Mamiya C330 Frame Spacing

RolleiCO · Feb 10, 2023

I just ran my first roll of film through a new-to-me Mamiya C330 a d the frame spacing is troubling. Rather than being too close or overlapping, there is a large amount t of space between frames - see photo below:

Any ideas of why this is happening or how to address?

Thanks!

armadsen · Feb 10, 2023

I have a C330 as well. I got it recently and have only put 4 rolls through it. They’ve all had similarly uneven spacing, and one even had a (very) small overlap between two frames.

Anyway, my limited research suggests this kind of uneven spacing is common on these cameras. But I find it frustrating as well and am interested in possible fixes too.

MattKing · Feb 10, 2023

If you are seeing significant amounts of uneven spacing, your camera needs a classic Clean, Lubrication and Adjustment ("CLA") service.
My C330 - owned since the mid 1970s - has been CLA'd once. It has been extremely reliable. It is possible to vary the frame spacing slightly though if your approach to winding the film is quite erratic. I've never had problems with overlap.

jvo · Feb 10, 2023

MattKing said:
If you are seeing significant amounts of uneven spacing, your camera needs a classic Clean, Lubrication and Adjustment ("CLA") service.
My C330 - owned since the mid 1970s - has been CLA'd once. It has been extremely reliable. It is possible to vary the frame spacing slightly though if your approach to winding the film is quite erratic. I've never had problems with overlap.

ditto....

Marcelo Paniagua · Feb 11, 2023

Yep need a CLA. Not inherent to camera. Got four of these cameras, all bought used but not abused and never had this issue. Been using them for years with no issues.

Marcelo Paniagua · Feb 11, 2023

armadsen said:
I have a C330 as well. I got it recently and have only put 4 rolls through it. They’ve all had similarly uneven spacing, and one even had a (very) small overlap between two frames.

Anyway, my limited research suggests this kind of uneven spacing is common on these cameras. But I find it frustrating as well and am interested in possible fixes too.

Sorry to disagree but no, not that common on these cameras. This based on my experience with them over the years, as well as that many friends. Currently have four but had some more over the years. There are a great lot of cameras where this issue is more common.

armadsen · Feb 11, 2023

Well, I really only meant that Googling “Mamiya C330 frame spacing” produces plenty of results going back many years with people complaining of the same problem.

But of course it’s all relative. If 1% of them do this, that’s not common as a percentage, but still means plenty of cameras that have the problem.

Anyway, I mean to get a CLA done on mine, it’s just not a high priority.

Philippe-Georges · Feb 11, 2023

After a while of (intensive-) use, the Hasselblad film backs are suffering from the same illness, the only cure is a good CLA...

250swb · Feb 11, 2023

If you are still getting 12 shots on the roll, and if you don't have any frames overlapping, it isn't broke so don't fix it.

Frame spacing can vary on some medium format cameras for reasons as ordinary as winding technique, the flexibility and thickness of the film base, or how long the film has had to relax between shots. Two people using the same camera but with different film could find the spacing varies between them.

RolleiCO · Feb 11, 2023

Thanks for all the responses. I am confident that the camera sat for some time and am hoping that exercising the mechanisms may help. I’ve shot just one roll so too early to tell if things are really that bad.

My surprise was that the frame spacing was so wide. It seems that overlap is a more common film transport issue. Hey, at least there were no light leaks!

ic-racer · Feb 11, 2023

RolleiCO said:
It seems that overlap is a more common film transport issue. Hey, at least there were no light leaks!

If the friction wheel slips at all, the spacing is always greater between the frames. To get overlapping spacing, the friction wheel would have to spin faster than the film/paper movement while advancing.

You can see if the friction wheel has tension by pulling on the wheel or shaft. The friction wheel leaves a track on the film edge if it has sufficient tension.

Steven Lee · Feb 11, 2023

I used to fret about this. I had two Mamiya TLRs (330 and 220 as a backup) and both of them were incapable of producing perfectly spaced frames. They never overlapped though. I serviced one of the cameras by sending it to Precision Camera, and another one came from a person I trust. I also googled and found tons of people online complain about uneven spacing. So now I think the variability is normal with these, but the degree of variability varies based on camera condition and a film stock. If you start to get frames too close to each other, or overlap, then I'd be sending it for service. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry.

RolleiCO · Feb 16, 2023

If anyone has had a CLA on a Mamiya TLR, any ballpark for the cost? Everything works well other than the frame spacing. I’m getting 11 1/2 frames per roll. Thanks.

Christiaan Phleger · Feb 17, 2023

I've owned several and used a couple professionally, no real spacing issue, other than just a bit more over the course of a roll. I personally would load an empty spool in to the correct side to allow the camera to function as loaded, and I'd burn thru the equivalent of many rolls in on sitting. If it fails then it would have in a few rolls anyway, and you'd be needing a CLA regardless. After those test firings I'd do a test roll and see if that changes it. The C series are fairly heavily greased on the wind mechanism and obviously a good CLA will clean out the old lubricants and be replaced.

It may seem unusual now but back in the day, I'd do 5-8 rolls in one afternoon sitting and at least a dozen or more at a wedding, and I felt I was hardly stressing the camera. At that point in time the C system was falling out of favor, most shooters having gone the Hassy/Bronica interchangeable back SLR route, but all the C series were and are absolute brutes of cameras, designed and built to shoot dozens of rolls day after day. A couple of rolls of test firings certainly won't hurt it and perhaps might help it in the short term, but a CLA is likely required.

Sirius Glass · Feb 17, 2023

RolleiCO said:
If anyone has had a CLA on a Mamiya TLR, any ballpark for the cost? Everything works well other than the frame spacing. I’m getting 11 1/2 frames per roll. Thanks.

Call KEH for a CLA estimate.

250swb · Feb 18, 2023

RolleiCO said:
If anyone has had a CLA on a Mamiya TLR, any ballpark for the cost? Everything works well other than the frame spacing. I’m getting 11 1/2 frames per roll. Thanks.

Make sure you aren't winding 'fat rolls', keep the leader very tight ideally with a finger on it while you advance the film to the arrow.

Mamiya C330 Frame Spacing

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