No fb' issue Mamiya 645 AFD

Josephsnell · Dec 29, 2023

Hi there everyone .. really hope someone can help….
I have just bought a 2nd hand Mamiya AFD from eBay .. Upon testing the first roll of film I've encountered a problem. With the film back attached, the camera body does not 'think' it is attached. Symptoms include mirror / shutter not moving into shoot position, dark slide not releasing and a flashing 'no fb' on the display. I just wondered on the off chance anyone may have heard of this and might have a simple solution. I've tried replacing all the batteries (body annd back) and cleaning the contacts between FB and body. Any help would be greatly appreciated especially as the eBay seller isnt going to accept a return on this.
Thanks in advance

mshchem · Dec 29, 2023

I would make sure that the batteries are good. When you take the back off the camera the back shutter should retract, is this happening?

Josephsnell · Dec 30, 2023

mshchem said:
I would make sure that the batteries are good. When you take the back off the camera the back shutter should retract, is this happening?

Hey .. thanks for your reply. I’m at my wits end ! Yes the batteries are all full and good. The shutter and mirror are both up and in safe mode. Problem is they don’t come back down when the back is on. I can’t get the body to recognise the back at all.

glbeas · Dec 30, 2023

You check the battery in the film back?

mshchem · Dec 30, 2023

With the back attached can you pull the darkslide? Hmmn??? I would bet it's either a simple interlock, or, batteries. I bought a fancy $125 battery tester, unless you put a load on the batteries it's impossible to know for sure. Fresh Japan or Germany made batteries are my favorite.

Josephsnell · Dec 30, 2023

glbeas said:
You check the battery in the film back?

Yep I’ve replaced the batteries in both back and body

Josephsnell · Dec 30, 2023

mshchem said:
With the back attached can you pull the darkslide? Hmmn??? I would bet it's either a simple interlock, or, batteries. I bought a fancy $125 battery tester, unless you put a load on the batteries it's impossible to know for sure. Fresh Japan or Germany made batteries are my favorite.

Yeah it could be crappy batteries .. I’ll try to get some super quality ones. I’m not sure though if maybe because the shutter and mirror aren’t coming down perhaps that’s the reason for the no fb error

Josephsnell · Dec 31, 2023

mshchem said:
With the back attached can you pull the darkslide? Hmmn??? I would bet it's either a simple interlock, or, batteries. I bought a fancy $125 battery tester, unless you put a load on the batteries it's impossible to know for sure. Fresh Japan or Germany made batteries are my favorite.

Okay so I spent a load of money on brand new Energizer lithium batteries. Another forum recommended these.... Guess what still not working. Camera and me are completely stuck !

jvo · Jan 1, 2024

Josephsnell said:
...especially as the eBay seller isnt going to accept a return on this....

I remember reading somewhere that regardless of what the sellers return policy is, ebay's policy is if the item was sold as "used" it must be in condition to operate as intended. if it was sold as non-working, or "for parts", it's another story.

I think you oughta' check if that is the current policy of ebay.

Josephsnell · Jan 2, 2024

jvo said:
I remember reading somewhere that regardless of what the sellers return policy is, ebay's policy is if the item was sold as "used" it must be in condition to operate as intended. if it was sold as non-working, or "for parts", it's another story.

I think you oughta' check if that is the current policy of ebay.

Hey thanks for your reply ... The camera was working until the 15th frame. So it feels like a bit of a grey area. The seller has covered himself well by taking photos on the camera before shipping. The issue has occurred whilst in my possession albeit very early in my possession. I doesn't seem anyone on the internet knows how to fix this either.

Kino · Jan 2, 2024

Do you only have one magazine with this camera? Is there a camera shop nearby that has one you can try with the body?

Not the same camera, but I had an issue with a Pentax 645 film insert whereby a single wire in the insert broke and did not return the grounding signal to the camera once the film leader passed through the gate. When this pin grounded, it shut down the advance motor at the end of the roll.

Maybe something similar is happening here; there may be a wire or pin that is not making good contact.

Frank53 · Jan 2, 2024

Josephsnell said:
Hi there everyone .. really hope someone can help….
I have just bought a 2nd hand Mamiya AFD from eBay .. Upon testing the first roll of film I've encountered a problem. With the film back attached, the camera body does not 'think' it is attached. Symptoms include mirror / shutter not moving into shoot position, dark slide not releasing and a flashing 'no fb' on the display. I just wondered on the off chance anyone may have heard of this and might have a simple solution. I've tried replacing all the batteries (body annd back) and cleaning the contacts between FB and body. Any help would be greatly appreciated especially as the eBay seller isnt going to accept a return on this.
Thanks in advance

It’s a few years back since I had this camera, but I remember there was something you should or should not do when changing the iso.
it’s in the small print in the manual anyway. I did it wrong once, then I knew.

Kino · Jan 2, 2024

Have you tried checking and cleaning the contact points on the film insert? The power for the battery probably passes through the film insert to the body and a bent or dirty pin could cause it to stop functioning.

Have you also made sure your film pressure plate is in the proper 120 film position?

Frank53 · Jan 2, 2024

Is the mirror in the up position?

No fb' issue Mamiya 645 AFD

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency