Fuji GSW 690 III - Need help with winding problem and UK Repair Centers?

Hi all,

I've recently just purchased a Fuji GSW 690 III off ebay. It seems in really

good condition with 112 reading on the counter. I have a problem with winding

the film on, it seems to me that the winding lever, or the spool its attatched

to is somehow loose. When I load the film, I align the arrow for the start and

close the back. I wind the film on to the start position but half the time it

keeps on winding, never goes off 'S' on the counter, and winds the whole roll of

film through the camera. Sometimes I am able to wind it to the '1' starting

position, take a couple of photographs but then after a few exposures and winds

it does the same thing and winds the film all the way through.

When I first got it, it seemed to work ok for maybe the first roll of film but

maybe slipped on the last 1 or 2 frames (i cant remember), then seemed to get

worse until recently I have put about 8 films straight through and wasted them

without getting even 1 shot.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or knows a solution to it? I have

tried the technique of putting the thumb on the film as I load to create tension

but this doesn't really seem to work, I tried bend the little silver bit under

the righthand spool towards the spool but I'm not sure if this had any affect.

The images I've developed that actually worked (it sucks having to pay full

ammounts to develop a roll with 1 exposure!) are absolutly amazing so I really

want to get this camera working. It is just annoying as I bought it to use in

the final part of my degree but now its comepletely ruined my workflow. Not to

mention the fact I have lost loads of money through wasting film.

If anyone knows of any fuji repair centers or places I could get this fixed in

the United Kingdom, please let me know! I have emailed fuji to see if they have

a list but they haven't got back to me.

Regards,

Sam

PS. The person I bought it off says they had no problem with it beforehand and they seem very trust worthy, they have tried to help me ot as much as possible and even offered out of date film to try and put through to find the problem.

Is there a chance I am doing something wrong?

Hi,

I've used a chap called Miles Whitehead who lives in Kent. As far as I know he does not advertise but goes by word of mouth, or was still working when I last used him four years or so ago. He is very good, give him a call:01732 848358. He prefers callers to keep to office hours but might accept a call on Saturday mornings. Good luck.

I had a similar kind of problem with my Fuji GS645S Wide60. It was a kind of cam controling the film advance and in principle attached to the frame counter, that loosened itself because these two pieces were just glued together and the glue was aging... this gives you an idea of the "professional"ism of the build of these cameras.Otherwise they are giving fine pictures, but sometimes you have to hack their insides ; and any time handle them with great care.

Paul

Hello,

I don't want to shift the topic off base but does anyone know if the inner workings of the earlier Fujis that use interchangeable lenses are better built than the later fixed lens models?

Thanks

Thanks for all the replies so far, I guess its just buggered and im going to need it repaired.

Fuji got back to me and they still repair the GSW 690 III and others at their official repair center.

If anyone ever needs it, their address is:

Fujifilm UK Ltd Camera Repair Division

Unit 13 St Martin's Way

St Martin's Business Centre

Bedford

MK42 0LF