CLA of Supermatic Shutters

[Roger Rouch]

I have had an Ektar 203 for some time, but have not had a fair chance to evaluat e it due to a slow and inconsistent shutter (seems to slow up more in the cold) and resulting poor exposures. The casing for the shutter appears rather worn an d I'm wondering the value of repair costs vs just biting the bullet for a modern lens of similar weight (I do mostly color reversal).

The section of the LF home page indicates that the shutter can be cleaned withou t dissasembly because the mechanism is exposed when the lens cells are removed. Is this something I might attempt? The article also mentions a difficulty in f inding replacement springs if needed. If I do have the shutter professionally C LA'd can I expect it to perform well for a while, inspite of it's age and appear ent wear? I suppose my next step might be to contact Mr. Grimes, but am wonderi ng of the experience of others with this? Thanks very much for comments.

[Kevin Kemner]

Roger,

I've owned a couple lenses with supermatics and my recommendation would be to send it to Steve Grimes. Usually a CLA is less than $100. I understand that he also has replacement supermatics available or can remount the lens in a more modern Copal. He maintains an informative web site that can be found in the links section of this website.