Bronica ETRS crappin' out - slow mirror?

dugrant153 · Aug 17, 2011

Hi everyone,

I love my Bronica but I'm hopefully not going to have to put it to retirement after this .

So I was firing away with my Bronica ETRS all day with no problems until about later this evening when I noticed that the mirror was going but the leaf shutter wasn't. I knew this because the red light didn't click on.

I pressed the battery test button and it seemed to work fine (a red light came on). Took a couple more shots and no avail - the mirror was flipping fine but the shutter was not going (didn't hear it click and no red light).

I took off the lens and dry fired at 1/500th of a second to see if anything was up. Well, the mirror goes to about 7/8 of the way and then slows up. I notice also that the lens contacts don't fully "click" into place unless I help it. Then there's the recognizable "click". Ah.

Anyways, I suspect this may be a dead battery but I thought the ETRS had emergency 1/500th shutter speed? If so, shouldn't the mirror be going up and the lens contacts rotating with no problem regardless of battery power?

dugrant153 · Aug 17, 2011

So I went to test out the battery and yup... battery is fine. And the red light goes on so it's not the battery.

It seems the leaf shutter mechanism on the body doesn't fully "click" into place (Even on the 1/500th shutter speed setting). I suspect that something is not working inside it maybe... curious if any suggestions?

Also, I don't think I have a local camera repair depot that will deal with Bronica's. Curious on where's a good place to get a CLA for this camera?

CGW · Aug 17, 2011

Any chance the lens/body contacts are crudded up?

Asking since my almost-new SQ-B faked a stroke last night. Gave the contacts a quick swab with some isopropyl and she came to and started talking again.

dugrant153 · Aug 17, 2011

Don't think it's my lens contacts as I just realized now that even with the lens off the red light does not come on at all... meaning the leaf shutter mechanism in the body (not the lens) has failed or is jammed or something.

Very strange. It was going pretty good yesterday.

DWThomas · Aug 17, 2011

A stray thought -- you mention the mirror going up 7/8 of the way -- any possibility there's a foam light seal or foam mirror bumper/damper that's turning to goo? I have an SQ-A and the foam parts in those definitely have problems over time.

Dan Daniel · Aug 17, 2011

As I remember, KOH's Camera is a recommended Bronica outift in the US. Maybe there is something closer to you.
http://www.kohscamera.com/

And an ETRSi repair manual is here, which might point you in some direction. I have no idea what the differencens between the ETRS and ETRSi are-
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/bronica/bronica_etrsi_repair_manual/bronica_etrsi_repair_manual.htm

dugrant153 · Aug 18, 2011

Thanks for the info, Dan Daniel. I will have to take a closer look at it.

DWThomas, the funny thing is that now the mirror goes all the way with no problems. Foam bumpers are a bit thin and gooey. However, the lens contacts (on the body) are now fully rotating and there is no red light or noticeable "click", which usually indicates that it's good... hmm...

Dan Daniel · Aug 18, 2011

I had an ETRSi go funny because the aperture blades were sticking on a lens. Do you have another lens to test?

No idea if a round with a lens problem would do something to gum up the body works for a bit.

I also had a problem when I put some new foam in. The new foam was a slight bit denser than the standard foam, and the mirror didn't have enough kick to fully engage the button/lever/whatever that told the camera to move on to the next step in firing.

Well, just ideas. Not certain if they relate to your problems at all.

Steve Smith · Aug 18, 2011

Dan Daniel said:
I also had a problem when I put some new foam in. The new foam was a slight bit denser than the standard foam, and the mirror didn't have enough kick to fully engage the button/lever/whatever that told the camera to move on to the next step in firing.

I have done that to an ETRS too!

Steve.

dugrant153 · Aug 18, 2011

Appreciate the headsup. It looks like it's not longer a lens problem and simply the body giving up the ghost (or however you say something ain't tickin' anymore).

The mirror now clicks perfectly but there's no red light and no "leaf shutter" click... which to me sounds like a dead body.

I considered the repair option but I realize that the cost of the repair (especially including shipping) may equal or exceed the cost of buying a new old-body. *sigh*

That being said, are Bronica ETRS' prone to this kind of failure or sticking or whatever? I'm considering now whether to keep with the ETRS system or move on to something else and part out the parts that work.

CGW · Aug 18, 2011

dugrant153 said:
Appreciate the headsup. It looks like it's not longer a lens problem and simply the body giving up the ghost (or however you say something ain't tickin' anymore).

The mirror now clicks perfectly but there's no red light and no "leaf shutter" click... which to me sounds like a dead body.

I considered the repair option but I realize that the cost of the repair (especially including shipping) may equal or exceed the cost of buying a new old-body. *sigh*

That being said, are Bronica ETRS' prone to this kind of failure or sticking or whatever? I'm considering now whether to keep with the ETRS system or move on to something else and part out the parts that work.

It's a nice 645 system and that seems to be the problem. I looked long and hard for an ETRSi in mint/EXC+ shape and never found one. All were nearly-dead with obvious high-rollage after long service. They're out there since friends found them after I went with the late series Mamiya 645.

BrianL · Aug 18, 2011

I'm not sure what you mean by the leaf shutter in the body. The shutter is in each lense. Try changing teh battery though the light comes on steady, I've found in the past that some batteries will have the voltage but due to age not the current level. The test in the body tests the voltage but, not the current delivery capability. Worse case is that the body needs a cleaning which should not be all that much. The camera is well worth having a CLA on the body; most cameras need one as time goes on.

I agree that many of the ETR series were used by professionals and for the most part the majority around have seen some use but it is no reason to avoid them. The body itself is not a complex piece and even decent replacement bodies can be had for cheap. Having it CLA'd and repaired may equal the cost of a used body but you know this body and that it has been gone through and good for probably the next 25+ years. Buying a used body may require a CLA and repair in the not too distant future, there is no guarentee. Dumping it and the kit and moving into another system from my tracking would not make a lot of economic sense generally unless you also do not like the system.

dugrant153 · Aug 18, 2011

BrianL said:
I'm not sure what you mean by the leaf shutter in the body. The shutter is in each lense. Try changing teh battery though the light comes on steady, I've found in the past that some batteries will have the voltage but due to age not the current level. The test in the body tests the voltage but, not the current delivery capability. Worse case is that the body needs a cleaning which should not be all that much. The camera is well worth having a CLA on the body; most cameras need one as time goes on.

Oh, I'm talking about the contact points on the body that connect with the green dots on the lens itself (which I'm assuming is the leaf shutter mechanism). I went to the store and had the battery tested the battery and it was at 80%. Guess I will just have to try a new battery and see if that fixes things. Funny as I've only had the camera since March of this year and I changed the battery when I got it.

I do like the ETRS and was going to get a waist level finder for it... hmm... I'll have to check those CLA links if the battery does not work.

haplo602 · Aug 19, 2011

first thing first, the mirror does NOT engage the shutter cycle, it's the light baffle. simply flip the mirror up lever on an open body (no back attached) and you'll see that the mirror slams all the way up, but the light baffle will stay a bit lowered. once you press the shutter release button, the light baffle swings up and engages the shutter open cycle.

I guess the light baffle might be damaged somewhere and this does prevent the shutter cycle to complete.

dugrant153 · Aug 19, 2011

thanks for the clarification. I guess with the body swinging up I thought it was the thing to engage the shutter cycle.

Actually, I did some fiddling yesterday and noticed that, when I mounted the lens, the mirror would flip but the shutter would not engage. That is... until I wiggle the lens while it's on the lens mount counterclockwise. Suddenly there's a click.

wiltw · Aug 19, 2011

There is a possibility that the linking pin in the film magazine is pressing too far into the body. That causes the mirror to NOT go all the way upward, which in turn prevents the shutter from opening! I know, because I had a relatively new ETRSi body that would act up with ONE film magazine occasionally -- a USED magazine which I had recently purchased. All my other magazines did not have this same problem. At the time, Tamron was servicing Bronica (after the purchase of Bronica) and they had me send in both the body and the magazine...they adjusted the pin length sticking out of magazine (not the body) and all was well after that

Bronica ETRS crappin' out - slow mirror?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency