Category: Cameras

Canon EOS 500N

A nice entry level camera, from the mid 90s, now back in working order

Here I have a very basic, entry level camera made by Canon. Produced between 1996-9 this camera is currently between 26 – 29 years old. These cameras don’t have the traditional identification number printed within the film spool holder that the older cameras had, hence the precise manufacturing date is difficult to confirm.

Canon EOS 500N

This is a camera passed onto me by a good friend and professional photographer, Jon, as can be seen in this post: Cameras…i need more!

I believe this camera was previously used by a large photographic organisation, to teach staff and students wishing to learn traditional 35mm film photography techniques. It was a training camera, at entry level specs.

It is a very good example of this model of camera, and despite its simplicity, low cost appearance and feel, it is in a very good condition cosmetically.

Here’s a little information about this camera:

The Canon EOS 500N is also known as the EOS Rebel G in the Americas or the New EOS Kiss in Japan. Sometimes it’s referred to as the EOS Kiss 2 as it followed the release of the EOS Kiss in Japan. This camera was released in 1996 and replaced the EOS 500. The Japanese version of the camera had the date back as standard. Its successor was the EOS-300 / REBEL2000 / Kiss III, released in 1999.

The body of the Rebel G is plastic, weighing 370 g (13 oz). The only colors available were black or a mix of silver and black. The Rebel G has an EF lens mount making it compatible with any EF lens. The viewfinder offers a 0.7x magnification, 90% coverage, center auto focus, wide auto focus and many more. The Rebel G shooting modes consisted of 6 basic modes, full auto, portrait, landscape, macro, sports and night scene. It also has 5 advanced modes, P, Av, Tv, M, A-DEP. These modes would continue on in the Rebel G series. The camera features a built in flash, and can shoot at 1 fps. The fastest shutter speed with flash was measured at 1/90 of a second.

A few new features include compatibility with ETTL type flash. It still has the same 1/90 of a sec sync speed of the previous model, but when equipped with a Canon Speedlight such as the 380EX, 220EX it can be used at 1/2000 of a sec. Focus has improved a bit as as a AF assist light is now available. Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) can be use from -2 to ++2 in 1/2 stop increments. The command dial now has an easier to access night scene mode. The body is able to use the BP-8 vertical grip that can also accept four AA batteries.

Camera-Wiki.org / Wikipedia

Assessment:

As Stated, this camera is in a good cosmetic condition with no sign of dents, dinks or wear. Considering this was a camera used in training I can only presume the students were extremely careful and respectful, or it was lightly used. Having worked with some of these students myself, i very much suspect, it’s more than likely going to be the latter option.

There is another such unit I have of this very same camera however that is damaged with a faulty screen that requires replacement and that will be dealt with in a future post. Meanwhile, let’s get back to this one.

A sticker on the rear

There is an old ownership sticker on the rear and this is one of those old vinyl type ones that will be able to be removed, but just may take a little while, as they are brittle and break off into lots of little pieces that go everywhere.

The battery chamber is clean and there are no signs of contamination. The screen is clear and does not show any bleed, though I haven’t powered it up just yet.

Clean battery chamber
No screen bleed

The film chamber, back pressure plate and shutter curtain all appear to be in good order. Again I will further test this when I put some batteries in and run a dummy film to check transport.

Curtain and film chamber appear fine
Back pressure plate and door working fine

The unit is quite grubby and dusty, the mirror is dirty and the prism is as well. initially all looks good. Batteries, and the dummy film might tell us something different.

Repair:

Let’s get that sticker off the rear, a little soak in IPA to soften things up, and then using a small plastic modelling spatula to gently get under the label, I was able to remove the sticker relatively easily. If I’d used the metallic option I may well have scratched the casing. I’m happy that this option has worked well for me. A final clean at the end with some car cockpit cleaner should bring the detail out nicely.

Sticker now removed

Let’s get some power in, and fire this unit up. It takes two CR123A 3v lithium batteries.

CR123A batteries
We have power

Batteries in, and everything lights up, all menus function and as stated earlier their is no bleed from the LCD screen.

I load the film in and it instantly winds the whole film on to the take up spool. Here on the display, you can see that this roll is 24 exp and it has wound fully on to the take up spool. I fire off these 24 exposures to check the shutter and that fires fine, film transport also works well and the final rewind of the film at the end also works. In a nutshell, this camera works!

Film in and film out

I clean the prism and the mirror with a soft swab and you can just see the dust and dirt lift. A final brush over with a bulb blower completes this task. The internals are now clean.

It just needs a very thorough exterior clean and polish.

Result:

I’ve cleaned the exterior and used some ceramic cockpit polish to finish it off, I must admit it’s looking very good.

Here I have a nice little camera packed with features that will make a great camera for someone to learn the basics of traditional photography with. However, it’s remaining in my collection for the while.

Looking clean and presentable
From all angles a lovely clean example, operating just as it should

I’ve cleaned the camera throughout and used compressed air to finish the clean prior to sealing it from the elements. It’s yet another camera that I need to test, another one that needs to have a film put through it for its final test, however I am 100% confident of it’s capabilities and the fact that it operates just fine and all its settings, buttons and controls are doing exactly what they should. When I do get to put a film through, I will link to it here.

Another successful restoration and return to use of another old camera that had been put to one side. Not that this one really required a lot of attention, just a bit of servicing and tlc.

Thanks for passing by. It’s always very much appreciated.

Canon EOS 30

Cleaning, repair and maintenance of an old Canon EOS 30 35mm SLR

I’m calling this camera my EOS Dirty, it really is suffering a bad case of the sticky rubber syndrome that was widely experienced on cameras of this era, where the Vulcanised rubber used in its construction, had a falling out with its own internal polymers, and they then decided to part company. Creating a sticky mess. This camera is currently 25 years old, originally manufactured in the year 2000.

A lovely lump of a camera
My hand, simply after handling this camera for no more than a minute.

That said, it’s a lovely camera with a lot of features, this was pretty much one of the last 35mm cameras that Canon produced, and they threw a lot of R&D into these units prior to producing its “D” Digital offering, hence it was packed with lots of pre “D” technology. It has “Eye” control, the Eye Control focusing feature makes selective focusing quicker for many. It uses IR to detect eye movements to determine focusing areas. Up to 5 eye presets can be stored for different users. I wonder if that still works?

This dirty sticky pup, needs some heavy cleaning

Here is some information, about this camera:

The EOS 30 (or Elan 7 / Elan 7e / EOS 7 / EOS 33 in different global markets) is a Canon autofocus 35mm SLR camera that uses the Canon EF lens mount. The camera was introduced in 2000.

There are three main auto focusing modes. Automatic, manual selection focusing, and Eye Control (EOS 30, EOS Elan 7E). It was given the 7 name because it has 7 auto focus points in manual selection mode. The Eye Control focusing feature makes selective focusing quicker for many. It uses IR to detect eye movements to determine focusing areas. Up to 5 eye presets can be stored for different users. Some users with corrective lenses may experience problems using this feature. The shutter speed ranges from 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec. in 1/2-stop increments with bulb. X-sync at 1/125 sec.

Metering modes use a TTL max. aperture metering with a 35-zone silicon photocell. The included modes are evaluative, partial and center-weighted averaging metering. The measurement range is from 1 to 20 EV (at 20-degree with 50mm f/1.4 lens, at ISO 100). The ISO can be set automatically with DX-coded film at ISO 25 to 5000. Exposure compensation can be adjusted from +/-2 stops in 1/2-steps.

Exposure modes available include Program mode, shutter priority, aperture priority, Depth-of-field, Auto, scene modes with (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Scene), manual exposure and bulb mode. Flash exposure includes modes for E-TTL, A-TTL and TTL program flash modes. The motor drive is capable of up to 4 fps. The finder has dioptre adjustments built-in with settings from -2.5 to +0.5 dpt. Two CR123A batteries power the camera.

If equipped, the QD (Quartz Date) / Date back require the use of one CR2025 coin type battery. Imprint display modes include M/D/Y, D/M/Y, Y/M/D, D/H/M and off. The last date the unit can imprint is Dec. 31, 2019

Camera wiki.org

Assessment:

As stated in the sections above, the biggest problem with this camera is its stickiness, and to be honest that is not really a problem. I have cleaned many of these in the past and this one will be no different. Here’s a post I wrote a while back about sticky camera bodies: Sticky, Rubber camera grips

This really does feel like a lot of camera. You can see the digital “thought” that the development guys introduced into this camera in preparation for the arrival of its “Digital” brothers and sisters, I’m going to have to do a bit more reading up on its full operation and capabilities. This camera is in very good condition, no dinks, dents and very few scuffs, all doors are functional and when a battery is installed (a 2CR5 – 6v lithium) everything lights up, and appears to do what it should. I will check this thoroughly though later.

The horrendously sticky areas
Rear
Mode dial
Screen

The battery chamber is clear of any contamination, and looks nice, the mirror will need cleaning and the area within it will need a blow through, the shutter curtain seems to be working well at this stage. I will test it more after the clean.

Clean battery barrel
Dusty mirror and curtain chamber

So. Let’s get on with the repair and maintenance.

Repair:

I’ve started the clean of the rubber and it is filthy. The amount of black that came off on the first clean has required me to get another cloth as it really is that bad. Another two applications and the cloth is a lot cleaner, it has removed a massive amount of goo and dirt and feels a lot better to the touch, and my hands are staying clean and that’s a good sign. I will give a final clean with the car cockpit polish that should finish it off nicely.

Looks beautiful after a proper clean

I’ve cleaned the mirror and prism above using a swab and the effect is instantaneous, there was a lot of dust here. Opening the curtain in a “B” setting I gave the whole interior a good blast with compressed air that has left the chamber as free of dust and contaminants as I can get it. With the curtain back down, a bulb blower and brush is all that was needed to complete the task. A lens mount cover is now in place to prevent anymore dirt getting in.

Transport tested

I’ve put in one of my old test films to check the camera’s function, and it’s transport & rewind, and I’m pleased to say this works just fine. At a shutter speed of 4000 I’ve never heard such a sweet sounding camera. This really feels like a lovely camera that I can’t wait to take out and run a film through.

All functions and options tested via the display screen

Going through the function screen, there are no bad pixels and all options are available. I have tested the eye control function and programmed my own profile into the camera, it does seem to be working, it might be a little hit and miss, I programmed it very quickly so maybe I just have to read up on it more, just to tweak its use as such.

All rear sub menus working, and buttons operable

All sub menus on the rear of the camera are operable and all buttons and dials are doing what they should. This camera is ready to go, and is in a perfect working order.

Result:

She’s a beauty
Canon EOS 30

This camera was probably discarded to one side when the sticky grip problem started to rear its ugly head. It really is a shame that this happens, it’s such a simple problem to eradicate. This is an absolutely superb camera and packed with technology that would eventually have gone on to be incorporated into the soon to appear professional digital offerings from Canon. For 35mm photography this was a perfect swan song, 35mm photography had peaked with this range of cameras and Canon had perfectly produced cameras that in effect had pushed this theme of photography to its highest level. It was the best of the rest at the time.

This camera deserves some respect, it feels superb in the hand, looks good, sounds terrific and performs exceptionally well. There will always be the haters out there, there always will be. But as you will have gathered, I don’t really report badly of any of my cameras as I truly love them all. They are superb items of modern and semi modern technology that have captured history. They just deserve to be preserved and protected and most of all enjoyed.

I will shortly be posting some pictures from this camera that can be found here:

Thank you for passing by, as always it is very much appreciated.

Canon EOS 10

An old EOS 10 was in need of attention. And I was able to lend a helping hand

Here I have a Canon EOS 10, a quite superb little camera. The date code within the film barrel is HE1213, indicating that this camera was manufactured in December 1990. At the time of manufacture this camera sat firmly at the top of Canons camera tree only surpassed by the EOS1 professional camera that had been released the year earlier in 1989.

My EOS 10 35mm SLR

This camera was amongst a selection of cameras and equipment passed on to me by a good friend and professional photographer as can be seen here: Cameras…i need more!

Here is a little history regarding the EOS 10

The Canon EOS 10 is an autofocus 35mm SLR introduced in 1990. The model name was EOS 10S in the Americas, and EOS 10QD in Japan. There was a commemorative metallic-silver version introduced in 1991 to mark Canon’s 60 millionth 35mm camera sold.

The improvements over the original EOS cameras are a newly improved autofocus sensor. Focus modes include One-Shot AF for non moving subjects and AI Servo AF for moving subjects. It is able to detect and switch automatically between the autofocus modes. Shutter ranges from 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec., with B. X-sync at 1/125 sec. Similar to the EOS 750, is has a built-in flash with a guide number 12 (at ISO 100). It uses one 2CR5 lithium battery and weighs approx 625g for the body without battery.

Camera wiki.org

Assessment:

One of the nuances introduced on this camera was the barcode option. Introduced at a time where barcodes were starting to creep into our life, in a knock at Minolta and their use of specific expansion cards for specific scene settings, Canon thought it would be good to utilise barcodes that you could scan, to automatically set your camera with these options without expansion cards. Needless to say it didn’t take off and was soon dropped from later camera production. It was a sign that the development teams were looking for advancement opportunities.

That barcode mode – soon forgotten

These cameras are available at fairly reasonable prices now partly due to the dreaded sticky rubber grip issue that tends to send buyers running for the hills, god knows why, it’s an easily remedied issue that just takes a little time and patience. I did a previous post about cleaning these cameras here: Sticky, Rubber camera grips it’s all down to the polymers in the Vulcanised rubber breaking down and reacting with hand sweat and other stuff. Have a read, and never throw away a camera just because it’s sticky.

This camera has some stickiness but it is not an advanced case. It will still be cleaned in the same manner, to prevent it developing any further.

The camera is just a bit dusty and in need of a good clean. The mirror is dusty and needs cleaning, a blow out of the interior should suffice as the shutter blades are opening and closing with no issue.

Inside clean shutter blades are ok
Film plate unmarked
Mirror is dusty and requires cleaning

The battery is a lithium 2CR5 cell. The battery chamber is clean with no signs of battery contamination, this is a very good sign. When placed into the camera the screen comes on, is clear with no damage. A lens put on the front confirms that auto focus can be achieved and the camera fires and winds as expected.

Camera screen working
Battery chamber is clean
2CR5 battery cell

To be quite honest, there doesn’t seem to be a lot wrong with the camera. It really seems to be just a clean and maintenance issue. I’m going to give the camera a thorough look over, dust and clean, a thorough clean of the external rubber and finish it all of with a good exterior body treatment. I will then run a roll of used film through to check the DX reader is working, as well as the transport system. Fingers crossed nothing major raises its head during the repair process.

Repair:

Straight in and at the cleaning, and to be honest the rubber wasn’t too bad. I only used two applications and not a lot of dirt came off on either. After it has dried, it does feel a great deal better.

Heavy cleaning, wasn’t that heavy

The mirror has cleaned up nicely, so has the prism above it, however whilst in there I noticed that the mirror damper felt was failing, so this I have now removed and will have to replace prior to using as I don’t want to cause any further damage.

The missing damper felt area, highlighted in red

I’ve had to order some new material that will hopefully be here shortly, as my supply, as is always the problem lately, is in storage with all my other gear pending this house move that will probably never occur. it’s a real pain in the butt not being able to access your most required kit. Hey ho.

The light seal has arrived, and so I start by getting the damper felt put in place. First I cut it to size, remove the sticky back paper and just wipe the sticky bit with some water, this allows me a little more time to reposition it before the adhesive does its work.

Cut to size
Dampen the adhesive
Then put in place

Below is a very small video with me putting the camera into manual mode on a single exposure setting to test the actual worth of the damper foam.

All working fine

I’m happy with what has been done so far.

Strap cleaned and restored

I’ve even given the neck strap a good buff up, the rubber on it was almost white rather than black, a bit of a clean and a polish and it’s now been restored to it’s original glory.

With the new damper in place it’s now time to run a film through it, I have an old test film I use for this purpose, I’m going to set the camera to its highest shutter setting and just run the whole roll through in quick succession to check the transport and rewind.

And here is that test, it went super fine and the full roll rewound at the end.

Transport works just fine

I’ve tested all settings, shutter speeds and functions including the flash and all is as it should be. I’m happy to say that this camera appears to be in full working order.

Now for the final clean and presentation.

Result:

Well, a little bit of car cockpit cleaner has done wonders. It looks beautiful and has a nice aromatic smell as well. I know I’m biased when it comes to cameras but I think this is an absolute beauty.

All polished and looking fine
Covered from all angles looking resplendently clean and tidy

I’m really pleased with this camera, I’m heading out later today to watch a relative play football and I’m going to take this along to grab some snaps with an expired film from 20 years ago. It will be a good final test of the capabilities of this camera, and should finalise its renovation. It’s been a great camera to work on and is yet another worthy addition to my collection. I will post the photos here when they are finalised. Canon Eos 10 test shots

Thank you all for passing by, it’s always most appreciated.

20yr old Kodak Gold

How did the old film trial go? Come in and take a peek.

I posted earlier today Well, that was most enjoyable! Regarding popping out for a morning stroll and taking a 48 year old camera with me to shoot a roll of film that had expired 20 years since.

The camera

At 20 years old, the roll was an experiment where i exposed at normal settings, +1 stop overexposed and +2 stops overexposed. I obtained 39 exposures, always possible from a 36 exposure roll, I won’t bother you with them all, just 2 from each exposure range with a brief description. Don’t expect fine art here, it was a snap session to test a number of factors and to see how the film has deteriorated over time.

These pictures have not been retouched apart from having a frame put around them. They are as scanned, for authentic representation.

200ASA

The advertised, original roll ASA rating. Very low expectations and it didn’t disappoint.

Extremely underexposed
Again under exposure, and a brown hint

At 200ASA the shots were certainly under exposed. The pictures have a cast over them and after development there is a lot of curl on the emulsion (Age) and the base of the film also has a darker tone, creating that yellow brown cast.

100ASA (+1 stop overexposed)

The best two exposures represent the first overexposure of one stop from 200ASA to 100ASA.

Pretty nice overall exposure
Again nice exposure and highlights very prominent

At 100ASA everything seems quite acceptable. There is that hue over the film still, and highlights seem quite prominent. Grain is present but not too distracting.

50ASA (+2 stops overexposed)

If you work by the suggested standard of one stop of exposure for every 10 years then this should be the standard. However I’m not so sure.

Nice colour, highlight prominent and quite a bit of a yellow hue, would need adjustment post processing
Could have been taken in the late 70s or early 80s

So with the exposure at 50ASA we have now introduced quite a bit of grain, a yellow hue and quite prominent highlights. I’m sure all of these pictures would post process fine if run through photo shop or light room. But to be quite honest I love that retro look that they have.

For me i’d probably aim at the 100ASA +1 stop of overexposure on the remaining rolls I have, I believe that would be quite enough, however even the 50ASA option is not too bad though you would require a lot of post working and you’d have quite a noticeable size grain.

Horses for courses as they say, but I’m going down the +1 stop overexposure route for the next film.

I found a little local photo store here in Leicestershire called Classic photo supplies, who specialise in all film processing, supply, printing and Sundry items. The owner Brett invited me in and we just chatted classic photography whilst my film was developing. He’s a super guy, and I’m all for supporting small businesses, so this is my new go to lab. The scans were done and over to me by email within an hour, super quick service. I’ll pick the negatives up in the week when I drop off another film to be developed and scanned.

Thanks for passing by. As always I am honoured by your presence.

Thanks. For your time.

Well, that was most enjoyable!

An enjoyable stroll with a 48 year old camera

The wife told me this morning that she was going out shopping with her sister. Nothing sinister in that, in fact it means two things really. One, I’m going to be a bit lighter in pocket and two, I’m going to have to occupy myself for a while. I have work later this afternoon, so with a couple of hours spare what better time to get out for a walk and to take a 48 year old camera with you that needs testing. This one to be precise: Canon AE1 35mm SLR

I dashed down to take a film out of the fridge, left it sitting for an hour and loaded the camera up, stage one achieved and everything as expected.

Today’s walking companion
Film successfully loaded

Now the film I have been given is one of 8 rolls I have been gifted that are all out of date. This one is a mere 20 years out of date expiring in 2005. This roll of film is older than 21.8% of the Uk population according to the office of national statistics 2024. It’s that old.

Today’s film is a Kodak Gold 200ASA film. There is a general rule of thumb out there that for every ten years the film is out of date you should over expose the film by one stop. So on this film, as it is a further 10 years past that, and if I follow that recommendation then I have to over expose this film by 2 stops. This means in theory that this 200ASA film should be exposed at 50ASA that equates to two stops of overexposure.

I’m not going to do that, I’m going to experiment here. I don’t know how this film has been stored over the years, I don’t even know that it will work at all, it could be fogged or just so deteriorated that it just doesn’t work.

It’s a 36 exposure film so here’s the plan. Exposures 1-12 at std setting of 200ASA. Exposures 13-24 at 100ASA setting and finally the last 12 exposures at 50ASA. Here I cover all bases and should hopefully get a reference roll for the other seven that I have in cold storage at present.

Needless to say I’m not going to be too fussy with what I photograph, scenery, shades, over and under exposure and bright colours, everything that can be used as a reference to check saturation, contrast, grain and film deterioration.

Let’s go.

Off we go

So as stated, I’ve exposed and over exposed equally throughout the roll, so this should cover all bases.

12 exposures of each

Right from the start I have thoroughly enjoyed this little exercise, I spoke to two elder gents who were quite excited at what I was doing and shared their own experiences with traditional film with me, it was lovely, i was even offered an old camera but i politely declined as the wife wouldn’t have been happy with that. I walked 3 miles, I went through some of the less salubrious areas, but these areas had some of the best subject matter.

3 joyous miles of walking

When you are using an old camera, you seem to scan the area more intensely, you see stuff you haven’t seen or noticed before, it’s amazing what you pass and ignore. I think you are less selective with phones and digital media, with film, you are limited so have to be picky.

I bloody loved it. I’d forgot just how good it is to get out there and use good old fashioned equipment.

And that camera behaved just beautifully, everything worked as it should, it is as good as it has ever been, I’m so pleased with how it has behaved so far. See the results here: 20yr old Kodak Gold

I guess the proof is in the pudding as they say. Time to get it processed and to check the results. Needless to say I will feed that back on this blog as soon as it becomes available.

Don’t give up on the past, there is a lot of good tunes played on an old fiddle.

Thanks for passing by, always appreciated.

Canon EOS1 N HS

The EOS1 N with the well documented BC fault. Can I repair it?

The EOS1 N was a professional 35mm camera from 1994, it is currently 31 years old. This model is basically the EOS1 N with the E1 drive booster/winder earning it the HS suffix.

Canon EOS1 N HS

These are beautiful analogue cameras and over the years I’ve had a fair few of these pass through my hands, I have not however owned one with the E1 booster/winder before. I’ve recently had a number of cameras passed on to me by a good friend and that post can be found here: Cameras…i need more!

This is one of those cameras that he passed onto me and it carries the well known BC fault. We’ll come on to that later, in the meantime here is a little history lesson, of the evolution of this camera.

The EOS-1N is a 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera body produced by Canon. It was announced by Canon in 1994, and was the professional model in the range, superseding the original Canon EOS-1.The camera was itself superseded by the EOS-1V in 2000.

The original EOS-1 had been launched in 1989, two years after the company had introduced their new EOS autofocus system. It was the company’s first professional-level EOS camera and was aimed at the same photographers who had used Canon’s highly regarded, manual focus professional FD mount SLRs, such as the Canon New F-1 and the Canon T90. On a physical level the EOS-1 resembled the T90, which had been designed for Canon by Luigi Colani. The EOS-1N was a revision of the EOS-1, with five autofocus points spread across the frame rather than a single centrally mounted autofocus point, plus more effective weather sealing, a wider exposure range, and numerous other improvements. In common with the EOS-1, the 1N used Canon’s A-TTL automatic flash system, and does not support the more modern E-TTL.

Assessment:

Right, let’s get on to the problem. The BC fault is a blanket fault, covering a multitude of issues, predominantly electrical, even addressed in the accompanying instruction manual as a potential battery issue. However the issue that it is more associated with the fault is the failing shutter mirror magnets. See the video below.

BC error repair

The video above gives a very good insight to the issues, and what to look for and how to get the shutter operational again. It’s not a permanent fix, sometimes the magnets haven’t been used for such a long time that they just seize up. They can be de magnetised, they can just be dirty, either way it’s worth having a look at, to try and restore what is in all aspects a very good camera. It seems to be an issue that an open or close signal is sent, however the magnets for some reason do not react, dirt can be a contributing factor. Below I have put together a very short video of my own camera, the early part shows me trying to get it working and showing the BC indication, the second part shows the mirror “sort of” working after I have tapped in the area just above the top screw on the left side of the lens mount under which the magnets are situated.

My own EOS1 N showing the BC fault

It still doesn’t work properly though and is extremely intermittent, but it’s a start, it proves the fault. I have also used a strong magnet to fool the internal magnets, this works for a couple of firings but that’s it. This also adds credibility to confirm the magnet issue.

I haven’t yet taken the fascia off to access the magnets, I’ve just tapped in their general area, or probed with a strong magnet, this was enough to allow the shutter to intermittently fire, and it is now quite apparent that this is the issue I have with this unit.

You can see exactly where the magnets are located under the fascia

I’ve done some further checks to confirm the fault. If you turn the camera on and open the small door to the right on the rear of the camera, there are a number of buttons inside that allow you to check battery levels and to do resets, and so forth.

The battery check button

By pushing both the clear button and the battery check button together, you can get a fault code to appear on the screen on the top of the camera.

Battery full and Fault code 6

Here as you can see, I have fault code number 6. If you look at the chart below supplied by Canon you will see it refers to a mirror fault, more specifically the mirror is up, but didn’t switch back to on from off, as I mentioned in the above paragraph.

Fault codes

As you can also see above, fault codes 6,7 & 9 refer to the mirror operation issue.

I’ve done all I can really on the outside of the unit, and I think I have conclusively proved the area of the fault. Before we look at replacement of the part, I am going to give it a good clean to see if that will clear the issue. I’ll worry about spare parts later if required. Let’s get the fascia off and have a closer look.

Repair:

I’ve been a right stubborn sod with this one. I really didn’t want to dismantle this camera at all. Something inside was telling me it was unnecessary so I decided to persist with what I had been doing earlier. If only I could get the magnets to fire for a few exposures at a time, it would be just like a coughing car engine clearing out its system and kicking in to life, once it bites you can accelerate it a little more until it starts ticking over. Old motors and cameras are a strange but similar comparison, the longer they are left unused the more inclined they become to not partake in doing what they were made to do, whether powering a car or taking photos. Stop using them and they do just that. Stop.

Well, that’s what I think anyway, My world is as simple as that. And I think it might just work.

So I have persisted….

And purchased a much stronger magnet a “Rare earth” one to be precise. These are the sort of magnets they use for magnet fishing, however this one is small and despite having credentials behind it saying it has 19kg of pulling power I’d suggest that is a lie. Probably a maximum of 3kg if you’re lucky, but either way more than sufficient for me wanting to kick start a tiny electro magnet in a camera.

The most surprising issue around this magnet is the absolute ridiculous size of the packaging that it came in.

This tiny magnet, came in this massive box. Good old Amazon

So I persisted with the magnet, around the lens ring. I reset again and again. Nothing. I used my knuckle to tap the area near the magnet, a single cough, good. More resets, single coughs, more taps two coughs….this is good. I set the camera to high speed wind, kept the exposure button depressed and continued tapping, five or six coughs then stop. It’s an improvement. The magnet is starting to pick up. More tapping then I’m getting about 20 coughs with an obvious delay on one or two activations… we are now getting somewhere.

I put the rare earth magnets near the camera magnet and then switch off and reset. I turn back on again and then get a good 15 seconds or so of rapid fire, the internal magnets are clearing. I remove the rare earth magnet, reset again and the old girl fires into life for about 30 seconds continuously with only the occasional “misfire” the internal magnets are sparking back into life.

You get the idea.

Once you get these magnets operational, the best thing you can do is continually fire them, until they fire smoothly. This camera has not fired up for years, and these components inside are made to be used, and just like someone trying to keep fit, similar to a muscle, if you don’t use it you’ll lose it, it’s the same with these cameras, they need to be used on a fairly regular basis.

I did a 3 minute firing and I’m pleased to say she is now chugging away beautifully with no coughs and splutters. I’m sure glad I persisted with my hunch. I was right. And believe it or not. The battery levels are still good.

I’ve put together a little video here showing it working before and after.

My EOS 1N shutter magnet issue

Well what more can I say. It appears to be working.

Result:

To say I’m chuffed with this repair is an understatement. Sometimes you don’t have to dive in and start dismantling to get results. Do your research and make your own plan of attack with the information you have at your disposal. You will find equal amounts of good and bad advice out there, you’ll soon become aware of the differences, just follow your feelings and do what you think is right, if it’s wrong, well you’ve learned a lesson.

She’s ready to go – what a beauty

I am so looking forward to getting a day out with this camera and really letting her loose. I just love the sound of these clunking old machines, I don’t understand why anyone dislikes them. I loved visiting air shows when you had the big old really noisy aircraft that shook your soul from head to toe, they then sanitised that with super quiet aircraft…so boring. They’ve done that to cameras as well that nowadays make no noise. I love these old cameras, every click, clunk and whir brings back superb memories to me. I just love old cameras. I like to think I’m helping a few last just a little bit longer.

Many thanks for passing by, it’s always very much appreciated.

Peace to all.

Expired camera film

What shall I do with all these expired rolls of 35mm film? I know, let’s take some pictures

I’ve recently inherited 8 rolls of life expired 35mm film. In other hands I guess these would just be discarded, and thrown away, however this is me writing, you know, that fool who collects old knackered cameras. That’s me that is.

Well I’m going to use them.

What could possibly go wrong.

8 rolls of film 20 years old

A number of things to be precise, let me enlighten you. As these rolls of films all expired back in 2005 this means they expired 20 years ago, that’s a third of my life span, phew! Film loses its sensitivity over time and we will have to compensate for that when we get to use the film. Colours and dyes fade, and the finished product (if there is one) is likely to look washed out. Add to that the issue of not knowing how the film has been stored over the last 20 years, and this could be the difference between there being an image and just being blank film. If the film has been kept cool, and in a darker environment, there is more of a chance of getting a result than one that has been stored in light and heat. You get the picture….or not.

These rolls are colour negative film all using the C41 chemical development process. And for this type of film and process, the line drawn in the sand says that it’s wise to overexpose the film by 1 stop, for every 10 years (Decade) of expiry. Since the rolls i have are now twenty years out of date, following these guidelines I would be advised to overexpose these films by 2 stops.

Black and white film is more forgiving and might not require adjusting at all, whilst transparency film is totally unforgiving, and personally i wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.

The higher the ASA setting on the film, means that it requires less light, a lower settings means that more light is required. Therefore, as an example, if these films were originally rated at 400 asa i would now be advised to expose them at 100 asa therefore allowing more light in to expose the deteriorating film accordingly. But remember, when you process the films they must be processed at standard normal development times, if you push or pull the development times you will not achieve the result you require. Develop as normal.

The unknown factor here really is how the film was stored. Chances are that if it was stored in perfect conditions, then we could probably get away with using its original asa setting. But we just don’t know and will just have to suck it and see as they say. We won’t really know how things are going to turnout until we’ve developed the film.

Old film is good for experimental purposes, you don’t really want to trust old film to a photo shoot as you could be wasting time and money. Unless you really want that old washed out retro 70s look.

The film stock I have is listed below:

I have 4 rolls of Kodak Gold 200ASA colour film.

Gold 200 ASA

I also have 4 rolls of Kodak Gold Ultra 400ASA film.

Gold Ultra 400 ASA

All expiry dates are circa 2005, so they are exactly 20 years out of date. I’ve put them all in to cold storage for now but it could well be 20 years too late. Typical for me, always late to the party!

As an aside to these films, I’ve also found a Canon EOS 30 body that I have also been given to get working again, it just so happens to have a partially exposed film inside it. Now this roll I will have to expose as per normal as it has a dx code reader inside, and I can’t override it from what I can tell initially. It will be interesting to see what it returns.

So. When I get around to exposing these films, the 400ASA will be exposed at 100ASA and the 200ASA ones will be exposed at 50ASA. To be honest, I will probably expose half a roll of each at the original setting and then half at the modified setting. It will be good to see the difference, the deterioration and the grain quality. I have a number of old 35mm cameras still to test, so these rolls will be a welcome opportunity to test and experiment, and you don’t often get the opportunity to do this, so I’m going to make the most of it and have some fun.

I’ll let you know how it goes 🤞

Canon AE1 35mm SLR

A sympathetic restoration of a 70s classic camera.

This is a Canon AE1 that was produced around May 1977. I know this because of the date code within the spool area where the film sits. Seeing these units were produced between 1976 – 1984 this particular unit is quite an early one. It is currently 48 years old and looking very good.

Canon AE-1

This camera is part of a batch of cameras recently received from a good friend of mine Jon, who has been in the photography business for more years than he cares to remember… it’s a big number and that’s all I’m saying. I did discuss his very kind donation here: Cameras…i need more!

How did you date this camera?

Surprisingly quite easy. There is a number on most Canon cameras externally, and contrary to belief this is not the ID number, the id number we require is inside the camera, printed in the film spool bay in a very dark ink. You have to position it in the light to view it properly.

ID number in film barrel
The ID number

The number can consist of 4 or more digits. In my case the number is R519. If you go to this site by a guy called Bob Atkinson he has a chart here that explains how to source the date of your Canon Camera or lens: Bob Atkins Photography- Date codes

So using Bobs code the letter “R” refers to the year of manufacture and in this case represents 1977 or 2003 (the dates were recycled when they reached the end of the alphabet) seeing this camera’s production run was between 1976 – 1984, “R” in this case represents 1977. The next two digits represent the month of manufacture, and occasionally in months 1-9 the preceding zero was omitted. In my case considering the number 51 does not represent a Month, the zero was omitted in my case therefore making the month of manufacture “05” hence month 5 – May. So this unit was more than likely produced in May 1977. Occasionally there would be a final letter such as an “F” that would represent the factory it was made in. “F “ would have been the factory in Fukushima. See, that’s how I dated this unit. Check Bob’s site out and date your Canon equipment.

Anyway, here’s a little history about this superb little camera:

The Canon AE-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera for use with interchangeable lenses, manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. (today Canon Incorporated) in Japan from April 1976 to 1984. It uses an electromagnetically controlled, horizontal cloth focal plane shutter, with a speed range of 2 to 1/1000 second plus Bulb and flashX-sync of 1/60 second. The camera body is 87 mm tall, 141 mm wide, and 48 mm deep; it weighs 590 g. Most are silver, with black grip and chrome trim, but some are black with chrome trim.

Its name refers to the fact that it is an electronic camera using aperture control for automatic exposure. The AE-1 is the first SLR containing a digital integrated circuit, which allowed Canon to integrate more functionality while making the camera smaller. Both the digitally-controlled automatic exposure and the small size helped to make the camera a success: backed by a major advertising campaign, the AE-1 sold over 5.7 million units, which made it an unprecedented success in the SLR market.

Wikipedia

So there is a lot of them about, but it’s rarer now to find one in a good condition. I think I have one that is in a good condition, has very slight signs of ageing (Patina) and shouldn’t take too much effort to get it working again.

Let’s have a closer look at my inherited camera.

Assessment:

It’s been in storage within a foam lined metal box for a few years and this appears to have assisted in maintaining its overall good quality. There are a few slight signs of wear that are present as you would expect with a camera that has been well used but cared for, but there are no major dinks or signs of bits being broken. It has been loved.

Curtain clean and smooth
Silver worn, nice patina
Just a bit dusty
Just needs a good clean

Looking at the shell all the buttons are doing what they should, it’s a bit dusty and grubby and looking through the viewfinder you can see a lot of dust in the view, but I believe this is just dust on the mirror, or at least I hope so.

The camera has attached to it a Canon power winder “A” and this does not work, it has serious corrosion that I suspect that has gone behind the contacts and will need dismantling, cleaning and rebuilding. I will cover this activity in a separate post, whilst this one covers the camera and is a separate activity.

The winder looks good
Inside tells a different story
Old batteries
Serious corrosion

Anyway back to the camera. The wind lever seems to be locked, it can’t be cocked. The shutter doesn’t fire but there does seem to be movement in the exposure meter in the viewfinder but it seems erratic, not quite as it should be. I have a feeling and in fact I’m quite confident it is an electrical issue, as with the Canon A1, a bad power source would render the entire camera useless.

Repair:

With my suspicions about the electrical element on this camera the first thing I did was to do a battery check in the camera. This camera has one cell in it, mounted on the front face just to the right hand side of the lens in a small chamber. It is a 6v lithium battery. I suspect this one has been in place many years.

Battery check button

To check the battery power you look through the viewfinder at the light meter to the right of your field of view and depress the little black button on the top left of the viewfinder on top of the camera.

This. Battery is dead

As you can see above, when you push the little battery check button the needle on the exposure meter moves. It may settle, it may move about, but the battery should be indicating below the 5.6 level to prove it has life, this battery is indicating dead. Let’s confirm that on an external battery checker for confirmation.

Yep. It’s dead

And I think that confirms things for us that this old battery is dead. Fortunately I have plenty of replacements available so I just put a new one in to see what happens.

New battery

The new battery is in place and now you can see the indication has dipped well below 5.6 indicating a healthy battery supply. I push the shutter button and it fires perfectly. Power has been restored.

The lens on this camera is pretty much the stock issue FD 50mm. I have removed it and exposed it to high lighting levels to see if there are any imperfections and I’m pleased to say there are none. No Mould or fungus build up, I must admit my friend who passed this on to me has stored it perfectly. Apart from a little dust build up, I was able to use a lens cloth on both the lens and mirror and the issue was sorted in minutes, not that it was ever an issue really.

View through back
And front

I’ve used a dummy film and the carriage works fine, the lens apertures all react smoothly, and the shutter speed’s respond as they should. There is no shutter scream or lag, and everything seems just right. After spending a good few hours going through the instruction manual and checking all its functions I am happy it is doing just what it should. It is very rare to find such a good condition of camera that requires very little maintenance. It’s a credit to the previous owner.

This is a sympathetic restoration. I’m leaving it looking as it is. I’m not fixing something that isn’t broken, and I will attend to it with lubrication and maintenance as and when it is needed. I will very soon run a roll of film through and see just what comes back as a result. I have a number of films here that are now 20 years out of date so there could be some interesting results.

Result:

A beautiful camera
Stunningly beautiful

The camera has cleaned up beautifully after a good deep clean and polish. I have a superb little example of a well loved and well used retro superstar of the late 70s. In perfect working order and ready once again to be used for what it was designed for. Taking great photographs.

As stated I’m going to run a film through and I will post the results on here whenever I get the time to do so. See the test results here: 20yr old Kodak Gold

My plan is to have this displayed in a case in my workroom alongside my Canon A1 when I have completed its repair. I took up photography in the period of time that these cameras were produced, and they hold great memories and sentimentality for me. They come from a time when cameras had style and innovation, before they all started to look the same, quality and style, it’s what’s missing today.

For someone like me that loves old cameras, I think these are superb and will always hold a place in my heart.

Thank you for passing by, it’s always very much appreciated.

Cameras…i need more!

I say more cameras, my wife begs to differ.. my friends agree with me.

Well, my wife would probably disagree with the above comment.

However, i have some very good friends who are quite happy to ignore my wife and her protestations. Some would say they are very brave…others would even say they are foolish. Time will tell.

A couple of beauties – you wouldn’t understand

Jon, is a friend and former work colleague that i have known for many years. We both worked at the same Kodak plant in Harrow, me on the graphics art film production track and Jon was in the training and development area. We rarely met there as the plant was so huge that our paths crossed quite infrequently. However Jon has also been the mainstay and life blood of a local football team since the early 70s, and it’s true to say he is a local legend and pillar of the community. This is how i really met Jon, and we have always discussed issues of photography, he is very much involved with promoting the armed forces and has been fortunate in the subject matter he has been asked to photograph. Needless to say, he has a lot of redundant equipment, and when he became aware of my blog site and the repairs i attempt to do, he very kindly donated a number of items for me to write posts about, and to be quite honest it will keep me busy for quite a long time.

A few items to keep me busy

The majority of the items probably just need a little service and a test session, a couple have some battery corrosion issues, but in general cosmetically, they are in good condition. We have a number of old lenses, but as you’d expect from someone who looks after their equipment, there isn’t a sign of haze or fungus in them. They just need a clean up, and very little else.

Here’s a list of what i have received, and observed after a very quick look at the items.

8 cameras:

  • 1 Canon AE1 film camera and user manual, mirror was stuck, now freed up and firing ok but requiring a check over.
  • 1 Canon EOS 30 film camera, a bad case of sticky body.
  • 1 Canon EOS 10 film camera, issues unknown
  • 2 Canon EOS 500N film cameras, issues unknown
  • 1 Canon EOS 3000 film camera, issues unknown
  • Canon EOS 1N film cameras with E1 power drive, beautiful camera, issues unknown.
  • Canon EOS 7D digital camera with BG-E7 battery grip, stunning camera, issues unknown.

7 lenses: all Canon fit

  • 2 x Canon FD 50mm 1:1.8
  • Tokina 300mm 1:5.6
  • Tokina 135mm 1:2.8
  • Tokina 35mm 1:2.8
  • Canon 75-300mm 1:4-5.6
  • Canon 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6

There is a separate lens that i have been asked to look at and repair for him as it’s his third go to lens, that is a Canon EF 28-200 1:3.5-5.6 USM lens. It doesn’t focus in auto, i notice it has lens wobble and a lens washer appears to be exposed in the zoom section of the lens. It needs investigation.

Other items:

  • Canon Power winder-A. Part of the AE1 camera, you can smell its issue as you hold it, battery corrosion. Batteries inside have seriously corroded, however i believe the issue is salvageable.
  • Canon speedlite 199A flash gun, untested.
  • Metz 45 CT-1 flash, again there is corrosion in the battery pack, you can smell it. Again this should be salvageable.
  • Sangamo Euro master light meter and invercone. In excellent condition, could be that the selenium light cell is dead. Needs investigating.
  • 8 rolls of film, expiry date 2005, may still work..who knows.
  • 3 x 6v lithium batteries, all tested and working.

Add to that the two camera bags and a hard case that they all came in and I’m sure that you will agree that it was a pretty nice package to receive.

I’m extremely confident i can get these all into a good working condition, any cameras that i will not be keeping will either be sold on to benefit charities supported by Jon or donated to local charities for their benefit. Either way nothing will be heading to waste, that is a promise i have made to Jon and thats just how it will be, i do not break promises.

Thanks for passing by, and i will be posting articles on all these products in the coming months. As I already have 13 projects already in draft awaiting a time when i can back to repairing them, you can plainly see I’m going to be very busy for quite a while and should be able to supply quite a regular feed to this blog.

Have a super day. stay safe.

Pancake/Cookie lens

It’s a colloquial term for a flat thin lens assembly that started to emerge from the 60s through to the 80’s, commonly seen in compact SLR cameras of the time. This then developed into a body cap lens, an extreme type of pancake lens that is designed to both protect the camera internals as a body cap normally would, yet still allow the user to take photos. These lenses are manual focus only and generally have no more than a couple of optical lens elements, no image correcting elements, a very-slow fixed aperture, an extremely thin focusing ring (if any at all), and a retractable lens element cover. Due to this compromise in design, body-cap lenses generally suffer from numerous image quality issues such as heavy vignetting and poor image sharpness.

Recently there has been a resurgence in this type of lens culminating in the one that seems extremely popular at this time, a cookie lens.

Cookie lens

It’s not hard to see why it is named so, it looks like a big Oreo cookie, it even looks as if it has the cream between the two biscuit pieces. These current ones are sold as being recycled from old disposable cameras. Original pancake lenses can cost many hundreds of pounds, however these ones are classed as disposable, and are priced at around £30 to £40GBP, being sold by a company called Retropia. But hold it! Don’t waste your money on that one, as they can be purchased for at least half that price from Ali Express of Temu, just make sure you shop around. By looking at the reviews £30 can still be a bit of a hefty outlay for what is basically a cheapo lens out of a disposable camera set in a cookie shaped piece of plastic.

One guys in depth review of the “Cookie” lens

These lenses have risen in popularity, as the new mirror less cameras have become more accessible. This lens allows these cameras to be used as a straight forward point and shoot camera, no focussing or metering. achieving that retro disposable camera look, but in much more modern equipment. It’s a fun item and for an outlay of around £13GBP, which is what I paid for mine, it’s not too big an outlay to do some experimenting with, and if it turns out to be a load of old bilge, then it’s no real loss. Reviews are mixed, but in general it seems people are having fun, and that’s what photography should be.

I’m waiting for mine to arrive, and when it does I shall post some photos below to see how I’ve got on with it. Oh, and I now have a suitable camera to use with this lens and that can be found here Sony A7II Mirrorless camera.

The lens has arrived
Lens installed

It’s such a simple thing. It turns a complex camera into a quite basic point and shoot disposable, lomography type of camera. Perfect for street photography and just everyday randomness, yep kind of like you’d now find on your mobile phone. However this is more fun and you actually have a camera into your hand, Perfect.

The lens is 32mm, and the CCD in the camera is full 35mm so there is a kind of small vignette around the edges of each shot, but that just adds to the basic rawness of the lens. it’s a bit of fun.

Angles in the living room
Garden pub
Rusty chair
Across the kitchen early morning

Above are a small selection of some of the scenes around home, taken quite randomly and all I have done in the post process is added some vintage presets. The light has been so poor lately that to be honest this already added to the vintage effect. If we see any sun I suspect the results would be very similar to the hazy 70s effect that the disposables always managed to achieve. Don’t expect too much from these lenses, they are just fun to experiment with, and that’s just what photography should be. Fun.

Thanks for passing by. Always appreciated.