Is my camera broke?

Harlequin565

Harlequin565

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Ian
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Picked up a Praktica LTL at the charity shop at the weekend, and was running a roll of Ilford HP5+ through it with no problems until frame 20ish.

The shutter got stuck half open.

IMG_0419.JPG


So when I wind the winder to advance the film, the shutter rises until it "clicks" then returns to rest at half open.

The mirror is fully locked up and won't come down.

I'm a novice when it comes to the workings of these things. Could it be anything simple, or is it in need of someone with knowledge?

As it's worth pretty much nothing in its current state, I'm half tempted to pull it apart and see what I can do, but before I go down that road I wondered if this was something common...

Ian.
 
without knowing the camera itself, could the battery be empty (if it indeed has one) otherwise it would be best to send it off, a repair may end up costing more than the camera itself though
 
I second the idea that it is a battery problem, I doubt it would just jam like that if it was doing fine for 20 frames :)
 
Yes, sounds like the battery. I think it takes a PX625, which can be replaced with the Alkaline V625 which is pretty common (I know Maplin sell them - about £3 I think).
 
Thanks for the replies folks. I shall try a new battery!!

Ian.
 
ianjmatt said:
Yes, sounds like the battery. I think it takes a PX625, which can be replaced with the Alkaline V625 which is pretty common (I know Maplin sell them - about £3 I think).
Click to expand...


Although it sounds like a battery problem on some SLRs, I'm fairly sure the shutter on Practikas LTs is entirely mechanical and the battery is only for the meter (it is on the LT2 anyway).

Unfortunately, I think the camera has a problem. I wouldn't be very confident of fixing it myself either. I'd use the unscientific approach of fiddling with the controls and giving it a few moderate taps at various angles to see if anything pops back into life.

I might even take it apart a bit to see what it's like inside.

But I am doubtful this camera will ever work again. The cost of repair will exceed a couple of replacement setups.
 
Ian, had the same problem with my Bessa R3A. Put new batteries in it this morning and it works perfectly.

Andy
 
The battery in your LTL is for the meter function only all other aspects of the camera are mechanical only and do not depend on the battery.
A camera of this age can stop at any time and in my experience the shutter jam is probably down to dust ,dirt or grit of some kind.

The only advice I can give is to rewind your film to save to shots you have, if you can do not rewind the film into the canister, then you have a chance to use the unexposed frames at a later date.

Take off the lens and open the back of the camera and give every thing a good blow out with a compressed air canister and as the shutter in the camera is a vertical-run focal plane shutter you could then with your fingernail or toothpick try to depress the shutter down and release this may or may not kick the shutter back into operation, If it does then continue to use the compressed air to clean out as much debris as possible.

It is worth a try as a CLA is not warranted.
 
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OK - I removed the battery, and I can now move the shutter blades by hand. They were stuck fast with it in. I did actually think the battery only ran the lightmeter, but it must do more than that.

If a new battery doesn't fix it, it may well be a few strategic taps and knocks as offline mentioned.

Failing that it'll be a screwdriver and a blog post about "How easy it is to repair a Practika LTL", or "Why you shouldn't try and fix something yourself".

Cheers again for the replies.

Ian.
 
Ah. That's how my praktica died. Shutter would stick when there was a battery in. Some function ok without a battery so you'd just need a light meter. Old minoltas do the same. I also had a centon die like that too. Try firing the shutter without the battery in. If it works ok and you can hear it work at different speeds then you could probably use it without it.
 
Snot the battery :(

Oh well... Have screwdriver will travel.

Ian.
 
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