Repair shop recommendations for Mamiya C330 TLR

[armadsen]

I'm having a problem where my C330 skips a frame every so often, which is visible at 1:40 or so in this video:
.
Bill Rogers of mamiyarepair.com has told me that due to his current repair volume he's not taking TLRs for repair. He recommended Precision Camera Works in Austin Texas, but there are plenty of recent horror stories about them online with people never getting their cameras back. Bob's website says he's recently injured his hands which doesn't inspire confidence either.

So: does anyone have a line on a good tech for a Mamiya C330 repair that isn't one of those two?

 

[chuckroast]

I'm having a problem where my C330 skips a frame every so often, which is visible at 1:40 or so in this video: Bill Rogers of mamiyarepair.com has told me that due to his current repair volume he's not taking TLRs for repair. He recommended Precision Camera Works in Austin Texas, but there are plenty of recent horror stories about them online with people never getting their cameras back. Bob's website says he's recently injured his hands which doesn't inspire confidence either.

So: does anyone have a line on a good tech for a Mamiya C330 repair that isn't one of those two?

Try CameraWiz or ICT Camera Repair

 

[MattKing]

Check the light seals and the latching of the back, because the latch is connected to the double exposure prevention system.
Check that the lever that pushes down the release on the lens is in the correct place.
See if using the front mounted shutter release instead of the side one changes the issue.
If the lens board isn't in exactly the right place, it can cause issues.

 

[armadsen]

Try CameraWiz or ICT Camera Repair

Thanks, I'll check both out.

Check the light seals and the latching of the back, because the latch is connected to the double exposure prevention system.
Check that the lever that pushes down the release on the lens is in the correct place.
See if using the front mounted shutter release instead of the side one changes the issue.
If the lens board isn't in exactly the right place, it can cause issues.

The latching of the back is a little weird, as shown nearer the beginning of my video. Note that you can press on it as hard as you want and it won't latch further than that. It has a lot of play (but with a fair amount spring pressure holding it out). I did wonder if that could cause a problem, but I also don't know why it's happening or how to fix it.

The shutter levers (cock and release) are both in the right position. I'll have to test if the front shutter release behaves any differently. I use both releases during normal use, but I haven't noticed whether the problem only occurs with the side one.

 

[MattKing]

A slight misplacement of the lens board can cause problems with this - so check for any bends or deformation in that entire system.

 

[campy51]

Try it again while pushing the right side in and see if it does right. If it does then it's probably what Matt said. If you are handy at all take the side plate off and get an electronic spray and clean all levers surrounding the winder and see if that takes care of it. If it does add just a touch of oil on the pivot points of the levers. The timing of the levers maybe slightly slow due to dirt and not a broken part.

 

[MattKing]

Do you have another lens? If so, swap the lens and see if the behavior continues with that lens.
Also, for the purposes of sorting these sort of problems, film spools loaded with just backing paper will work just as well in the camera.
Just don't forget what you have loaded in the camera .

 

[armadsen]

Oh, that's good to know, I worried that the thickness of the film + backing paper might make a difference. I have plenty of spools with backing paper from developed rolls so can just test with that.

I have nearly a complete set of lenses (just missing the 250mm), so will test with others.
I'm fairly competent with small parts, tools, etc. (I'm an EE and former electronics tech.), but have little experience with cameras specifically. I'm more comfortable with a soldering iron and SMD parts than tiny screws . Anyway, that means I'm not scared to take the side off and do some simple cleaning and lubrication as long as I don't disassemble too extensively. I did also see other people talking about a dent in the side of the side plate near the counter possibly interfering with the pawl that stops the wind after one frame (see video below), so I need to check that out.

Of course, I'm busy right now with work and sick kids, so probably will be this weekend before I get back to checking things out. Thanks everyone so far for the advice!