Yashica Mat 124G- Broken Shutter?

[graciemansion]

Last night I finished up a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 in my Yashica Mat 124g, which I hadn't shot with since August. When I took the camera out again in November, I noticed the shutter wasn't cocking. My camera made a gulping noise when I wound it, and now there was no noise. Then when I went to take the picture, nothing happened. I had to try a couple of times before the shutter went. I actually always had that problem with the shutter release (I bought it on eBay in poor condition), but now it seemed that it was working even worse.

Eventually I did get the shutter to fire, so I figured I was mistaken that that sound was the shutter cocking, and that the camera maybe just needed a CLA. As I went through the roll the shutter release became responsive and I only had to press it once to take a photo. I developed my film and when I took it out of the tank the negatives were almost black. Of the 12 frames maybe 4 or 5 had anything visible on them at all, and they all had weird squiggles on them. There also seems to be a lot of fogging between and around the frames. I don't have a proper scanner so I've includes some photos of the negatives.

It almost looks to me like the shutter was stuck at a second or so, but that can't be because I would've heard that, and it also doesn't explain the fogging. I also don't think it has anything to do with my development technique, since I've developed plenty of rolls of film, including from this same camera. Since then I haven't been able get the shutter to fire at all, and the film winding crank feels jerky. I'm not sure if I want to sell the camera or get it repaired but I would like to know what's wrong with it, even if I wouldn't repair it myself.

Thanks in advance!

 

[moto-uno]

First question is , have you actually watched the shutter fire at different speeds ? Peter

 

[Kirks518]

My guess is that A) the answer to Peter's question is 'no', and B) the shutter isn't closing properly. Possibly even staying open until the advance level is cranked and the shutter is reset. The squiggles can be points of light or specular highlights that are continuing to expose the film after the shutter is released, the camera is moved to cranking position, and the level is wound, advancing the film, and resetting the shutter. This would explain (partially) the fogging between frames as well.

I would have the camera CLA'd, or at the very least, clean the shutter blades. While not a preferred method, you can clean the blades with naptha/lighter fluid and get it going again.

Most of the above is based on the assumption that the shutter has not been visually verified to be closing properly. If it turns out the shutter is operating properly, you have a lot more to worry about.

 

[graciemansion]

Now that I've shot that roll the shutter doesn't fire at all. When I was shooting the roll I don't recall the shutter sounding like it was opened and closed for longer than I set it, but I guess I'm mistaken.

 

[trythis]

Its probably just dried up or dirty lubricant that migrated to the shutter over a long period of time. It needs to be disassembled and cleaned. Its not an easy job and most likely would be best sent to a pro at the cost of $150 to $200. I have done this myself several times to the same camera using the naptha rinse technique but ended up stripping it to the blades. The naptha makes it work for a while but the grease is still there, the dirt is still there but cleaning it and reassembling it got it working. However at this point the winding mechanism can begin to suffer from old grease and dirt as well, after I got mine working the film advance began to bind so I gave up. Getting the Yashicamat man to look at it, http://www.markhama.com/ would not be a bad idea. I eventually sent mine to him after getting mine working and it came back in much better shape with all the little corroded pieces replaced, I got much smoother operation overall. It was expensive, I don't think I would do it again because I later bought a Yashicamat 12 (same camera without the ability to shoot 220 film) for $40 that works perfectly. Good luck with your decision, but I would recommend selling it and buying a working 12 for less money.

 

[moto-uno]

I had my Yashicamat apart only a few weeks ago and actually took some
Photos of it if you'd like to see them. However I'm guessing that you only have
To remove the lens holding plate (about 1/2 dozen little screws under the vulcanite)
Then with it off you should be able to unscrew the 2 lens assemblies (on each side of the shutter)
and very thoroughly soak and flush the shutter with lighter fluid.
Peter

 

[Ian Grant]

Lighter fuel is overkill, it'll strip out any lubricants and long term reliability will suffer. There's less invasive fluids like IPA (Iso-propyl alcohol) and often a few drops is enough to clean a stick shutter.

Having said that I'd rather take my camera for a proper CLA, that's what I did with my own Yashicamat 124 which had a stick shutter at slow speeds. It wasn't very expensive and 9 years and a lot of rolls of film (hundreds) later is still very reliable.

Ian

 

[graciemansion]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm going to have to give it some thought, because I really haven't been shooting this camera much recently anyway. Trythis, I thought about selling it for another Yashinon model (I never understand why the 124g fetches a premium), but looking at eBay I wonder how easy it is to find a good condition Yashica 12 for $40 or so. This is the only camera I used that I bought on eBay (all the others I have I either bought at estate sales or inherited) so I don't know, maybe I'd be best off paying for a cla and ensuring I have a reliable camera.

 

[moto-uno]

The use of iso-propl alcohol hasn't been that successful for me at removing lubricants. For all he uses
it I'm not too concerned about the long term effects of cleaned pivot points . Just my experiences. Peter

 

[trythis]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm going to have to give it some thought, because I really haven't been shooting this camera much recently anyway. Trythis, I thought about selling it for another Yashinon model (I never understand why the 124g fetches a premium), but looking at eBay I wonder how easy it is to find a good condition Yashica 12 for $40 or so. This is the only camera I used that I bought on eBay (all the others I have I either bought at estate sales or inherited) so I don't know, maybe I'd be best off paying for a cla and ensuring I have a reliable camera.

If you are only into this camera for $40, you can safely sell it for that on ebay as is. Its a gamble that the next one you get will work perfectly. Its also a gamble that the camera you pay $150 to have repaired will suddenly fail for a completely unrelated reason later. SO you are in that fun place of deciding that you want this camera repaired or you want to take the chance that the replacement camera will need repaired a few weeks after you buy it.

My criteria for keeping it would be, is the lens perfect? Does it have haze, scratches or coating loss? You can check that with the shutter open while the back is off unless the shutter wont open. If the lens isnt like new, you aren't going to get a new lens from a repair shop and it would be better to find one with a perfect lens to get CLA'd.