So I tried using compressed air from the wrong end to clean a stuck shutter

I had this old Pentax K1000 that came in with a shutter that was hanging up at slow speeds. After taking the lens off and flipping the mirror up, I figured I'd blast some compressed air from the back of the camera through the shutter to dislodge whatever gunk was in there. To my surprise, it actually freed up the blades and got them moving again. I definitely felt like a genius for about 5 minutes until I realized I probably just blew dust deeper into the prism housing. The shutter worked fine after that though, so I called it a win. Has anyone else tried a backwards air blast on a sticky focal plane shutter?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lee14d ago

I remember reading somewhere that the K1000's shutter is pretty simple mechanically, so it might not have hurt it as much as you think. I heard that blowing air backwards can actually lodge dust into the mirror box on some cameras, but if it worked and the shutter freed up, that's what matters. Maybe it's just me but I'd probably spray a little air from the front next time too just to push any debris back out. Still, nice save on an old workhorse.

james_butler13d ago

Blowing air backward just moves the problem deeper into the camera, doesn't it?