StephenM
I know a Blithering Idiot
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Any ideas on a solution? Or even a cause, as the circumstances baffle me, although if I knew how it worked it might be obvious.
Hold the camera to eye level, pentaprism to the top and in landscape orientation, release the shutter and the mirror may stick. The shutter fires and closes OK.
Hold the camera as above, but with the pentaprism to the bottom, and the mirror hasn't yet stuck.
Hold the camera in portrait orientation with pentaprism to either left or right, and again the mirror appears to not stick.
I can't speak as to hundreds of tests, but when I was having problems on test last night and the mirror remained up after several exposures, immediately the camera was turned the mirror returned on pressing the shutter release. Several tests with the non-standard position passed without a problem, for the stick to return when the normal landscape position was tried.
This seems to rule out a physically stuck mirror on the damping material, and clearly gravity doesn't affect the mirror.
I assume that there is something in the camera that is sensitive to orientation?
As the camera was given to me to use or dispose of, and the only M42 lenses I have came with it, it's not worth while to have it repaired or serviced.
Hold the camera to eye level, pentaprism to the top and in landscape orientation, release the shutter and the mirror may stick. The shutter fires and closes OK.
Hold the camera as above, but with the pentaprism to the bottom, and the mirror hasn't yet stuck.
Hold the camera in portrait orientation with pentaprism to either left or right, and again the mirror appears to not stick.
I can't speak as to hundreds of tests, but when I was having problems on test last night and the mirror remained up after several exposures, immediately the camera was turned the mirror returned on pressing the shutter release. Several tests with the non-standard position passed without a problem, for the stick to return when the normal landscape position was tried.
This seems to rule out a physically stuck mirror on the damping material, and clearly gravity doesn't affect the mirror.
I assume that there is something in the camera that is sensitive to orientation?
As the camera was given to me to use or dispose of, and the only M42 lenses I have came with it, it's not worth while to have it repaired or serviced.
