Voigtländer Bessa-L replacement battery cap.

[ProbablyPasta]

Hi all! i’ve recently come across an advertisement locally for a voigtländer bessa L 100 jahre heliar limited edition. Only 500 of these were ever made, and i’d love to have one in my collection (and another LTM camera is alway welcome).

The problem, however, is that this specific example is missing the battery port cap, which means the light meter is non functional and the camera just kind of has a hole in the bottom. I’ve looked online but i am yet to find a source for replacing this part (short of buying another bessa L and simply removing that cap to put on the other)

I was wondering if anyone has a source for these kinds of parts, or perhaps could provide me with some resources or guidance as to how someone could go about making a new one.

much thanks!

 

[mshchem]

Nice little camera. I wonder if you can find a parts camera? Maybe Kamera Store could help.

 

[reddesert]

Hi all! i’ve recently come across an advertisement locally for a voigtländer bessa L 100 jahre heliar limited edition. Only 500 of these were ever made, and i’d love to have one in my collection (and another LTM camera is alway welcome).

The problem, however, is that this specific example is missing the battery port cap, which means the light meter is non functional and the camera just kind of has a hole in the bottom. I’ve looked online but i am yet to find a source for replacing this part (short of buying another bessa L and simply removing that cap to put on the other)

I was wondering if anyone has a source for these kinds of parts, or perhaps could provide me with some resources or guidance as to how someone could go about making a new one.

much thanks!

I’m not near one at the moment. I think it’s just a plastic cap without a battery contact? Someone might be able to 3D print one. Also, it may be similar to a cap from some model of Cosina SLR, since Cosina made them.

 

[4season]

I think the same part was used on a number of SLRs manufactured by Cosina, and sold under various brand names including Nikon (FM10, FE10), Vivitar, Promaster, Phoenix, etc. It looks like this:

https://www.freestylephoto.com/31051-Nikon-FM10-and-Vivitar-V3800N-Replacement-Battery-Cap

But whether the plastic has aged well, is another matter!

 

[ProbablyPasta]

Thank you all for the replies! i’ve contacted Kamerastore and camerarescue and i’m going to contact a few other camera companies to see if they might have one! If it’s just a plastic cap without battery contact point that would make my life a heck of a lot easier since i have access to 3d printers. If anyone happens to have a bessa L, could they send some pictures of the cap to me so i can get a feel for the way it looks? much obliged!

 

[ProbablyPasta]

Good(ish) news! a local camera repair company informed me that the design of the bessa L cap might be common, so they might have one that fits. Not a perfect solution by any means, because now i have to actually commit to buying the camera, but if it works, it works.

 

[reddesert]

4season is probably right that it's the Cosina cap that holds the batteries and has a metal contact, and I'm probably wrong about it being just a plastic cap. (I found a Bessa L manual that shows a cap holding the batteries; I'm far away from my Bessa so I can't check in person.) The late Cosina-made SLRs such as the Vivitar V3800 are typically not in high demand, so if you had to buy one to get a cap it might still be worth it.

 

[ProbablyPasta]

i feel like purchasing a run down v3800 is my best bet, i’ve checked a few out on ebay and the cap looks the EXACT same as on the bessa L. Thank you cosina for re-using the design!

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

By the way, I owned Bessa L, Bessa T and Bessa R2 at some point and yeah, caps are all the same.

 

[ProbablyPasta]

Good news! Someone on the local online marketplace just put a vivitar v2000 up for sale today, sporting exactly that battery cap. So, i’ll be buying that and the Bessa and it’s off to the races for me! Suppose it was meant to be

 

[uscamera]

You can find that Cosina battery cover here https://uscamera.com/product/nikon-faa31051-A40-battery-cover/