Zeiss Ikon Nettar - Prontor shutter release Q - CLA maybe?

I recently bought an eBay "as is special" Zeiss Ikon Nettar, which seems to have been a great buy at $15 US!

It has the f/4.5 Novar 75mm lens, Prontor SVS shutter, bellows is in great condition and seems to have no leaks (to be tested, but I can't see any with just my eyeballs in a dark room), no rust anywhere... nearly perfect.

The shutter speed dial and aperture rings were sticky, from old dried lubrication as is common. I disassembled it partway, enough to remove and clean those parts, and gave most of the shutter parts a wipe down with rubbing alcohol. Reassembled and things work almost correctly now (aperture stops down correctly, the shutter speeds sound like they're pretty close to right) but:

After I turn the film advance (this model has the double exposure prevention, so it needs that), cock the shutter, and press the shutter release on the body, I still have to manually nudge the shutter to fire it. The rod connecting the body to the shutter release is connected and rotates when the button is pressed, but there's something still sticking.

Do I need to fully disassemble the lens, and to do that do I need a spanner tool to unscrew it from inside the bellows? It seems like that's the next step to getting at whatever is still stuck, but I hope someone here has experience to share.

Remember, this was a $15 camera, so I don't mind messing with it. It also came with a lens hood, a set of filters (different colors, a haze filter and one closeup diopter) and a rangefinder to mount on the cold shoe, so it's money well spent. The whole kit is actually in good enough shape that I would invest money in having a more professional CLA done on it, so if there's someone in the US who can get a recommendation, that's okay too.

But I do like tinkering...

Thanks all!

Not exactly certain what you are describing. Sounds as if the issue is in the linkages between the shutter button and the actual release on the camera? If so, no need to go inside the shutter or disassemble it.

Can you manually fire the shutter using the black tab next to the release on the actual shutter body? If that works smoothly, then the problem is definitely before that, in the external linkages, not inside the shutter.

if the shutter does not fire reliably probing the actual release on the shutter, it will proably need to be taken appart and cleaned...
you can download the SVS manual for a dollar from these folks https://learncamerarepair.com/product.php?product=86&category=2&secondary=35

This time with illustrations. In attached photos, the key is the same:
1 = film winding knob
2 = body shutter release
3 = shutter cocking lever
4 = linkage from body to shutter
5 = shutter release

Winding the film and cocking the shutter (3), then press 2 to activate 4, that does cause 5 to move. Shutter still won't fire until I nudge 3 manually.

I suspect there's more cleaning needed inside the shutter. Maybe the blades? Not sure...

Try cocking the shutter and then pressing the silver part of lever 5 yourself with a finger or screwdriver tip or whatever will reach in there. The question is whether the body release is pushing the shutter release far enough to activate it. Another thing you can test is whether it fires with a cable release in the socket on the lens.

Also, if it does turn out that the shutter is hanging and won't fire until the cocking lever is nudged, I doubt it is the shutter blades.

reddesert said:

Try cocking the shutter and then pressing the silver part of lever 5 yourself with a finger or screwdriver tip or whatever will reach in there. The question is whether the body release is pushing the shutter release far enough to activate it. Another thing you can test is whether it fires with a cable release in the socket on the lens.

Also, if it does turn out that the shutter is hanging and won't fire until the cocking lever is nudged, I doubt it is the shutter blades.

Click to expand...

The body release linkage does press the actual shutter release all the way, I just tested again. It seems the shutter cocking mechanism is sticking.

I did buy the Prontor manual from LearnCameraRepair just now, so I'll read through that over the next week or so. There are quite a few parts in these devices!

Yes, if 3, the cocking arm, being pushed will release the shutter then it is pretty certain to be internal to the shutter. Also pretty certin that it isn't a big deal. Just some old grease and dirt binding it up.

You could drip a little naphtha into the slot that the lever travels in. Not pour or squirt- drip! Small drops. A cotton swab wet with naphtha and lightly pressed around the slot. Then fire the shutter ten times or so. To get inside the shutter involves removing the front lens element, then removing the second element on the front of the shutter. This second element is often very very difficult to remove. Until then you won't be able to get inside the shutter.

Of course for the price you paid if things don't work out, not much lost. But I bet just some external dripping will at least let you use the camera for a bit and see if the rest of it makes it worth going inside. Camera looks very clean.

naphtha - will isopropyl alcohol or benzene (nail polish remover) work as well? I have those on hand, but will need to buy naphtha/white gas if needed...

Benzene- no. Isopropyl, some will say yes but I don't use it for this kind of thing. It has water in it. You can get a small bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid at a hardware or drug store, which is naphtha. Other people use other things for this kind of thing so see what else is recommended.

Lighter fluid = naphtha, good to know!

That, I can get. Thanks!

Great. Just don't use the can and small tip to squirt the fluid into the shutter! Very tempting, but very bad idea

madsox said:

I did buy the Prontor manual from LearnCameraRepair just now, so I'll read through that over the next week or so. There are quite a few parts in these devices!

Click to expand...

the lesson #7 from that site does go through the procedures for the simalar (but simpler) Pronto Shutter. Again he is sharging a dolar each for each file just to pay for the cost of running the site.