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Mferrarini
Tinkerer
Username: Mferrarini

Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2008

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Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - 11:17 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Just received a Bessamatic obviously has seen little use. Slow speeds are typically sticky but I'm not concerned since I never use them anyway. Speeds above 1/30 sec seem fine. When tripping the shutter, there is a delay of approx. 1/2 sec between the closing and re-opening of the shutter blades. This delay is consistent throughout the range, regardless of the set speed or duration of shutter opening. Any ideas what might be causing this and how to fix it?
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Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson

Post Number: 1312
Registered: 07-2006

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Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - 06:51 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

My guess is that it's the long winding linkage inside the camera body. These SLR shutters have no shutter release mechanism in them: they are wound and held in the tensioned position by the winding gear train. The shutter release unlocks the gears to let them spin backwards as the shutter fires, but as you can imagine there is a lot of inertia and drag in a system like that.

The good news with the Bessamatic is that you can get some access to both ends of the master shaft without disassembling the camera: remove the lens and you can see the front end of the shaft just behind the bottom edge of the lens opening in the body; from the rear, the back end of the shaft, with a coil spring wrapped around it, is visible at the bottom just inside the film gate. Try dripping a little lighter fluid on each of these and tipping the camera so that it will run down the shaft into the camera from each end, and see if this perks things up a little bit.

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