T3 Film Load and Takeup Spool Problems

[holtt3]

I have purchased a T3 second hand and am having having one very significant problem that has cost me several rolls of film. As I am midway through a roll, all of a suddent the camera will blink 00 instead of the frame it was actually on, and locks into place. It won't advance forward and I cannot manually rewind it either. I have been forced to open the back and pull the film out. Any thoughts and suggestions here would help. I'd rather not send it back to Contact as their min. charge is $150. I live in Miami, so any local repair shops or ideas would be appriciated. P.S. I also occassionally have had a problem with the takeup spool which I understand is a common problem.

 

[rickd]

Check the condition of your takeup spool. There's a single tooth for the film sprocket holes that can wear/break off. It's possible that the spool is slipping mid-roll and that the camera somehow then thinks that there's no film loaded. You may have to go to a dealer and compare it against a new one, because wear will be hard to judge.

Also, have you tried replacing the battery and cleaning the battery contacts?

Good luck,

Rick

 

[holtt3]

Thanks, I'll start there.

 

[nigelppe]

My T3 was repaired under warranty when it refused to load the film.16 months on from the repair without excessive use the same fault has occurred - From reading Risk Drehers posting I think that the tooth has worn down,though the fault occurred after I manually rewound the film early- Up until that point the camera had been fine.Has anyone experienced a similar problem? I'm thinking that maybe I should press contax to repair the camera foc if this is an inherent fault

 

[holtt3]

Nigel, it seems that this is a consistent problem with the T3. I called contax and they now have a replacement spool that has two teeth instead of the original one. However, the minimum repair is $145. Let me know how you do in pressing contax to repair your FOC. I'd also like to request the same.

David

 

[clark]

> To all contax owners: It is apparent to me from all the complaints about the take-up spool, and the high cost (relative to the cost of the camera) of repair, that Contax should do a recall on all T3's, and should replace the defective spool at no cost to the owners. If this is not done immediately, then either a class action lawsuit or a universal boycott would be the only remaining alternatives.

 

[pcorridon]

Does anyone know if this take-up spool problem has been fixed during manufacturing? I would suspect if they have a replacement spool that solves the problem, they would use it when they manufacture the camera, but one never knows.

 

[tcahill]

Yes,the latest T3 cameras are being shipped with the new take up spools,which has 2 teeth.I bought a new black T3 this week and it arrived with the new sprocket.I also own an older secondhand black T3 which I sent back to Contax UK for the replacement sprocket to be fitted,and they did it very cheaply and quickly.I have only recently returned to 35mm,having gone the digital route for the last no of years(due btw to the said sprocket failing on my T3 in 2001!!!!).While waiting for the camera to return I stumbled into digital.However I found that I could not match the quality with the T3.In my opinion this is probably one of the best cameras ever made,certainly lens wise,hence the reason I purchased the second T3,in case they get superceeded by the digital monster!!