Category: film

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 🤞

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.

Olympus Trip 35

What the listing stated:

This lot is being sold for PARTS / REPAIRS, it is currently NOT in a working condition

Olympus Trip 35 w/ D. Zuiko 40mm F/2.8 Lens
& Original Lens Cap

EBay

Olympus trip 35

I brought this item along with a Canon A1 as a job lot. The full detail of what was in the auction and how it progressed can be found here: Not the lottery, but for me – just as good

The page regarding the repair of the A1 can be found here: (Still in draft – coming soon)

Meanwhile here is a little history about the Olympus trip:

The Olympus Trip 35 is a 35mmcompact camera, manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued, after a lengthy production run, in 1984. The Trip name is a reference to its intended market—people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s, it was the subject of an advertising campaign that featured popular British photographer David Bailey. Over ten million units were sold.

The Trip 35 was a point and shoot model with a 40 mm ƒ/2.8 lens, solar-powered selenium light meter, and just two shutter speeds. In ‘A’ mode, the camera operates as a Program automatic, choosing either 1/40 s or 1/200 s. The camera could also sync with flash, and has a range of aperture settings, from ƒ/2.8 to ƒ/22. In flash sync mode, the shutter is set at 1/40 s. Apart from a simple four-position zone focus system, and an ISO setting from 25 to 400,[2]the camera has no other photographic controls. The camera has a Prontor-Compur sync connector and a hot shoe. Its lens was a coated Zuiko 40 mm ƒ/2.8, with four elements in three groups.

The camera has an ISO range of 25–400, as films faster than 400 were uncommon at the time and delivered reduced image quality. 25 speed allowed the use of Kodachrome, while 400 speed allowed use of Kodak Tri-X and similar fast materials under low light. Earlier models, from the first few years of production, have a maximum ISO speed of 200.

The use of a selenium photocell to select the shutter speeds and aperture let novices use the camera as a “point & shoot”. No batteries are needed to power the camera.

The lack of more than two shutter speeds was not a problem. At 1/200 s and ƒ/22 with 400-speed film, the camera could deliver correct exposure in full sunlight, while at 1/40 s and ƒ/2.8, correct exposure could be obtained under bright fluorescent light, without a flash.

Wikipedia

And who could ever forget the series of star studded television adverts, featuring the photographer David Bailey, put together to promote this camera.

David Bailey

I never really got to use one, I admired one from a distance instead. My brother in law, Jim had one around about the mid to late 70s and he took some fantastic snaps with it. I wasn’t into photography at that time as I was still more interested in LEGO and Tonka trucks. However he did let me try it a couple of times, it really was that easy to use.

I’m not really sure what the problem is with this one, as the listing was not really clear on its issues. I just really wish sellers would just take a few seconds to describe the problems, it really could be an instant decision for the buyer – is it repairable or not? I’ll just have to wait until it’s arrived, and then i can do an assessment of its condition.

Assessment:

Well, it’s arrived and cosmetically it looks fine. However, zoom in a tad and the issues become apparent. It’s been dropped at some time, the lens has a little bit of wobble and you can see the outer ring of the lens has an obvious dent in it.

Drop damage

It does wind so that’s a bonus. The exposure button works and it clicks as it should, and the old selenium exposure meter appears to be responding, the red flag appears in low light and thus the exposure button will not depress. This is good.

Exposure indicator in viewfinder

When you half press the exposure button you would expect to see the relevant shutter leaf aperture close down, to the corresponding f- stop reading, this occasionally happens. If you move the lens barrel slightly it does have an effect, but it looks as if there is also some contamination on one of the shutter leafs, all of this is probably as a result of that tumble that has occurred sometime in the past.

Obvious lens wobble

I will definitely have to remove the whole lens housing from the camera to see if I can do anything regarding that wobble. This is going to be quite some task, and I’m not confident I will succeed, but who knows.

Let’s attempt to get inside.

Repair:

To get into the lens there are three tiny screws on the inner turret bezel that have to be removed that sit around the edge of it. This then pulls out and the lens optics can then be unscrewed.

Here are then two more screws that allow you to remove the selenium light sensor. Below this are three brass screws that hold the body to the lens. One of these screws were loose, hence the wobbly lens, this must have occurred when it was dropped.

Removing the sensor
The three brass body screws

I’ve pretty much had a cleanup here, applied a tiny drop of camera grease to the ring mechanisms, and tightened all these screws, and now the turret is nice and tight. I’ve just given the shutter blades a wipe with a soft brush and that is all it really needs. I’ve reassessed the camera, and tested its operation and it’s all good, working just as expected.

Result:

The dent in the ring remains as it’s causing no issues and is a subtle reminder of its past. The lens issue and its movement has been repaired and this in turn has cured the issue with the sticky aperture blades.

I haven’t touched the inner workings in the top of the camera such as the light metering, as it’s working fine and what’s the point in fixing what’s not damaged?

All repaired and looking good

I’ve still to run a film through it, and this will be done shortly as I have quite a backlog of film cameras to be tested. As soon as I have photos available I will link through this posting.

Really pleased with how this has gone, a nice easy fix but I can’t believe just how small those screws are around the lens bezel. I need my eyes testing that’s for sure.

Thanks for passing by, as always it’s very much appreciated.

Mamiya M Autofocus – 35mm point and shoot camera

What the listing stated:

Mamiya M point and shoot camera. It’s in fantastic original condition and is cosmetically excellent with original case and lens cap included. The lens appears to be bright and clear from the front. 
HOWEVER…when batteries are inserted the shutter does not fire and I suspect it is jammed somewhere. The lights come on and it goes “click” but the aperture does not open, nor does the film winding do anything. 
For spares or repairs only, I’m sure somebody with the know how could get it up and running again. 
Priced super low as I want it shifted and can’t bring myself to bin it! 
No returns please

EBay

A well made 80s point and shoot 35mm camera

Here’s a little bit about it:

The Mamiya M is a 35mm autofocus compact from 1982.  It has a boxy plastic shape, with a fixed Mamiya Sekor 38mm f/2.8 lens.  The lens is four elements in three groups.  Exposure is fully automatic, based on the film speed, where the ISO is selected via a dial around the lens. Film speed available is 25 – 800 ISO.  

The metering cell is located just under the lens, but within the lens ring.  This allows for the metering to take into account any 46mm filter screwed onto the lens.  That is assuming it is not a graduated filter.  Fastest shutter speed is 1/500thsecond with the slowest at 1/8th.  The camera is always on, except when fitted with a specially designed lens cap, which triggers the off state.  There is a strategically placed switch it pushes against on the right side of the lens.  Most of these caps are lost, including mine.

Photothinking.com

I don’t know what attracted me to this camera, but the fact the seller just wanted rid of it at a cheap price was a starting point. It was advertised as £4:36 GBP and £2:45 delivery, a total of £6:81GBP. I bartered a bit and got it all in for £5:44GBP so I got it a little bit cheaper, a bargain if you like.

Mamiya has a great reputation for building high quality lenses. They were only in the 35mm autofocus point and shoot sector for a short while before immersing themselves totally into the medium format camera market. This 35mm camera was only in production for about a year or so, even though quite a few were produced, we are looking at the low hundreds of thousands, not the many millions, so the camera itself was not a major mass produced and marketed unit. It is a plastic preformed body unit. Known in polite society back in the day as “A plastic fantastic”.

If a Mamiya camera had a blue ring around the lens, specifically on its other models, it denoted a higher quality lens type, it was never confirmed this was the case with these small autofocus 35mm cameras, though many believe it is still the case. Photo quality with these little units was generally of a very high quality.

Lens caps with these cameras are very rare, this one has one and it is the original, and i suspect (from what I see in the picture) that there may be a small crack on the side of this one, but that is not an issue. This lens cap is integral to this cameras operation, as when it is placed over the lens, it turns off the camera, without it the camera remains live at all times, and would soon lose its power. It is an early power conserving device if you like. The camera looks to be in overall good condition, probably down to being stored in its original case.

You can view a lot more than I could ever tell you, just by watching this review by Mr.50mm that was posted earlier this year.

Excellent recent review

Since reading up a little on these cameras it appears that I may well have bagged a bargain, if it ever works. And I also believe the seller may well again be unaware of the operation of this camera and it may in fact be working just fine? Who knows? I have my suspicions but we will just have to wait until it gets here for assessment.

Below are some sale prices relative to this camera model that are currently selling on EBay, some extremely high prices compared to what I have paid today:

Current selling prices for this model

It’s plastic and so 80’s. And people obviously loved it. I’d like to be able to get this camera working again, and would love to run a roll of film through it to give it a test run. But first I have to assess it and see just what is wrong with it. I have a roll of old film available to test its “faulty” rewind system, and I have all my tools ready to crack it open and get inside, if I have to. So let’s get at it….

Assessment:

It’s arrived and I must say it is in an excellent cosmetic condition, probably down to being kept in its original Mamiya soft case. The lens cap I thought had a crack in, is actually broken, probably beyond reasonable repair, but at the moment that is not important. Let’s put that to one side for now.

Nice condition
Lens cover damage

The actual camera is partially alive. When batteries are installed there is a red light that appears on the right rear side of the camera, this is the film transport light and should extinguish when transport is complete. The flash switch sticks a little, and when the flash is clicked into position the distance sensor light on the lens activates however the flash does not charge. The winding system is inoperative and does not auto wind at all. The shutter does not operate, despite the shutter leaves being able to move when gently coaxed.

Shutter not firing
Transport light in top right corner
Focus light illuminates on front

There seems to be partial electricity throughout, this could very well be the issue. There just doesn’t seem to be a uniform continuity throughout the camera. This will need to be looked at. Something very weird is going on inside.

Repair:

I’m really annoyed, closer inspection shows there are 6 screws missing and someone has been inside this camera prior to me. Again I think I’ve been stung by the EBay curse of “Spares and repairs- no returns” will I ever learn?

I’ve removed the remaining screws, and had to peel off the rubber grip to access and expose the motor and associated component board in this area. There will need to be a lot of cleaning here before gluing it all back in place.

That glue
Motor exposed
The grip gently peeled away

I’ve managed to get the flash charging light illuminated, and a current of 214v in the flash confirms that the Flash capacitor is holding a charge and more importantly, receiving a charge from the battery circuit. But I cannot get it to fire. There seems to be an issue with the shutter mechanism and the related electrical circuit in this area. The motor is not working, it’s either dead or not receiving power. I need to look in this area a little more thoroughly.

Front fascia removed

I’ve now removed the front fascia and now have a good view of the overall workings inside the camera.

Flash circuit board- tested ok
Lens and leaf shutter removed

Ive taken out the lens and the leaf shutter, these seem ok and are working freely when operated. To me it looks as if the mechanism that triggers the leaf shutter is either seized or the variable capacitance system located at the top of the camera, that is basically just a needle on a circuit board connected to the focus light, could be at fault, it does not freely move on each camera actuation as it should, and this is not a readily available part.

That faulty part of the board
Misfiring- faulty

It seems the deeper I delve into this camera that I am finding more issues, and I’ve just found two parts that are incorrectly installed that are on a cog system connected to the motor. I’m fighting a losing battle as it appears the person who has been here before has probably added to the issues of this camera in their attempt to fix the original issue.

On top of the missing screws I’ve now found a missing capstan cog related to the leaf mechanism that would help explain a certain lack of movement in areas. The motor is dead, I’ve taken it out and used the bench power supply and it is non responsive. Even after spraying with some contact cleaning fluid and sitting there spinning the axis to get the solution absorbed, there is still no response. It’s totally dead and will require replacement.

Result:

Well. Once again I have been mislead by incorrect descriptions on the auction sites. It’s a shame really as this is a lovely camera and if it had not been tampered with inside, I’d probably be posting a different review today, one that would be more positive. With screws, cams and cogs missing I was pretty much set up to fail here.

Reassembled
Back in its case

I’ve reassembled the camera and it is now back in its pouch. The positives are that I have learned a lot about how this camera operates, and just dismantling and reassembling the camera allows you to learn a lot about it, and the technology used during that period in time. All the screws that I removed have gone back into place with none leftover, yet another positive.

So it’s a failure I’m afraid, but it will be kept and either used as spares or I will obtain a suitable donor to get this one up and running, it will not be disposed of in any way. It will be reused. I’ve only paid a small amount for this, it’s worth it for the spares alone.

I have already set up a notification on the auction sites for when another suitable camera becomes available. I will update this post or post a new one that incorporates either the repair of this unit or its use as a spare parts donor, when that time comes.

Thanks for passing by. Its appreciated.

Fujifilm Instax 100 instant film camera

What the listing stated:

Fujifilm Instax 100 Instant Film Camera – Faulty Untested See Lens Shutter

Otherwise clean, 

battery compartment is clean, 

unable to test so selling for spares or repair considering the lens shutter 

EBay

Instax 100 Instant film camera

I’m a tad annoyed at myself here as I had arranged a good price with the seller but because I was too eager I pushed the wrong button and purchased at the original advertised price. The seller must think I am a right plum, and I’d be inclined to agree with him. That said I’ve secured this for a good all in price, and it will be a nice addition to my collection. It’s a 26 year old camera, and i’ve been looking for one of these particular cameras that use the wider format of Instax film for quite a while, but even the damaged ones command hefty prices. I’ve paid an all in price of £28:55GBP here when I should have paid £23:55GBP. Never mind, lesson learned and don’t be so hasty in the future. They can command a good price as can be seen in the photo below:

Some recent sale prices

Here’s some info about this camera:

The Fujifilm Instax 100 was released on May 1st, 1999. It has been replaced by the newer Instax 200, which is very similar except the flash is on one side rather than directly above the lens.

Technical Specifications

  • Type: Instant camera
  • Film: Fujifilm Instant Color Film “instax“
  • Picture Size: 62x99mm (based on the golden ratio, closer to the naked eye)
  • Lens: Move in/out type Fujinon Lens 2 components, 2 elements, 95mm
  • Aperture: f/14
  • Shutter: Programmed electronic shutter 1/64 ~ 1/200
  • Viewfinder: Real image viewfinder 0.45x
  • Focusing: Motor-driven 2-range switching (0.9 to 3m/3m to infinity)
  • Power supply: 4 LR6/AA-size 1.5V alkaline batteries for around 10 film packs.
  • Dimensions: 171.5 x 91.5 x 119.5 mm
  • Weight: 650 gr (without batteries, strap and film pack).

Camera-wiki.org

Now this one is being sold with what looks like only one fault that the seller is concerned with and that being a shutter problem. From experience and as can be seen in this recent post of mine: Another Fujifilm Instax mini 8 I know that this is not a “Lens” issue it is in fact an issue with the iris that protects the lens, and is probably as a result of a small spring being disturbed in that area. It’s quite a simple fix and if it is the only fault then that would be quite some result. However, this is EBay that we are talking about and there could be a number of further faults we haven’t been informed of. Now I will just have to be patient until it arrives, there is no other choice.

Assessment:

It’s a big one. Compared to the other Instax mini cameras this one is very big. It’s probably 1.5 times bigger than your standard SLR. It’s big. And weighty!

It’s clean…ish. And there seems to be a strip of plastic, a gate as such missing from the top of the camera near the exit slot. This wasn’t mentioned and I’m quite annoyed about that. When batteries are put inside it makes all the noises, but the action isn’t smooth in the lens extension range. This probably ties in with the advertised issue of the lens iris operation. I’m thinking I paid well over the odds for this particular camera, I’ve been conned here, lesson learned.

There could well be multiple problems here, and if that missing piece on the top is anything to do with light proofing, then we could have an issue. Anyway we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Initially I’m going to stick with the original fault, so let’s attack that and worry about any other issues if and when they crop up.

Repair:

The more I get into this camera the more I find wrong with it. The main issue of the faulty lens iris is a fiddly one. You prise off the last section of the lens turret and the iris mechanism comes away fairly easy.

Mechanism removed from lens turret
3 tiny springs all disconnected from the mechanism

But then three tiny springs just fall out and this is why the iris didn’t work. Trying to get them in place is a puzzle itself, as no sooner do you have one connected then another drops off. It’s a fine balancing act to get them all back into place. When they are all reconnected it’s a very delicate operation to get them back into place. And even then you have to go to the inside of the camera to ensure that the lever inside that operates the iris, is aligned to the iris mechanism that is being installed back in the lens turret. It’s a fiddly time consuming job.

All springs attached
The lever on the inside that has to be in the correct position when the iris is attached
Iris now working

At this point the rear fascia and associated ribbon cable need to be removed to facilitate this repair. That’s when a piece of broken plastic falls out, it just so happens that one of the posts putting tension on the print rollers has broken. Great. Another problem. I’ve quickly fixed this by using some wire to act as a retention point. Bodge? Yes, but there really is nothing else that can be done here as the plastic case is thin and brittle. I have used some silicone grease to lubricate the cogs and the whole movement is now a lot smoother. It Will work. of that I am confident.

Broken plastic post, spring out.
Wire bodge, spring now back giving tension

Result:

Well it works but it remains one of my most disappointing fixes due to the dishonesty of the seller. I know, if you buy off auctions it’s Caveat Emptor as they say, I preach it enough but this time I was caught off guard. Lesson learned. But I remain disappointed. Multiple faults, sold as just the one when in fact it also had bits missing that were not declared, very misleading in my opinion. Maybe in future I need to look deeply into these purchases before I give any feedback, i need to change my operation as I was truly shafted here.

Polishes up nice

It does everything that it should, the motor and transport system work, the iris now works, shutter is good, and flash operates. I’m confident that the camera is working fine but I haven’t tried any film through it yet as it uses a bigger format film and is quite expensive, and I’m not forking out for any just yet. Maybe when I get another wider format model to look at I will pay out. Just not yet though. When I do get some film through it I will amend this post accordingly.

I’m off to calm down a bit now, thanks for passing by, I really do appreciate it. Have a great day.