pentax 67ii shutter release

[chad hallblade]

So I just got a P67ii today, bought on eBay. It's been working fine all day, but just a bit ago the shutter stopped firing. All the light meter readouts still work, there's no low battery indicator, the film advance lever won't move forward... I haven't loaded film in the camera yet. Any suggestions as to why it won't fire?

 

[Chris Lange]

As far as I know, the P67 cameras can't normally be dry fired, or even operated in any respect, without film. I have the older 6x7 model, but that's how mine is.

 

[chad hallblade]

It was firing all day without film until a couple of hours ago.

 

[Joachim_I]

The P67II can be operated and fired without film. I have not experienced such a problem with my P67II. It does not sound good. I hope you can solve the problem. Normally, the P67II is a very reliable camera. I never had any issues in 12 years.

 

[wildbill]

I'd return it immediately. I've had this issue with one of mine a couple times. I don't know why it happens. Shut the camera on/off a few times then whack the grip with one hand. Hey, it works for me. I'd be interested in the answer if you get one.

 

[chad hallblade]

ahhh terrific! i was hoping it was just something little that i was doing wrong. gotta' love ebay. : (

 

[GraemeMitchell]

my pentax 67 (not ii) will not fire w/o film in it. or usually not, as it's not designed to, but every once in awhile I'll notice it will until i open and reclose the back. it will wind w/o film though.

needless to say, i've found they're a camera that tends to have a lot of personality as they age... buying used ones is not as safe as buying a used hassy.

 

[chad hallblade]

Well I asked the guy I bought it from if he ever had this problem, he said:

"Yes, once or twice, its actually a safeguard, I found out how to fix
it on internet forums, freaked me out the first time it happened."

I'm waiting to hear back on how he fixed it and what exactly it's a safeguard against.

 

[mtjade2007]

Exactly, P67II can be operated without film in it. You have run into a problem with the film advance mechanism. It happens right after you fired the shutter and the film advance level won't let you crank again. I have seen some discussion about this somewhere. They said it is dust gets into the film advance mechanism causing something jammed inside. Try to advance the level repeatedly but don't force it. Or tap the advance level with your finger repeatedly. It will work again.

 

[chad hallblade]

Thanks for the advice. It seems really stuck though. I've been trying to work it the past couple days, but no luck. I'll keep trying.

 

[chad hallblade]

Oh, just forced the winder a bit... and bam! It advanced! Thanks again for the advice.

 

[BobD]

my pentax 67 (not ii) will not fire w/o film in it. or usually not, as it's not designed to, but every once in awhile I'll notice it will until i open and reclose the back. it will wind w/o film though.

needless to say, i've found they're a camera that tends to have a lot of personality as they age... buying used ones is not as safe as buying a used hassy.

Yes, you can fire the shutter without film in the original P67 cameras. I have
one also. The manual tells how to do it. Pentax even made a special tool for
setting the camera to do this. It looks like a coin with a small appendage on
it. But, you don't really need the tool.

Look at page 10-11 of the manual here:
http://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_67-1.pdf

 

[sheremey]

Exactly, P67II can be operated without film in it. You have run into a problem with the film advance mechanism. It happens right after you fired the shutter and the film advance level won't let you crank again. I have seen some discussion about this somewhere. They said it is dust gets into the film advance mechanism causing something jammed inside. Try to advance the level repeatedly but don't force it. Or tap the advance level with your finger repeatedly. It will work again.

Similar thing just happened to my 67ii during the film load. Two advances of the lever - and oops! - everything is blocked! Several random switches on/off and opening / closing of the back cover suddenly returned the beast to life... I am a bit nervous because of this unpredictability (the camera has low usage and was serviced recently) but this is still my favorite system.

 

[PaulMD]

To dry fire a P67 or 6x7, open the back, turn the film counter dial past 1, hold it, then close the back.

 

[benjiboy]

ahhh terrific! i was hoping it was just something little that i was doing wrong. gotta' love ebay. : (

No, gotta' love APUG