Its a cheap camera but I'd like to get it working again if not too hard. It was working but I could not resist fiddling with it and now it is not working!
I was cocking and firing the shutter and all seemed ok (no film needed in camera) except for a slight grinding sensation when winding on.
I was curious as to whether the spiked wheel inside that is moved by the film sprockets moved when winding on and if it controls the film counter.
It seems that moving this wheel is what messed up the shutter.
Now when I wind on there is no resistance or cocking sound and the lever springs back as does the film take-up spool.
However, now I can cock the shutter by moving the spiked wheel (which I did not have to before).
Anyone got any idea what I have done and how the shutter works on these?

By Peter Wallage on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 01:02 pm:

It sounds as if you might have done it a bit of an ooh-nasty! With a lot of luck it may be the ratchet or its pawl spring under the wind-on lever, but if Lady Luck's blowing on someone else's dice it could be a stripped gear. Or, if I'm not getting it mixed up with something else, there's an adjustable sliding link to the rack that cocks the shutter via a gear and a shaft through to the front. It's possible when you turned the sprocket wheel you upset the link adjustment. It's a long time since I looked in a Beirette but, as far as I remember, it isn't very complicated under the top. As you say, it's a low cost camera. You ought to be able to spot what's gone wrong.

By Peter Wallage on Sunday, February 01, 2004 - 05:21 pm:

Hi all,
Before I mislead anyone, disregard my previous post on the Beirette. I picked up one today, in non-working condition, for the princely sum of 50p, so I could take a look inside. I've written to David off-list about it. Briefly, I was mixing it up with something else. I'd never been in one before.

It's clever production engineering, but very cheap and cheerful. If anyone is looking in the archives and needs to get inside one, the shutter and lens unit comes out after undoing a screwed ring inside the camera (very tight for space). You don't go into the shutter from the front, you go in from the back because the shutter box is fitted back-to-front compared with most cameras. Take off the release lever and undo three small brass screws to lift off the diaphragm assembly. The shutter is a very cheap and simple two-bladed 'everset' design. If you need to clean the lens, the front focusing element screws into a sleeve which also carries the second element. The rear element comes out from the back. Don't bother to take the speed ring off. It's held by an awkward flat circlip, and there's nothing underneath it except a slot for its pin to poke through. The silvery metal surround comes off via four screws under the leatherette. I had to take it off to re-hook the shutter button return spring.

I've got the shutter working OK, but I want to clean the viewfinder, also the rewind clutch doesn't disengage, and I haven't yet found out how to get the rewind lever off to get the top off. After taking out the centre screw all that comes off is the film reminder disc. The lever doesn't want to budge, and I don't want to force it. Anyone been inside the top of a Beirette?

Peter

By Travis Robinson on Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 07:03 pm:

I was able to get in via the screw hidden under the textured plastic coating on the top of the film advance lever. The screw was covered by a thin piece of stick-on plastic that I removed with a flat head screwdriver.

Travis S. Robinson

By Valentin Jerosch on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 03:21 pm:

Hi,
lately I found out to be an owner of a beirette vsn myself, and I couldn't keep from getting a closer look inside.

Actually, the camera seems to be in a good condition, it looks like everything is working properly, only the lenses are somewhat dusty or stained, well something like that, but from inside. So I opened up all of the lens- shutter construction - no problem, but I cannot clean the lenses from inside between the focusing lens (meritar)and the lens just before the shutter (priomat) leafs. I simply don't know how to dismantle the outer lens from the other one. Anybody any ideas? experience?

Anyway I cleaned the lens from the shutter leaf side, leaving some hardly but noticable scratches (aargh!) and more succesfully the diaphragm.

I really want this lens to be clean, there's a lot of dust and moisture inside, -otherwise I really won't be able to revive this neat old piece of eastgerman construction.