Stuck shutter on Pentax MZ50 - HELP! HELP!

My very reliable MZ50 just died half way though a film. The shutter has stuck closed and the mirror half way up. All the other electronics seem to work (including the mid-roll rewind). When it is switched on it makes a whirring noise -- the sound of a small motor straining.

I have tried new batteries with no success. I have gently probed the shutter leaves, and nothing seems to be stuck in them. I have given it a good bash on the table but no luck there. I even unscrewed the base, but was a bit put off by the complexity and apparent fragility of the insides, and rapidly put it back together again. What should I do, stick it in the bin and start again? It would be a shame.

Hi,
I am not an expert but the noises would appear to indicate that something is stuck. Pentax UK quote £60 for a standard repair and £90 for a major repair to the MZ50. There some independents although most seem to concentrate on the mechanical cameras. I would expect them to charge at least £50 as they always give the camera a full service as well as sorting the problem. If you needed spares, this could put the price up. It seems a great shame that we are in a "disposible" society but it almost cheaper to get a replacement than a repair. It would depend on how attached you are the the MZ50. I wouldn't chuck the old one in the bin. For a start it's not fair to treat Pentax's that way but if nothing else try selling it as spares or repair on Ebay. Even bust ones can get about £10-£15.


I would have a look around especially as the MZ50 has a crippled mount. There is a near mint MZ10 on eBay for buy it now at £45 or starting to bid at £5 here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15240&item=3814...
The MZ5s tend to go for not much more.
Sorry I can't be of more help
Regards
Kim

Just to add to Kim's thought:

Park Cameras have a second hand MZ-10 for £69.90 (including 3 month warranty).
MXV ( www.mxv.co.uk ) have an MZ-50 for £89 (includes warranty, but can't remember if 3 or 6 months).

Other places to look out on are www.ffordes.co.uk , www.lcegroup.co.uk (MZ-50 for £80)

Alternatively there's www.asahiphoto.net for repairs in the UK, and don't forget that members of Pentax User can receive a repair discount from Pentax UK

Hope that helps,
Matt

Many thanks for your kind and helpful replies. I called the repair company you recommended and they will fix it for £53 all inclusive + 6 months guarantee. At this price I think it is definitely worth it.

Hello Tom P,

I just got the same problem tonight with my MZ-50. It did exactly what you describe. I must admit that it is a bit frustrating, since I was saving my money to ultimately buy a digital camera in a couple of years. Has Pentax placed a crash-timer on these cameras?

Anyhow, do you know what was the problem? Was it a gear, a motor or an earthworm stuck in the casing? I'm trying to find clues to see if I can repair it myself, rather than scrap it or sell it for parts.

Thank you in advance for you assistance,

Max,
Quebec City, Canada

After 2 years of no trouble my Pentax MZ50 has died and done the same thing and will cost me up to $600 in Australia to get fixed. I believe these cameras have got nothing going for them. As they are expensive people will start to realise the the price will come down and we won't buy them anymore. The more automatic the more trouble. Drop them, get a grain of dirt or sand in them and they are only good for the bin. My advice, hang onto it if you like but you will be lucky to get it going for a price and if you bang it (not even hard) mechanisms could easily break. My other pentax auto snap shot camera lasted me 2 years before I accidently dropped it and broke a mechanism. Got it fixed for a quarter of the price of the camera and then it only lasted 6 months before getting a grain of sand in it and the same thing happened again, have not got it fixed.

Yeah I hear ya, my Pentax is now sounding like the shutter& mirror are disconected from the motor drive.,This is after the pop up flash broke its hinge (which I replaced myself)and also the lens contacts needed cleaning with alcohol when the LCD display went out! I'm not happy,this camera has been treated "Gently".In short I would not recomend it unless Pentax offers to fix it.It's defective and only about 2yrs.old!

I had a stuck mirror on the Z1/P a few times. (I was experimenting with rechargeable 2CR5 batteries). The camera got stuck a few times (perhaps could not handle the current or the high voltage (8.0 volt)

I managed to get my camera unstuck with the following procedure:
1-Take the lens of
2-Switch the camera on
3-in single outo focus mode press the shutter release button. (Nothing will happen because the picture is not focused since no lens is present)
4-switch the camera off. After that the mirror bounced back.

Worth a try, although do not keep up hopes too high, it is a different camera.