My Bessa R2A ate my film!

Johann Espiritu

Johann Espiritu

Lawyer / Ninja
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Nov 22, 2007
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Hey guys,

I recently (last week) added my first Bessa (R2A) to my RF stable.

While shooting my second roll (400VC), at about frame 12 while advancing the film, I heard a crunch-like sound. I thought: Hmmmm, that didn't sound right.... :(

I finished the whole roll, however, but when I rewound the film (which felt like it went all the way), I was surprised that when I opened the back, some of the film had torn and was left on the advancing spool. Needless to say, that part of the film was exposed and useless. I'm still waiting to develop what has been retrieved into the cassette.

Upon inspection, the film looked torn badly. It was literally shredded where it had torn.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,

Johann
 
Camera can`t tear film that will transport. There must have been a midroll defect in the film or cassette that prevented the film from unspooling.

The unlikely event is the cassette moved and the film went out of the film channel and stuck is also possible.

I fail to see how a camera could do this.


At one point I bought 4 plastic cassettes which I loaded. All went well until frame 12 when the camera could no longer pull the film. Happened on M, R, and screw mount Leicas every time. I went back to Kalt metal and the problem went away. Still can`t explain it and have nothing but Leica Cameras to try.
 
Can't say I have...

Can't say I have...

My guess is either a:
  • Defect in the film "treads";
  • Film jumped out of the gearing mechanism somehow, perhaps the camera suffered a heavy bump?
  • Film was not loaded correctly from the start (perhaps too loose or film not properly seated on the cog)

So I've never had that happen on my M6 or my limited experience with the R3A which I just picked up 2 weeks ago, or my steady and aging Minolta 202.

Best
Rob
 
Cameras CAN eat film. I once had a Zenit that thought film was quite tasty. With that camera you had to advance the film very gently or the sprocket holes would get torn. I suspect it had something to do with a rough feed sprocket and a tight pressure plate but that was a Zenit. I don't know about Bessa's. Joe
 
Examine the camera for obvious problems. E.g., damaged or misaligned take-up reel, something sharp on the back of the door, etc. Also check for any tiny pieces of film or plastic in the camera. That's happened to me.

If you wind the camera 12 times with no film in it, do you hear anything unusual?

If that doesn't find a culprit, sacrifice two or three rolls of film. Start with a roll identical to the one that malfunctioned, then try one or two different brands.

if you find no obvious defects or problems, and cannot repeat the behavior, then odds are there was an issue with that particular roll of film.
 
Thanks for your comments, guys.

Seems that there might be something wrong because sometimes the film advance get stuck midway - while testing it without film. I guess this R2A's going back to be replaced...
 
My Voigtlander Prominent destroyed the first roll of film that I used. It was the first of many reasons for me to dislike that camera.
 
Did you check the rewind knob? Sometimes it goes out of sight (it's just the rewind lever) and block the film advance. It happened to me once and the simptom was like the one that you desribed: crunchy rumor and blocked film in the middle of a roll..
 
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