Bessa R2a advace lever stuck

[valdas]

So I finished the roll, removed the film, after couple of weeks I put the new film in, advanced the lever, wanted to press the shuter button - ooops, nothing. I thought batteries died - replaced with fresh ones (yes, put them correctly), still nothing. The advance lever is stuck in the "already advanced position" and the shutter button just presses through with no releasing of the shutter. There is no shutter speeds lit in the viewfinder - as if there is no battery or as if advance lever is not advanced (althouth it is). What is it? Electronics issue or just advance lever stuck in not fully advanced position which prevents shutter from firing? What do I do? Can I avoid a rendez vous with the professional retair shop?

 

[Larry H-L]

Make sure the battery compartment spring is not compressed. (Some batteries are thinner than others). You could temporarily put in a small piece of foil to see it the shutter speed lights come on. And of course, make sure the camera is on.

If no luck with electronics, the shutter may be out of synch and stuck. This can happen if the shutter release is pressed before the camera is fully advanced.

Caution urged, but you can try firmly slapping the base of the camera, bottom plate down, into the open palm of your other hand. This will sometimes free a vertical-travel shutter. This was a common fix for jammed Nikon FM/FM2 cameras. Good luck.

 

[monopix]

Hi Valdas,

There is a ratchet under the base plate that needs to unlatch to allow the advance lever to go back. The wind shaft has to rotate past a certain point for the ratchet to unlatch and I guess it's not going far enough. I've seen similar problems in other cameras caused by the advance mechanism being worn so that the lever hit its end stop before the shaft has rotated enough. I suggest removing the base plate and have a look at the mechanism on the bottom of the wind shaft to see if there's any obvious cause of the problem. Also try roating the shaft a little more to see there is still some movement in it.

It should look something like this...

The ratchet is the lever in the botom left. The shaft needs to rotate far enough for the lever to clear the end of the row of teeth.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[valdas]

Hi Valdas,

There is a ratchet under the base plate that needs to unlatch to allow the advance lever to go back. The wind shaft has to rotate past a certain point for the ratchet to unlatch and I guess it's not going far enough. I've seen similar problems in other cameras caused by the advance mechanism being worn so that the lever hit its end stop before the shaft has rotated enough. I suggest removing the base plate and have a look at the mechanism on the bottom of the wind shaft to see if there's any obvious cause of the problem. Also try roating the shaft a little more to see there is still some movement in it.

It should look something like this...

The ratchet is the lever in the botom left. The shaft needs to rotate far enough for the lever to clear the end of the row of teeth.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks a lot for this advise, I will try and I hope that it will help.

 

[valdas]

An update - removing the base plate and moving a few parts as Peter suggested fixed the issue quickly - Bessa is fully operational again...

 

[monopix]

Ah, that's a shame. I was going to offer you 20 quid for it as a non-worker ;-)

 

[valdas]

Ah, that's a shame. I was going to offer you 20 quid for it as a non-worker ;-)

I am sorry to disappoint you 🙂 I hope I will enjoy my Bessa for many years... and you already had one from me 🙂

 

[charjohncarter]

Thanks for that tip Monopix, lots of Bessa users here that will hopefully not have to use your tip.

 

[ForestCap]

Thanks for the tips Monopix. I don't have R2a but an R. Strangely for such a popular camera series there are little information online about this kind of saving-the-day easy fixes.