paul a. roid Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 today I managed to break the rewind crank of my wife's Bessa R3a,<br>cameraquest doesn't sell a replacement... the crank comes off with<br>one screw only...<p>does anybody have an idea where to get the part?<p>nope, no warranty anymore<p> <img src="http://www.markushartel.com/fp/fp/bessa-crank.jpg"/><p> <img src="http://www.markushartel.com/fp/fp/bessa-crank2.jpg"/><p>thanks in advance<p> P.S. the design of the part is really stupid - if the head of the screw<br>would be a bit shorter, the crank wouldn't need the hole (but hey,<br>what do I know) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_blackwood1 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Try Rich Pinto at Photovillage, NYC. He has always treated me right. and thanks for answering my questions about Tri-X @1600 in Diafine. Later, Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stric Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Try Cameraquest.com. They are official VC dealer for the US. My understanding is that the owner is very helpful guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny_c Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Congratulations, now you have a Leica style wind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Find another crank from a parts camera (Olympus, Minox, Petri, Zenit, etc etc, anything) from a junk pile in your neighbourhood camera shop and replace the broken one. Won't take more than 2 minutes when you have the right sized crank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_graham3 Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 One of the many reasons I was never tempted to get one of those Bessas is that there's no setup for service in the US, just a couple of guys who are direct importing them. One of them doesn't even have a shop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 You could probably buy a complete Bessa L body for less than Leica would be charging for a replacement M crank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpolaski Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 CameraQuest is the best shot, Steve Gandy is a good guy. If he helps you, buy your next lens from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack_wilber Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 I believe Markus already said "Cameraquest doesn't sell a replacement". I can believe that. But I would be surprised if Gandy wouldn't take it in on a service ticket. I'm not an expert on Cosina, but maybe they use the same design across their various OEM cameras, so you can salvage a crank from another body. I know a guy who repairs cameras and has a small machine shop in his garage who might be able to dupe the crank, but I can't see that costing less than a Gandy service ticket or pulling the crank off a parts body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul a. roid Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 well, Gandy quotes $125 flat which is ridiculous for a $5 part held by one screw.<br> I just took the cam to Panorama camera here in NYC - the guy is going to *make*<br> a sturdier folding lever for $50...<p>thanks all for the advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_graham3 Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 "Gandy quotes $125 flat which is ridiculous for a $5 part held by one screw." Yeah, who does he think he is, Leica? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huw_finney Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 L crank dosen't have a hole! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 You're right, Huw. I didn't even look at my L before writing that. Hell, maybe the entire L knob would fit on the shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul a. roid Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 Bessa L came to my mind too, but the L crank is designed in a totally different way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 From the looks of the design (dumb!), I wouldn't want to replace it with another of the same. Probably crapola aluminum so brazing's not possible, but a mini U-profile splint could be bent or machined and super-glued to the stubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piotr_panne Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Watch out she doesn\'t do that to your crank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_mcbob Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Will Gandy not sell you the individual part? How about contacting Cosina directly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul a. roid Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 I took the thing to a shop today, but have emailed Voigtlander/Germany<br> as well, in order to get the original lever (no response yet -- will keep y'all posted) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nishad_joshi Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 voigtlander has a repair facility in washington state. seem to be reasonably helpful (when they pick up the phone). the number is: 604-742-1223. try giving them a call! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry h-l Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 If you look at pictures of the new R2m and R3m, the rewind crank design has already been changed. Maybe you can get new "improved" parts when the new cameras are released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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