1st ever RF roll turned out blank! Help me troubleshoot? (Voightlander Vitomatic IIa)

[cassandra_23]

Hi everyone! Newbie here.

I picked up a pristine Voightlander Vitomatic IIa with a Color Skopar lens at a flea market last year, complete with the original case, beautiful bag, manual, a handful of accessories...and even an undeveloped roll of Kodachrome! 🙂()I have never owned a rangefinder before, but from my experience with DSLRs and limited SLR experience, I could tell that its owner took very good care of it, so I figured it was worth the $40 gamble.

I love it so much that I was CRUSHED when I picked up my first roll of film today (Fujicolor Pro 400H) and found that it was totally blank. Knife to the heart! The first inch and a half of the strip is black (exposed, I assume from loading the film?) and there is one frame near the end that appears to have an image, but I don't think it's any photo I took on purpose. (It's a faint image of some horizontal lines that I can best describe as resembling a cross-section of sedimentary rock)

From what I have read, it seems that the film might not have been advancing, but I haven't had a reason to think this is an issue. It's a bit tricky for me to load the film, but I figured that's because I'm new at it.

How do I troubleshoot the issue? Try the next roll and hope I wound that correctly?

 

[cosmonaut]

You should be able to tell when rewinding if the film if it was taken. When rewinding you should feel resistance in the rewind knob.
When you took the last shot did you reach the end of the roll to the point it wouldn't advance anymore?

 

[kmallick]

I had that issue one time. What a bummer!After much investigation, I found out that I loaded the roll film in the wrong direction. In other words, the backing paper was facing the lens. Maybe you should check your method of loading the film in the new camera.

 

[NeeZee]

Grab that old roll of Kodachrome and try loading it. Leave the lens cap on (not that it really matters). Then wind on and click the shutter. Repeat 10 times. As you wind on, watch the re-wind knob - it should be turning. If it isn't, then the film isn't being transported through the camera.

If the film is loading and running through OK, perhaps the shutter isn't opening. Open the back of the camera and hold it up to the light, wind on, fire the shutter. You should be able to see the shutter opening and closing. Check all shutter speeds.

Good luck. 🙂

very good advice here - except i think with this camera you can only cock the shutter (and fire) when film is loaded which makes testing the shutter a bit more difficult...

 

[Greyscale]

Somebody has to say it ... the first thing to check is if you left the lens cap on.

 

[johannielscom]

If it had a frame towards the end that seems to have an image formed, the film was definitely transported there to catch that image...

Sounds like the shutter of your new camera is sticky and does not open. If this is the case, it may occasionally open after all, for instance when you shoot in rapid succession and the the shutter is tensioned and released several times in a row in a short time span.
Or, the conditions were more warm and the sticky shutter oil freed up due to that.

Like Chris said, test it for the shutter opening, and if you doubt it or notice that it is inconsistent in opening speeds, fire it several times in a row and see if it improves.


Sounds like your pristine camera wasn't used enough for quite some time and as a result the shutter gummed up.


Good luck investigating!

 

[jcb4718]

The Vitomatics and the earlier Vito's are unusual in that the advancing film cocks the shutter. You can see the gearing at the top of the film chamber. This means that if the film is not present, or if the film sprockets for some reason do not engage the gearing, the shutter can't be cocked. If the shutter was firing you must have been advancing the film in which case the problem is simply that the shutter was not opening. It must be stuck and this will almost certainly be because oil or grease has stuck the shutter blades together. You can check this by setting the shutter to a slow speed, say 1/15 sec, cocking the shutter (a film must be loaded) and looking at the lens as you fire. You should easily see the shutter open, or not as the case may be. Stuck leaf shutters in old cameras are common and a simple thing for a camera repair man to fix. It's a great camera and I urge you to get it fixed and try again. You will not be disappointed with the result once the camera is working OK.

 

[ChrisN]

The Vitomatics and the earlier Vito's are unusual in that the advancing film cocks the shutter. You can see the gearing at the top of the film chamber. This means that if the film is not present, or if the film sprockets for some reason do not engage the gearing, the shutter can't be cocked. If the shutter was firing you must have been advancing the film in which case the problem is simply that the shutter was not opening. It must be stuck and this will almost certainly be because oil or grease has stuck the shutter blades together. You can check this by setting the shutter to a slow speed, say 1/15 sec, cocking the shutter (a film must be loaded) and looking at the lens as you fire. You should easily see the shutter open, or not as the case may be. Stuck leaf shutters in old cameras are common and a simple thing for a camera repair man to fix. It's a great camera and I urge you to get it fixed and try again. You will not be disappointed with the result once the camera is working OK.

Thanks for chiming in with some good advice based on knowledge of this particular camera. I made my post without checking, then realised that what I said might not apply to this particular camera. I deleted my post, but Nee Zee and Johan had already referenced the post!

 

[cassandra_23]

Thanks for all the great advice. The shutter not opening seems likely to me. It is correct that in this camera, the film advancing cocks the shutter, and it also seemed to rewind properly after I finished the first couple rolls.

Considering that the spare roll of film that was in the bag expired in 1963, I would venture to say that the shutter hadn't been fired in 50 years or so. Plenty of time to get stuck.

I might test it out again with some old film and see how that goes before I take it in for repair. But...very glad to have a diagnosis in the mean time.

 

[KoNickon]

Good luck -- and don't lose heart! As the others have said, it's well worth the effort and cost to get it working properly again.

And -- don't throw out that old roll of Kodachrome! A collector's item.

 

[cassandra_23]

Dropped it off today at Nippon Photo Clinic in Manhattan today, on the recommendation of a photo editor neighbor of mine and some positive internet reviews.

I was actually close to saying "screw it," since I was afraid my cheap new toy was just going to end up being another expensive hobby, but I must say that after poking through this great forum, I was really motivated to get it fixed and try my hand at this style of photography. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, so the no-limits nature of digital tends to get overwhelming.

 

[csxcnj]

Dropped it off today at Nippon Photo Clinic in Manhattan today, on the recommendation of a photo editor neighbor of mine and some positive internet reviews.

Please update this post when you get the camera back. I am a Voigtlander nut and have many of their SLR's and fixed lens beauties. I am looking for a new repair shop after the demise 🙂() of Essex.

Thanks, Bob

 

[cassandra_23]

Well, it turns out Nippon does not specifically service Voightlanders. They said there was oil on the shutter blades, and they wiped it out, and although I'll need to find someone to "overhaul" it if I want it "completely repaired." Not sure if I'll need parts replaced. However, they ran test film through it, and it appears to be working, but I'll have to use it "at my own risk." Whatever that means.

So, I'm not sure if that means the problem is solved, and/or if I should risk wasting another roll of film if it's potentially not in fully functional condition. I might just take it to another place that might be able to service it to see what they say.

 

[Landshark]

Paul Ebel in Wisconsin is recommended pretty frequently. Flutots too but she usually has a waiting list(?)

I'm guessing the camera is a leaf shutter, neither of these two work on focal plane shutters.

 

[konicaman]

I would suggest shooting a couple of films with it. The oil being removed there is a fair to good chance that it will keep ticking if the results from the tests are good. The IIa is a rather solid camera and rarely in need of spare parts. They typically saw very little use when new - film was expensive in its heyday - so Dad only took the camera out for holidays, X-mas and birthdays 🙂

You can find many Vitomatics in thrift stores and at flea markets that are fully functional (maybe except for the meter). Having it cleaned and adjusted will probably be too expensive, but will on the other hand leave you with a camera that most likely will run flawlessly for the next 40 years.

If needed you could also try putting an ad in the Classifieds here on RFF, under want to buy - someone might be willing to service it for a fair price. I have had several cameras serviced that way with excellent results.

 

[jtm6]

I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, so the no-limits nature of digital tends to get overwhelming.

Thanks for this statement. This is an interesting way to look at it from any angle and it made me think about some things differently than I had before. I agree. One reason I like film is because I can let go.