Zenza Bronica ETR Film Back Falls Off

[Jackattack]

Hi all,

This is my first post here so I apologize if I broke any cardinal rules, but I am desperate to know what's up with my Zenza Bronica ETR!

The 120 film back will not click into place when attached to the camera body & falls off. In all my hours & hours of internet research, I have found no examples of this issue.. I have read through the original manual a hundred times & even found a hand made repair guide that talks about the film back not connecting. It references something called the back coupling claw, but I could not find much information on that specific part. https://learncamerarepair.com/downloads/pdf/Bronica-ETR-Repair-Manual.pdf

The film back looks in good condition & I suspect is the actually body of the camera. When inserting the bottom latches of the film back into the openings in the camera body, the back fits perfectly, and the film back release button can be pushed inward. The back does not stay attached to the camera body though. I took a risk & shot a roll through it by rubberbanding the back onto the camera(definitely held my breath throughout the roll!). A few frames came back fogged, but the silhouettes were still there- I have hope!

Images of Film Back/Camera Body:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/131L2S2EDDJRT3NjWVR9e43HpVC9Oeu9K/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UBRQflMLWovc8Mhkn1QMd1HaP4s6mMmZ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c7JXPyMVT1PogjEZbvL6IEiqhYAJHAXC/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oUl13NlMCL66paXQ8LnJ0eYJKafDaM5A/view?usp=sharing

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it. Do I spend the dough to buy a new film back to test it out? What if it's the actual camera body that's the issue? Hmmm!

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
Are there any old fashioned camera stores around you that might have backs or bodies you can try?
Good luck with this.

 

[wiltw]

I suggest trying to find a fellow hobbyist with ETR(Si) whose back works on his body, and then...

1. try your back on his body
2. try his back on your body

That will isolate exactly where the problem arises!

 

[MattKing]

I suggest trying to find a fellow hobbyist with ETR(Si) whose back works on his body, and then...

1. try your back on his body
2. try his back on your body

That will isolate exactly where the problem arises!

In a COVID-19 appropriate way, of course!

 

[wiltw]

In a COVID-19 appropriate way, of course!

And unfortunately OP is from a part of CA which is experiencing a far stronger blast of COVID than many other parts of the state, so less safe to meet with a stranger.

 

[GRHazelton]

You might check with these folks: http://professionalcamerarepair.com/about/ They fixed a focus screen/mirror bumper problem on my Bronica S2a and did a CLA for a reasonable price. The S2a is quite a complex beast under its stainless steel skin.
Another possibility is Advance Camera in Portland Oregon https://www.advancecamera.com/ They repaired my AsahiFlex IIa for which a renowned Pentax expert hadn't been able to source parts. The camera is, after all, at least 63 years ofd. While the 'Flex was in excellent cosmetic condition, it now looks and operates like new, I have first hand experience since my Father bought one in 1957 or there abouts.
They also did a CLA on my Contax IIa black dial which also needed a rangefinder vertical misalignment, a difficult fix. They also did a CLA. The Contax, already in lovely condition, now looks and shoots as it must have when new in 1954.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

it appears in body latches are retracted and stuck. With back off the bottom slots in body have latches on their right side (looking at the back of camera) and they protrude into the slots 2-3 mm. From photo they appear to be not in proper position so they won't engage with back hooks.

With back off there is a round opening with a pin inside (on the left side at bottom of body's back). Press that pin in with a pen tip and press back release button on the camera side. The latches I'm referring to above should move out of the way. But thy appear to be already out of the way. perhaps some tiny bit of lubricant (applied with a toothpick) will allow them go free)

 

[grat]

What Witold said. The catches on the film back are fixed, so it's not going to be the film back.

 

[Jackattack]

I suggest trying to find a fellow hobbyist with ETR(Si) whose back works on his body, and then...

1. try your back on his body
2. try his back on your body

That will isolate exactly where the problem arises!

Good idea!!

 

[Jackattack]

And unfortunately OP is from a part of CA which is experiencing a far stronger blast of COVID than many other parts of the state, so less safe to meet with a stranger.

Yes, unfortunately! Covid is rampant here..but I can still call around shops to see

 

[Jackattack]

it appears in body latches are retracted and stuck. With back off the bottom slots in body have latches on their right side (looking at the back of camera) and they protrude into the slots 2-3 mm. From photo they appear to be not in proper position so they won't engage with back hooks.

With back off there is a round opening with a pin inside (on the left side at bottom of body's back). Press that pin in with a pen tip and press back release button on the camera side. The latches I'm referring to above should move out of the way. But thy appear to be already out of the way. perhaps some tiny bit of lubricant (applied with a toothpick) will allow them go free)

That was my sneaking suspicion- I will definitely try pressing that pin in/small amount of lubricant. Thank you so much!

 

[Jackattack]

You might check with these folks: http://professionalcamerarepair.com/about/ They fixed a focus screen/mirror bumper problem on my Bronica S2a and did a CLA for a reasonable price. The S2a is quite a complex beast under its stainless steel skin.
Another possibility is Advance Camera in Portland Oregon https://www.advancecamera.com/ They repaired my AsahiFlex IIa for which a renowned Pentax expert hadn't been able to source parts. The camera is, after all, at least 63 years ofd. While the 'Flex was in excellent cosmetic condition, it now looks and operates like new, I have first hand experience since my Father bought one in 1957 or there abouts.
They also did a CLA on my Contax IIa black dial which also needed a rangefinder vertical misalignment, a difficult fix. They also did a CLA. The Contax, already in lovely condition, now looks and shoots as it must have when new in 1954.

Oh these are excellent resources, thank you! Talented folks it sounds like

 

[Deleted member 88956]

That was my sneaking suspicion- I will definitely try pressing that pin in/small amount of lubricant. Thank you so much!

Just keep in mind I mean TINY amount of lubricant drop, preferably some sawing machine oil, but applied direct to the area where the moving latches in slots are located, so need to use tip of a toothpick to make that drop. These when working correctly give solid feedback as they are spring loaded, so when you press back release button (while pressing that round pin) you feel nice resistance, ad spring right back upon letting go of that button.

I suppose there is a chance spring mechanism is not working right anymore. I have not worked on one, but it appears to be an easy job to remove the back plate from camera body to see what is hiding behind those lower slots.

So, if trying to lubricate does not work out and you are remotely handy with small tools, I'd try to pop back plate before sending it to any repair shop.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

There is an alternative way to move the in-body latches. Instead of pressing in the round pin (which I still prefer) you can instead charge the lens (advance film lever as if you were advancing film to next frame) then press lens release button AND back release button, this acts the same way as pressing the round and back release button. Film crank must be advanced in order for this to work, otherwise lens release button will do nothing for this procedure.

Lens release button trick is a feature to allow back removal when back is on and won't come off with standard approach, usually due to dark slide interlock issues or dark slide missing altogether.

But when used it will "hang" the system internally and shutter cannot be fired. So when using this two-button combination to remove the back, or like here to work the body film back latches, film crank needs to be moved forward just a bit, there is a click heard after which shutter can be released and things return to normal. Lens locking collar may need to be moved too, but at any rate once lens release button is pressed, lens needs to be re-engaged with body even though it appears to be mounted correctly.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

And here is Bronica ETRSi repair manual

Page 28 (PDF page count) shows the back release assembly. Keep in mind blow up is showing upside down body.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

This is MUCH better. ETR repair manual.

Page 19 (PDF page count) is very descriptive of your very problem. Same thing, schematic diagram is showing bottom of the body.