Olympus Pen FT sticking occasionally in winding stroke

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spl

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Hi Folks, I have a question that is sort-of answered multiple ways in other forums but not exactly ... I am the proud owner of an Olympus Pen FT from the 1970s. It is a beautiful little half frame camera and this year it has been my goto. It is true the OM1 takes better quality photographs overall, but there is a magic to the Pen FT that shines through and 80 shots on a roll (If loaded in a dark bag) is a good compromise between running out of film and the gay abandon of infinite digital frames.

I know these cameras are occasionally problematic and sticking is a common dilemma but mine sticks in a way that isn't described anywhere I can find. Occasionally, every few rolls, the film advance lever jams about a third way through its stroke and will not pass that point. It can be released and pulled again but it stops at the same position. The shutter/lens/shutter release are all unaffected except that it obviously won't fire until the advance+cocking stroke is complete. (Removing the bottom plate and manually firing the shutter isn't relevant here because it isn't yet cocked.)

This has happened three times since I bought the camera nearly a year ago, and I have managed to clear the condition by shaking the camera, gently turning the shutter speed and just generally (Carefully) tweaking and forcing the advance lever through the crunchy blockage after which everything is fine. I am however aware that one day I am going to break the mechanism this way which is why I'm researching.

I'm competent and equipped to disassemble the top, bottom and front of the camera but I do not want to remove the mirror box if possible because I don't have experience of preserving the timings. (I did this once on a broken Pen FT and it became more broken and so it was my parts donor thereafter.)

I am hoping someone out there knows where a tiny drop of sewing machine oil / ethanol / lighter fluid could be deposited to reliably ease the motion of the winder in a way that would avoid this occasional jam or provide any specific information from having dealt with this issue before.

To reiterate, everything else on the camera is fine, meter, lens, shutter, self-timer, I've lovingly and successfully serviced them all (Including removing lubricant from the frame counter that was making it stick!) The meter is adequately reliable for BW negative film!

Thanks in advance to anyone who has specific information about this condition. :smile:
 
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BrianShaw

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I’ll be perfectly honest with you… aside finding the PEN an interesting camera I know nothing about them. The “crunchy” partial wind, though, I experienced on a totally different camera. Like you, I gently forced past that at the risk of further damage. But it fully jammed after the film sprocket holes tore out and I was both out-of-action and lost the roll of film. The problem turned out to be rather simple: film chips jammed in the wind mechanism… presumably from previous jams that were “gently forced”. I believe that the root cause was film initially wound the wrong way around the take up spool. A bright light and pointy tweezers put the camera back in action.
 

drmoss_ca

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I'm afraid Pens are known for a problem with the film sprocket, which is plastic, disintegrating on the inside. This may be the first hint of that. Eventually, whatever kind of clutch is in there to engage/disengage the sprocket breaks, and the sprocket will no longer turn if there is any resistance (such as a film to be pulled along). It's possible that some plastic part has broken off and intermittently ends up in a spot to jam rotation and can be dislodged by shaking. It can be fixed if you have a donor camera. John Hermanson say on his site he will no longer work on Pens because of this (maybe he would if you sent a donor with the FT and asked very nicely...). I have an FV sitting at a repair shop with a donor FT in Quebec City, and I'm waiting to hear if the tech there can effect a repair.
If you love your FT, and don't want to live without some half-frame magic in your life, it's probably cheapest to get another from eBay before yours becomes inoperable. Ask the seller to check for the sprocket problem before buying - I failed to do that with the FV that's in Quebec and while it seemed good - the sprocket turned with wind-on, it failed to turn with the drag of a film on it. I could have sent it back for a full refund, but then I'd be out the return shipping and the duties and taxes paid on importing it from Japan. So I took a half-refund and elected to try for a repair.
 
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spl

spl

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If you love your FT, and don't want to live without some half-frame magic in your life, it's probably cheapest to get another from eBay before yours becomes inoperable.
Waaaaay ahead of you! :D

Thanks for the perspective @drmoss_ca and @BrianShaw . If you're right about the spool that holds the sprockets then I guess that's good and bad news together, because the film will advance just fine we're probably good, but it's not going to be an easy fix.

Coincidentally I just now inspected the sprocket spool and pressed the film rewind button so I could spin it freely and at the bottom I found a tiny film chip. I know the Pen FT regularly tears the film sprockets if wound beyond E, perhaps film is thinner than in 1970? It's not generally a problem but if there's anything inside the spool I hope it's a film chip and not a broken part of the spool.

I'm still suspicious though. Next time it happens I'm going to put it in the dark bag and remove the film so I can get a clearer picture of whether it's likely to be that spool or something more gear-oriented.
 

Huss

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FYI I have found film chips in many cameras, not just the Pen. It's a good idea to look for that in whatever you have.
 
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spl

spl

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Oh dear :sad: Happened again. The mirror locked 'up' (To the side), shutter button and winder locked up. This time I cleared it by fidgeting with the mirror and levers under the bottom plate. I gently moved the mirror back from its stuck position and cocked the aperture lever inside the mount and it wound through, however I'm fairly convinced that it is in the gears. I can't find a service manual beyond the scary exploded diagrams. I know it's a long shot but would anyone have a reference for an easy place to put a tiny amount of lubricant or CLA instructions for the Pen FT? I don't mind opening the case but I won't remove the mirror box. I can't find anybody truly experienced who wants to touch this camera.
 

flavio81

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Oh dear :sad: Happened again. The mirror locked 'up' (To the side), shutter button and winder locked up. This time I cleared it by fidgeting with the mirror and levers under the bottom plate. I gently moved the mirror back from its stuck position and cocked the aperture lever inside the mount and it wound through, however I'm fairly convinced that it is in the gears. I can't find a service manual beyond the scary exploded diagrams. I know it's a long shot but would anyone have a reference for an easy place to put a tiny amount of lubricant or CLA instructions for the Pen FT? I don't mind opening the case but I won't remove the mirror box. I can't find anybody truly experienced who wants to touch this camera.

It's best to fully disassemble the camera and let it go through a CLA. Don't attempt to do it yourself, it's risky. I can recommend you this technician on Europe, he's a friend of mine, he's very technical, serious, and applied.

 

Huss

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Oh dear :sad: Happened again. The mirror locked 'up' (To the side), shutter button and winder locked up. This time I cleared it by fidgeting with the mirror and levers under the bottom plate. I gently moved the mirror back from its stuck position and cocked the aperture lever inside the mount and it wound through, however I'm fairly convinced that it is in the gears. I can't find a service manual beyond the scary exploded diagrams. I know it's a long shot but would anyone have a reference for an easy place to put a tiny amount of lubricant or CLA instructions for the Pen FT? I don't mind opening the case but I won't remove the mirror box. I can't find anybody truly experienced who wants to touch this camera.

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