Voigtlander Bessa R Shutter Jammed - 2021

[TonesDion]

Hello to you all,

Unfortunately, I jammed my Bessa R today. Here's how it happened : I finish my roll and get ready to load the next one. After getting the next roll in, I do the usual Bessa R formula where you advance two times to get to the first frame. Although, on the second shutter released, it jammed completely. The shutter release button can be pressed but nothing is happening, and the film advance lever is completely locked. I suspect I've been too fast between each shutter release.

So when I got home, I removed the base plate to check if anything was wrong. As seen on this thread. The fix seems simple, but I can't really understand it. The pictures, which were posted, are no longer available.

I've attached some pictures below, so you guys can have an idea and maybe know the answer.

Bringing the camera to a doctor is my last result, but I would like to try myself first. Any help would be appreciated, thanks a lot!

Anthony

Photos of the base opened and the shutter : https://imgur.com/gallery/uPNj6K8

 

[charjohncarter]

Try this, I haven't watched it, but I hope it help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXPcmdcCAZI

 

[farlymac]

Looking at your third photo, Anthony, locate the lever just to the right of the lens mount, and closest to the front of the camera (bottom of the opening in the view). It is in front of the delayed release mechanism. Try lifting that lever to get it to trip the shutter.


PF

 

[rfaspen]

It seems to be a known issue with the R that you shouldn't get too aggressive and rapid with the winding on. I have always been smooth and deliberate when winding my R and so far no problems. I wouldn't say I was particularly slow, but definitely not in a "hyper rapid war correspondent" mode. Just in "nordic ski competition" mode where I want to be sure and get a shot of my son as he whizzes by.

Good luck reviving your R! They're really great little cameras and unique in the world of film rangefinders.

And welcome to RFF, TonesDion. You may want to come back again and often...an incredible amount of knowledge here and a wide range of interests and topics.

 

[TonesDion]

Thanks for your replies.

Farlymac, If I understand correctly, that lever is directly connected to the shutte rrelease buttom? If so, I can press the buttom, which lift that lever, but nothing is happening... The problem might only be on the shutter itself? Should I try something on the shutter, like gently push up or down? I assume it's a very delicate and fragile piece of the camera, so I kinda don't want to go that route. Let me know.

Rfaspen, yeah, lesson learned. I like your idealogy. That say, I really appreciated the experience of having it on my side each day for the past couple months! It's actually the first time it jammed on me. Thanks for the kind welcome.

Anthony

 

[Beemermark]

It seems to be a known issue with the R that you shouldn't get too aggressive and rapid with the winding on. I have always been smooth and deliberate when winding my R and so far no problems. I wouldn't say I was particularly slow, but definitely not in a "hyper rapid war correspondent" mode. Just in "nordic ski competition" mode where I want to be sure and get a shot of my son as he whizzes by.

Good advice for all film cameras not just the R.

 

[farlymac]

Thanks for your replies.

Farlymac, If I understand correctly, that lever is directly connected to the shutte rrelease buttom? If so, I can press the buttom, which lift that lever, but nothing is happening... The problem might only be on the shutter itself? Should I try something on the shutter, like gently push up or down? I assume it's a very delicate and fragile piece of the camera, so I kinda don't want to go that route. Let me know.

Rfaspen, yeah, lesson learned. I like your idealogy. That say, I really appreciated the experience of having it on my side each day for the past couple months! It's actually the first time it jammed on me. Thanks for the kind welcome.

Anthony

Unfortunately, Anthony, most of the action continues out of sight after that lever so it's hard to see where the next area is in the train. There are a couple of things I would try if it was my camera (thankfully it's working just fine), but not something I could recommend to someone else to do.


The Copal shutter is fairly robust, but like rfaspen said it can be defeated. When I compare your photos with my camera I see nothing out of place, so this indicates the issue is down somewhere deep in the camera that is inaccessible without a tear down.


The only thing I can think of that might help is to set the self timer, then run it off to see if it trips the shutter. But then the timer itself might not start, so it's an iffy proposition in any respect. Might be best just to send it in for repair.


PF

 

[monopix]

From your pictures, the significant thing is the front shutter is open while the rear (main) one is still cocked. What this tells us is the front shutter has failed to trip the main one. This can be due to damage of the linkage but sometimes, it just happens and recocking the camera can get it working again. To recock the camera you need to release the wind lock so that you can use the film advance lever again. Under the bottom plate there is a small lever which I've arrowed in the attached picture. Pull that lever aside so the wind shaft can rotate and recock the camera. Hopefully that will get it working.

 

[TonesDion]

fairlymac, I understand. As for repairs, I'll search the forum for trustworthy repair shop, but just for now, do you know places that have the craftmenship to repair Bessa Rs? I'm located in Quebec Canada. Thank you!

Monopix, good point, thanks for taking the time to check the photos. I actually tried your solution yesterday. I cocked the lever, but it did nothing to the shutter. So I assume that the problem is deeper, like others mentioned... Do you have other ideas? Thanks a lot!

Anthony

 

[monopix]

These are not complicated cameras and any decent repair man should be able to sort it unless something is broken in which case spares may be an issue. You can send it to me if you want but I'm in the UK.

 

[monopix]

Do you have other ideas?

You would need to start dismantling to go any further. It's not difficult to remove the front shutter though. This previous post of mine will give you some idea what you're dealing with.

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172706

 

[farlymac]

fairlymac, I understand. As for repairs, I'll search the forum for trustworthy repair shop, but just for now, do you know places that have the craftsmanship to repair Bessa Rs? I'm located in Quebec Canada. Thank you!

Anthony

Don't know of any your way, Anthony. About the closest I know would be Younsin Ye at Welcome to YYeCAMERA

Or you could see if the Head Bartender is taking on new work at https://www.cameraquest.com/repairs.htm He specializes in Voigtlander gear.

PF

 

[B_Antony]

I recently had a jammed shutter in my new-to-me Bessa T. I had recently purchased the trigger winder grip and was rapid winding it a few times “for fun” and the grey front shutter stuck open. Advance lever would not wind and pressing the shutter release also did nothing. (If you have a trigger winder on a Bessa do NOT rapid advance it). What I ended up having to to was remove the lens from the body and using two small flat blade screwdrivers ‘coax’ the shutter back out. I used one screwdriver to very gently pull on the last little visible part of the shutter and the second one to get purchase on one of the stainless pivot points and slowly pull it back out. After it came out about 1/4 inch it snapped closed. Other than a tiny mark from the flat blade, it got everything working again. In my case, it was just physically jammed up in its housing. Seems to cycle fine now. None of the other “fixes” I read about worked so this may be a last resort for anyone else having this issue.

 

[Lärk]

I recently bought a Bessa R from ebay stating it had a jammed shutter. I took a gamle hoping I could repair it. It had the same issue (only 1 shutter triggering). I was lucky amd managed to repair it. Removed the bottom plate, removed the metal pice attached to the rewind ratched that cocks the shutters. Beneath that I found a small springlever that had slipped out of it's recess and also beneath that some old dried grease that was hindering the trigger mechanism from resetting (it couldn't fire the second shutter when out of alignment) removed a bit of the dried grease, put a tiny bit of watch oil and reset the spring and voila everything works perfectly again 👍
Btw If anyone knows how to remove the top plate on the camera I'm very interested. Wouldn't budge for me 😅📸
Sadly there is not alot of info online on how to fix these cameras or how to do basic cla...

 

[KoNickon]

The Bessa series is mechanically very similar (and with regard to the shutter mechanism, probably identical) to a number of SLRs -- Nikon FM10, Olympus OM2000, Vivitar 3000(?) manufactured by Cosina. So there may be information out there about servicing the shutter for those cameras that should be equally applicable to the Bessa R, Bessa L, etc.

 

[Lärk]

The Bessa series is mechanically very similar (and with regard to the shutter mechanism, probably identical) to a number of SLRs -- Nikon FM10, Olympus OM2000, Vivitar 3000(?) manufactured by Cosina. So there may be information out there about servicing the shutter for those cameras that should be equally applicable to the Bessa R, Bessa L, etc.

That is great information 👍 my biggest problem is actually getting the thing open 😂 I'm lucky I was able to repair it by just accessing the bottom plate. I tried removing the top plate but it feels really iffy putting any force on the top plate without risking to break the plastic. Otherwise I'm pretty blessed with an intuition of just looking at mechanical stuff and see what is wrong pretty quickly. But would be nice with a service manual so I can do a proper cla...

 

[richardHaw]

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 1)

Hello, everybody! Do you believe in curses? Some folks believe that items can be cursed, it can come from the previous owner or just a stroke bad luck. You’…

richardhaw.com

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 2)

Hello, everybody! Because of the generous support that I got from all of you, I am motivated to finish this series earlier than scheduled. I’m not saying th…

richardhaw.com

Like everything in the universe, this issue deserves a proper closure. 😲😲😲

 

[monopix]

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 1)

Hello, everybody! Do you believe in curses? Some folks believe that items can be cursed, it can come from the previous owner or just a stroke bad luck. You’…

richardhaw.com

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 2)

Hello, everybody! Because of the generous support that I got from all of you, I am motivated to finish this series earlier than scheduled. I’m not saying th…

richardhaw.com

Like everything in the universe, this issue deserves a proper closure. 😲😲😲

A good write up Richard. I've just been repairing one but it didn't need dismantling, just a broken rewind crank. I do cringe, though, when I see bits of cameras and screws spread over a bench. I like to keep the parts of each assembly along with associated screws together so I can be sure what goes where when reassembling.

 

[KoNickon]

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 1)

Hello, everybody! Do you believe in curses? Some folks believe that items can be cursed, it can come from the previous owner or just a stroke bad luck. You’…

richardhaw.com

Repair: Voigtländer Bessa R (Part 2)

Hello, everybody! Because of the generous support that I got from all of you, I am motivated to finish this series earlier than scheduled. I’m not saying th…

richardhaw.com

Like everything in the universe, this issue deserves a proper closure. 😲😲😲

That is an extremely complicated camera, wow. Very impressive writeup, Richard. I've looked at your blog -- looks like there is nothing you can't fix! Terrific help for Nikons especialy.

 

[Dogman]

Richard is well known to many Nikon owners. His evaluations of manual focus Nikkors have cost me several dollars over time. Does that make him an influencer? 🙂