Sudden Stop

[Meino]

Thanks for checking this out:

So I have this Bessa R2A and it's not bad at all, just took so time to get used to, but now I'm afraid I would be able to use it for a while. So it looked good and all, I was loading the film normally: I loaded the cartridge and pushed the winder thing down, then I put the film into the appropriate slot. Really I did everything normally, then I would it a bit, it stopped, and I hit the shutter release to advance it more. It advanced one more or almost one more time. The advance lever got stuck and the shutter release will not release - it's like pressing into a dead shutter release. I don't want to force the arm to move, and I won't, but i don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

thanks,
meino

 

[Toby]

I had a similar problem recently and I just took the film out and it unjammed - did waste a few frames though....

 

[MinorTones]

Try pressing the button you press before rewiding the film, then advance the shutter again. Before you do that though you might want to open the back and make sure there isnt a jam somewhere.

-Mitch

 

[RML]

Oddly enough, I only once had such a problem with my L, and it lasted only one roll. Still I don't know what caused it. I was able to keep advancing the film but it did NOT sound good. Ignorant me, I kept shooting the entire roll before taking action. 😛 It never did harm the L as it went to India 3 times, Mongolia a couple of times and is still shooting well. Try the advice by the other posters and see what comes of it.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Try new batteries.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

And check that little switch around the shutter release. It should be facing forward and you should see a red dot for the camera to work.

 

[estepan99]

Hy Meino!

I had a similar problem with my R, but only with one film. The leader of the film (some consumer film, american brand starting with a K) of that special film was cut in an abnormal manner (in the lower edge a rectangular piece was cut out, which I had never seen in any other films) and when I loaded the camera I realized, that the film was moving faster, than the spool could take it up. So throughout shooting with that film I noticed from time to time that the film did not advance properly. I could release the shutter but the pictures overlapped.
First I thought its the cameras fault but then I took a cheap slovacian film an loaded the camera with it an everything worked to my satisfaction.
Problem has never come back ever since.
So maybe its a film problem and it will help if you cut the leader right.

Hope it may help,
greets Stephan

 

[Bertram2]

This prob was said to happen at the R , L and R2 when one pressed the release while
winding or not having finished the winding. Not sure if this is valid for the el. shutter too-
Press the rewind release and try to rewind..

bertram

 

[Tom Diaz]

Thanks for checking this out:

So I have this Bessa R2A and it's not bad at all, just took so time to get used to, but now I'm afraid I would be able to use it for a while. So it looked good and all, I was loading the film normally: I loaded the cartridge and pushed the winder thing down, then I put the film into the appropriate slot. Really I did everything normally, then I would it a bit, it stopped, and I hit the shutter release to advance it more. It advanced one more or almost one more time. The advance lever got stuck and the shutter release will not release - it's like pressing into a dead shutter release. I don't want to force the arm to move, and I won't, but i don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

thanks,
meino

This happened to my R2A, and in my case, the camera had to be replaced. So it could come to that. I suggest following Cameraquest's instructions to me if the other posters' ideas don't work: take out the batteries and leave them out for several hours at least. Replace with fresh batteries. See if that clears it up. If not contact your seller or service place. Good luck! It's a nice camera, so don't get discouraged yet!

 

[Meino]

So, thanks for all your posts. Nothing doing yet. I had taken the film out, but I looked for a jam all the same, and I couldn't find one. The cylinder into which you put the film begining, when you're loading the camera, and the same cylinder that rotates when the film is wound, does move in the correct direction if you try to move in manually, but the film advance is still stuck. That advance lever doesn't advance past a certain point which makes you scared to force it, and the connection of that cylinder to the bottom of the camera - where there's a little screw and a sort of plastic circular saw blade - that doesn't move either. One last thing: there's a thin metal piece that's probably always been there (I may have just not noticed it before), but you can only see it when you open the camera because it's in the crease of where the camera back closes; it's on that crease but positioned right below and to the right of that AE hold button - and it's right between the two film advanced cylinders too. That's probably not clear at all, but there's a little piece of metal in the crease where the camera closes, and I'm just wondering if that's normal. I had tried replacing the batteries normally, and right now I'm trying to wait the three hours, but i don't know if that'll do much. Either way, thank you for all of your advice. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Theo-Prof]

The little piece of metal is the frame counter re-set, if I amnot mistaken. When you open the back, the pressure is released from this little tab and that causes the film counter to re-set to the beginning. As to your problem, if you have taken out the film and tried everything else that has been suggested, it sounds like you might need a repair.

Kevin