Just got a 1972 Pentax Spotmatic back from the brink with a new cloth shutter curtain

It sat on my bench for a month, but after the swap, the shutter speeds are spot-on. Anyone have a good source for old Praktica parts too?

4 comments

4 Comments

thomas8153mo ago

Actually, the cloth curtain itself doesn't really affect the speeds, that's more the timing gears. The big clue was uneven exposure, like a light leak, and you could see tiny pinholes when you held it up to a bright light. The old rubberized fabric just gets brittle.

harris.andrew3mo ago

Bet the old curtain sounded like crinkling paper when you fired it. That's always the dead giveaway for me.

hannah_wells3mo ago

Spot on shutter speeds" is a great feeling. What was the biggest clue the old curtain was shot before you opened it up?

fiona_hunt7114d ago

Oh man, did you check the back of the curtain where it folds near the roller? That's usually the first place mine went - it would get these tiny cracks and start flaking off like old paint. I only caught it because I noticed weird streaks in my negatives that looked like light leaks, but they'd show up at different spots each time. Ended up replacing the whole thing with a modern synthetic cloth from a guy on eBay who cuts them to size, cost me like $40 and it's been solid for three years now.