Ricoh 500G shutter blade order/sluggish aperture repair

hartacus · Aug 14, 2019

So this is a post in three parts...

1. Does anyone have a repair manual for the Ricoh 500G? because...

2. I've taken it apart from the front and need to get the shutter blades back in the correct order. The two moving blades I've more or less figured out, but I'm not sure of their order, nor how the stationary semicircular blade at the top fits into the order. I'm guessing top then right then left (anchor points), but I'd like to confirm that with a definitive source.

3. I was opening it up in order to fix a sluggish automatic aperture diaphragm (aperture opens correctly, just seems to get stuck a bit when half open), so any tips on fixing that would be much appreciated. It looks like lubricating the aperture unit (in front of the shutter blades) with graphite might do the trick, but again, would be good to confirm.

hartacus · Aug 15, 2019

So far my internet searchings have turned up a lot of people asking for a repair manual but no repair manuals - anyone know if there even is a repair manual for this camera?

Helios 1984 · Aug 15, 2019

Any pictures ?

hartacus · Aug 16, 2019

Indeed! Well, I have photos from when I was taking it apart.

This one shows the parts in what i think is the WRONG order. Included because it shows the shape of the top semicircle part well. The top semicircle part doesn't seem to move.

This one shows the parts in what I think might be the right order. Reason: there's a metal spacer that links the right blade anchor (for the blade that moves to the left of the light path), so if the semicircular non-moving part is positioned below the blades, the right blade is not on an angle.

But I'm not sure, because the blades fell out before I saw them in place. Confirmation, whether theoretical or actual, would be great.

Edit: the other alternative could be that the top semicircle might go above the blades to keep them away from the aperture module. Or between the blades to minimise friction.

Helios 1984 · Aug 17, 2019

I've found this picture of a 500GS a Japanese blog. This one appears to have an extra part at the bottom, probably meant to prevent the blades from getting out of position.

Source here

hartacus · Aug 23, 2019

Helios 1984 said:
I've found this picture of a 500GS a Japanese blog

Nice, thanks for that! Just out of curiosity, how'd you find that? It didn't show up in my Google searches.

I've scoured my office in case it was dropped out somewhere and haven't found that extra little piece - when I get a moment to put the camera back together I'll have to see how crucial it is.

Helios 1984 · Aug 23, 2019

When nothing shows up in English —> 修理 + camera model + Yahoo! Japan. There’s many camera tinkerers among our Japanese friends.

This extra part might be a later revision.

youngalexphotos · Dec 2, 2021

I hope you have got the shutter fixed now. I just came across this video on youtube maybe it is helpful.

hartacus · Dec 2, 2021

youngalexphotos said:
I hope you have got the shutter fixed now. I just came across this video on youtube maybe it is helpful.

I hadn't seen that one yet, thanks! Sadly not fixed yet, still in the queue, so this will help.

Ricoh 500G shutter blade order/sluggish aperture repair

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