Bessa r2a light meter problem

[NickP]

Hey guys!
So I am a new bessa owner. I bought it on ebay and got an absolutely fantastic deal on it. The camera is 100% mint with the exception of the light meter. I have a color skopar 35mm and If I set the aperture to 2.5 and have the camera on 400 iso and shutter speed set to A, then I will get 1/8 of a second, no matter the lighting conditions (I've pointed it outside in bright sunlight and pointed it in very dark spaces. It will always read 1/8). Now If I manually set a shutter speed, let's say 1/30 of a second) no matter the lighting conditions, it will flash 1/2000 of a second. If I move the dial to 1/2000 of a second then 1/500 of a second will flash no matter the lighting conditions.)
An also very interesting thing that happens is that when I keep shutter speed on A and aperture the same and increase the iso dial, the shutter speed will increase from 400 iso at 1/8 of a second to 800 iso at 1/15 of a second.

I'm just wondering if this is something other people have experienced. If there is no true way to fix it then I won't be heart broken.The camera still works and I don't really need a meter. It would just be nice to have in a "just in case" kind of scenario.

 

[Jason Sprenger]

I've seen some very strange meter behavior when the battery needs changing.
If you're certain to be using fresh batteries, the meter may well be broken.

The only superstitious thing I do for the sake of the meter is to turn the camera off when changing the film speed.

 

[zuikologist]

I recommend changing the batteries even if new out of the box or at least test them if you can. It might also be worth exercisignt he shutter dial/mode selector to move any dust build up.

 

[NickP]

I've seen some very strange meter behavior when the battery needs changing.
If you're certain to be using fresh batteries, the meter may well be broken.

The only superstitious thing I do for the sake of the meter is to turn the camera off when changing the film speed.

Hey thanks for the reply!
When I had originally received the camera I checked the meter with them and tossed them for a new set. Unfortunately the problem still seems to persist. I guess it's broken after all. 🙁

I recommend changing the batteries even if new out of the box or at least test them if you can. It might also be worth exercisignt he shutter dial/mode selector to move any dust build up.

Thanks for responding! I moved the dials around like you said and made sure everything was very clean. Unfortunately the problem still seems to persist. When I first received the camera I changed the batteries so I don't believe it to be a battery issue.

 

[CameraQuest]

check the manual shutter speeds to see if they all seem right.

each should obviously change compared to the next.

Stephen

 

[NickP]

check the manual shutter speeds to see if they all seem right.

each should obviously change compared to the next.

Stephen

Hey Stephen! Thanks for responding.

All the shutter speeds seem accurate to me. Any other suggestions?

 

[CameraQuest]

Hey Stephen! Thanks for responding.

All the shutter speeds seem accurate to me. Any other suggestions?

that's good.

You need to send the camera to an authorized repair station for the meter. Where are you located ?

Stephen

 

[NickP]

that's good.

You need to send the camera to an authorized repair station for the meter. Where are you located ?

Stephen

I am in New York City.

 

[CameraQuest]

In the US there are two authorized Voigtlander repair stations, CameraQuest in Los Angeles and Photovillage in NYC.

Stephen

 

[NickP]

In the US there are two authorized Voigtlander repair stations, CameraQuest in Los Angeles and Photovillage in NYC.

Stephen

Thanks Stephen, I'll definitely checkout Photovillage!