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That customer who taught me about shutter capping on a Pentax 6x7
Had a guy come into the bar last month, saw me reading a repair manual during my break. Turns out he was a retired camera tech from the 70s and 80s. He noticed I was working on a Pentax 6x7 and said "you gotta check shutter capping before you do anything else." Walked me through how to test it with just a strobe and a piece of cardboard. Saved me three hours of chasing a mirror issue that wasn't even there. Has anyone else run into old timers who just drop knowledge like that?
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paul_webb451mo ago
That "just a strobe and a piece of cardboard" trick is gold. I had an old film processor guy show me how to fix a jammed Mamiya RB67 by tapping it on a table in some specific rhythm. Totally saved me from taking the whole thing apart. Those retired techs have shortcuts you just can't find in any manual.
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jadeg811mo ago
Did that tapping trick work in a specific sequence like tap once on the back, twice on the side, or was it more of a steady rhythm? I had a similar thing with an old Pentax 6x7 where the mirror locked up and the guy at the camera shop just slapped the bottom plate twice in a specific spot and it popped right back. The weird part is different bodies seem to have their own little quirks, like the RB67 Pro SD needs a completely different tap pattern than the original RB67. Was he using the lens release button or a specific angle on the table edge?
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