First Roll of Film | A Few Blank Frames

I have a faulty film back for my Hasselblad that winds on too far at the start of the film and only puts two shots on the end of the roll that I need to get repaired. It could be something like that i.e. a problem with the back rather than the camera.
 
I didn't fancy lowering the shutter speed below the focal length of the lens for hand holding, as it was overcast I just jumped to 1000 although I should have opted for 800 thinking about it now.

Initially I thought it could be that the battery had died (or an electrical fault) and the camera had reverted to a 1/500 shutter speed. If you were shooting at 1/60 or 1/125 it would only be 2-3 stops underexposed and should still show some detail.

Hmm, its a tricky one. Everything that usually tends to be the cause of blank frames seems to have been ruled out already. My money is on a lens issue I think. I want to say the shop didn't load the film properly, but I can't see any way of loading it wrong that would give you half a blank roll.
 
I have a faulty film back for my Hasselblad that winds on too far at the start of the film and only puts two shots on the end of the roll that I need to get repaired. It could be something like that i.e. a problem with the back rather than the camera.

I thought this as well, or that the shop wound it on waaaay too far when they loaded the film. But then the blank frames would be at the start of the film and not at the end?
 
.....too lazy to dig my Etrs out to see if any shutter speeds around the lens :rolleyes:

I think there is only the T mode function on the lens, all other speeds being controlled via the body
 
I thought this as well, or that the shop wound it on waaaay too far when they loaded the film. But then the blank frames would be at the start of the film and not at the end?
If the shop just fastened the film into the take-up spool and did not wind on until the start arrow reached the red mark, the first few frames would miss the film and the mechanism would 'think' the film had finished before it had.
 
If the shop just fastened the film into the take-up spool and did not wind on until the start arrow reached the red mark, the first few frames would miss the film and the mechanism would 'think' the film had finished before it had.

...but from the start paper edge to the film is about 16" so all the first frames would be blank
 
Could there be a problem with film rollers or mechanism? I am in same boat with my Rolleiflex GX which misses frames in start. i havnt heard from technician so far but wont be long.
 
Could there be a problem with film rollers or mechanism? I am in same boat with my Rolleiflex GX which misses frames in start. i havnt heard from technician so far but wont be long.

If the edge markings are on film, then it's been dev ok.
 
I've purchased another 120 back and loaded a roll ready for the weekend, although it looks rather cold so I hope the battery will be Ok.

Another lens has been won on eBay but it's coming from Japan so it'll be a few weeks before I can test that out.

Hopefully the tech will have some good news for you Taimoor.
 
Yes the darkslide can pose a problem in more than one way tbh as like you say stephen, it only has to be out a fraction to allow the shutter to fire and also when the back is off camera, the darkslide can be removed which depending how one has it stored in bag etc, can be too easy to pull it out slightly and potentially allow light entry.

It is one of the safety features that the RZ67 has, but is missing with the ETRS

I was thinking that, actually, the RB67 does it, I shot a roll and ended up with two frames for that very reason.
 
I've purchased another 120 back and loaded a roll ready for the weekend, although it looks rather cold so I hope the battery will be Ok.

Another lens has been won on eBay but it's coming from Japan so it'll be a few weeks before I can test that out.

Hopefully the tech will have some good news for you Taimoor.

Are you using a silver oxide battery? In the manuals, Bronica always advised that silver oxide batteries were preferred over alkaline and especially lithium, which they said to avoid. I have used Bronica cameras (e.g., SQ-A, SQ-B, and SQ-Ai) in a variety of conditions, including in sub-zero temperatures in the Austrian alps, and never had any problems relating to the battery.
 
I'm not too sure, the shop put a new battery in when I purchased it so I'll have a look a little later and report back.
 
Thanks for the link Paul, that must have been rather frustrating going back and forth like that over a number of months.

The test roll, with a different 120 back, was posted yesterday so I'll hopefully have it back during the latter part of the week to check the results (it was also pretty cold yesterday AM so it should be similar conditions to last time).

I just hope the lens arrives in the next week or two to do some more tests, if it does appear to be the lens then I'll have to check if they'll do a partial refund or replacement depending on their stock.

Interested to try that silver oxide battery as well just to rule most things out.
 
Thanks for the link Paul, that must have been rather frustrating going back and forth like that over a number of months.

The test roll, with a different 120 back, was posted yesterday so I'll hopefully have it back during the latter part of the week to check the results (it was also pretty cold yesterday AM so it should be similar conditions to last time).

I just hope the lens arrives in the next week or two to do some more tests, if it does appear to be the lens then I'll have to check if they'll do a partial refund or replacement depending on their stock.

Interested to try that silver oxide battery as well just to rule most things out.
It could have been more frustrating if it was new gear but it's old and ffordes dealt with it as best they could and I was no worse of really at the end of the day.....
..I still don't have a 50mm lens but I'm fine with that :)
 
Another lens has been won on eBay but it's coming from Japan so it'll be a few weeks before I can test that out.

This thread has made for interesting reading as I have just bought an etrsi from the well known auction site. The weather has been so bad on my days off that I haven't had chance to use it yet. Fingers crossed it will be ok.

Is it quite safe buying gear from Japan? When I was looking around for a MF SLR there seemed to be plenty of great deals on cameras in excellent condition from there but I wasn't sure if it was a bit too risky. Is customs an issue? I'll be on the lookout for a wide angle lens soon and wondered if it's worth trying.
 
I just think that you have to be sensible and purchase from a seller with a high rating/good feedback to aim for a smoother transaction, but at the end of the day anything could happen.

Customs could be an issue with Duty, VAT and carrier charges/fees, so if there's something that could be found in the UK (especially from a shop with a warranty) is worth looking at even if it's more expensive than the total eBay cost plus 25%.

I emailed a lot of shops and no one had the lens I was after, eBay didn't have anything in my price range (approx. upwards of £250) so from Japan it was £150, so it should come in under £200.

Good luck with the ETRSi, it's a nice camera to use.
 
Thanks for the advice [emoji5] much appreciated. I'll consider that whilst I'm looking for a good PE wide angle lens. Can't wait to get out and about with the Bronny, and surprisingly I've found out that a local camera shop is mostly as good if not cheaper than buying online for quite a few B&W rollfilms. So I will have a few different stocks to try out.
 
Update: Second roll back, same lens but a different back and all the frames are exposed so fingers crossed.

Thanks,

Jason

Well that is excellent news.

Running another roll through the original back will be the proof as to wether it is faulty.

At least the lens is ok so should the back be the cause of the problem, it's been a reasonably cheap solution to replace it.
 
Update: Second roll back, same lens but a different back and all the frames are exposed so fingers crossed.

Thanks,

Jason

Excellent..... who would have thought it was the back that was the problem, you learn something everyday.
 
I'll try to run a roll through each on Saturday if I get chance, lets hope it is the back.
 
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