Preventing infrequent use issues with the gear

Вormental_old · Oct 25, 2020

I frequently read about equipment failures due to infrequent use, i.e. if you leave a camera abandoned for a few years, the lubricants get dry and you'll have issues.

As my camera collection grows, I am beginning to have favorites and some cameras and lenses are not seeing much use. What do you do to prevent "death to non-use"? Is firing a shutter at several speeds once every 3-6 months enough? Should I place some of the gear into ziplock bags with silica gel packets?

moggi1964 · Oct 25, 2020

Odd that this should come up. Whilst not a camera experience I just today realised I hadn't used my Dual 1219 turntable for almost four years so took it down off the top of the cabinet and plugged it in. That platter did not want to spin but with a little encouragement it got going but not at the speed it should to being with. It's currently running on 33RPM after running on 78RPM for half an hour and 45RPM for a further half an hour and looks to be back on the correct revs.. I'll hook it up to the amp in a couple of weeks when I take my main TT out of service to work on the plinth.

So I think the same thing likely happens to mechanical cameras and I suppose it depends on how many you have whether you could consider rotating them so you run a roll through each of them every three months or so. That seems more fun than sitting firing the shutter, turning the aperture and zoom dials and winding on non-existent film.

Kino · Oct 25, 2020

Вormental said:
I frequently read about equipment failures due to infrequent use, i.e. if you leave a camera abandoned for a few years, the lubricants get dry and you'll have issues.

As my camera collection grows, I am beginning to have favorites and some cameras and lenses are not seeing much use. What do you do to prevent "death to non-use"? Is firing a shutter at several speeds once every 3-6 months enough? Should I place some of the gear into ziplock bags with silica gel packets?

It's not a bad idea to place gear you don't use in some sort of mini stable environment. Myself, I tend to use O ring gasketed cases from Harbor Freight, but that's not an option for everyone.
Even then, I try to get the camera out once in a while and exercise it through it's entire shutter speed range and examine optics for onset of any problems. Cool, dry storage is best to keep lubricants from evaporating and migrating into shutters and aperture blade assemblies. Heat and moisture is certainly an issue when trying to preserve an operational camera.

R.Gould · Oct 25, 2020

I have an extensive collection of cameras from the late 1940, to the early sixties, the best way to keep those shutter's firing is every so often simply dry fire them, that is, use every shutter speed, without film in the camera, or if, as some of mine do, need a film to set the shutter, then keep one or two 35mm film's for test firing, this was taught me by a camera man who repairs these old cameras, so if watching the TV in an evening I will get 2 or 3 cameras out and simply cock the shutters and fire them normally 10 to 12 times per shutter speed, it seems to work, I don't have problem's, this is especially true for cameras with leaf shutters, the biggest problem with leaf shutter's is that often when you get one it may have sat un a draw for many years and the oil will have dried or thickend but if it is working or you get ir CLA'd then dry fire them and all should be well, and with focal plane shutters it can't do any harm, again especially if you have older manual shutters
Richard

Kino · Oct 25, 2020

moggi1964 said:
Odd that this should come up. Whilst not a camera experience I just today realised I hadn't used my Dual 1219 turntable for almost four years so took it down off the top of the cabinet and plugged it in. That platter did not want to spin but with a little encouragement it got going but not at the speed it should to being with. It's currently running on 33RPM after running on 78RPM for half an hour and 45RPM for a further half an hour and looks to be back on the correct revs.. I'll hook it up to the amp in a couple of weeks when I take my main TT out of service to work on the plinth.

So I think the same thing likely happens to mechanical cameras and I suppose it depends on how many you have whether you could consider rotating them so you run a roll through each of them every three months or so. That seems more fun than sitting firing the shutter, turning the aperture and zoom dials and winding on non-existent film.

Anything that depends on rubber or rubberized surfaces to drive the mechanism should be long-term stored with either the belt removed and sealed in a plastic bag or lightly treated with a rubber restorer if you can't easily remove the part.

It's like typewriter platens and bails, store them with pressure released or you'll have permanently distorted and fossilized rubber (ask me how I know). I have a treasured old typewriter I'll now have to tear down and replace all the rubber parts on because I carelessly left pressure on the platen and bail.

Nothing lasts forever, but with some care it can last much, much longer.

moggi1964 · Oct 25, 2020

Kino said:
Anything that depends on rubber or rubberized surfaces to drive the mechanism should be long-term stored with either the belt removed and sealed in a plastic bag or lightly treated with a rubber restorer if you can't easily remove the part.

It's like typewriter platens and bails, store them with pressure released or you'll have permanently distorted and fossilized rubber (ask me how I know). I have a treasured old typewriter I'll now have to tear down and replace all the rubber parts on because I carelessly left pressure on the platen and bail.

Nothing lasts forever, but with some care it can last much, much longer.

Thanks for the advice Kino. I really should just make room somewhere and use it on a regular basis alongside my direct drive TT. Until then, I'll see if the belts are easily removable.

BrianShaw · Oct 25, 2020

If your turntable is like mine, belts are easier to replace than they are to source.

removed account4 · Oct 25, 2020

Вormental said:
if you leave a camera abandoned for a few years, the lubricants get dry and you'll have issues

I've never heard of this happening after a few months, but like 10-50 years sure!
a dehumidifier / stable temperature environment is best for pretty much everything, from cameras/lenses to film and paper..
I've had things in this type of environment for 20+ years never had problems of lubricant drying up, even have film and paper with no fog...

that all said, best thing to do with gear and materials is to use them, not turn them into shelf queens, unless its all about collecting, not using..
(don't forget to have fun)
John

tokam · Oct 26, 2020

Hi moggi1964, I had a couple of Dual 12xx turntables about 15 years ago. One of them, a Dual 1209 I think, didn't use belts but instead was a 'rim' drive TT. A powered rubberised disc made contact with the inside edge of the platter and drove the TT. Big problem with mine was that the rubber disc had developed a flat spot while it was in storage and of course this resulted in a regular 'thump' noise on every revolution of the platter. I found that replacement parts were no longer available at that stage. I still have a Dual CS510 TT which is belt driven. Thankfully generic belts are still available.

Pentode · Oct 26, 2020

jnantz said:
I've never heard of this happening after a few months, but like 10-50 years sure!
a dehumidifier / stable temperature environment is best for pretty much everything, from cameras/lenses to film and paper..
I've had things in this type of environment for 20+ years never had problems of lubricant drying up, even have film and paper with no fog...

that all said, best thing to do with gear and materials is to use them, not turn them into shelf queens, unless its all about collecting, not using..
(don't forget to have fun)
John

As he has done in the past, John said everything I was going to.
Yes to ziplocks and silica gel.
Yes to exercising the shutter periodically. Even bigger yes to actually putting a roll of film through it once in a while.
I try to get every camera out and shooting at least once a year if not more. I don't always succeed, but I try.

Вormental_old · Oct 26, 2020

Thank you all. This also means that I should probably stop buying cameras, especially as I am developing preferences/favorites.

Alan9940 · Oct 26, 2020

Dryness is not an issue for me as I live in the desert. To keep infrequently used gear limber, every month or two I fire shutters at each or most of the speeds and turn focus rings several times through a full travel (near to far.) Interesting that the Copal shutters on my LF lenses don't seem to be affected my non-use. The Ilex shutter, however, needs the exercise. I might, also, note that I have a 250CF Hasselblad lens that doesn't see much use and noticed that the shutter fired properly at wider apertures, but would stick slightly at minimum aperture. All I did to resolve this was to fire the shutter many times, but going forward I make sure to try one or two firings at minimum aperture when exercising shutters. Just thought I'd mention this anomaly as I'd never run into it before.

moggi1964 · Oct 26, 2020

tokam said:
Hi moggi1964, I had a couple of Dual 12xx turntables about 15 years ago. One of them, a Dual 1209 I think, didn't use belts but instead was a 'rim' drive TT. A powered rubberised disc made contact with the inside edge of the platter and drove the TT. Big problem with mine was that the rubber disc had developed a flat spot while it was in storage and of course this resulted in a regular 'thump' noise on every revolution of the platter. I found that replacement parts were no longer available at that stage. I still have a Dual CS510 TT which is belt driven. Thankfully generic belts are still available.

That's a good point, Tokam, perhaps mine is a rim drive too. I tend to fiddle around with mechanical stuff but never bothered with the TT's as they all just worked so I've no idea what is under the hood

I think it's time to look.

grain elevator · Oct 26, 2020

Does anyone know how this "exercising the mechanism" actually works? It certainly can't prevent drying out of lubricants as in keep volatile components from evaporating. Does it keep them from polymerizing by disrupting the permanent positioning of the molecules or something like that?

removed account4 · Oct 26, 2020

Pentode said:
As he has done in the past, John said everything I was going to.

As they say-- great minds think alike

grain elevator said:
Does anyone know how this "exercising the mechanism" actually works? It certainly can't prevent drying out of lubricants as in keep volatile components from evaporating. Does it keep them from polymerizing by disrupting the permanent positioning of the molecules or something like that?

not sure, maybe its just a way of making people think they are doing something productive with their time

John

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 26, 2020

I think it helps to exercise shutters to keep lubricants from solidifying. I do it periodically.

Also good to hold lenses up to the light occasionally to make sure they aren't getting hazy or developing fungus and clean as necessary.

PonySoldier1887 · Oct 26, 2020

The advice I got from Carol Flutot when she did a CLA for me on a Seiko 0 was to go through the sequence low to high and back down high to low every month or so. At the same time I check the aperture blades and the glass. I don't store the shutters under tension despite Hasselblads' argument that this has no effect (I always released the tension on my 'blads -shutters and cameras alike) before putting them away. I never had a failure with any of them and I still follow this practice with my Nikon, Mamiya and LF equipment.

Pentode · Oct 26, 2020

Вormental said:
Thank you all. This also means that I should probably stop buying cameras, especially as I am developing preferences/favorites.

Where's the fun in that?!?

4season · Oct 27, 2020

Ziplock bags + dessicant is a pretty good idea, but selling the items which no longer interest you is a better idea!

Sirius Glass · Oct 27, 2020

My Hasselblad repairman recommends all shutters, not just the shutters on the Hasselblads, be fired every three months on 1 second for ten to fifteen times to keep the shutters in shape. So set your calendar on the computer or smart phone to remind you.

Bormental · Oct 28, 2020

@Sirius Glass perfect, thanks for the details.

madNbad · Oct 28, 2020

Exercise the self timers too!

NB23 · Oct 29, 2020

Pentode said:
Where's the fun in that?!?

Buying 10 of the same has its virtues. Made me realize that they’re all different.

What’s so bad in owning Ten Hasselblads?

NB23 · Oct 29, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
My Hasselblad repairman recommends all shutters, not just the shutters on the Hasselblads, be fired every three months on 1 second for ten to fifteen times to keep the shutters in shape. So set your calendar on the computer or smart phone to remind you.

Iphone notification “play with the bodies”

Pentode · Oct 29, 2020

NB23 said:
Iphone notification “play with the bodies”

A serial killer might find this useful, too.

Preventing infrequent use issues with the gear

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