Mamiya C33 question

grat · May 14, 2020

After a late night of medium format envy, in typical fashion for me, I bought a C33 with the chrome 80mm f/2.8 in pretty decent shape-- the lens diaphragm was sticking, but I was able to clean that up, and it's working smoothly now. The light seals will be replaced-- not because they're leaking light, but because they're turning into dust.

I do have a question, though-- the knob on the winder, after you back-rotate it half a turn and fold it, drops into a small recess on the side of the camera-- but the seller said the clip is missing, and lo, the handle doth bounce merrily to and fro after being folded against the body, even once I realized the retaining screw on the handle itself was in danger of falling out.

Can anyone describe, or better yet, send me a picture of the retaining mechanism? I'm considering picking up the repair manual which might go into more detail (anyone bought a manual from photobooksonline?).

Thanks!

Molli · May 14, 2020

Mine is a C3 but I don't imagine they changed the crank handle between models. Do any of these photos show you what you need to see? The last two show the retaining pin from either end. My apologies for the blurriness, I was trying to hold the camera on an angle in one hand and my phone in another and an illuminated magnifier in between! I took photos of my Yashica Mat which has the same mechanism but with slightly more of the actual mechanics on show. If it helps at all, I've fixed both a watch band and a trinket box with the same worn bushing by pushing out the pin and shoving a thicker needle in its place and snapping off the protruding pointy end - I am nothing if not the epitome of professionalism!

Mamiya C3 TLR:

LimeyKeith · May 14, 2020

I suspect the winding handle has been removes at some point and parts have been lost. In the image below Parts CFC 4322B are spring cup washers which apply light pressure against the winding handle via the intervening parts. The items CFC 4325E are very small (think 5mm length) opposed nylon wedges that act as detents for the handle in the open and folded position. If any of these,or intervening parts, are missing then the handle will flop around. This diagramm is for the C330f but I'm fairly sure that it is the same as your C33. Probably asking if anyone in the forum has a scrap camera body that may be willing to part with any of these missing items is your best bet. Hope this helps.

Grim Tuesday · May 14, 2020

LimeyKeith said:
I suspect the winding handle has been removes at some point and parts have been lost. In the image below Parts CFC 4322B are spring cup washers which apply light pressure against the winding handle via the intervening parts. The items CFC 4325E are very small (think 5mm length) opposed nylon wedges that act as detents for the handle in the open and folded position. If any of these,or intervening parts, are missing then the handle will flop around. This diagramm is for the C330f but I'm fairly sure that it is the same as your C33. Probably asking if anyone in the forum has a scrap camera body that may be willing to part with any of these missing items is your best bet. Hope this helps.

View attachment 246223

Keith, where did you find that diagram? I have a C330 that needs some adjustment in the film transit department but have been unable to locate a service manual for any of the lever advance Mamiya TLRs.

LimeyKeith · May 14, 2020

The manual is available here:
https://www.butkus.org/chinon/mamiya/mamiya_c330f_prof/mamiya_c330f_prof.htm.

Although the service provided by this person is free it would be courteous to make a suitable donate to enable the site to keep running as is explained on the opening page.

Grim Tuesday · May 14, 2020

LimeyKeith said:
The manual is available here:
https://www.butkus.org/chinon/mamiya/mamiya_c330f_prof/mamiya_c330f_prof.htm.

Although the service provided by this person is free it would be courteous to make a suitable donate to enable the site to keep running as is explained on the opening page.

This is a lovely and very detailed manual (hats off to Mamiya for including lens diagrams in the manual!) but does not include the exploded assembly you posted in the above post.

grat · May 14, 2020

Thanks Keith, that's exactly what I was looking for. I had suspected it was something like that after seeing a video on a C33 teardown-- but the video resolution wasn't that great.

The screw in pin (4315D) was halfway out of the handle, so I'm sure someone's had it apart before. It's the two 4325E's that are missing.

grat · May 14, 2020

Molli: Thanks for the images. Unfortunately, if you look at the diagram Keith posted, the itty-bitty parts I need are only kind of visible from the outside. But I appreciate the effort you went to.

LimeyKeith · May 14, 2020

Grim Tuesday said:
This is a lovely and very detailed manual (hats off to Mamiya for including lens diagrams in the manual!) but does not include the exploded assembly you posted in the above post.

Oh dear, my apologies, this lockdown has addled my brain, I assumed the jpg I posted came from the manual I indicated but clearly it did not and sadly I now have no idea where I got it from (it's been a while). Hopefully someone else on the forum will have a copy.

LimeyKeith · May 14, 2020

grat said:
Thanks Keith, that's exactly what I was looking for. I had suspected it was something like that after seeing a video on a C33 teardown-- but the video resolution wasn't that great.

The screw in pin (4315D) was halfway out of the handle, so I'm sure someone's had it apart before. It's the two 4325E's that are missing.

You're very welcome Grat, it seems that it is your lucky day that I had just what yoiu needed, (see post #9)

grat · May 14, 2020

LimeyKeith said:
You're very welcome Grat, it seems that it is your lucky day that I had just what yoiu needed, (see post #9)

My luck continues. Bill Rogers of billrogers.com had the parts in stock at a reasonable price.

As a followup, apparently at some point small amounts of oil wound up on the blades of the aperture diaphragm, and it was sticking. A small amount of very carefully puffed air, some isopropyl alcohol gently applied, and the aperture ring is once again smooth.

LimeyKeith · May 15, 2020

grat said:
My luck continues. Bill Rogers of billrogers.com had the parts in stock at a reasonable price.

As a followup, apparently at some point small amounts of oil wound up on the blades of the aperture diaphragm, and it was sticking. A small amount of very carefully puffed air, some isopropyl alcohol gently applied, and the aperture ring is once again smooth.

That's great news and what a fantastic resource for all film camera users, long may he reign, if only we had something similar on this side of the big pond......

Mamiya C33 question

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