Rolleiflex 3.5B (MX-EVS) issues

[CharlesF]

Hello all,
I've recently acquired a Rolleiflex which I do believe is the 3.5B (MX-EVS) model, with the 75mm Carl Zeiss Tessar lens.

It is a well used example for sure, with a lot of cosmetic wear. I have noticed a couple of issues with it (I have not yet loaded nor shot a roll of film). First:

• All the speeds seem sticky, normally not at the first activation, but gets progressively slower at returning to closed position. This is more noticeable on the lower speeds. If I refrain from activating the shutter for a few minutes, it seems to snap shut pretty efficiently, 1/500 and 1/250 are the best.
• The film advance lever sometimes fires the shutter, without touching the shutter button. This sometimes happens on the forward advance, but more often when cocking the shutter.
• The two dials to change shutter speed and aperture seem to be very stiff. Enough to hurt my fingertips a little. This is my first TLR so this may be normal

I understand this is a 65 year old camera and may well have been sitting for a long time unused, so I fully expected it to have a few issues. But are these issues quite normal and fixable?

I only paid £135 or $175 for it, so not bad at all I think. I am prepared to send this off for a good CLA to get it seen to, and hopefully working as it should. I do like the camera, and look forward to shooting with it more soon!

 

[NB23]

Normal CLA will make it like new.

 

[Kino]

That's non unreasonable for a camera of that age, which has probably not been serviced; all faults appear to be consistent from stiff or migrated lubricant in the shutter.

If you were in the US, I'd suggest Bill Moretz at Pro Camera in Charlottesville, VA. as he does good work for reasonable rates.

Also, I would council not continuing to dry fire the camera, as it can cause binding issues and break something. Get it serviced soon...

 

[btaylor]

Once you get it serviced it should operate perfectly and will be a joy to use. I second the Pro Camera recommendation- I sent a near mint 3.5f to him- sticky shutter and stiff/noisy winding. Now it operates like new. Fast turnaround and very reasonable rates.

 

[shutterfinger]

+1 for a CLA. No guarantee the shutter speeds will be accurate but they will work. Most common is the fast speeds to be off 1 stop and the 500 may be off 2 stops.
The film advance cocks the shutter. It may not be fully cocking allowing the shutter to release and or the latch inside the shutter is not moving fast enough to lock the shutter in the cocked position.
There are online downloadable service manuals for the camera and shutter at https://learncamerarepair.com/productlist.php?category=2 . This camera/shutter is a 9.5 or higher difficulty for a beginner.

 

[JPD]

Yes, that's a 3,5 B (Also called MX-EVS because it has M/X sync and Exposure Value System).I agree with the others. The problems are "normal", so a CLA would fix them all. I have this model, and it was my first Rolleiflex. The Tessar lens is excellent.