RB67 shutter lever.

[Robbie]

Took my RB on a hike today. The shutter lever wouldn’t move so, checked everything and it was as normal, so with great difficulty I managed to get the lens off. I’ve taken off everything and it won’t advance and I’m totally stuck. Any help would be welcome.

 

[MattKing]

Are you referring to the cocking lever?
With my RB67, that used to be a sign that I hadn't finished the cocking stroke - usually because something like the neck strap was impeding the final short bit of its travel.

 

[Robbie]

The cocking lever is sat completely upright, never had a problem with it. I only had it serviced in feb.

 

[Robbie]

Will not budge

 

[MattKing]

Can you try it with another lens and back?

 

[Robbie]

Can you try it with another lens and back?

I've tried it with both lenses and what's happened both times is the lens has got stuck and I've had to spend ages fiddling about with the hidden switch behind the leather to get it off.

 

[Trail Images]

I do not have my camera handy but as we know the cocking lever moves the lens tongs by rotating the front area. Is there anything impeding that area where the lens tongs extend into?

 

[Ariston]

You may have to have the camera serviced, especially if it was difficult to get the lens off. Mine got out of whack with the lens once, and I had to send it in. The lens has to be cocked to remove. If it is mounted or dismounted out of sync with the body, you will have problems.

You may already know this, I am just starting with the obvious.

 

[Robbie]

I do not have my camera handy but as we know the cocking lever moves the lens tongs by rotating the front area. Is there anything impeding that area where the lens tongs extend into?

I wouldn’t even know where to look unfortunately.

 

[Robbie]

I had a RB67 that had a frozen cocking lever. I was not very familiar with camera when it happened, but was able to run a few rolls before it stopped working. This was in Miami, and I had to take it for service in Miami Beach (17-19 years ago). Parts needed to be replaced. I acquired the camera through a partial barter and gave it to an assistant after it got fixed. She loved the camera and did not have any problems as far as I know. Nice camera, but it probably needed service from not being used. Don’t hesitate to send it in for repair as they can be old cameras. I believe the model I had was an SD.

i only had it serviced in February which makes it all the more frustrating but it’s gonna have to go in again. It’s a pro s I have but I’m gonna get an sd and demote mine to a backup.

 

[Robbie]

You may have to have the camera serviced, especially if it was difficult to get the lens off. Mine got out of whack with the lens once, and I had to send it in. The lens has to be cocked to remove. If it is mounted or dismounted out of sync with the body, you will have problems.

You may already know this, I am just starting with the obvious.

I’m aware of all that. I’ve had it a while now but it wasn’t mid roll or anything, I put the lens on and it just wouldn’t wind the shutter open.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

i only had it serviced in February which makes it all the more frustrating but it’s gonna have to go in again. It’s a pro s I have but I’m gonna get an sd and demote mine to a backup.

Didn't they warranty it?

 

[Donald Qualls]

The body should cock and fire without a lens (my ProS does, anyway). If it won't, it's body problem (blocked mirror, maybe?); if it works without a lens, it's a lens issue.

 

[Trail Images]

The body should cock and fire without a lens

Exactly....

Robbie, with the lens off you can look at the front of the camera where the lens attaches. When the lever is pushed forward the tongs on the lens rotate to the open position & the mirror moves to viewing location, so to speak. Hence, if there is any restriction on the front lens insertion area the cocking lever will not move. If the lens was forced off maybe that area is damaged?
You should be able to see that front area rotation take place with the lens off and cocking the lever when it's working correctly. If cocked into firing position you should be able to trip the shutter button.
The Pro-ProS-ProSD should be the same in that front area. I have the Pro & ProSD and they are with regard to lens mount and tong insertion points. The ProSD has a larger front opening to accommodate a couple late model lenses but I use lens collars for all early lens usage.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Oh, a ProS or later will not fire (with or without a lens) if there's a ProS or later film magazine mounted and the dark slide in or the red double exposure flag visible. Won't prevent cocking, though, just might need to dismount the film back in order to test cocking and firing the body.

 

[Robbie]

Didn't they warranty it?

The service was actually for light leak issues/full service but they said at that time there were no issues, just frustrating for something to go wrong so soon. I had just sold a camera and that was gonna pay for some bits for my darkroom but it'll be going on RB repairs now.

 

[Robbie]

Oh, a ProS or later will not fire (with or without a lens) if there's a ProS or later film magazine mounted and the dark slide in or the red double exposure flag visible. Won't prevent cocking, though, just might need to dismount the film back in order to test cocking and firing the body.

It's off for repair, the lever wasn't budging in any given scenario unfortunately.

 

[Robbie]

Robbie,
All the best with the repair. I hope the repair person will do the right thing for you.

Best,
Darr

They will, its a shop in Edinburgh, really old school shop with years of experience, they serviced a lens for me and there was no issue.

 

[Robbie]

Exactly....

Robbie, with the lens off you can look at the front of the camera where the lens attaches. When the lever is pushed forward the tongs on the lens rotate to the open position & the mirror moves to viewing location, so to speak. Hence, if there is any restriction on the front lens insertion area the cocking lever will not move. If the lens was forced off maybe that area is damaged?
You should be able to see that front area rotation take place with the lens off and cocking the lever when it's working correctly. If cocked into firing position you should be able to trip the shutter button.
The Pro-ProS-ProSD should be the same in that front area. I have the Pro & ProSD and they are with regard to lens mount and tong insertion points. The ProSD has a larger front opening to accommodate a couple late model lenses but I use lens collars for all early lens usage.

It was all getting very frustrating, it's on it's way to a repair shop so it's out of my hands now. I'm actually shooting a gig tonight with my dslr but had asked to shoot some portraits on my RB, luckily a friend offered me his pro sd to borrow for the night and after messing around with it for a bit, I'm definitely gonna get one and use my pro s as a back up body.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

The service was actually for light leak issues/full service but they said at that time there were no issues, just frustrating for something to go wrong so soon. I had just sold a camera and that was gonna pay for some bits for my darkroom but it'll be going on RB repairs now.

I'd call them and tell them of the problem. They should at least give you a deal to fix it since they checked it out so recently and you say "light leak issue/full service". What did "full service" mean?

 

[Robbie]

I'd call them and tell them of the problem. They should at least give you a deal to fix it since they checked it out so recently and you say "light leak issue/full service". What did "full service" mean?

They took a month to get it back to me so I'm just using a different shop.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

They took a month to get it back to me so I'm just using a different shop.

OK good luck.

 

[Trail Images]

It was all getting very frustrating, it's on it's way to a repair shop so it's out of my hands now. I'm actually shooting a gig tonight with my dslr but had asked to shoot some portraits on my RB, luckily a friend offered me his pro sd to borrow for the night and after messing around with it for a bit, I'm definitely gonna get one and use my pro s as a back up body.

I hear you, Robbie. Your thought on the SD is a good one. I used a Pro for a few years until I could locate a very good SD upgrade. Since that addition years back now I've never had to pull the Pro off the shelf as the SD has worked flawless. Just got back from JTNP this morning and used it with only one hitch. I had not changed complete backs in sometime just changed rolls in the same back all the time. I forgot about the little dog ear tabs on the edges that need to be pushed in so the main slides can be moved to remove the backs. I was changing backs between E-100 (new to me) and Provia for comparisons. Not sure why but there seems to be a shortage of Provia or at least none at B&H for a month or more now.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I forgot about the little dog ear tabs on the edges that need to be pushed in so the main slides can be moved to remove the backs.

I have a ProS body and both Pro and ProS backs, and on mine, the (ProS type) dark slide pushes those tabs -- it's one of the interlocks to keep from accidentally dismounting the film magazine without the dark slide inserted. Problem is, the dark slide needs a pair of projections on the grip strip to push those tabs. A Pro body doesn't have those tabs, as far as I know, and the original dark slides for Pro magazines don't have the projections to push them in. I have to manually release the lock slides when I use my Graflex 22 and 23 backs on the ProS.

There's also an interlock in the magazine interface plate on ProS and newer magazines to prevent accidentally pulling the dark slide when not on the camera -- a little spring tab that's pushed out of the way by a pin in the camera back. The astonishing thing, to me, is that Mamiya designed all this stuff to be seamlessly forward and backward compatible. Use a Pro accessory on a ProS, you don't get the added features (double exposure lockout, for instance), but everything still works the way it would on a Pro body.

 

[Trail Images]

I have a ProS body and both Pro and ProS backs, and on mine, the (ProS type) dark slide pushes those tabs -- it's one of the interlocks to keep from accidentally dismounting the film magazine without the dark slide inserted. Problem is, the dark slide needs a pair of projections on the grip strip to push those tabs. A Pro body doesn't have those tabs, as far as I know, and the original dark slides for Pro magazines don't have the projections to push them in. I have to manually release the lock slides when I use my Graflex 22 and 23 backs on the ProS.

There's also an interlock in the magazine interface plate on ProS and newer magazines to prevent accidentally pulling the dark slide when not on the camera -- a little spring tab that's pushed out of the way by a pin in the camera back. The astonishing thing, to me, is that Mamiya designed all this stuff to be seamlessly forward and backward compatible. Use a Pro accessory on a ProS, you don't get the added features (double exposure lockout, for instance), but everything still works the way it would on a Pro body.

Thank you Donald. I'll need to verify that the dark slide(s) engage the tabs correctly. Both the backs were the later S-SD type. I do have a regular Pro unit too but was not using it. In the predawn light I'm not sure if I accidentally had moved one of the sliders with the back already off and than could not remote until I found the dog ears to get the slider to move freely again. When you leave the house at 0230 and still fumbling in the dark my autopilot disengaged somewhere. Again, part of the issue was I'd not changed backs in the field in quite sometime. I always just changed the rolls by opening the back up and removing the roller assembly.