The Ballad of Trying to Find a Copal 3 Shutter

[NortheastPhotographic]

1. Find deal on a barrel 355/9 G-Claron, yayyy!
1b. I have a Komura 300/6.3 that I never use in a shutter I think is a Copal 3.

2. Damn it. Apparently there is a size called Copal 3S which does not fit Copal 3 lenses.

3. Post numerous WTBs on various sites trying to find one as a way of avoiding Japanese eBay listings.

4. Give up an buy a Copal 3 Shutter on KEH.

5. Good lord this shutter is ALSO COPAL 3S and was incorrectly labeled. Back it goes.

6. Find a very beat up 360/6.8 Symmar in a Compur 3 and buy it on eBay.

7. Receive, shutter is firing, ok looks good. Remove rear cell, my G-Claron cell fits! Remove front ce...this thing is stuck.
7b. Apply cold and heat in succession, no.
7c. Apply rubbing alcohol to seep into the threads, no.
7d. Apply Acetone, still no.
7e. Try opposing strap wrenches, good god this thing is so freaking stuck it will. not. budge.
7f. Notice that the aperture actually doesn't open and close to the correct settings and the shutter will actually require service anyway.

8. Complain on Photrio about this whole situation.

 

[xkaes]

I don't know how many, but there are LOTS of Copal 3s shutters that are simply labeled "Copal No. 3" -- and the sellers usually don't know. I bought a Copal 3s, advertised as a Copal #3, but it meets my needs. It had a couple of problems which I was able to fix with epoxy, but fortunately the shutter itself worked fine. I got it for a great price as a result.

 

[B.S.Kumar]

I saw your WTB, but thought maybe you didn't want to buy from Japan. Send me a message if you still want one.
Warning: It won't be an eBay "deal".

Kumar

 

[ic-racer]

FYI:

Copal #3 Disassembly and Cleaning

I don't see any good resources for opening and cleaning a Copal #3 shutter so I thought I'd share some pictures. My Fujinon 300mm/5.6 is in a Copal 3, and when I went to use it I noticed the slow speeds were off. So I took it to my shutter tester and found 1 second = almost 2 seconds. All...

www.photrio.com

 

[abruzzi]

a few years back I bought a couple for Copal 3 shutters from Kumar for the exact same reason--I scored a G-Claron 355/9 in a barrel for very cheap. The other shutter--actually a late model Compur 3--was to transplant a Apo Ronar 480/11 from a Sinar DB mount. A bit later I discovered that Schneider made a G-Claron 355/11 that fit a Copal 1. There was a 355/11 on eBay for not too expensive that I should have bought.

 

[Ian C]

Here are the dimensions of Copal shutters. Note that both the thread diameters and thicknesses (cell spacings) are different on the #3s compared to the more common #3. Both models use 0.75 mm thread pitch.

https://skgrimes.com/layouts/copal-shutters/

Retaining rings and spacers can be found here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/405623352911?_skw=copal+3s+retaining+ring+and+spacer&itmmeta=01K47VZD2PAB75RBW2QRPX6EXZ&hash=item5e71092e4f:g:evYAAOSwH45gybxM&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dXk7i76l9eNEyTSMgGsRllp0kkxnyMHhONG/o8krTJOLzP0TVNPsNBVELYF3gD2CfNnWOD1MWAzABZbiyxJP/Xpt4sIfvhnufPpc4QQpKjCpG7Evsgb7eN4FnT/7Vs5x4/wljUrnuQaH4ym+WuQG9AuQVm87LM35Ohiw3TvUrCIXx7vO6LCCJo+Pwg3fWBho59WN6/W4+YOfUE3Gvxjh+bON7pOt7sEoit/gfIKT6+6K9BE3GfU5KP5eA0ipfYlS4KLaxy8HsFZT/4bUrNygahYxAK1lbrmsinSvmxng2CJn0DbLmn7s/M734nhf6AuD4=|tkp:BFBMutH9-6Fm

The ones I bought from this source fit my Copal-3S properly and look good as well. This includes the spacer, which is needed in some situations, but usually not.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I see you have already attracted Kumar's attention.

A US source for eclectic items is Igor https://igorcamera.com/