Zeiss Ikon Moviflex MS8 Electronic

[Edward Kohler]

Hey there,

 

I recently aquired a Zeiss Ikon Moviflex MS8 Electronic. When shooting in "automatic" mode, the aperture dial on the side of the camera stays at f45. I'm able to manually set the f-stop & lock it in place using the cable release mechanism, as the instructions indicate.

However, looking into the lens, the iris doesn't appear to move... the opening is very small.

and as soon as I revert to manual mode, the dial moves back to 45.

 

I showed it to a local camera dealer. He said it looks like the aperture may be stuck, perhaps a small bit of rust, or maybe the lubrication is gummed up due to prolonged non-use. He suggested I put it out in the sun for a few hours, & maybe that would loosen it up. He also suggested trying some lithium batteries to give it an extra boost.

 

I'm also wondering if the auto-fade button might be stuck somehow, causing the aperture to stay closed.

 

My knowledge of how cameras work is pretty limited, so I hope I'm stating all the information correctly here.

Anyways, if anybody has any thoughts on what might be going on with this camera, i'd appreciate it... I really hope I can get it working, it seems like a nice camera

[andy oliver]

I wonder if it indeed your fade button stuck, is your fade button located under the filming speed dial?? Mine is very light to touch touch, litterly touch the button and the fade begins. Yours could be jammed, looking from the viewfinder along the camera, the fade button is in the form of a L-shape, there should be around 1mm of clearance between camera body and the lip of the fade button..

[Edward Kohler]

I wonder if it indeed your fade button stuck, is your fade button located under the filming speed dial?? Mine is very light to touch touch, litterly touch the button and the fade begins. Yours could be jammed, looking from the viewfinder along the camera, the fade button is in the form of a L-shape, there should be around 1mm of clearance between camera body and the lip of the fade button..

[Edward Kohler]

Yes, the auto-fade button is located just underneath the filming speed dial. It's kind of springy to the touch.

Is it always supposed be springy, or should it stick in place when you push it in, then pop out when the auto-fade is completed?

 

I'm wondering if it is jammed, is there a way to un-jam it, or disable it? I was thinking of pulling the trigger & letting the camera run without film for 5 minutes or so, to see if it loosens up. Is there any reason not to do that, i.e. would it harm the motor to run without a film cartridge.

 

I don't know if this could be related to problem, but I'm unable to move the filming speed dial...it's stuck on 18 fps. That in itself is not a problem for me, as I rarely if ever shoot @ 24 fps.