Bronica RF645 Film Winding Woes

[f8nbethere]

Like many of you, I love my RF645 and carry it with me often. I bought it used over one year ago, and it arrived with what seems to be the common problem of a sticky film advance lever. By "sticky" I mean that the lever would occasionally get stuck mid-throw and I'd have to return it to the resting position (flush with the body) and then try again to advance the film. I described this problem to the person I bought it from and he agreed to pay half of the $190 repair charge. OK, fine, I had it fixed and it's been working smoothly for over one year. I'm now trying to buy another RF645, as I'd really like to have two bodies and carry one with the 45mm lens mounted and one wth the 100mm. In the past couple of months I've purchased two used RF645s and both arrived with the sticky advance problem. In both cases, I informed the seller and offered to pay half the repair cost. In both cases, the sellers said to return the camera, so I was out time and money (for shipping) for nothing! I'm really getting sick of this...
Aside from blowing off steam, my point with this post is to ask if anyone has bought a used RF645 that didn't have film advance problems? There must be a design flaw, right? Is this situation a repeat of Bronica's under-engineered (too soft) gears in the old S2's winding system? I'm also wondering how long the repair will last. Are the replacement parts the same spec as those that failed in the first place? So far, my repaired camera has been operating as smooth as silk. It doesn't get heavy use, I put one or two 220 rolls through it per month. Anyway, having bought three used RF645s that all had this problem, I'm really beginning to wonder... By the way, I don't think it's my fault, I own and use a LOT of cameras (Makina 67, Fuji GS645 and GW690II, Mamiya 7, to name just my modern MF RFs) and am not rough with them. I even have an old Bronica S2 that doesn't have stripped gears...
So, is trying to buy a properly functioning, used RF645 like chasing a rainbow?

 

[jtm]

I bought mine used, though just barely, and I've had not problems with the winding. I don't use it as much as I should, though. And I've never tried 220 film in it.

 

[tensai]

Can't help you with the film advance problem, sorry.. But if I were you I would consider buying a body (or two) from keh.com. I bought some gear from them a couple of times and it has always been good or better than expected, with good delivery and often a warranty. No problems so far. I didn't buy my RF645 there (bought here locally in Tokyo) but I did just receive the 45 mm. Hope you have better luck next time cause it's a hell of a nice camera.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,
I bought mine used and shot a lot with it. Especially 220. No problems until now.
I must say however that it for sure isn't the smoothest film advance i've ever used. Most of the times it tales some force to advance. Not excessive but certainly more than on a Leica.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

 

[FrankS]

The Bronica RF645 that I have now intermittantly requires 2 strokes of the film advance lever. I'm going to send it for repair soon.

 

[Cron]

it seems to be a common problem - I bought one RF645 in June and it has these kind of problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it sticks. I use 120 type of film

 

[david b]

Wanna buy a Mamiya 6 ?

 

[RObert Budding]

Mine had the exact same problem, but it was repaired under warranty. Repaet rapiars, though, do make me nervous.

Has anyone asked the Tamron repair group if this is a recurring problem?

 

[RObert Budding]

I emailed SK Grimes and asked if this is something that they could diagnose and fix. They do great work and can machine new parts - perhaps the Bronica design team selected the wrong material for a gear.