Rapid Omega 200 film transport negative images overlap

Hi,

 

I've got a RO 200 (6x7) with 58mm lens.

 

I've processed several rolls of B/W film and each roll has come out of the tank with every image overlapping the

previous one up to 12.5mm (1/2 inch). Moreover, there is not one section on the roll where the film is appropriately

spaced between images.

 

I've followed the loading procedures in detail from the original booklet and still come up with negative overlap and no

sign of correct spacings between shots.

 

Off the camera body, the (film back) transport mechanism seems okay and the film pressure plate, (a respected

feature of this model) retracts and sits again as it should in the full transport process.

 

Have any other RO users had this problem before?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Chris

I have a KO Rapid-M. It does the same thing. The film advance is the weakest link in an otherwise wonderful camera.

 

The thing just wears out. It is probably the number one failure mechanism on these cameras.

 

Pull on the bolt harder. This will give you more spacing but it's hard to do consistently, and certainly can't be any good for an already problematic film back. Sorry.

Thanks Robert,

 

Looks like the answer is to try and get another film back in good condition or have this repaired - both are costly I suspect.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

Greg Weber repairs these backs, and gets excellent reviews for his work:

 

http://www.webercamera.com/

Thanks John,

 

Will check this out.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

The normal fix is Greg Weber as stated above, however if you want to try the repair yourself it is doable. I have done two of my backs and

it works.... The advance clutch needs to be cleaned and relubed normally. Read through this and enjoy....

 

http://members.tripod.com/randamteagarden/id31.htm

 

wbill

Bill, you're a champion. The website you suggested is very detailed and exactly what is needed to fix the problem. I'm really delighted. Hopefully others will also benefit from your reply. Many thanks indeed.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

I'm stoked. I received my first of two Rapid 100s yesterday, this one has the 60mm on it, it's missing the cable release guide but other than that it looks pretty good, I have one with the 90mm coming, we'll see what shape it's in. I just developed my first two rolls 1/2 hour ago, and my frame spacing is pretty damned good.

 

My fumbling and not paying attention are not so good, I had trouble removing the first roll so it got fogged really bad, and I have two double exposures because even though everything worked fine my mind got out of whack and I reset the shutter on two frames. Oh, well, I should just trust the camera. And I should have cleaned out some of the dust before used it, there's a couple of pieces stuck in my negs.

 

I may pick up a Mamiya 23 just to compare. And I'm really happy I've finally found some cheap 6x7 cameras that have great quality and that I'm not worried about when I'm out drinking and riding around LA in the middle of the night:<div></div>

"And I'm really happy I've finally found some cheap 6x7 cameras that have great quality ..."

 

No kidding. The KO got the 6x7 rangefinder bug out of my system so that I'm no longer considering dropping $2k

on a Mamiya 7 every other week.

Yeah, I just put my Mamiya 50mm for the 7/7ii up for sale. The 60mm on the KO is going to do me just fine.

I have owed a koni-omega and had problems with overlapping frames. It turned out that the problem was with how i was loading the film. I was aligning the "start arrow" on the film with the loading spool (which is how it works on bronica, hasselblad etc.). This turned out to be incorrect: you are supposed to align the "start arrow" to the take up spool. Once i did this, my frames were spaced perfectly. Hope this helps!