Olympus XA film winder and new film = disaster?

Hey folks,

I recently purchased 2 Olympus XAs and BOTH are already broken! For both cameras, the film winder just snapped right off (from the base of the winder, the portion that I believe holds the film in position) while winding finished rolls of film.

The first camera failed when I tried winding a roll of Ilford XP2 Super. I tried winding and there seemed to be resistance. This was my first roll of Ilford film, so I assumed that the resistance was normal. The film ended up not winding in at all before the film winder broke.

On the second XA, I had a roll of Fujifilm 24 exp. ISO 400 film from Costco. It seems to be made especially for Costco. Anyways, while winding a finished roll of film, towards the end, the film winder just snapped. Luckily, the film was wound completely and I was able to get prints from it.

I'm wondering if "newer" film canisters or cartridges (what exactly are they called?) are made differently than older film canisters/cartridges. There seems to be a spring in the film canisters (when I twist the top, nob portion of the film, it spins back into place). Is this a characteristic of newer films?

Also, does anyone know where I can find replacement parts? Are the film winders the same part in all XA models? I really do love this compact rangefinder and it would be a shame to throw away $140 dollars after only 2 months of use.

Thanks for taking the time to read. This post got a bit lengthy. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

Jason,

I've just bought one of these but have yet to try a film in it. The spring to which you refer is almost certainly just the natural tendency of the film to want to curl/uncurl.

I knew nothing of these cameras before I bought one in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago, but from what I can see on the web, they are fairly highly thought of as such cameras go, although they have their down-sides and detractors as do all cameras. Your purchase price of $140 seems a bit steep - I'd hope they'd be in pretty good shape for that and certainly not on the verge of giving up the ghost as you describe.

Your description of the fault is a little confusing - you refer to the "film winder" failing when you were winding finished rolls of film. I think perhaps you mean the rewinder, as the winder would normally be taken to mean the film advance (a knurled wheel on the RHS of the XA). That plus the stiffness suggests that perhaps you haven't pressed the button that de-clutches the advance mechanism and frees the take-up spool prior to rewinding. I haven't played with my XA long enough to know where that button is, but on most cameras it's on the baseplate on the film take-up side.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs!

Best wishes,

Steve

Hey Steve, no worries! Thanks for chiming in (and thanks for correcting me with some basics/terminology!).

You're right, I just played with my ruined roll of film and the spring-like-tendency is because of the film wanting to curl. However, I did press the "film release" button before winding but there still seemed to be a little resistance. Not all rolls of film had the same degree of resistance, but each roll that I wound did have some sort of resistance.

I paid $140 total for both cameras and both came in excellent condition and with the A11 flash unit. I paid $60 for one and $80 for another. I really hope I can repair these on my own as I don't want to be out $140 so soon.

Thanks again for your help!

Jason

All the XA series cameras I have seen have had the same rewind knob, so the part should be interchangeable. But the tension when rewinding is pretty light, comparable to most other cameras. And I have run the Fuji Costco stuff through my XA2, for what that is worth.

Jason,

I've used my XA for about six years now and carry it with me everyday. I recently picked up a nicely working XA2 for my wife (she can't see the rangefinder patch in the XA). The point, that I'm slowly getting to here, is that the rewind knob assembly looks exactly the same in both cameras.

I've never used Fuji Costco film, but, being rebadged has got to be the only difference between that and other brands of film, right? Fuji Superia 400, Ilford XP2 and Kodak B&W are the only films I've ever used with my XA and have never had a problem, but, I will say that rewinding film is not as smooth as with any of my SLRs.

If it's any consolation, it looks to be a very easy repair if you can find another non-working XA-series camera with a working rewind lever. Ebay may be a good source for that, or, e-mail a camera repair shop and ask if they have the parts you need. There is also an Olympus XA website where you may find help for parts: http://www.diaxa.com/xa/xastart.htm .

When you get your XAs repaired, I would first run a practice roll of film through them. Run the film through to the end and rewind with the back open and your thumb on the film cartridge to keep it in place. Then do it again with the back closed. If everything seems okay,...then fire away with some good film!

For what it's worth, I have one photo in my gallery taken with my trusty XA. It was taken at a Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park (should be named Tiger Stadium!).

Good luck with both your XAs!

Marc

Thanks for the heads up DBP. IF (hopefully) I can get these 2 cameras repaired, I'll have to keep that in mind. So far, I put maybe 3-4 rolls of film through each one and each time there seemed to be some resistance while rewinding.

Marc, thanks for the help! I'll have to check eBay for a broken XA. Hopefully I can repair these on my own. It seems that I can't just push in the rewinder into the camera and may have to open up the camera.

I hope things will work out for me too!

Thanks again guys,

Jason

jason
The rewind knobs simply unscrew.
Open the back, put a small screwdriver in the rewind fork inside the camera to keep the shaft from turning and unscrew the knob. There will be a small plate that comes off from between the knob and the top of the shaft. It's a spring & you need it to keep the lever from flopping around. There may also be a small washer that sits atop the shaft.

The rewind on my XA has also become very stiff, although the knob hasn't broken (yet). I wonder maybe if the rewind clutch is not freeing up properly or whether things need lubricating. I haven't used the camera in a while but last time I do remember having a bit of a struggle rewinding towards the end of the film. I'd be interested if you find a solution!

Thanks for the tip John. Once I find a replacement rewind knob, I'll follow your instructions in replacing it.

Richard, I'm as lost as you are now, but if possible, be gentle while rewinding! If anything, you may even want to consider removing the film in a darkroom or something if you can.

Since I last used my XA I've inherited my late father's so I just looked at both of them. On mine, the take-up spool is much tighter and it takes a fair bit more pressure to turn it compared with my father's. So that might be a clue - maybe the clutch gets tighter with age or wear?