MiCHÆL KOWALCZYK PHOTOGRAPHY

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What You See is not What You Get

Howto repair a Ricoh GR (II) with Closed Shutter / Broken Flex Cable

Ricoh-GR-II-Closed-Shutter-Problem-Michael-Kowalczyk-Photography
Ricoh GR II with closed shutter after Power On

Post Updates:
– 20. Dec 2022 – Renaming article from howto farewell.. to howto repair…
– 13 Sept. 2021 – Pointing to broken “Shutter Flex Cable” as possible cause

I bought a Ricoh GR II in Dec. 2017 and used it as my main travel camera while backpacking in 2018. After one year and approx. 45.000 photographs (~126 per day) the Closed Shutter Problem appeared. 9000 frames later the camera went dead. Since it happened a second time to my second Ricoh GR camera, I got curious and investigated if other people experienced it too.

Closed Shutter after Power On?

The Closed Shutter Problem means that the shutter stays closed after Power On, forcing the photographer to make a dark frame exposure before it opens as it should. However, this is not a long-term fix!

Ricoh GR & GR II closed Shutter after Power On Problem

Ricoh GR II Closed Shutter Exposures - Michael Kowalczyk Photography
Ricoh GR II Closed Shutter Exposures Overview in Lightroom

Around 9000 photos later the Auto Focus started to malfunction, leading to more and more out of focus photos. I tried to use Manual Focus instead but the whole focus mechanism was not function right anymore. And then it changed very fast to the point that the lens would extend after Power On but either close immediately or stay out, while the camera turned off by itself. In short, my one-year-old GR II became unusable after ~54.000 exposures. It needs to be sent in for repair.

Other GR (II) user reports

I searched and found it to be a seldom discussed problem. Only 26 users in seven threads on three different websites report about this issue. The links to the threads are listed below and include Flickr.com, Dpreview.com, and Pentaxforums.com.

The Problem: Broken Shutter Flex Cable!

Broken GR dissassembly findings suggest that the issue is cause by a broken ribbon cable. The cable connects the camera control board and the extracting lens unit. Due to the repetitive stretching and contracting of the cable (when the camera is turned on and off), it wears out mechanically and breaks. One could argue that this is a case of planned obsolescence but I guess it is poor material quality and lack of quality control @Ricoh.

ricoh gr broken shutter flex cable
Broken Ricoh GR Shutte Flex Cable, Photo: Tommy Jing-Tao Lius.

The Fix: Howto replace the broken Shutter Flex Cable

  1. Order a replacement shutter flex cable with preinstalled components here or here (Ebay affiliate links) or here (Aliexpress).
  2. Follow my step by step DYI Ricoh GR disassembly video just until 18:20 Min!
  3. Follow my step by step DYI Ricoh GR Lens Housing dissassembly video.
  4. Follow the step by step DYI shutter flex cable replacement instructions by Tommy Jing-Tao Lius.
  5. Put the parts back together ^_^
Ricoh GR Shutter Flex Cable
Ricoh GR Shutter Flex Cable with preinstalled components

Did it work? Let me know in in the comments below

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Ricoh GR II Closed Shutter Problem

Responses

  1. Treat Your Ricoh Right – Howto Avoid & Fix Ricoh GR Problems

    […] The lens module is reaching the end of its mechanical life time, read more about the problem here […]

    Reply
  2. Topher Osborn Avatar
    Topher Osborn

    Hi Michael,

    This also happened to my Ricoh GR II.
    I shot for 4 years on my GR II. It developed the shutter problem you mentioned on year 3 along with a myriad of other problems like a closed lens while camera was one. I had to give it a good love tap to get it to open.
    I shot thousands and thousands of photos with the thing and dropped it many times, so I chalked it up to just being an old and very used camera.

    In December on a layover in China, the camera opened up, froze and died. I could not get it to turn off, close, nothing. It was a brick. I had a 2 week bike packing trip ahead of me through Northern Thailand so I pulled my SD card and left my old friend on a chair in the airport not wanting to carry the extra dead weight.

    I just picked up the Fuji XF10 and although it lacks some functions I seriously miss, I’ve been able to find work arounds.
    Every day I go back and forth about returning the XF10 and getting another GRII. Its been an internal battle. The GRIII does not interest me due to lack of flash. And the higher Mega pixels of the XF10 vs the GRII have proven to be incredibly useful in low light. The XF10 seriously performs at 3200 in color in a way the GR never could.

    The biggest hindrance with the XF10 is the lack of snap focus choices. But I have found a quick way to go in and out of manual focus mode to expand it.

    The GRII felt like an extension of my eye and mind. The XF10 I still grapple with. Although i’ve only had it for 2 days.

    I really love your work so I’m curious to your thoughts on the XF10.
    Assuming you have time for a reply and assuming you have played with it.

    Thanks!

    Topher

    Reply
    1. Michael Kowalczyk Avatar
      Michael Kowalczyk

      Hello Topher, thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts about the cameras!

      I can imagine the scene with your GR opening its protective lens cover one last time to watch you leave ;| At the time my 2nd body died of the closed shutter problem I started having less symphatic feelings for Ricoh. I understand that moving camera parts inside a retractive lens modules wear out over time. But for a new GR2 around 500 USD I expect it to function way beyond 50K shots. Time will tell if the new GR3 module is made to last longer. My feeling is that it will be same as it used to be, ship it in for cleaning & repair. For new GR buyers I strongly recommend adding an extended 3-4 year warranty and have peace of malfunction mind.

      Good to hear that the XF10 color noise performs well in ISO 3200. My GRII stayed always limited to 1600 ISO, delivering okay noise quality. The 50% higher megapixels count of the Fuji will definetly improve quality when post-cropping into the details. On the other hand I find digital zoom less desirable than optical, which in our fixed focal case is moving towards the subject physicaly.

      For me the most important camera features are, a small & light body size, customization of controls and the speed of camera operation. When I go on a longer street-photo walk my camera is not always on. I dont have that many spare-batteries. When I notice a scene and want to capture it, the time to power-on, auto focus and screen-blackout-refresh must be as quickly as possible. The GR2 is fairly fast for all three times. From the specs. and from what I have read on user-forums the GR3 even improved. I am curious if the XF10 is head to head with regards to speed with the GR2 or even GR3.

      I like that it has a non retractable lens design. In theory it should be ready to shoot immediatley but what about camera power-on time? (Thinking about it I would love to see a “standby” feature implemented in cameras oriented towards street-photography). However the lens extends out of the body while focusing, I thought it would focus internally like in the X100 series.

      I have to admit I do not use the GRs Snap Focus feature very often. I like to shoot with AF because it ensures the best quality in sharpnes. When changing to the Zone Focus method I AF on a certain distance, switch to MF and increase the f-stop to expand the DoF. I guess this is the same way you are using the XF10 now. Does the front focus ring help you to change distances in a usable way? The manual focus implementaion on the GRs is a pita.

      The lack of flash is sad. I like that the XF10 flash is not hidden by default like on the GR2. You could simply forget that it exists and it would not open by itself when necessary. Maybe its one of the reasons they removed it after all. The small Q20II flash seems to be a fun wireless addition but it totaly destroys the idea of compact.

      Againg thanks for visiting and applause for the high quality cinematography you produce!

      Reply
  3. Nelleke Bouman Avatar
    Nelleke Bouman

    This happened to my Ricoh I the first time after 1,5 months after i bought it. After repairs i used the camera for 2,5 years after wich the same problem occured after about 100.000 shots

    Reply
    1. pR Avatar
      pR

      What kind of repair it was and how much it cost?

      Reply
      1. pR Avatar
        pR

        I used mine occasionally for around 18 months after Closed Shutter Problem appeared until today when it came to the last stage of its exiztense called lens not retracting (all is black, it turns on/off and that’s it). That’s with shutter count around 16 000. I searched for new solutions that maybe appeared in the last year, but nothing promising… So as there was nothing to loose I tried to push on/off and shutter buttons while hitting my camera harder and harder into my knee (there was nothing to loose anyway except to brake my knee) and voila… after some time it got back to Closed Shutter Problem which now is more like solution than a problem 😀 btw, at first it would turn on and show the first thing camera managed to see. It looked like if you’re just pressed „play“ and see last captured photo, but there was no photo captured. But after a few more on and offs it returned to old good Closed Shutter Problem. My expectations are low for it to last, but who knows – right now I’m so excited as for the last few hours I had to think do I need a new camera and which one to get?

        Reply
  4. Rimba Avatar
    Rimba

    Also happened to my GRII. It’s a shame that GR is premium p&s compact cam with low durability; and the cost to repairing it, is not worthed at all.

    Reply
  5. viktor lin Avatar
    viktor lin

    it also happend to my GR last week. shutter about 12600

    Reply
  6. Stefan Avatar
    Stefan

    Stuck lens and shutter problem also happened here a with my GR I bought new in late 2013… and now again with the GR II (bought new november 2017) with a shutter count of 21211. I guess they are about to last 3/4 years – which is kind of of short for a premium product.

    Anybody had the same problem with the new GR III?

    Reply
    1. Michael Kowalczyk Avatar
      Michael Kowalczyk

      Thanks for sharing your count Stefan. For the GR III I guess we will have to wait a bit longer, as you said 3/4 years of occasional shooting. Hardcore photographers will reach a possible deadend much faster but they would have to report it. So far I have not read about it. Lets hope the new GR III lens design changed also whatever is causing the leafshutter to malfunction for the better.

      Reply
  7. Howto Avoid & Fix Common Ricoh GR Problems – Street Photo Tip

    […] investigation of independent user reports suggest that the problem starts to appear between 11.000 and 45.000 […]

    Reply
  8. Howto Avoid & Fix Common Ricoh GR Problems - Street Photo Tip Avatar
    Howto Avoid & Fix Common Ricoh GR Problems – Street Photo Tip

    […] Ricoh GR Closed Shutter Problem […]

    Reply
  9. Josep Lluis Avatar
    Josep Lluis

    Just for your info, and confirming your guesses, my first GR had the Closed Shutter Problem after 12000 exposures .
    I’ve bought a new second hand unit with 3700 shots, hopefully this time I’ll reach the 45k shots !

    Reply
  10. amosisl Avatar
    amosisl

    please try simultaneously press the Shutter Button and the Power Button, and look

    Reply
  11. Zammo Avatar
    Zammo

    I’ve had two Ricoh GR and both have developed the closed shutter problem. Both cameras reached around 10K shots before conking out.

    The second one now has the stuck lens issue.

    It’s slightly comforting knowing i’m not alone, but it’s put me off getting the GR iii.

    Reply
    1. Michael (streetphototip) Avatar
      Michael (streetphototip)

      Yes 🙂 “you are note alone” So far I have not read but also not looked for reports of stuck or broken GR III lenses. Let me know if you find a report on it please!

      Reply
    2. Eric Avatar
      Eric

      it work but need to do that every single time. but thank you anyway

      Reply
  12. Juliette Avatar
    Juliette

    I am so glad I found this and thank you Michael for going to the effort to post this! I never was able to actually get a shutter count off the camera itself before I had the dreaded lens retraction issue that so many mention. I will need to go back to my last shot and upload it to find out, but I shot my Ricoh GR from 2014-2020 and really got the most out of it. It’s so sad that such a cool camera at its price has failed all of us and so many more in such a short time. I don’t think I can bring myself to buy another, not even used.

    Any Fuji fans out there who can speak to something mildly comparable? I’m hearing the Xe2/Xe3 might be a good contender.

    Reply
    1. Michael (streetphototip) Avatar
      Michael (streetphototip)

      Sadly the GR line is not created to last. We could even consider that it might be a case of planned obsolescence? Since starting using it in 2013 I bought 3 bodies and one of them had the lens module exchanged. So in total the current would count as my 4th. Unless the engineers redesign the Lens & Aperture Module and make it less prone to malfuntion I plan not to buy another one. Recently I picked up a used Pansonic GM1. It is a bit smaller with less controlls but it has a interchangeable m43 lens mount! The Fuji X-E Line looks all good and portable to me. Unfortunately the only available pancacke style lens is limited to exaclty one, a 27mm f/2.8 (40mm FF-equiv.) prime lens. It is very nice but too narrow fov compared to 28mm. There is also a the Fuji XF10, it is the most comparable to a GR and it still has built-in flash!

      Reply
  13. Vadim Ostrikov Avatar
    Vadim Ostrikov

    Ricoh GR II: the shutter does not open after Shutter 35770, Power ON 12000. Probably wear of the flexible shutter cable.

    Reply
  14. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks so much for posting this. My GR has just developed the fault after (exactly!!) 27,000 shots (purchased April 2014). I’ve been using it alongside a Fuji X-T30 and although I feel the shots from the GR are so much more magical, I feel I should just call it a day and get a decent prime for the Fuji.

    Eight years and 27k shots is a pretty decent run by the sound of it though?

    Reply
    1. Michael (streetphototip) Avatar
      Michael (streetphototip)

      Sad to hear your GR left the building. I think the only Fuji prime that matches or outperforms the GR optically will be the newly XF 18mm f1.4. Can it be that its size matches the GR body 😉 ? Vadim before you left a comment indicating that the error results from a failing flex cable which bends each time the camera lens is turned on/off. He noted 12000 power on times. Could you check how many Power On times your GR has? To check set it to Movie mode and press Play and Disp at the same time. If that turnes out to be around the same mark than we could explain the huge difference in shutter counts before failing. Some people just made more photos while the camera was on.

      Reply
      1. David Avatar
        David

        Mine’s had about 4000 power ons. It was a strange, I’ve just been on holiday for a week, using it loads and I wasn’t really happy with the photos – I found it really unreliable both to focus and meter correctly, so I started playing more with snap focus and TAv. Within a day of being happy with the results, this happened!

        Reply
      2. Hs Avatar
        Hs

        Hey Michael my GR is also failed me (stuck leaf shutter) literally next day after I bought it (was testing it with seller for few weeks before buying) lol. But today I found another local listing of GR and guy states that some repair shop just changed flex cable and it was working since. The strange thing is WE DONT HAVE AUTHORIZED REPAIRSHOPS, and probably flex cables are pretty different in general

        Reply
        1. Michael (streetphototip) Avatar
          Michael (streetphototip)

          Thanks for pointing out the Flex Cable. In fact I published a full GR disassembly video on YT where I discuss the Cable as possible failing point -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VvFep15RTw&t=836s. The operation to replace the cable seems to be the tricky part for which one has to have the A) fine soldering tools and B) non shaky hands 🙂 If the Flex Cable turns out to be the cause for the Closed Shutter Problem then Ricoh could have already adressed it in the GR III.

          Reply
  15. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks for pointing out the 18mm: I hadn’t seen that. I was planning to pick up a used 16mm f1.4, but maybe I’ll end up saving for the18mm.

    Reply
  16. Matthew Phillips Avatar
    Matthew Phillips

    My GRII shutter stuck-closed started just short of 20,000 shots

    Reply
  17. Bert Avatar
    Bert

    Also stuck lens and shutter problem on a GR2 at 16500 shuttercount and 11000 poweron. Also i noticed more photo’s out of focus. It’s my hiking camera so sometimes it had to endure tough circumstances. Bought the GR3 and i’am very happy with it. The autofocus is much improved and the anti-shake proved to be userful. Unfortunaly I dropped it (and myself) in the alps so it is currently out for a repair.

    Reply
  18. Bobby Ce Avatar
    Bobby Ce

    Yup, after 3 years of use, the closed shutter problem has raised it’s ugly head in my GR2. I love this camera so much but now am seriously thinking of jumping ship to Fuji.

    Reply
  19. Davide Avatar
    Davide

    Hello everybody.
    I recently bought a 2013 GR with the lens locked. Unfortunately the buyer said that the machine only had 1000 shots but due to the fact that the camera did not turn on he could not take a picture of the real values. When she got home and I managed to charge the battery (which was practically dead) I discovered that the machine has almost 21000 shots and about 8500 power on cycle and in fact presents the problem of the “closed shutter”.

    I think I will keep it like this until it dies completely and then I will consider whether to try the replacement of the infamous “shutter flex cable”

    Reply
    1. AndyC Avatar
      AndyC

      I’m just curious whether you can still use the GR. Is the closed shutter only for the first shot? I have exactly the same 2013 GR that I just got repaired. The problem was the ribbon cable that is attached to the lens. It’s the weak spot in this camera as it breaks easily. My unit had a low shutter count as I’m only using it as a backup to my other camera.

      Reply
  20. 1 – Repairing My Ricoh GR II – Traffic Ventures

    […] the curtain, not opening). So I googled for some answers. Luckily, I shared the same issue that Michael from StreePhotoTip encountered – and probably every Ricoh GR II user around me has the same issue if they used it […]

    Reply
  21. Luka A. Avatar
    Luka A.

    My GR 2 shutter stuck after 13.000 shots (1 and a 1/2 year).

    Reply
  22. Howto Avoid & Fix Common Ricoh GR Problems » Michael Kowalczyk Photography

    […] Flex Cable” connecting the camera controlls and the lens module starts to break. We collected comments about others reporting the problem. Tommy Jing-Tao Liu published a DYI repair blog post: […]

    Reply
  23. Howto Avoid & Fix Common Ricoh GR Problems » Michael Kowalczyk Photography

    […] Follow the instructions on: Howto repair a Ricoh GR (II) with Closed Shutter / Broken Flex Cable […]

    Reply
  24. Marko T Avatar
    Marko T

    My GR2 stated having a closed shutter problem after 19400 shots and 6860 power on/power off cycles.

    Thanks for the detailed repair instructions. I ordered the cable and hope that repair will go well. I’ve opened my GR twice to clean dust already so now am ready to disassemble it further. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Michael Kowalczyk Avatar
      Michael Kowalczyk

      You are welcome Merko. After finding out about the cable issue the shutter count did not seem to be important enymore. Its the power-on off cycle which woudl affect the cable material. Thanks for the number and good luck with the repair!

      Reply
  25. Jakub D Avatar
    Jakub D

    Hey Michael, I bought used GRI last month. It was working out for a month perfectly but now it developed the closed shutter problem on 4500 power on/off. Im just curious since i cant really tell from you videos, if you ended up fixing it or not?

    Reply
    1. Michael Kowalczyk Avatar
      Michael Kowalczyk

      Hi Jakub. I did not exchange the flex cable myself bc I was missing the right soldiering tips. You can find repair shops which will provide the fix and often provide additional guarantee. Best, M.

      Reply
  26. esentia Avatar
    esentia

    This blog post is a lifesaver for any Ricoh GR (II) owners dealing with a closed shutter or broken flex cable issue. The step-by-step guide and clear instructions make the repair process seem much more manageable. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights and helping us keep our beloved cameras in top shape!

    Reply

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