My Yashica shutter jammed mid-roll at a wedding last Saturday

I was shooting my friend's wedding as a favor, second camera just for candid stuff. Everything was going fine until I wound the film and the shutter just locked up solid. No click, no nothing. I had maybe 15 shots left on that roll of Portra 400. I tried switching batteries, flipping the mirror lock-up, all the usual tricks. Nothing worked. I ended up swapping to my backup Canon body and finished the day with that. When I got home and pried the Yashica open in a changing bag, the shutter curtain had literally come off one of its rails. I know some people swear by old mechanical cameras for reliability, but has anyone else had a similar failure on a shoot where a repair wasn't an option?

2 comments

2 Comments

ramirez.daniel19d ago

Gotta agree with @seanperry on this one. A jammed shutter on an old mechanical isn't a total death sentence like a fried circuit board on a modern body. Yeah it sucks on the day but that's why you bring a backup.

seanperry20d ago

Old mechanical cameras are tanks, man. A loose screw or worn part isn't a "failure", it's just time for a CLA. Your backup Canon body dying would've been a real disaster not a $50 fix at a camera shop.