Is My Bessa Dead?

[richiedcruz]

Last night, I took my Bessa L out to photograph some of the haunted houses in my neighborhood. When I got home, I started to load a fresh roll. I got the roll in, wound it once, hit the shutter, and nothing. I tried to wind the shutter again, but it won't budge.

Is my shutter dead, or am I missing some kind of trick?

I pretty much have been using it nonstop since I got it. I put around 100 rolls through mine before it froze up, and the winder seemed to feel really gritty lately. I was wondering how many rolls other Bessa L owners have put through your cameras and how they are holding up?

Thanks,
Richie

PS I am not mourning much for my Bessa. (sorry Bessa fans😉 ) I have been thinking lately that a Canon IV would make a nice home for my 25/4 and a nice companion to my Leica IIIC.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Take it to a priest.

 

[Kyle]

Is the shutter jammed? If so, what usually happens is the white/grey shutter stays open while the black shutter is closed. If that happens, try pushing the white shutter down, that might pop it back into place. This happened to me twice on my Bessa L and this fixed it.

Hopefully that makes sense, its been a while since I've shot with a Bessa so my mind's a little sketchy.

 

[Bryce]

I'm on my second Bessa L. My first one (purchased used) lasted only 5 or so rolls before it died, though it was a little different than you've described.
Mine seemed to be working fine, but the film showed overlapping frames on a roll or two. Then, the wind mechanism jammed; I couldn't move the lever, the shutter fired O.K., but there was no way to re cock it or wind the film on.
Here's where I screwed up- I took it apart, thinking that it was already broken and that a $70 body couldn't be worth taking to the repairman. So maybe I'd fix it, maybe I'd destroy it being an amateur mechanic with no instructions. I destroyed it...
In the process, I discovered the root of the problem. All that had gone wrong was a screw had come loose in the winding mechanism; re tightening it would have saved the camera! So here's something to check out, requires no special tools or skills:
Remove the bottom cover; no tricks to it, just a couple of teeny philips head screws. If you have the same problem I did, you'll find that at the bottom end of the shaft the wind lever operates has a little plate attached to it by a screw. Check if the screw is loose.
If it is, you'll have to fiddle with the linkage the plate operates until it can work again, then tighten the screw and replace the bottom cover.
Of course you could also take it to the doctor....

 

[Bryce]

O.K., heres a shot of the Bessa L with its pants off...
The red arrow points at the offending screw, and the blue arrow points at a link that causes the works to jam up.
Notice the adhesive that's obviously supposed to keep the screw from backing out? Maybe a stronger adhesive is in order...
Obviously use of this information is at your own risk. I am not a qualified repairman and anyone who says otherwise is doing me and everyone else a great disservice. That said, I hope this helps.