Walz Envoy 35 repairs

[hudson]

Hello, just bought a Walz Envoy 35 which I've heard good things about. Unfortunately, the shutter doesn't click and is closed no matter what aperture I set it to. Does anyone know of a place to service them and is it worth fixing up or should I just try selling it on ebay for parts and repairs?

Thanks

 

[summicron1]

McKeown's has the Envoy 35 at a whopping $40 to $60, give or take. Is this the one with the 7-element kominar lens and a copal shutter?

whichever, the whole range is of the low-cost variety, so having it serviced will definitely not pay you or improve the value of the camera much.

On the other hand, if it is a camera with a good lens, and you want to shoot it, cost to have the shutter serviced will probably be $75 or so, plus shipping, and then you will have a reliable rangefinder shooter.

Another thing you might do is sit in front of a bad movie on tv and wind and click the shutter a few hundred times, see if the shutter blades break apart after having sat stuck together a couple of decades. If that happens, put film in it and fire away.

 

[hudson]

Wow...great suggestion! I'm going to try that out!

Lens is the S Kominar f/1.9 4.8cm...I bought it because of the lens. I would pay $75 to fix. Or maybe this should just be a lesson to stop buying cameras except those advertised as fulling working and CLA to boot!

BTW, about McKeown's, isn't that 10 years out of date? I mean, 10 years ago everyone was picking up Zeiss lenses for $10 at thrift stores if you believe what you read on the Internet!

 

[leicarfcam]

The last edition of McKeown's is 2005-2006 if I recall. Prices have changed a lot since then. Some cameras are worth more today while most are less..

The Walz Envoy 35 today is worth maybe $20-40 in good working condition.

I bought a clean working model off eBay several months ago for $16. One of the interesting things about this camera is the engraving of the 7 element lens on the top plate..

As a retired camera tech, I'd be surprised if you could find someone who would fix it for $75

 

[hudson]

thanks leicarfcam for this reply

 

[leicarfcam]

One thing you might try is to unscrew the front and rear lens groups then turn the camera with the front lens down. Open the back and drip a few drops of Ronsonal in the center of the blades. Go easy though so you don't flood the helicoid. Fire the shutter several times then let it sit for an hour and repeat. Do this over a period of several days to flush any oil or dried grease.

Now this may or may not work but it might be worth a try..

 

[hudson]

Thank you leicarfcam. Actually, I gave up on this camera and sent it back, but this is good to know for future reference. I'd like to try my hand some day at basic camera and lens repair.