bronica SQ-ai problem with blank negatives

[mrcamm]

Hi
i've tried searching for others' similar problems but can't really find anything! I'm new-ish to Medium Format having used digital SLRs for 2 or 3 years - please be gentle with me!
I'm on a Photographic course at college and started shooting film about a year or so ago - starting with 35mm them medium format. as well as a few 35mm and toy style cameras, i started with a Bronica ETRSi then moved to and SQ-a and now to an SQ-AI.
I bought the SQ-ai 2 weeks ago from fleabay. On arrival, i checked it over as best i could(overall condition, checking for shutter click on long exposure settings, apertures smooth, aperture blades not sticking, lens has no fungus/dust etc). My first roll of foilm was studio based - of the 12 shots, probably 6 didn't fire the flash so came out blank (underexposed). Not a big issue as I thought i would get it serviced and (hopefully resolve the problem).
My 2nd and 3rd rolls were 'street' photography - the first roll only 1 image came out - the rest of the roll entirely blank (not sure if 1st or last - was using Shanghai film which has no numbers!!). while shooting this roll, i had to change the batteries which were completly dead.
The 3rd roll (with brand new fresh batteries) , the last 3 came out only - again, the rest entirely blank. I was GUTTED - but hoped that i'd done something stupid like leave the darkslide in / lens cap on or something - anything rather than the camera being an expensive paperweight!
I then took a 4th film, carefully noting darkslide out, using most apertures / speeds etc to give a good spread of 'evidence'. To my horror, this roll is entirely blank - not evven a solitary image! On discovering this, took of the lens, cleaned contacts, checked aperture blades, can see shutter working whne held up to the light etc - I am baffled. I had thought that it may of been a shutter issue? am nervous of wasting another roll and being even more crestfallen!
Can anyone surmise what the problem may be? The shutter cocks and fires, mirror moves up smoothly etc. Any ideas greatfully received!!
Thanks
Rich

 

[DWThomas]

Well, I have an SQ-A (no "i") and do not have a great wealth of experience, but I wonder. I believe the Ai version is much more dependent on electricity. Perhaps there's some sort of intermittent contact in the battery compartment?

The SQ-A defaults to 1/500, max shutter speed, with a dead battery, but I think the SQ-Ai just plain doesn't fire. Can you find anyone with a similar rig that might allow you to interchange lens and body and see whether the problem follows the lens or the body? That might help point toward the problem, as the shutter is in the lens, but the battery power and control is in the body. I also vaguely recollect someone on here had a problem with the battery holder connections in an Ai.

Good luck with it.

 

[unclemack]

"On discovering this, took of the lens, cleaned contacts, checked aperture blades, can see shutter working whne held up to the light etc - I am baffled."
You may have cured the problem... but now you won't know for sure until you shoot another roll.
Best always to test a camera fully on first receipt.
If it seemed to be shooting normally and the frame counter behaved normally then the shutter probably wasn't firing correctly.
Viewing the lens from the rear while repeatedly releasing the shutter at all speeds should show a problem if there is one.
Shooting a roll of old film without a lens attached and carefully marking each frame ( I use a soft pencil) on the film itself shows any film wind/spacing problems.
Good luck, let us know the outcome!

 

[mrcamm]

will shoot a roll again and let you know - many thanks to both for your advice!

 

[R gould]

Bronica has a second mirror blind,could be that the mirror comes up but the second blind behind the mirror is sticking, I had a problem with my etrsi with thatm it was an easy fix,Richard

 

[Steve Smith]

When I first got my ETRS I managed to take some nice shots of the darkslide. The shutter will fire if the darkslide is in most of the way but not completely in. I don't know if the same applies to the SQ but I would think that they are similar.


Steve.

 

[Trask]

I have an SQ-A that will fire with the dark slide in all the way -- something's not right with interlock device that is supposed to prevent it from firing. So I have to remember to pull the slide. Maybe yours has the same problem.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Richard,

As a trouble shooting measure I'd try a film from Kodak, ILFORD, or Fuji.

Tom

 

[jime11]

If it has the manual metered prism or the chimney metered prism then the shutter will fire at the speed on the meter dial rather than the speed set on the body.
Perhaps the "blank" shots were taken with either of those metering finders set at 1/500 ?

 

[wiltw]

I had a relatively new ETRSi body and had purchased a used film magazine in addition to the new magazines which I had purchased. The interlocking pin in the magazine, to indicate that the film has been advanced to a new frame, was too long. As a result, it would interfere with the reflex mirror swinging up fully, and therefore the shutter would not fire. Sometimes it would not fire. But sometimes it would fire.

I had to send the film magazine and the body in to Bronica (this occurred before Tamron purchased Bronica) to have them adjust the film magazine.

 

[mrcamm]

thanks for the advice folks - took lens off and re-cleaned contacts and shot another roll. 3 of 12 came out. It's now gone off for a service - the guy in the shop reckons that a service should resolve what he thought was a sticking shutter (camera or lens). Hopefull so, otherwise i have a glamorous new paperweight and it's back to the Canon 500 for me for a while!!!