Bessa RF door latch.

[Jbennett68]

So my new besa rf has one issue. Door latch is sticking. I had a bear of a time getting it open then it just popped open and I stupidly shut it. Now I can’t open it again. It’s like it’s not fully releasing. I put a drop of oil in the release slider to see if that helped. Any suggestions? Pic of camera and latch for reference.

 

[p.giannakis]

Is there any tension on the button when you pull it? Probably the spring has lost its shape and doesn't fully pull the latch.

 

[p.giannakis]

When you pull the button, does the door move at all giving you any leeway to pull the latch with a thin wire or something ?

 

[Jbennett68]

Is there any tension on the button when you pull it? Probably the spring has lost its shape and doesn't fully pull the latch.

There is tension. It seems appropriate.

 

[Jbennett68]

When you pull the button, does the door move at all giving you any leeway to pull the latch with a thin wire or something ?

Other than the one time it popped open it doesn’t seem to move and it pulled right to the body.

 

[p.giannakis]

Other than the one time it popped open it doesn’t seem to move and it pulled right to the body.

The only other thing I can think of is pull the button whilst pushing the door as much as it can go into the body (to remove any friction between the door and the latch) and give a couple of gentle taps hoping that the latch will move 🤷

If this works, you'll need to oil the moving parts of the standard. I did it with my Isolette as it was stiff opening.

Considering the rarity of this camera, I would take it straight to the doctor.

 

[Jbennett68]

The only other thing I can think of is pull the button whilst pushing the door as much as it can go into the body (to remove any friction between the door and the latch) and give a couple of gentle taps hoping that the latch will move 🤷

If this works, you'll need to oil the moving parts of the standard. I did it with my Isolette as it was stiff opening.

Considering the rarity of this camera, I would take it straight to the doctor.

Yeah. I’ll need to find someone I guess.

 

[p.giannakis]

If you are willing to take some risk (and taking for granted that there is a filter on the lens, you can try to push the standard from the back. Open the back, pull the latch button and give a gentle push to the rear of the lens assembly. Risky behaviour though.

 

[WoodallP]

Hi,

They are not easy to open at best I find. I have to slide it and simultaneously give the leather strap a good tug though I can't see a lot that can go wrong. I hope you sort it out as they are great cameras and the shiny black even gives early Barnacks a run for their money in the cool-look stakes.

 

[Jbennett68]

Got it. Yes. Someone recommended squeezing where the wire strap holders attach and that did it. I so t see what could need adjusting g. The slider looks like it’s traveling the full distance but I’m scared to close it again.

 

[p.giannakis]

Got it. Yes. Someone recommended squeezing where the wire strap holders attach and that did it. I so t see what could need adjusting g. The slider looks like it’s traveling the full distance but I’m scared to close it again. View attachment 4879737

Oh you meant the back door ! I thought you were talking about the standard door to erect the lens assembly 😖

 

[Jbennett68]

Oh you meant the back door ! I thought you were talking about the standard door to erect the lens assembly 😖

Yes. Film door. I should have been more clear. I can’t tell why it’s sticking. Now that it’s open I can see the release seems to travel its full path when I move the slider. Squeezing the body at those points helped. One guy in Europe Czech Republic told me they are often finicky. That may just be the way it is but I’m still hesitant to close it again. If anyone know of a source for a pdf of the manual I’d appreciate it. I can’t seem to locate this exact one.

 

[Jbennett68]

I just got a pdf of the manual in English if anyone needs one.