Ricoh Singlex TLS - slow shutter speeds

[Vonder]

Has anyone dealt with adjustment of slow shutter speeds on this camera? Is it an easy adjustment? Speeds sound fine down to 1/8 sec, but 1/4 to 1 sec just hang.

 

[BrianShaw]

That camera uses a Copal Square shutter, which is fairly basic as far as focal plane shutters go. But accessing it requires disassembly of the camera so that may be the most complex part. Or, maybe reassembly of the camera might be just a bit more complex. If you are comfortable with that aspect of camera repair then servicing the shutter might be considered "easy". My experience with the Ricoh is that the seals are often disintegrated into a sticky, gooey, spread-all-over-the-place mess and the shutter is most often fouled by that goo.

 

[elcabezagrande]

Just drop it down the basement stairs like I did mine. Sticky shutter before, and has worked fine since.

 

[BrianShaw]

That is a very interesting repair technique!

 

[dehk]

That is a very interesting repair technique!

Sadly it probably works too.

 

[Vonder]

Well, I took the bottom plate off to see what could be seen, and then squirted some cleaner on the gears. It worked. Well, sorta, they still are off but at least now they don't freeze the shutter open. They get better with use. The first 1 second exposure may run 2 seconds, the next one 1.5, and by the third it's sounding pretty good to my ears. So there's gunk on the gears. I may take it more apart to clean it up more or I may leave it alone