Ouch! Dropped my Bessa!

[Q-dog]

I was just going to move myself a few meters to get another angle when I dropped my Bessa! It fell on the top causing an ugly dent and cracking the frame illumination window. And the back popped open ruining half a roll of film!

But the rangefinder seems to be ok and there is just a small crack in the frames. It is still a perfectly fine camera to use!

Now, if I carried an M, what would have happenend? Probably I would have been more careful with it, but if I dropped it I guess that the effect would have been pretty much the same? Except that the bottom loading system would have prevented the film from being damaged. Which of course might be a very good feature.

Now, does anyone have some Bessa parts to sell me?

/Ola

 

[nobbylon]

i'd take the top off and after removing the windows would hammer the dent out. Maybe repaint the top black and just buy a new window which should be available quite cheap.

 

[Q-dog]

I would actually prefer it black, so that is a good idea. There is a crack in the metal though so I don´t know how well it will look. But worth a try.

/Ola

 

[Ronald M]

Crack will let dirt etc inside. Replace the top. That or tape over it.

 

[Haigh]

Dropped Bessa

Dropped Bessa

I am thinking of buying a Besssa R4A and was concerned about the ruggedness of the rangefinder. Ypur unfortunste experience while causing some damage does suggest to me that perhaps the RF is not so easily misaligned. I would welcome any other forum readers' comments on this aspect of the Bessa RF cameras.

Good luck with your repairs.

Best wishes,

Gary Haigh

Australia

http://www.leicaboutique.com/gallery/index.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733837@N06/

 

[luketrash]

I saw replacement tops selling for about 19.99 on ebay from Photo Village's outlet on there.

edit:// nevermind.. They were for the R2/3A/M cameras.

 

[NickTrop]

Ouch! Dropped my Bessa!

You think it "smarted". Imagine how your Bessa felt! In general, I think it's a good idear to try to not to drop your cameras.

 

[Justin Low]

Don't hammer the 'dent' out. That looks like a Bessa-R to me, and IIRC, they had plastic top-plates. If you hammered it out, you'd probably end up with a hole from the cracked plastic.

 

[Q-dog]

Justin, it looks like you're right. It does seem like plastic. I´ll guess I must try to find a replacement. Or live with it.

/Ola