F3HP Film Advance not working

[parkpy]

Hello -

After taking a shot, my film lever advance is stuck. I've swapped batteries, I've removed the film, I've tried firing it with the lever that also houses the exposure lock. All does not allow me to advance the film.

Any help?

 

[Aja B]

Presumably you've pushed the film rewind button on the bottom of the camera? And multiple exposure lever? Does everything look copacetic in the mirror box area? Sometimes a wayward focus screen will cause a jam. Perhaps open the film door and manually (gently) turn the take-up spool. Inspect the innards/film transport for a broken piece of film.

 

[parkpy]

So here are videos of me trying to document my stuck film advance.

Video I:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39640248@N07/5930878560

Video II
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39640248@N07/5930325699

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

The F3 (TTBOMK) has an electronic release. Try removing the batteries and waiting a few minutes.

Try raising the mirror my hand. Then play with releases and wind levers. Try fiddling the sprockets while depressing the rewind button. See that the motor wind interconnections are free - try moving the drive wheel back and forth using a pair of needle-nose as a spanner wrench.

SLRs have all sort of synchronization levers and stuff - sometimes one of them gets out of synchronization and the whole thing gets jammed up. Someone may know the magic sequence to get it unstuck but often just playing with everything can work.

My mother takes this approach with her TV, DVR and set top box. She calls up and complains "I don't know why it doesn't work, I've pressed every button on all the remotes at least three times and it still won't work...", by this time the menu system is in Romanian and the TV is tuned to community access cable in Tristan da Cunha.

 

[Paul Howell]

Replace the battery and set the shutter speed to the one manual speed, I dont recall if for the F3 the manual speed is 1/60 or 1/90 or has a seperate setting. I hope I am not confusing the FG with the F3, have not had a F3 for 9 years.

 

[Chan Tran]

If it's battery related the F3 should work fine with the mechnical shutter release and only with the mechanical shutter release. The regular shutter release is purely electronic and won't work at all without battery no matter how you set the shutter dial. I suspect that there is a problem with either the mirror or shutter curtain. Sometimes the mirror doesn't go up all the way which won't start releasing the shutter. Sometimes the shutter started but not complete its cycle. In either case no film advance is possible. First open the back and remove the lens. Check to see if the mirror is up or down? is it up all the way? How is the shutter? is is close or open? halfway travel?? With those information we can help you more.

 

[parkpy]

have put in new batteries. I set to 1/60. I tried releasing manually with the manual release switch. No go.

 

[John Koehrer]

Did it release when you were winding the sprocket? It sounded as though it did.
The majority of the advance stuff is on the top and if I recall correctly just one lever on the bottom. So remove the bottom.
On the wind side there's a long lever that goes toward the center of the camera. This lever actually cocks the shutter..Try cocking it
if it cocks that way AND NOW RELEASES. try to advance it. If it doesn't release, it could be something as simple as a screw that has come loose
and jammed the gears up top.

 

[FRM]

In 2001, I removed the motor drive from my F3 for the first time in about 17 years. I wanted to cut down on its weight for a trip.

The film advance mechanism jammed while in Istanbul (forcing me to shoot everything with my 20 year old FM). I am sure I had read somewhere of people removing the motor drive after a long period of use only to have the film advance mess up.

My F3 had to go in for repairs. You may have to do the same.

 

[parkpy]

thanks for suggestions, guys.

It goes to the repair shop today. Since I just bought it, the seller wants me to have it checked out first by a professional, otherwise he wants it sent back to him to check it out.

I figure I don't want to mess things up. And I want my own guy to figure out what's wrong with the camera. I plan on taking this camera on my honeymoon in 3 weeks.