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Given the interest in older film cameras at the moment, I think it's worth recounting my experience with the Mamiya RB67 Pro S.
The Pro S was manufactured from 1972 until 1990 (when the Pro SD version was introduced) so versions can be anything between 18 and 36 years old. These cameras are mechanically pretty well bullet proof, being the chosen tool of lots of heavy user pros world wide, but the weak point with them is the foam sealing used in various parts of the camera body and in the separate magazine backs. The foam originally used was nothing like the materials available today, and over time it degenerated to a horrible sticky tarry mess with light leaks and fogged negs resulting if you didn't replace the foam every few years.
If you buy a camera of this vintage, no matter how immaculate it appears on first glance, expect to have to replace the seals before you can safely use it with any confidence, especially in strong sunlight. Out of 3 film backs I've bought, all from separate sources, only one was capable of being taken into use straight away, but probably wanted resealing to be safe anyway, so if you buy an older camera of this vintage expect to replace the seals straight away, and don't consider it any detriment to the camera that it needs doing, although you'll obviously consider the general appearance of the camera as a guide to how it's been treated and looked after in other respects.
When you get your camera, the first thing you should do is examine the seals in the camera itself and in the film back. Often you can just see from looking at it that it's gone sticky, and you can see gooey bits flaking off. Scrape it gently with your finger nail, and you'll see bits flaking away. Even if it doesn't leak light now, it wont be long before it does. It should feel spongy with a slight resistance when you press on it, but retain it's shape when you remove the pressure.
I decided that both my Mamiya body and the 3 backs needed resealing before I could use them with any confidence. I rang Johnson's Photopia at Stoke On Trent, and was quoted around £150 to seal the body and one film back, but they wouldn't stand by that price, and also estimated at least a 10 day turn around on the job! To be fair the guy on the phone did say it's a job you can do yourself with reasonable ease. This set me off researching resealing kits for the Mamiya, but I must confess to not being too enthralled, and a bit intimidated at the thought of tackling the job myself.
Enter John Goodman who trades as 'Interslice' on ebay and who has been sending his resealing kits all over the world for many years. I suspect that many people in the trade use his kits anyway. I e-mailed John outlining the job I was undertaking and he sent me a PDF file with full instructions with photos on resealing the Pro S and roll film backs. John is a very friendly and helpful person happy to help in any way he can. He posted me his kit from Texas for under 7 quid including postage and it was with me within a week.
The kit comes with foam in various thicknesses, some in pre-cut self adhesive strips and some which requires cutting. You don't need much in the way of tools, a sharp craft type knife, a straight cutting edge and board or some similar surface to cut on.You'll need a solvent of some sort to help break down the old seals - John recommends various safe types - I opted for lighter fuel. He includes a bamboo scraping tool in the kit for removing the old seals. Don't be tempted to tackle the job with any old foam - it's crucial that the correct thickness of foam is used in the right places to get a good light seal without unduly stressing the film back when closed, and John advises on the correct thicknesses throughout the instructions.
The tedious messy bit is getting rid of the old seal and ensuring a nice clean groove into which to install the new seal, but it's well worth taking time and care over this part of the job. There are only two actual light seals in the Mamiya body itself, (actually they're on the revolving back adapter plate) and they were fairly easy. The roll film backs are another story and they contain quite a lot of fiddly seals. The first film back took me a whole evening before the job was done, but I got quicker with the following two backs and would feel confident now in doing a back from scratch in around three hours. I also got neater with each successive back, but that's like everything in life I suppose.
I can't recommend John's kits enough, they make a daunting job as easy as it's going to be for a layman. The kit also includes the foam to replace the mirror damping material in the camera if necessary. You should have a good look at the foam seals on any old film camera, 35mm and any other formats included - John supplies kits which will seal any camera, often with specific instructions for the particular camera. The foam materials John provides are far superior to the original material, and should last for many years, giving your camera a whole new lease of life.
I actually have enough of the kit left over to seal several more cameras and backs.
The Pro S was manufactured from 1972 until 1990 (when the Pro SD version was introduced) so versions can be anything between 18 and 36 years old. These cameras are mechanically pretty well bullet proof, being the chosen tool of lots of heavy user pros world wide, but the weak point with them is the foam sealing used in various parts of the camera body and in the separate magazine backs. The foam originally used was nothing like the materials available today, and over time it degenerated to a horrible sticky tarry mess with light leaks and fogged negs resulting if you didn't replace the foam every few years.
If you buy a camera of this vintage, no matter how immaculate it appears on first glance, expect to have to replace the seals before you can safely use it with any confidence, especially in strong sunlight. Out of 3 film backs I've bought, all from separate sources, only one was capable of being taken into use straight away, but probably wanted resealing to be safe anyway, so if you buy an older camera of this vintage expect to replace the seals straight away, and don't consider it any detriment to the camera that it needs doing, although you'll obviously consider the general appearance of the camera as a guide to how it's been treated and looked after in other respects.
When you get your camera, the first thing you should do is examine the seals in the camera itself and in the film back. Often you can just see from looking at it that it's gone sticky, and you can see gooey bits flaking off. Scrape it gently with your finger nail, and you'll see bits flaking away. Even if it doesn't leak light now, it wont be long before it does. It should feel spongy with a slight resistance when you press on it, but retain it's shape when you remove the pressure.
I decided that both my Mamiya body and the 3 backs needed resealing before I could use them with any confidence. I rang Johnson's Photopia at Stoke On Trent, and was quoted around £150 to seal the body and one film back, but they wouldn't stand by that price, and also estimated at least a 10 day turn around on the job! To be fair the guy on the phone did say it's a job you can do yourself with reasonable ease. This set me off researching resealing kits for the Mamiya, but I must confess to not being too enthralled, and a bit intimidated at the thought of tackling the job myself.
Enter John Goodman who trades as 'Interslice' on ebay and who has been sending his resealing kits all over the world for many years. I suspect that many people in the trade use his kits anyway. I e-mailed John outlining the job I was undertaking and he sent me a PDF file with full instructions with photos on resealing the Pro S and roll film backs. John is a very friendly and helpful person happy to help in any way he can. He posted me his kit from Texas for under 7 quid including postage and it was with me within a week.
The kit comes with foam in various thicknesses, some in pre-cut self adhesive strips and some which requires cutting. You don't need much in the way of tools, a sharp craft type knife, a straight cutting edge and board or some similar surface to cut on.You'll need a solvent of some sort to help break down the old seals - John recommends various safe types - I opted for lighter fuel. He includes a bamboo scraping tool in the kit for removing the old seals. Don't be tempted to tackle the job with any old foam - it's crucial that the correct thickness of foam is used in the right places to get a good light seal without unduly stressing the film back when closed, and John advises on the correct thicknesses throughout the instructions.
The tedious messy bit is getting rid of the old seal and ensuring a nice clean groove into which to install the new seal, but it's well worth taking time and care over this part of the job. There are only two actual light seals in the Mamiya body itself, (actually they're on the revolving back adapter plate) and they were fairly easy. The roll film backs are another story and they contain quite a lot of fiddly seals. The first film back took me a whole evening before the job was done, but I got quicker with the following two backs and would feel confident now in doing a back from scratch in around three hours. I also got neater with each successive back, but that's like everything in life I suppose.
I can't recommend John's kits enough, they make a daunting job as easy as it's going to be for a layman. The kit also includes the foam to replace the mirror damping material in the camera if necessary. You should have a good look at the foam seals on any old film camera, 35mm and any other formats included - John supplies kits which will seal any camera, often with specific instructions for the particular camera. The foam materials John provides are far superior to the original material, and should last for many years, giving your camera a whole new lease of life.
I actually have enough of the kit left over to seal several more cameras and backs.
