Bessa withdrawal

[peterc]

Took the Bessa R in today for warranty work. The RF was definitely off at infinity and a series of test shots taken with 3 lenses at close range wide open were quite abysmal.
And I'm told I'll be without it for (gasp!!!) 4 to 6 weeks while it goes to Voigtlander (or their approved representative) for adjustment.

Peter

 

[former member]

Yikes!

My R2 looks dead-on. I'll have to have the adjustment instructions ready if it wanders off. Four to Siz weeks! I get camera CLA'd and Repaired back from Essex in two weeks.

 

[Chico]

Thanks for the update, Peter. 😎

 

[peterc]

Yikes!

Off warranty I could have had it back in a week. But I bought it in January and have a two year warranty, so I figured rather than void the warranty I'd have it sent to the manufacturer.

Peter

 

[Rick Waldroup]

I must be the luckiest guy on the face of the planet. I shoot a Bessa R2, R3A, and an L and I have yet to have any issues of any kind with the cameras. And I do not baby them at all. I've owned the R2 for almost 3 years and got the R3A when they first came out. I have shot with them in the rain, shot several war protests with them, just got through shooting a county fair where I actually got into a shoving match with another photographer over a bean eating contest of all things, where the cameras got banged around pretty good, and the cameras just keep on trucking with no problems at all. The rangefinders are dead on, I have no issues with focusing, the meters are spot on, I mean I must be living the good life. I read stories about people having issues with the cameras and some of the CV lenses and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have not experienced any of these problems.

Now, I have shot those cameras in almost every kind of environment you can imagine, including war protests, but I tell you I was never more proud of them than the way they handled themselves during the shoving match at the bean eating contest. I think they are now battle hardned and ready for more action. 😀 😀

 

[VictorM.]

Bean eating contest??!! Is this the alternative to petro fuels?

 

[back alley]

who does the warranty work on them in canada?

joe

 

[peterc]

The rangefinders are dead on, I have no issues with focusing

I think I must have one of the batch of Bessa Rs that came from the factory with the maladjusted rangefinders.

Peter

 

[ch1]

I must be the luckiest guy on the face of the planet. I shoot a Bessa R2, R3A, and an L and I have yet to have any issues of any kind with the cameras. And I do not baby them at all. I've owned the R2 for almost 3 years and got the R3A when they first came out. I have shot with them in the rain, shot several war protests with them, just got through shooting a county fair where I actually got into a shoving match with another photographer over a bean eating contest of all things, where the cameras got banged around pretty good, and the cameras just keep on trucking with no problems at all. The rangefinders are dead on, I have no issues with focusing, the meters are spot on, I mean I must be living the good life. I read stories about people having issues with the cameras and some of the CV lenses and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have not experienced any of these problems.

Now, I have shot those cameras in almost every kind of environment you can imagine, including war protests, but I tell you I was never more proud of them than the way they handled themselves during the shoving match at the bean eating contest. I think they are now battle hardned and ready for more action. 😀 😀

Rick,

Wow!

You have managed to tempt both the anger of the gods and a laws of Murphy in one post!

Good luck, man, you're going to need it! 😀

 

[peterc]

who does the warranty work on them in canada?

Apparently this is a problem. I called today to see where the heck my Bessa was hiding. A month to make a 10 minute adjustment seemed somewhat excessive.
They spent the month trying to figure out where to have warranty service done. I was informed it has been sent to a local camera repair shop to have the adjustment done.
Had I not had the warranty ... I would have taken it there myself and probably have had the camera back while I waited.

Peter

 

[sockeyed]

It's a very easy fix. The RF adjustments are just under the hot shoe. My local tech worked on my Bessa R and got everything dialed in couple of days. Too bad that they're making you wait so long for yours!

 

[peterc]

It's a very easy fix.

That's the annoying part. If I didn't have a 2-year warranty (I bought the camera in January) I would have done the adjustment myself.
When this ends (if they get it right) they'll have had the camera for longer than I have.

Peter

 

[tedwhite]

I read a thread on this forum, probably at least a year ago, wherein its author provided detailed, clear instructions about how to do this. Too bad CV doesn't sell a 'shop manual' as motorcycle manufacturers do.

Ted

 

[pvdhaar]

Took the Bessa R in today for warranty work. The RF was definitely off at infinity and a series of test shots taken with 3 lenses at close range wide open were quite abysmal.
And I'm told I'll be without it for (gasp!!!) 4 to 6 weeks while it goes to Voigtlander (or their approved representative) for adjustment.

Peter

You think 4-6 weeks is bad?

My Bessa-T is in warranty repair (Netherlands) for 8wks now, still no sign of any progress..

Granted, in my case it's probably not a 10minute repair, the shutter and film advance are toast..

 

[snowblink]

Just got my Bessa R3A back after being sent off for vertical alignment adjustment under warranty.
It took 11 weeks.

 

[peterc]

It took 11 weeks.

Ouch! They certainly aren't speed demons.

Peter

 

[einolu]

If it makes you feel any better (or worse) they will probably just send you a new one, thats what they did when I sent my Bessa R in for frameline adjustment the last few months it was under warrenty... The slightly off framelines weren't bothering me too much, but I figured I would get things fixed while I still could. Oh, I bought my camera though CameraQuest.

 

[peterc]

Oh, I bought my camera though CameraQuest.

I bought mine in Canada to get the two year Canadian warranty. However, it appears repairs are done by a Voightlander authorized repair facility so my chances of getting a new one seem slim.
My hope is simply to get it back ... hopefully with the focus fixed.

Peter

 

[tedwhite]

Bought a Bessa R from CameraQuest last year - or was it the year before - not sure. Anyway it arrived well packed and all that, but the vertical rf was very slightly out. I mentioned this to Stephen. He responded as follows:

1. He said it was perfect when he sent it out.
2. He provided me with detailed instructions so I could re-align it myself.
3. He said I could send it back and he would fix it.

I decided to just keep the camera and live with it as it was really no big deal. I have great respect for Mr. Gandy and don't doubt that in (1) it probably was perfect when he sent it out. Who knows what banging about it may have received in transit. And, as for (2) I quite appreciated his detailed instructions. However, I was too timid to try it myself.

Well, you know about (3). I wanted to use it so badly I wasn't about to send it back.

Ted

 

[peterc]

The saga continues. :bang:
The place I took the camera for the adjustment called me and wanted me to talk to the technician working on the camera.
His question: did I want the camera set up for Leica or Voigtlander lenses?
He claimed Voigtlander and other LTM lenses would require different settings due to the slight flange to film plane differences between Voigtlander and Leica.
Anyway, I had him adjust it for a Leica 50mm.
We'll see how it is when I get it back.

Peter