Pentax 645 Jammed?

After taking a picture with my Pentax 645 yesterday, the mirror did not come back down, and the film didn't

advance. New batteries didn't help.

 

With or without a film back in, the camera LED appears to work normally. I can change ISO, exposure compensation,

and mode. When I put a film back in, the camera displays M 1000 as normal. When I press the shutter, the LED

display goes dead. When the shutter is released, the LED display comes back to life. The same thing happens

without a film back in the camera.

 

I suspect the problem is within the grip section of the camera, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts on this issue? Are

there any Pentax 645 owners in Vancouver that would let me borrow their grip to test it next weekend? (Oct 25).

Did you try completing the exposure cycle using the manual winding knob? If not, try and bring the mirror down before attempting to load the film. I doubt this is a problem with the grip. Good luck.

Neal,

 

I am assuming that you have the original 645? If so, my instructions below should help you to clear it up. You should have a circular shape silver OR black disc at the bottom of the camera . It has a screwdriver slot in the middle. Anyway, this is is your emergency rewind tool in the event that batteries fail when you are shooting.

 

This "tool" can be removed either by hand unwinding or with a screwdriver. Once you have it off the camera body, at the left side of the camera body (if you are viewing through it) near the tripod threading, there should be a black plastic endcap. That is where this "Tool": should be screwed into. Once you have it screwed in, you can proceed to wind this disc Clockwind ( you now have this side panel facing you) until you hear it engage and click the shutter.

 

THis should work for you. I would suggest that you have Pentax USA in Denver, CO check it out. I'm not sure what is causing it, but tend to believe that it might be a weak spring in it that requires a trip to the shop. Keep us posted as to the outcome.

Fred & Even, I did use the manual film advance/shutter knob several times after changing batteries, without success. After reading your replies, I decided to try it again this morning, with interesting results.

 

I had the back cover on (not the film back). The first time I fired the shutter using the manual rewind knob, the LED display went dead for a few seconds, the mirror locked up, and the aperture stayed closed down. I used the manual rewind knob to fire the shutter again, and this time the exposure counter was at 1, and the mirror came back down, and the motor driving film advance kicked in. After that, the shutter behaviour became completely normal. My camera gives the impression of working correctly again, but I haven't tried it with film.

 

I'm completely baffled as to why it worked this time and not the previous 15 or so times I tried the same thing. When I put the original batteries back in the camera, the camera continued to fire the shutter, and the film advance seems fine. The speed the film advance operates suggests the batteries still have a lot of life left (the film advance becomes slow when my batteries are dying). Yes - these are the same batteries that were in my camera when it failed.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Due to the low price the original 645s are fetching, I might buy another one as a backup (or a 645N, for a couple hundred more).

Neal,

 

I believe that its not a battery issue here. I have the same similarly problem with my Pentax 645, hence my reason more so to buy a "newer" body such as the Pentax 645N. It could very well be a spring tension issue as you are not the only person to have this problem.

 

Otherwise, make sure that you never misplace that manual rewind knob and the plastic cap. Glad to hear that it worked out to your advantage.