The Yashica shutter that took me 6 hours to understand

Had a Yashica Electro 35 come in last week with a dead shutter. Thought it was the usual magnet issue. After 6 hours of chasing caps and resistors, I found the real problem was a tiny crack in the main flex circuit right where it bends around the mirror box. Never would've spotted it without a magnifier. Anyone else ever waste a whole day on something that small?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_dixon24d ago

Fix your technique then. Six hours on a known issue camera with a common flex circuit failure? That's on you for not checking the obvious spots first. I've probably done a dozen Electro 35s and the first thing I do is trace that flex path. Those cracks are basically a feature at this point.

elizabethg1824d ago

Yeah, 'those cracks are basically a feature' - that's exactly what I said about my uncle's old Bronica. He'd spent three hours trying to figure out why the shutter was sticking, and I just happened to be over there helping him clean out his garage (don't ask, it was a whole thing with his wife's pottery wheel). I noticed a little crack in the mirror box, pointed it out, and he just stared at me like I'd invented fire. Ended up being a two minute fix with some electrical tape and a prayer, but he still tells that story like it was a miracle. Funny how the obvious stuff always hides in plain sight, right?