Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/10/25

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Velvia & Motor Drive R8 jammed!!
From: rdcb37 at dodo.com.au (Rick Dykstra)
Date: Tue Oct 25 14:46:26 2005
References: <BF5CC606.61D9%philippe.orlent@pandora.be> <001801c5c449$fc0d3d70$9600000a@Sander> <5aedfcae4d10386d809cf5a6f19af14c@ncable.net.au> <006a01c5c4c7$e7456d30$9600000a@dell810> <000701c5d4a6$0f1fa940$9600000a@dell810>

Hi Fred,

I'm going through a couple of thousand LUG emails and saw your one on  
the jamming R8 with Velvia.

I've had much experience with this.  Your description of the problem  
reads as if you have been looking over my shoulder for the last few  
years.  I've sent bodies back to Germany (not so easy from  
Australia!), sometimes with good results - sometimes with the problem  
recurring almost immediately.

Here's my understanding of the film sprocket tearing problem.

I think it's a consequence of the R8 motor drive being so powerful  
and from oxidation of the electrical contacts between the camera body  
and the motor drive.  The signals that transmit between camera and  
drive, telling the drive to stop and start, get screwed up and one of  
the sprocket holes tears.  For me, usually around frame 20.   
Sometimes at the end of the roll.  It makes that dreaded sound you  
are now familiar with.

For some time I was using methylated spirits to clean the electrical  
contacts, with a cotton bud (aka Q-tip?).  It was an Australian Leica  
technician who told me to use Metho.  Well, he was wrong - it's  
probably the worst thing to use.

 From talking to various people on the web I decided to give some  
electrical contact cleaner a try.  I bought the most expensive can of  
high quality contact cleaner I could find, from a proper electronics  
supplies outlet.  It's made by CRC and is called CO Contact Cleaner.   
It's like Servisol which might be easier to find.  I sprayed it onto  
the tip of a cotton bud (gotta be cotton!) and twirled the tip in the  
female electical contact holes and across the male tips.  I cleaned  
the contacts for the camera back too.

Guess what?  No problems since I've started using this method.  It  
might be worth a try.

If the problem arises again for me, I might get a DMR too!

Good luck and please let the LUG know how you go.

Regards,

Rick Dykstra
Australia.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/Nature



On 19/10/2005, at 10:10 PM, Fred Hess / Phenix Visuals NL wrote:

> Hello folks,
>
> I recently switched form Kodachrome to Velvia for my wildlife- 
> photography.
> I faced a strange problem: when I use Velvia 50 film in combination  
> with my
> Motor Drive and Leica R8 my motor gets jammed after about 20  
> pictures. I
> even can not use the advance lever to transport the film. I can  
> hear the
> sprockets ruin the perforations (in moterized mode as well as manual)
> It looks like the film got stuck in the cassette!
>
> This has happened with several Velvia-films, not with Kodak or Agfa  
> films.
>
> Is Velvia-film to thick for the R8 or should there be  a technical  
> problem
> with my Motor-Drive?
>
> Has anyone encountered the same problem?
>
> Hopefully my ordered DMR arrives soon,so I don't need Velvia anymore!
>
> Looking forward to your replies.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Fred Hess / Phenix-Visuals.nl
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>


In reply to: Message from philippe.orlent at pandora.be (Philippe Orlent) ([Leica] Benelux Leica Users Group (BLUG) meeting: update)
Message from alex at vanhulsenbeek.com (Sander van Hulsenbeek) ([Leica] Re: Benelux Leica Users Group (BLUG) meeting: update)
Message from firkin at ncable.net.au (Alastair Firkin) ([Leica] Re: Benelux Leica Users Group (BLUG) meeting: update)
Message from fredhess at phenix-visuals.nl (Fred Hess / Phenix Visuals NL) ([Leica] Re: Benelux Leica Users Group (BLUG) meeting: update)
Message from fredhess at phenix-visuals.nl (Fred Hess / Phenix Visuals NL) ([Leica] Velvia & Motor Drive R8 jammed!!)