Voigtlander Bessa R Shutter Jammed - 2021

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TonesDion

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Jul 22, 2021
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Hello to you all,

Unfortunately, I jammed my Bessa R today. Here's how it happened : I finish my roll and get ready to load the next one. After getting the next roll in, I do the usual Bessa R formula where you advance two times to get to the first frame. Although, on the second shutter released, it jammed completely. The shutter release button can be pressed but nothing is happening, and the film advance lever is completely locked. I suspect I've been too fast between each shutter release.

So when I got home, I removed the base plate to check if anything was wrong. As seen on this thread. The fix seems simple, but I can't really understand it. The pictures, which were posted, are no longer available.

I've attached some pictures below, so you guys can have an idea and maybe know the answer.

Bringing the camera to a doctor is my last result, but I would like to try myself first. Any help would be appreciated, thanks a lot!

Anthony

Photos of the base opened and the shutter : https://imgur.com/gallery/uPNj6K8
 
Looking at your third photo, Anthony, locate the lever just to the right of the lens mount, and closest to the front of the camera (bottom of the opening in the view). It is in front of the delayed release mechanism. Try lifting that lever to get it to trip the shutter.


PF
 
It seems to be a known issue with the R that you shouldn't get too aggressive and rapid with the winding on. I have always been smooth and deliberate when winding my R and so far no problems. I wouldn't say I was particularly slow, but definitely not in a "hyper rapid war correspondent" mode. Just in "nordic ski competition" mode where I want to be sure and get a shot of my son as he whizzes by.

Good luck reviving your R! They're really great little cameras and unique in the world of film rangefinders.

And welcome to RFF, TonesDion. You may want to come back again and often...an incredible amount of knowledge here and a wide range of interests and topics.
 
Thanks for your replies.

Farlymac, If I understand correctly, that lever is directly connected to the shutte rrelease buttom? If so, I can press the buttom, which lift that lever, but nothing is happening... The problem might only be on the shutter itself? Should I try something on the shutter, like gently push up or down? I assume it's a very delicate and fragile piece of the camera, so I kinda don't want to go that route. Let me know.

Rfaspen, yeah, lesson learned. I like your idealogy. That say, I really appreciated the experience of having it on my side each day for the past couple months! It's actually the first time it jammed on me. Thanks for the kind welcome.

Anthony
 
rfaspen said:
It seems to be a known issue with the R that you shouldn't get too aggressive and rapid with the winding on. I have always been smooth and deliberate when winding my R and so far no problems. I wouldn't say I was particularly slow, but definitely not in a "hyper rapid war correspondent" mode. Just in "nordic ski competition" mode where I want to be sure and get a shot of my son as he whizzes by.
Click to expand...


Good advice for all film cameras not just the R.
 
TonesDion said:
Thanks for your replies.

Farlymac, If I understand correctly, that lever is directly connected to the shutte rrelease buttom? If so, I can press the buttom, which lift that lever, but nothing is happening... The problem might only be on the shutter itself? Should I try something on the shutter, like gently push up or down? I assume it's a very delicate and fragile piece of the camera, so I kinda don't want to go that route. Let me know.

Rfaspen, yeah, lesson learned. I like your idealogy. That say, I really appreciated the experience of having it on my side each day for the past couple months! It's actually the first time it jammed on me. Thanks for the kind welcome.

Anthony
Click to expand...


Unfortunately, Anthony, most of the action continues out of sight after that lever so it's hard to see where the next area is in the train. There are a couple of things I would try if it was my camera (thankfully it's working just fine), but not something I could recommend to someone else to do.


The Copal shutter is fairly robust, but like rfaspen said it can be defeated. When I compare your photos with my camera I see nothing out of place, so this indicates the issue is down somewhere deep in the camera that is inaccessible without a tear down.


The only thing I can think of that might help is to set the self timer, then run it off to see if it trips the shutter. But then the timer itself might not start, so it's an iffy proposition in any respect. Might be best just to send it in for repair.


PF
 
From your pictures, the significant thing is the front shutter is open while the rear (main) one is still cocked. What this tells us is the front shutter has failed to trip the main one. This can be due to damage of the linkage but sometimes, it just happens and recocking the camera can get it working again. To recock the camera you need to release the wind lock so that you can use the film advance lever again. Under the bottom plate there is a small lever which I've arrowed in the attached picture. Pull that lever aside so the wind shaft can rotate and recock the camera. Hopefully that will get it working.


 
fairlymac, I understand. As for repairs, I'll search the forum for trustworthy repair shop, but just for now, do you know places that have the craftmenship to repair Bessa Rs? I'm located in Quebec Canada. Thank you!

Monopix, good point, thanks for taking the time to check the photos. I actually tried your solution yesterday. I cocked the lever, but it did nothing to the shutter. So I assume that the problem is deeper, like others mentioned... Do you have other ideas? Thanks a lot!

Anthony
 
These are not complicated cameras and any decent repair man should be able to sort it unless something is broken in which case spares may be an issue. You can send it to me if you want but I'm in the UK.
 
TonesDion said:
fairlymac, I understand. As for repairs, I'll search the forum for trustworthy repair shop, but just for now, do you know places that have the craftsmanship to repair Bessa Rs? I'm located in Quebec Canada. Thank you!

Anthony
Click to expand...

Don't know of any your way, Anthony. About the closest I know would be Younsin Ye at Welcome to YYeCAMERA

Or you could see if the Head Bartender is taking on new work at https://www.cameraquest.com/repairs.htm He specializes in Voigtlander gear.

PF
 
I recently had a jammed shutter in my new-to-me Bessa T. I had recently purchased the trigger winder grip and was rapid winding it a few times “for fun” and the grey front shutter stuck open. Advance lever would not wind and pressing the shutter release also did nothing. (If you have a trigger winder on a Bessa do NOT rapid advance it). What I ended up having to to was remove the lens from the body and using two small flat blade screwdrivers ‘coax’ the shutter back out. I used one screwdriver to very gently pull on the last little visible part of the shutter and the second one to get purchase on one of the stainless pivot points and slowly pull it back out. After it came out about 1/4 inch it snapped closed. Other than a tiny mark from the flat blade, it got everything working again. In my case, it was just physically jammed up in its housing. Seems to cycle fine now. None of the other “fixes” I read about worked so this may be a last resort for anyone else having this issue.
 
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