/user possibility, and one pure user possibility.

Graham

 

[jdsanika]

Great site, great forum, and great information. Followed grahamp's advice and checked the spring on the pickup side of the film advance, appeared to be working fine, checked the single/multi selector and found it would move with absolutely NO resistance. Taped the selector to single as recommended and shot and developed test roll, the result was no overlap and perfect spacing. I am going to Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite on Monday and it looks like I will be able to use the C220. I wish to thank all of you for your advice.

cheers
John

 

[guitstik]

Stick around for the second feature after this short intermission. Post lots of pics from the trip/