Brand New R3A Shutter Problem?

[DFisco]

I just got an R3A the other week and have some questions about issues I've been having, hopefully some of you can provide some answers or suggestions.

I purchased a brand new R3A (from a certain NYC superstore) and on the very first roll the shutter jammed around frame 24. Everything was locked up, tried turning the camera on and off, changing shutter speeds, but nothing would allow me to advance the film. Ultimately I had to rewind the film and deal with 12 blank frames I could have used.

On the second roll nothing jammed, but around frame 10 when I was advancing the film, there was a slight grinding but after that no problems.

On the third roll as soon as I loaded the film and fired off the first couple shots to get to "1" position, on the second picture the shutter jammed for five seconds and everything was locked up (shutter speed was 1/125, so it wasn't locked up because of a slow shutter speed).

So what's the deal with this camera? I've read a lot of reviews saying the internals aren't reliable and that shutter issues are common, but are they really this common?

Is it worth returning it and exchanging it for a different R3A, or am I going to be living with these problems on any copy that I get?

I really love the camera...the viewfinder is amazing...the unpaired 50mm frameline is great for composition...I love the camera and I want it to work...but I'm worried about a poor investment if it is having problems already, let alone a couple years down the line.

 

[john_s]

......Is it worth returning it and exchanging it for a different R3A, or am I going to be living with these problems on any copy that I get?......

Return it.

 

[Pete B]

Return it.

+1.

Why consider doing anything else?🙁
Pete

 

[Rom]

Hi,

I would advise also to try new batteries.

I have a R3a and the first time that i change the battery, the shutter jam and then nothing else. After searching on the web, i discover that some manufacturers are making batteries a little bit thinner than the standard requires.

After looking for another brand, i change the batteries and from now, everything's is working well.

This is the main difference between the R3a and R3m. With the m version, you would just have noticed that the lightmeter was not fonctionning...The shutter will always works... With the a version, you need battery in order to shoot.... But you have the aperture priority...

Keep us informed

Good luck

 

[DFisco]

I'm not sure if it's the batteries, because I'm not getting the low battery indicator in the viewfinder that I'm told I would if the batteries were low.

What I'd like to know, and if anyone can lend some suggestion here it'd be much appreciated: how common are problems with the R3A?

Even if I were to return this specific body and get a replacement, would it still be likely to encounter more problems with that one?

I'm not just concerned with the immediate present, but the future life of a camera investment such as this one has me worried. Will Bessa's last years, or if you break a year without problems then you're lucky?

Because if its rare for Bessa's to last longer than a year then I might just go with something else entirely and not waste my time. I'm looking for a camera that will last the test of time (no abuse), but not require me to repair it every couple months.

 

[Keith]

I just got an R3A the other week and have some questions about issues I've been having, hopefully some of you can provide some answers or suggestions.

I purchased a brand new R3A (from a certain NYC superstore) and on the very first roll the shutter jammed around frame 24. Everything was locked up, tried turning the camera on and off, changing shutter speeds, but nothing would allow me to advance the film. Ultimately I had to rewind the film and deal with 12 blank frames I could have used.

On the second roll nothing jammed, but around frame 10 when I was advancing the film, there was a slight grinding but after that no problems.

On the third roll as soon as I loaded the film and fired off the first couple shots to get to "1" position, on the second picture the shutter jammed for five seconds and everything was locked up (shutter speed was 1/125, so it wasn't locked up because of a slow shutter speed).

So what's the deal with this camera? I've read a lot of reviews saying the internals aren't reliable and that shutter issues are common, but are they really this common?

Is it worth returning it and exchanging it for a different R3A, or am I going to be living with these problems on any copy that I get?

I really love the camera...the viewfinder is amazing...the unpaired 50mm frameline is great for composition...I love the camera and I want it to work...but I'm worried about a poor investment if it is having problems already, let alone a couple years down the line.

I wouldn't hesitate to get another camera ... the R3A is a great shooter IMO.

If you want to see problems read some of the digital M threads and marvel at the the crap people are prepared to forgive their cameras for because it's a Leica. Bessas are a little flimsy in their feel but they are a very well made and thought out rangefinder IMO.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I just got an R3A the other week and have some questions about issues I've been having, hopefully some of you can provide some answers or suggestions.

I purchased a brand new R3A (from a certain NYC superstore) and on the very first roll the shutter jammed around frame 24. Everything was locked up, tried turning the camera on and off, changing shutter speeds, but nothing would allow me to advance the film. Ultimately I had to rewind the film and deal with 12 blank frames I could have used.

On the second roll nothing jammed, but around frame 10 when I was advancing the film, there was a slight grinding but after that no problems.

On the third roll as soon as I loaded the film and fired off the first couple shots to get to "1" position, on the second picture the shutter jammed for five seconds and everything was locked up (shutter speed was 1/125, so it wasn't locked up because of a slow shutter speed).

So what's the deal with this camera? I've read a lot of reviews saying the internals aren't reliable and that shutter issues are common, but are they really this common?

Is it worth returning it and exchanging it for a different R3A, or am I going to be living with these problems on any copy that I get?

I really love the camera...the viewfinder is amazing...the unpaired 50mm frameline is great for composition...I love the camera and I want it to work...but I'm worried about a poor investment if it is having problems already, let alone a couple years down the line.

Fisco, if I remember correctly, there's a quirk with these cameras that I experienced when I bought one years ago. You have to be very careful not to crank the winding lever until the shutter has completely run its course. You wouldn't normally run into this problem in the daytime when you probably have the shutter speed set at something faster than 1/30 of a second or so. But if you are 'quick on the draw' and advancing the film IMMEDIATELY after firing the shutter at say 1/4 of a second, the thing will jam up on you. I think this may be something the Bessa's are prone to do.

I'm not sure, but I think I learned to undo the jammed shutter by simply turning the shutter speed dial to another speed (possibly faster, or maybe slower.. sorry, I can't remember exactly). Do a search on the web and I think you'll find mention of this quirk of the Bessas, and hopefully easy solutions.