I have an old Asahi Pentax, release lever and shutter are stuck.

Have the film come to the end of the roll and the camera will not fire, if so rewind the film. Sorry, a shutter is not a self service item. This should be sent in for a CLA.

if the camera is jammed for any reason, then the rewind button will not pop out. on this model it was common that the mirror cock lever at the bottom jumped. in which case the camera will jam up.

remove three screws holding the bottom cover, remove cover. in the middle of the camera is a lever that needs to be latched by pushing it forward. the camera should release and revert to normal usage.

if this is not the case then there may be something jammed in the winding or shutter gears. in which case you would have to remove the top cover and/or front covers.

Without film in the camera it may well read before zero, my K1000, K1000Se, and K2 do that. Press the film rewind button, maybe that will release it for you.

For camera repairs look to:
Eric Hendrickson: http://www.pentaxs.com/index.html

Your second curtain is not releasing the mirror to come down.
This happens with weak 2nd shutter curtain tension.
If the wind lever is stuck and the mirror does not come down then the mirror tension spring came off.

If the batteries are flat or missing you wont get LED's to light up and it will set itself to 125 naturally. I know as I have tried it. It could be that the shutter has got stuck on its way down and it is preventing the mirror from coming down as a result this is a mechanical issue, not battery related. The best way I found to release the mirror was to gently, really gently stroke the shutter nearest to the film down towards the groove it goes home in. Recommend a cotton budd so you don't damage the shutter leaves or get grease from your fingers on the movement. This should release the mirror. The next thing to do is try preventing the shutter getting stuck again by removing the bottom plate which will allow you access to the cogs for the shutter. it is tight in there and it is recommended by some that you remove some of the movement to see and clean them up. I did this but it is tricky and it involves winding on the camera and rocking parts out with itself. Not easy to do. The shutter cogs are brass (or look like it) and they may have old oil stuck inbetween the teeth which needs cleaning out with a tooth pick and then lubricate but not with WD40 which gets sticky with age. Use a cotton budd again with the lubricant on so you don't affect other sensitive parts around this section. Alternatively send the camera for a good service. I just had mine done, got it sorted with a warranty for 12 months to and cost me just £45. They cleaned everything up, new light seals and sorted issues common to this model of camera. The photos are instantly back to their best. Compare a good service to a series of wasted film with an inconsistent camera. Peace of mind too, it is worth it and so is the camera!

Sounds like your mirror has locked in the up position. Could be several things. These cameras did take a battery -- usually located on the bottom plate -- looks like a slot for a very large screwdriver -- use a coin instead, to unscrew. Inspect battery and housing, remove any corrosion with brush, match battery and replace. May have to go to camera shop for battery, or try online. If new battery does not release mirror, suggest unloading film in darkness, rewinding into cassette leaving loading tongue so can access it to reload or for developing. Then very gently try to release mirror from inside camera body and check for dust/dirt/etc. with camel's hair brush. Try operation of camera without film -- shutter, film advance lever, etc. and see if this helps.

oh dear,, the internal mirror is stuck in the up posishion blanking out the vuew finder, take the lens off and very gently pull it back down with your finger,,, warning be gently with it and dont tuch the mirror at all if you can help it they can stick up but i gess its time it was serviced, if this happens with a film in it so long as the shutter is closed you can still pull it back down without messing up the photo

If your viewfinder is black, the mirror on the film camera is up. That usually means the shutter system is out of whack... Repair would be too expensive. You can by a used Vivitar, Pentax body as a replacement as they use the same non AF K-mount lenses for pretty cheap. But again, they would be old cameras.

anmolag,

it could be the rubber bumper next to the fresnel lens has become sticky. very gently ( after removing lens ) try to bring mirror down without forcing it. it should release easily.
if not, rotate the select knob off auto. open film door and check that the shutter is fully deployed, shutters should not be overlapping.
remove screws from bottom cover and remove cover, keep camera up side down so that re-wind button stays put. there is a locking lever under the take up spool ( gray ) . with a pin move lever toward film door and bring advance lever fully to the right , then let it go so it returns quickly.
the shutter should have fired. if not the camera will need to be repaired. get an estimate first as there are no new parts available.

Hi , to release the shutter open the lense and push shutter button , rotate the camera mode to auto or manual release shutter.donnot set on bulb or lower speed can cause stuck camera miror and stter curtain, or blade.