RF645 film advance lever trouble

[vania_plemiannikov]

Here is the message I sent to Tamron techs. If anything similar has

happened to you or if you have any clue about what's happening to me,

please let me know.

Thank you.

V.P.

 

I purchase the RF645 a week ago and something seems to be wrong with

the film advance lever. I only used a few 220 films and when I reach

the end of the films (passed the 25th view or so) there is a great

resistance that makes it difficult to push the lever forward. At

first, I thought it was stuck and opened the back of the camera in

order to fully advance the film. But then I realized it was just a

strong resistance and could process my others film rolls to the end.

If I install a partially used film in the body (hence a film that I

manually rewinded), the same resistance occurs from the 1st to the

last view.

Here is what's happening : when I push the lever it first goes

smoothly but becomes difficult only at the very end of the rotation.

When no film is loaded, when the film is set to the 1st view, or when

the film passed the 32nd view, there is no such problem.

Is this a problem or sould I not worry about it ?

Am I doing something wrong ?

Must I sent it to be repaired ?

Thank you for your help and advice.

V.P.

[roger]

I don't have the problem you describe. The lever resistance is about constant

from the begin to the end of the rolls. But I have never used 220 film on it, my

experience is just with 120.

[vania_plemiannikov]

If I can bother you a bit futher : what kind of resistance are you talking about ? Is the lever smooth at the biginning but becomes harder at the very end of the stroke ? Or is the resistance constant during the whole stroke ?

What I'm thinking is, maybe I'm pushing the lever to fast, so the film gets a bad position by the end of the roll. Could that be a possibility ?

Thank you anyhow for your answer.

[brian walsh]

220 has paper only on the ends. When you make the transition from the paperless middle portion to the distal portion (with paper), the resistance may increase due to the increased thickness of the film-plus-paper combination.

[andreas_carl]

Vania, this is a bit off-topic - how do you like the camera? I bought one 2 weeks ago and like it VERY much, except for the viewfidner, which I HATE. Actually, the viewfinder is fine, the problem is the LCD readout of shutter speed and aperture. I find myself "hunting" to see them... I have the 45mm and 65mm lenses and they seem to be VERY sharp with EXCELLENT contrast. Am thinking about getting the 135 too...

 

About the winding lever - I never experienced that problem, but I used only 120 film. (This probably is superfluous but I want to mention it anyway: make sure to load the film correctly as pictured in the RF manual, if you put the roll in upside-down resistance will be much larger because of the increased curvature)

[roger]

Vania: The resistance is constante for the whole stroke. You may be right about

stroking it too fast.<br><br>

Andreas: I find the viewfinder perfect, and really appreciate the fact that the

LCD is not visible all the time, leaving an unclutered picture. I don't measure for

every shot anyway, but just once for every scene.

[roger h.]

Vania, I use a Mamiya 7 II and experience same thing with 220 film towards the end of the roll: it is not hard to advance like you mention, but I feel much more tension than in the beginning. I have 2 bodies and they react the same with 220 film, but that does not create any problem to me at all.

[vania_plemiannikov]

Well, I guess I should do some testing with 120 films before I panic. I just hope I don't hurt the camera by forcing the lever, but I don't have to push that hard anyway.

Any other insights are still more than welcome and thank you for your answers.

 

Andreas -- When I bought the camera I had already resigned myself to the fact that it was an all electronic camera, so I guess the LCD display was not a disapointment. Even if it is not a very intutive design, I enjoy the precise exposure reading. I wear spectacles and yet have no problem finding the LCD display in normal orientation. Horizontal orientation is nevertheless quite tricky to read.

Anyhow, since I never use A or P mode, I always have in mind what shutter speed or aperture I am using. I only check the LCD screen to see how much over or under exposed are my guessings. The A mode should not be a problem either. If you know the aperture, you should be able to guess the speed (more or less), and check only the top number on the LCD for confirmation.

Since we are talking about it, and even though I realy like this camera, I don't understand Bronica's choice to make it an electronic piece of equipment. This medium format is by design made for travels. But when traveling, photographers, at least for me, don't want to rely on a body that is batteries dependent, humidity, heat or cold sensitive. When traveling, there are a lot of situations where electronics is unreliable, and carrying a second body is not an option.

Well, I bought it anyhow, so I guess it is not that much of an argument. It is just that detail which prevent this bronca to become a reference among medium format equipment.

[michael_paliotta]

I have a RF645 and have noticed that as you get closer to the end of the roll of film,using Fuji Provia120, the resistance on the film advance increases markedly. In fact, the last 4 or 5 frames are really such that I too am concerned about over stressing the film advance and causing damage. Without film, the advance is very smooth. I suspect that the pressure mechanism on the take up spool becomes too tight as the size of the take up roll increases, thus the increased resistance. The fix might be as simple as depressing the part that holds the take up roll in place. I haven't tried that yet, but at present, the amount of resistance at or near the end of the roll is very concerning. It shouldn't be that way. It certainly will affect the life of the film advance mechanism. My impression of the camera overall is a mix bag. There are things that I like and things that really bug me. The view finder is an issue with me, may because I wear glasses. I understood when I bought the camera about film orientation for horizontal shoots and that has turned out to be a non issue. The film advance is the major downer right now.

[vania_plemiannikov]

Michael, have you consider writing to www.tamron.com about it ? This is what I did, but if they receive sevral mails about this, they might look closer into the matter, and come out with something.

Thank you for your answer, at least I know it is not a problem linked to my body only.

 

If you find a cure, please keep me informed ; I'll do the same.

[andreas_carl]

Michael, I have shot about 10 rolls of Fuji Provia 120 with this camera and do not experience the increase in resistance towards the end, certainly not to an extent that would make me worry about breaking the winding mechanism. There is something wrong - either it is your loading technique (make sure the film is very tight on the take up spool to begin with) or you have a defective camera, (or maybe I was just lucky with my camera).

 

About the viewfinder, I guess one can get used to it, and it is really the only thing which so far I don't like about this camera!

 

I especially like the AE exposure lock (not linked to the shutter release button) and the ease to compensate for exposure. The dedicated flash works really well too, allowing separate compensation for flash exposure and background exposure for fill-in ratios. I don't mind it battery dependent, I also have a Hasselblad and I got the Bronica cause sometimes I want to travel light without having to carry an extra light meter.

Perhaps it would be nice if the shutter were mechanic, so that one could go on taking pictures even after the battery dies...

[norris_lam]

Though my contribution is late. When I got this new camera more than a year ago, its film advance lever was simply stucked and failed to work anymore when I was using the first few rolls of film for testing purpose. Fortunately, I got this from a good shop and they sent to the manufacturer's rep and they replace another new body for me next day. From that time onwards, it works nicely and I took it out in my leisure trip. When the time the 100mm lens is just released, I bought it and sent the body to the manufacturer to adjust the frame line. Great and fast services from Tamron!