Topic: Debonair shutter repair???

[astrobeck]

Happy New Year!

I'm going to start off the year with a question about repairing the shutter on my Debonair 120 camera.
It's the model like the one that the Film Photography Project folks sell and not the Diana clone version.

My problem is the shutter fires great, but it won't retract as it should and I have to manually pull the shutter button back up to fire the shuteer again.

I know this sounds trivial and it is, but I can't seem to figure out what is holding up the shutter button return.   The springs are good, so it "seems" the plastic button is dragging on something, I just can't tell what.
anyone else have this camera and can offer a plan of repair...
Many thanks!

Becky

[imagesfrugales]

If you can access the shutter (don`t know how), lubing with a bit of oil could eventually fix the prob.  Since there are no multiple shutter blades that could stick to each other the oil doesn`t harm. It worked for my 60s Diana with rusty springs and bearings after lubing and firing the shutter 100 times.

My Debonair is NOS, so unused with a working flash (bulb) and didn`t need any tinkering. 

Good luck

BTW, my Debonair looks almost like this one but with a flash shoe beside the lens and a different flash. 
Debonair by remediate.this, on Flickr

[Francois]

I often use sewing machine oil in a syringe I took in an ink refill kit. It's safe on plastic and light enough for high speed parts.
I had a similar problem with my Yashicamat. Just a drop around the shutter with a few presses was all it took to make it smooth again.

[astrobeck]

Thanks guys, I'll  give it a drop of oil and try it!

 

[astrobeck]

The shutter is DOA.
Why, because I killed it....I finally saw that it was dragging on the side of the shutter housing, so I tried to sand off part of it, and then scraped part of it, and then, I got the pliers to take it out and it broke....

Moral of story, don't waste time fixing a 20 dollar camera..just buy another one, or even better, put the lens on a spare holga body and be happy with it.

RIP  Debonair      (not really)
Reincarnation photos tomorrow!   

[Bryan]

Turn it into a pinhole camera.

[Francois]

Make a new shutter button out of wood?

[jojonas~]

bummer! I've actually wondered though if the debonair lens is interchangeable with the holgas, looking forward to your findings

[Indofunk]

Sounds like me! Attempting a "simple" fix and in the process irreparably damaging it

[astrobeck]

Here's what the Debonair lens on the Holga body produces.
It's heavily vignetted, which can be cool. 
The Debonair is a 6 x 4.5 format, so it works great that way and would be fine on the Holga using that sized mask.
The Holga I used didn't have any mask, so the film frame wasn't completely covered...not a big deal.

The film was 25+ year old Kodacolor II, so the color shift is quite steep.

[Francois]

Doesn't look too bad. At least the lens to film distance seems to be close.

[jojonas~]

cool! definitely has its own look

[astrobeck]

in the continuing saga of the Debonair....
I bit the bullet and bought another one, which arrived today.'
What a load of difference this one's shutter is. It fires smoothly and is more "snappy".

Loading it this afternoon with some 400 speed B/W, and hopefully will have something to share by the weekend.
sorry to be such a sucker for toy plastic crap, but I really like the way simple meniscus lenses render a scene..
Carry on!

[Francois]

Don't worry about being a plastic camera lover. I think you're in good company here
I've got too many plastic cameras that I love too.

(Sorry, my English is a bit shoddy this morning)