Left work this morning to see this gorgeous sight filling the sky
Just leaving work this morning after a long night shift. It appeared very red outside, as I looked behind as I got to the car I saw this beautiful 180 degree double rainbow over the station at Leicester. Strange thing is it was not raining, I suspect we have some rain incoming.
Have a great day.
Week two of Seven days, seven pictures
Welcome to week two of me documenting my week with one picture every day taken on an old camera that i have previously repaired.
So for week two, we are going to use a Canon Powershot S5 IS Digital Bridge Camera that I repaired back in July 2025 – Canon Powershot S5 IS
Sunday: it’s the 23rd August. It’s been a nice warm day, we’ve had numerous members of the family visit. It’s been a lovely day. It’s one of those days where I’ve taken a handful of good photos, but for the purpose of this post I have to be brutal and pic just one. So here it is, meet Barney, my nieces dog, we brought him a new toy today that was demolished within about twenty minutes. If it has a squeaker in it, it’s his dog bound duty to remove it, and the balls of stuffing surrounding him shows that this mission has been a success. He never eats the squeaker though, he always leaves that to one side. Mad, but a lovely dog.
Monday: it’s the 24th August. A bit of shopping today. But before we can go out and do any, we have to wait for the Amazon lady to arrive with more shopping. Did I mention my wife loves shopping?
Tuesday: it’s the 25th August. Working today, and whilst I was carrying out some checks in the Oakham area I couldn’t help but notice the amounts of elderberries on the bushes. I remember as a child collecting lots of these, so my father could make his elderberry wine.
Wednesday: it’s the 26th August. Another working day, and today i was carrying out barrier checks on a number of crossings in our area. This one was at Brooksby crossing just outside of Melton Mowbray.
Thursday: It’s the 27th August. The yard at work, and since I’ve never been to Blackpool tower I may as well show this lovely old, still working traction unit class 37 (37407) named “Blackpool Tower”
Friday: it’s the 28th August. No work today “Hooray” it’s one of those days of just catching up with things. I’ve had to fix an extractor fan in one bathroom and adjust the timings on two other fans, I’ve also put a new raised flower bed under the front window in preparation for the spring bulbs that will be planted in the next few weeks, just letting the soil settle for a while prior to the planting.
Saturday: it’s the 29th August. New shoes. Well for attending football at least, hence they have the club badge embossed on the rear. Heading south today to meet up with family so these will get their first outing today. The weathers still very wet, however wet is wonderful as far as I’m concerned.
Week one of Seven days, seven pictures
I have so many cameras hanging around the place that I have fixed over these last few years. I have therefore decided to select a few of them to do a little series entitled seven days in seven pictures. One camera for each week. I will choose a random camera, and choose one picture on each day that has a little story behind it. For me, just as my working week does, the seven days will run Sunday-Saturday.
It could be from any era of camera I have fixed, and for those who take the time to read my posts you’d realise that it could be anytime from about 1920 to the present day. With all the cameras I currently have (about 125 in storage, and growing) this series could go on longer than the soap opera Coronation street has appeared on the telly box ( That comment will be lost on anyone outside the UK).
So for week one I’m going small, with this lovely little portable camera.
A Nikon Coolpix L22, I repaired this way back in 2023, I was going to pass it on to a family member, kind of pleased I kept hold of it though. Here’s the link to the original post: Nikon Coolpix L22
Sunday: it’s the 16th August. I’ve just finished a run of night shifts and for the first time in what seems like months, the temperature has dropped to a nice cool temperature and it’s lovely. To be honest there is only one subject i can choose for today, it’s exactly two years to the day when we lost our beloved little dog Alfie. This is a little display we have on a unit in our living room, often spoken to, touched and stroked, his ashes and pictures dominate this shelf. He was a beautiful and much loved companion and confidant, who we will always miss, he was such a big part of our family. Beautiful boy ❤️
Monday: It’s the 17th August. I’ve been asked by work to do a buckshee night tonight, so the wife and I are going to go out for some lunch today. And today’s photo is from the Grange farm centre where we ate. I go to buy plants, the wife goes to fill the garden with pottery figurines. In this case a couple of sheep, a hedgehog and an Owl. No plants for me though.
Tuesday: it’s the 18th August. On the grand scale of things, this is a quite boring picture, but quite relevant. In the Uk, and especially in my location we haven’t had rain in over 50 days now due to a quite spectacular heatwave. That dry spell ended about 1 am in the morning when we had the first rains. Beautiful, the smell was gorgeous and for the first time in a long period the air was fresh and clean.
Wednesday: it’s the 19th August. Today’s been a funny kind of day where time has run away with us. However Wednesday is a day where we meet up with a couple of friends and spend an evening indoor bowling at our local bowls centre. We’re pretty new to it and are still learning the finer details of it all, however we are improving weekly and enjoying it thoroughly. It’s great company.
Thursday: it’s the 20th August. It’s a wet start, it’s been wet all day, in fact it’s been wonderful. It’s always good to see some rain especially after the bone dry heatwave period we’ve just gone through. My garden water butt went from bone dry to full in just one small rainstorm, and that butt holds just over 100 litres. I need more water butts. I had to therefore complete indoor tasks today, so I decided to get my garage sorted, stuff put up on the walls and a new set of shelves built. And that’s today’s boring picture, an uninspiring photograph of the interior of my garage using the cameras black and white setting. Still a bit to do, but it’s looking a lot tidier now.
Friday: it’s the 21st August. We’ve been busy most of the day, I had to drop my wife off to have her nails done whilst I had an appointment at the hospital about an issue I’ve had dragging on from last year. The good news is that I’m now discharged with no further treatment or appointments required, I’ve been given the all clear and now been told to just get back out there and enjoy myself. Picture wise it’s not anything exciting, once home I continued work on a camera I’ve been playing about with for a few months, with the 3d printer in the background that has been used to create replacement parts for this very camera.
Saturday: it’s the 22nd August. Back to work today for a day, as I’m covering a colleague who is unwell. It’s been a pleasant day, not too hot and I’ve been all over Leicestershire and Lincolnshire today. Ive taken a lot of pictures and to be honest it’s been hard to make a choice from them all. In the end I’ve settled on this nice picture of the signal box on the Leicester- Peterborough line at Uffington. The colours are lovely, the weather was just fine and the light was good. This little camera really does come up trumps at times.
Kodak, have overtaken Fujifilm in traditional camera film sales. Not surprising seeing Fuji have ceased production….sort of
Being an ex employer of Kodak, seeing headlines like this pleases me. Shame they are about 30 years late and Fujifilm have pretty much ceased production of their mainstream analogue films anyway.
Kodak overtakes Fujifilm as the most used film brand
Better late than never, things could have been so much different if they’d only moved with the times.
Kodak, directors had never really been that good at making a good high level decision. Just ask any of the thousands of good people laid off within the UK due to their poor mismanagement.
Shame
Have a good day.
Another “K” mount camera, this time it’s a Pentax P30. A “Plastic fantastic” from 1985. Can I fixit? Should i fix it?
What the listing stated:
Pentax P30 35mm SLR Film Camera Body – Spares/ Repairs
The camera appears to be unresponsive upon testing.
EBay
Here’s a little bit about this camera:
The Pentax P3 (US), P30 elsewhere, is a 35mm film SLR released by Pentax in 1985. The plastic body was a departure of the lineage that produced the ME and Super A; with a more amateurish camera. The P3 was a departure of the P5/50 as it returned to a speed dial instead of buttons.
It uses the KA-mount bayonet to convey aperture information and have P mode (Av when M or K series lenses are used) and can use any manual focus lens up to the FA series.
- Viewfinder covers 92% of image with 0.82x magnification. Split-image matte focusing screen (horizontal)
- The P3/30 uses a classic manual film advance lever with 130° throw.
- It has program, manual, X and B exposure modes on a dial with speeds of 1 to 1/1000 sec. However on P mode exposures up to 8s have been observed. The X mode provides automation with some Pentax flashes. No exposure compensation is available, but the camera has an Exposure Lock button.
- The meter is a center-weighted type with a range of 1 to 18 EV. A scale of speeds is shown in the viewfinder and LEDs show the selected and recommended (blinking) speeds.
- Film speeds can’t be set manually, the P3/30 uses DX Encoding film with a ISOrange of 25 to 1600. There is a plastic window in the film door.
- Self timer is in the main power switch for ~12s.
- DOF Preview lever is located above the bayonet lock.
- It uses two 1.5v SR44 or LR44 button batteries.
- The US version is all black, while in the rest of the world it was dark gray
There are two revisions of the body, early versions can’t use a cable remote release, while late versions can.
A similar improved Pentax P30n/P3n/P30t became available three years later. This camera incorporated Aperture Priority exposure, and a diagonal focusing screen (P30t)
Camera-wiki.org
Another camera from the 80s – this one was 1985 when the manufacturers went plastic and the styling of the earlier cameras was starting to decline. Cameras were starting to look decidedly cheap and nasty, and this is probably the one that single-handedly punished Pentax, with a totally amateur looking camera, horrendous feedback at the time, and previously happy photographers were deserting Pentax for other manufacturers, who were offering better packages and capabilities at the time.
However this camera did have its fan base, and a lot of amateurs learnt their trade on these units due to their cost, and relatively low price for associated add ons such as lenses and flashes.
I never had one until now. I suspect the guy I usually buy from threw this in my direction, due to knowing he’d probably have issues selling it on. I’ve paid a total of £3:75GBP for this one. I think it’s worth it.
It’s the second “K” mount camera I’ve brought in two days. And guess what? I don’t have one of those lenses. Looks like I’m going to have to purchase one for my collection and for testing purposes.
Anyway, let’s await its arrival so we can assess its issues.
First things first, I’ve printed out a body cap on the 3D printer for when i complete the clean, allowing me to protect the mirror, shutter and lens chamber area.
Overall the camera looks used, it’s in one piece meaning that everything is there that needs to be there but it does show signs of being a little bruised, battered and dirty.
All seals appear ok, the mirror bumper felt is in a good condition as well, and the film chamber is clean. Shutter appears to be operating just as it should.
The only real issue I can see is a build up of dust and dirt behind the viewing lens, though this won’t affect any pictures being taken, a clean would help the photographer get a clearer view of what they are focusing on.
The description has stated that the camera is unresponsive. Well I’ve put batteries in place, switched the camera on and it is dead. But I can see an issue. The battery cap appears tarnished. A quick attack of the tarnishing with the grinding pen and a good wipe over with a cotton bud soaked in IPA soon sees to the tarnished battery cap. Hey presto, life is restored when batteries are put back into place. The meter inside is fine, and showing lights and indicating as it should, the light that flashes when the self timer operates is also ok. To me everything is indicating just fine. That’s all that was causing the unresponsiveness, the dirty contacts.
The next step didn’t really need to be done, however me being me I just couldn’t let it go. There is quite a bit of build up of dirt behind the viewing glass and I will have to get into the camera to access this. There is no other way.
Removal of the top of the camera requires the removal of six screws, the winder handle and a couple of securing bolts, you can then carefully lift the top clear being careful not to damage the two hot-shoe cables in the prism area.
With the top off, a couple of more screws holding the viewer in place require removing to detach the viewer from the prism area. This then reveals a very dirty filtered triangular prism that has collected over forty years of airborne detritus. A simple clean with a swab is sufficient, followed by a good air blast to finish off. The small viewing lens has a similar clean and then the camera can be reassembled.
I’ve printed an eye cup to cover up that damages around the eyepiece, again it’s not really needed but just tidies the area up a bit.
Just print a hotshoe cover for the top and that’s it all done.
Finally it’s time for a good cleanup.
For an outlay of £3:75GBP this is a period and usable camera. Will I use it though? Probably not, I’ll probably pass this on to the hospice to get some money from, as to be quite honest I doubt I’ll be able to sell it on.
It’s a nice little learning camera, looks smart after a clean up, and has now had its life expectancy extended due to the easiest of repairs. I’ve said it before, how many similar units have just been disposed of due to only requiring a quick clean? Scandalous really.
Anyway, this one lives on. Someone will have a nice little camera what with the resurgence of film stock currently enjoying a second coming.
One more saved from landfill, small goals, small results.
Thanks for passing by, as always it is always very much appreciated.
I was a snob back in my teenage years and wouldn’t buy anything without a Canon or Nikon name tag. How wrong was I? I now have one needing some TLC, so let’s get it working again.
What the listing stated:
Chinon CE-4 35mm SLR Film Camera Body – Faulty – See Details
I tried testing the camera with batteries and initially it seemed to function and the camera fired at accurate speeds but after a couple of times firing it, it stopped responding and now I can’t get it to function at all.
Please note batteries aren’t included.
EBay
Here’s a little bit about this camera:
The Chinon CE-4 was the model which transitioned away from the 42mm screw mount used in the Chinon CE-3 to the Pentax K-mount. It’s an automatic 35mm SLR compact camera with aperture priority exposure system (AE).
Maker: Chinon
Dates: circa. 1980
Variants: black, CE-4s
Camera Type: 35mm SLR
Focusing: manual
Lens mount: Chinon Universal Bayonet Mount (Pentax K-mount)
Shutter: Seiko MFC electromagnetic focal plane, vertical, metal
from 8s to 1/1000Exposure meter: TTL, open aperture,
center weighted by two silicon blue photo cells. EV -2-19Exposure modes: aperture priority, manual, Bulb
ASA/ISO range: 25 to 3200 ISO
Finder screen: fixed split-screen
Flash shoe: fixed hot shoe, contact for dedicated flash
Flash speed: 1/60
TTL Flash: no
Motor drive: Chinon Power Winder S
Battery: 3 ×1.5V Alkaline (LR44, A76) or
3 ×1.5V silver oxide (SR44, S76, G-13)Dimensions: 135.5x85x50.5 mm
Weight: 485g
Camera- wiki.org
A previous seller approached me offering this camera and we settled for a price of £5:00GBP. A fair price for a camera born around 1980 and readily available at nationwide electronic stores around the time. I always avoided them, because as a teenager I had been infected by the snobbery of people around me, if it wasn’t Canon or Nikon it was crap.
I was a snob back then. Now I’ll buy anything, and I like the look of this so I brought it.
My reasoning in a nutshell. If it takes photographs, it’s good. Buy it. Sold!
Let’s await its arrival, and get it assessed.
Cosmetically this camera looks fine, apart from the name plate being detached from the fascia. This is easily remedied with some superglue to hold it in place.
As an addition i’ve printed out a body cap on the 3D printer for when i complete the clean, allowing me to protect the mirror, shutter and lens chamber area.
This camera takes three LR44 batteries and with these installed the camera is dead. There is no life, and no indication from the exposure meter in the viewfinder.
The bumper felt in the camera barrel is in excellent condition and does not need replacing. It’s a similar situation with the light proofing around the film chamber, they don’t need replacing just yet.
All buttons, dials and levers appear to be working just fine. There is no meter reading in the viewfinder due to the electrical issue. Let’s get onto that now, as it looks as if there is not really much else wrong with this camera.
So generally with electrical issues it’s always best to start with the simple things first before diving in and opening up the camera for dissection.
First things first, are the batteries any good, yep they have all tested as working fine, let’s move on. Is the power getting through to the camera via the battery holder. No it’s not. Let’s check the battery holder.
The battery holder showed no continuity when I used the multimeter probes on it, the whole inside of the holder had bad tarnish, preventing power getting through to where it was needed. A quick clean of the area with a grinding pen and some IPA to clean up, and you can now see your face in it. A quick check with the multimeter and continuity is restored. Whilst I’m in the mood for this kind of cleaning I also clean the contacts in the camera base. These weren’t so bad, however a quick blast with the grinding pen and a clean up does not go amiss.
The three batteries are reinstalled and hey presto, the light meter and all functions now appear. All this camera required was a five minute clean to resurrect it.
To test the camera fully I now need a K mount lens to check its functions. I’m looking for a basic one just to use for testing, just as well really as I also have some other K mount cameras coming up shortly. However, I am supremely confident this camera is working fine, so a lens is not the probity at this stage. I will probably move this on to the local hospice that I have dealings with.
A good clean is all that is now needed. I have cleaned the internals and sealed them by putting the body cap in place. Now I need to give attention to the exterior.
Sorry It’s a boring one, but hey it’s a win. Following a plan of attack starting with the most basic of checks, can be boring and repetitive, but also extremely beneficial as it’s not always the big issues inside the camera, nine times out of ten the issues are a lot more basic.
It just goes to prove that a lot of the items out there deemed as broken, are just in need of a little maintenance. If only people would just take a little time to look after their stuff, there would be less equipment thrown in to landfill.
Here is the camera after a good clean.
A little £5:00GBP camera has been given a reprieve and can live on for a few more years yet. As long as there is film being produced, this camera has a purpose. It’s a basic, but superbly capable camera that will keep its new owner happy for a good few years yet.
Let’s hope they have many happy moments capturing wonderful memories for many years to come.
Thanks for passing by. Always very much appreciated.
Two late production Canon EOS1D MkIV cameras, both heavily used ex-syndicate sports photographers cameras. Do they work? Can they be repaired?
I’ve been approached by an old colleague who used to be a syndicated sports photographer, he had a number of items he wanted to “get rid off” as they were just taking up space in his new house. “Would you be interested?” You betcha, so as a result I’m now the owner of a complete Bowens lighting system, two Canon EOS 1D MkIV cameras and a Canon EOS 5D MkII camera.
My days of fussing and farting about with lighting rigs has now long passed, so I know a youngster starting out in the business who is a very talented young fellah, I have donated this equipment to him and he will certainly have a use for this lighting setup. He has been approached and accepted the offer, I think he is quite happy with his new acquisition, here’s hoping his talents continue to flourish.
However the cameras are mine as no one wants this old stuff anymore 😂
Having already in the past, repaired a film version of the EOS 1 here: Canon EOS1 N HS I have now become the owner of two Canon EOS 1D MkIV versions, the digital upgrade of this superb camera. This post covers the assessment of the 1D’s the 5D can be found here: Canon EOS 5D MkII
To test these two beauties I’m going to have to invest some money into my equipment store. These cameras take a battery that neither came equipped with, an EP4 battery that currently costs around £19.00GBP per unit. On top of that a charger is required costing approximately £23:00GBP so there will have to be an outlay of approximately £42:00GBP just to get these units tested. Is it worth it? Yes, I think it is, I will then have a spare battery and charger for future use, and if the cameras don’t work? I can then sell them on or use them for spare parts as they have cost me absolutely nothing. When I go through the assessment and repair of these cameras I will refer to them one camera at a time. The camera that has stickers on the top of the camera pentaprism area will be referred to simply as “One” whilst the other will be “Two”. Nice and uncomplicated.
But first here is a little bit of information regarding this camera, the Canon EOS-1D MkIV.
The EOS-1D Mark IV is a professional 16.1 effective megapixels digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) camera body produced by Canon. The EOS-1D Mark IV is the successor of the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and was announced on 20 October 2009, just four days after Nikon announced the D3s. It used to be the only Canon APS-H format DSLR to feature HD video recording at 1080p resolution.
It was discontinued in mid-2012 with the introduction of the Canon EOS-1D X, which replaced both the EOS-1D Mk IV and the EOS-1Ds Mk III.
It received a Gold Award from Digital Photography Review.
Features:
- 27.9mm × 18.6mm; 16.1 effective megapixels APS-HCMOS sensor
- Dual DIGIC 4 image processors
- Canon EF lens mount (excludes EF-S)
- New autofocus module (45 AF points with 39 cross-type AF points)
- Integrated sensor cleaning system
- 1.3× crop factor
- 100–12800 ISO speed equivalent (expandable to L: 50, H1: 25600, H2: 51200 or H3: 102400)
- 30–1/8000 sec. shutter speed and bulb
- Shutter unit tested to 300,000 cycles
- Auto Lighting Optimizer
- Magnesium Alloy weather sealed body
- Eye-level pentaprism viewfinder with approx. 100% coverage at 0.76× magnification
- Live preview mode
- 3.0 in, 920,000 dots Clear View II TFT color, liquid-crystal monitor with 160° viewing angle
- 10 frames per second continuous shooting (Large JPEG: max. 121 frames, raw: max. 28 frames)
- Dimensions (W×H×D): 156 × 156.6 × 89.9 mm
Wikipedia
I’ve had to bite the bullet and purchase a battery and charger to be able to test these cameras. Look at it as an investment. As promised the assessments will include exactly the same checks, but they will be done individually.
I want to check shutter counts and firmware versions, but to carry out these tests I really do need power in the units. Clock backup batteries are installed on these cameras and these will need to be checked to see if they are still effective as I’ve no idea how long ago they were changed.
Camera one:
Here are the pictures:
I can pretty much pinpoint the last time this camera was used, as in the CF card slot there was a 16GB card installed and when downloaded there were six photos on the card, below you can see two of these images.
The photos show a football ground, it’s the Queen’s Park rangers ground in London, and you can see the Stanley Bowles stand just to the right. The photographer is in the usual position where you would find sports photographers attending a football match. The exif data in the photo gives the date as 30th August 2022, and if you check records you will see that QPR were Playing Hull City that evening, and QPR were the winners 3-1. We have a date that informs us this camera was last used almost four years ago. Interesting isn’t it?
So of the two cameras this one seems to have had the hardest life, I very much suspect this one is the older camera (it is I have checked the Canon database and it’s construction date is June 2013, the second camera is October 2014) This date may seem contradictory due to the fact the production run officially ceased in 2012, It is very possible for a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV to have a 2014 manufacturing date, even though the camera was officially withdrawn in late 2012. Professional cameras often have long production runs that continue well after their retirement date. Cosmetically it appears the most beaten up and used, with a number of old press pass stickers in the pentaprism area. There are no signs though of deep gouges or cracked and damaged metal so I’m confident this camera has not been dropped. It has had a tough life. It’s a tough camera though.
The CF card and SD card holders are both in a good condition, both accept cards without having to use any force and all pins are in a good condition, I’m confident there are no issues in the memory card area.
The clock battery is accessible at the point where the main battery fits in to place.
The battery is a CR2025 lithium coin cell. When tested the battery has a value of 3.028V. This is a sufficiently good charge for its purpose and is good seeing that this camera has not been used for the last four years.
Moving on I’m looking in the lens barrel and the pentaprism and both mirror and viewfinder are extremely clean and clear. The rugged, bruised exterior has protected the delicate, clean and tidy interior. It certainly is a very well constructed camera.
The next thing I do is test the actual workings of these cameras, however that can’t be done until later today when the battery and charger that I ordered a couple of days ago arrives.
The battery and charger has arrived:
First thing I have done is to put the battery in its uncharged state, into the cameras just to see if there is life and the news is good with both. This Camera, number one has the following information.
It was the most beat up camera and it does have the highest shutter count at 283,976 actuations, the shutter life cycle of these cameras is 300,000 actuations as tested by Canon, so it is a very high count but still has a bit of life in it before it reaches the potential shutter count ceiling.
The good news is that this actual camera does have the latest firmware update of 1.1.5 so at least that doesn’t have to be downloaded and installed.
Battery now fully charged I have finally been able to put this camera through its paces test wise. And hells bells I’m so impressed. It was already set in quick fire mode so when I pushed the shutter button I was shocked to see just how quick this camera responded. It was rattling off shutter actuations at a breath taking 10 frames per second, wow, the sound was amazing!
It’s not hard to see why you can get such a high shutter count on these cameras with such shutter activity, it absolutely makes sense why these cameras are used in high speed activities such as sport and wildlife photography.
All displays are working as normal, all button actions and dials are doing exactly what they should be doing. This camera is in a good healthy condition.
As an older camera it is packed to the rafters with settings and possibilities, there is so much to learn around its operation, its capabilities and settings. It’s built like a tank, weighs a ton, makes a lot of camera noise that I relate with the good old days and I just absolutely love it.
Even the shutter bumper foam is in good condition and does not require replacing yet.
Camera two:
Here are the pictures:
Camera two is only 16 months younger than camera one, and you can see that difference in cosmetic condition immediately. The wear and tear on this model is considerably less than that found on its counterpart. This camera had no CF card inside so there was no way of putting a last used date on this one.
As with camera one there are no signs of the camera being dropped, no damage to the metal casing being cracked and no sharp dents visible. The Cf card and Sd card holder both take cards without any force having to be applied, and all pins are in a good order. I’m confident there are no issues in the memory card area.
The clock battery reading is a very low 4.5mV it is very dead. I have therefore replaced this with a CR2025 3V lithium coin battery reading a lot healthier 3.30V.
Again as in camera one, the viewfinder and mirror are both very clear and the lens barrel is very clean, having been protected by the rugged camera exterior.
With the new battery that had just arrived installed, it kicks into life and I am then able to get the following information from the camera.
This camera in comparison to Camera one has a really low shutter actuation count of 72,186. The tested shutter count by Canon is 300,000 actuations, so this camera still potentially has a lot of life left in it.
The camera firmware will need to be updated to the latest firmware of 1.1.5 as it currently has a slightly older firmware installed of 1.1.0.
Ok, I’ve downloaded the firmware file and extracted it to the CF card I’m using in the camera. Let’s get it installed.
The camera firmware is now updated.
As in camera one, with the newly charged battery installed the immense high speed of the shutter is highly impressive. All buttons, dials and switches function as they should and all displays are clear and sharp in appearance.
All serviceable parts remain in a good condition, even the mirror bumper foam is in a good state and does not require attention yet.
I’m now going to condense this section into a mix of both cameras. It’s a bit of an anti climax for anyone wanting to see a meaty repair post as that’s just not going to happen here. Both these cameras, though used and in one case extremely highly used, have both been maintained and looked after during their life. So for me my job has been easy, and going forward I will just maintain them in a similar manner.
I see absolutely no point in tampering with them now, they are working just fine and are in a perfectly good condition. Their construction is so solid with their metal weather sealed bodies, that the last thing I want to do is compromise that construction and security just to fill space in a post..
All I’m going to do at this point is polish both cameras. Camera one with its beaten up body and press pass stickers is just going to stay like that, I want that to remain as a constant reminder of its use, and its purpose as a high usage press photographers camera, it’s a work of art in itself and that’s how it will stay. Camera two, again will jut be polished, it’s the more acceptably presentable “Cosmetically” camera and with its lower shutter count and will probably be the unit i will concentrate on using myself.
A few pics from the two of them:
I’m only using very basic test lenses on these units and I must admit, even with basic optics the visual returns are quite impressive. The colours are so rich, and I love that there is also the setting to do some pure black and white shots if you so wish.
This is my new (Old) favourite camera. Why do I just fall in love so easily ❤️
When these cameras first came out they were commanding a price of around £4,000.00GBP and people were more than happy to pay that cost.
Here I am a few years later and I have been gifted two of them for the grand old price of…..Nothing.
I’m a lucky old fellah I’d say.
I present to you, two wonderfully heavy, cumbersome, noisy and beautifully constructed pieces of photographic history, and both are an absolute joy to behold.
My new long term relationship has just begun (Don’t tell the wife 😂) and I am so looking forward to getting these cameras out to a sports or wildlife watching event. To many, I know they will say, why do you want to carry one of those around, why not go mirrorless? Well, I’ve got that gear as well but I hardly use it. I’m an old 80s-2000s guy who loves the old technology, just like I love old noisy aircraft, I love to hear a camera working, it puts a smile on my face. And the chances of me owning one of these beauties when they first came out was an absolute zero. Now I have two, and I have some serious catching up to do.
Thanks for passing by, as always it’s very much appreciated.
Stay safe.
The world’s first SLR 110 format film camera. A strange creation that has its issues, from 1976-79. Can it be resurrected and put back to use?
What the listing stated:
The Untested MK1 1970s Minolta 110 Zoom SLR is a vintage film camera that comes with a case and strap, making it easy to transport and store. This compact camera from Minolta features manual focus and is designed for 110 film in a 13x17mm format. The black-coloured body gives it a classic and timeless look, perfect for film photography enthusiasts looking to experiment with older technology.
With its retro charm and unique capabilities, this Minolta 110 Zoom SLR offers a glimpse into the photographic world of the 1970s. Untested
EBay
Yes you did read right, this is a 110 format camera with SLR. Now, I have had this camera sitting amongst my backlog for a few months now, it was purchased towards the end of 2025. I believe I paid the sum of £14:00GBP for it, and considering current prices on the sales sites it’s quite the bargain I think.
The reason I’m looking at this one is because I have been approached by someone to repair their one, now before I look at their issue (a stuck mirror) that seems to be a standard issue with this model, I want to look at my own one that I believe may well have the same issue. It’s best to learn how to deal with the issue on your own unit, before being let loose on someone else’s.
However, saying that, the listing was a little vague with only the standard “Untested” EBay catch all quote meaning it could be anything between a total wreck, to working perfectly.
Here’s some information regarding this camera:
The Minolta 110 Zoom SLR is a 110 format single-lens reflex (SLR) camera produced by Minolta of Japan between 1976 and 1979. It was the first SLR in 110 format. It has an unusual, flattened shape. Other 110 SLRs were shaped like SLRs in larger formats, but the 110 Zoom SLR took the flat format of the typical 110 pocket camera and added a larger lens and prism hump to it. 1979’s replacement, the Minolta 110 Zoom SLR Mark II, has a more conventional shape.
The 110 Zoom SLR provides aperture priority autoexposure; fully manual exposure is not available. Light metering is with a CdS meter mounted on the front of the camera. An exposure compensation dial allows the photographer to compensate for unusual lighting situations; it also allows the use of film speeds other than the ISO 100 and 400 auto-selected by the cartridge tab, by applying the appropriate compensation factor.
The lens is a fixed 25–50 mm f/4.5-16 manual focus zoom with macro focusing down to 11 in (280 mm). This gives a field of view range approximately equivalent to a 50–100 mm zoom lens on a 35 mmformat camera. There is a built-in, pop out lens shade. The filter thread diameter is 40.5 mm. Minolta sold UV, yellow and 1B filters.
Available shutter speeds are 1/1000 second through 10 seconds, with a 1/150 second X-sync speed and support for bulb exposure. There is no built-in flash, but a hot shoe on the top allows an external flash to be attached. A tripod socket is provided.
Wikipedia
Let’s get the assessment out of the way.
The camera has arrived. And the most annoying thing about it, is that it appears to be working just fine. I have been through every possible combination of settings available, hoping to get the mirror to stick up (as is common with these cameras) but to no avail. Everything appears to be working just fine. Damn that’s annoying as the “untested” EBay get out clause used so often by questionable sellers, has on this occasion gone in my favour. If you refer to the opening paragraphs, you will see I wanted to work on this one to diagnose an issue that a potential customer has asked me about. I may well just send him this working one in exchange for his knackered one, how’s that for service!
Anyway, here is what I received, in a black Minolta case, it has been well looked after and is just a bit dirty and in need of a clean.
Lovers of lomography really rate these cameras, the 110 film cartridge is quite an expensive outlay these days and from what I can see with film costing about £9:00GBP for a roll and then about £18:00GBP for developing and scans only, you are looking at quite an outlay of almost £30:00GBP for the results. I don’t think I will be attempting this unless I come across a less expensive option, as I’m sure there will be one out there….somewhere.
So, with not much more to tell, let’s move on to getting it repaired….or should that be cleaned?
Closer inspection of the lens when I’m cleaning shows me that there is a small area on the outer optic of the lens that has a solitary spore of fungus. It’s nothing too much, however a quick clean of the exterior of the optic, confirms the issue is inside. I’ve now got to dismantle the lens barrel to get to it.
The fungus is on the rear, not the front of the outer optic.
The bad news is that on close inspection and using a soft plastic pick, a tiny indentation at the point of the fungus can be felt, this shows that the fungus has eaten into the optic coating and no amount of cleaning will ever eradicate it. Two options here are a new optic, or to get the optic ground down, both totally beyond the value of the camera and to be honest totally unnecessary. The good news is that there is no fungus on the inner optics, and luckily this needs no cleaning or attention.
To be totally honest, the negatives in these cameras are so small, and the outer lens magnification is probably sufficient enough to make this aberration appear as nothing more than a slight blur, if it even shows up at all! I’ll give it a good clean to prevent any further growth, and just put it back together again. There is a good possibility that a film will never be run through this camera again, even so I would like it to look as good as possible, and operate as it should, if there is even the remotest chance of a film being used in it, sometime in the distant future.
The camera has been reassembled and is looking quite nice. It’s a really weird camera. So weird that someone has offered to take it off my hands, as they believe it’s quite a novel item, so as soon as I’ve posted this report it will be winging its way to its new owner.
It’s probably best that I pass this on to someone who will either use it, or at least make a use of it should it become a display item.
A nice little camera, but to be honest it’s more than likely more of a display piece rather than a working camera. It is fully operational though and has been nice to work on. I’m pleased someone else will eventually benefit from it.
Thanks for passing by, always appreciated.
My second chance at reviving a DSLR from 2008, the Canon EOS 5D MkII. Will I have a little more success with this one?
I’ve been approached by an old colleague who used to be a syndicated sports photographer, he had a number of items he wanted to “get rid off” as they were just taking up space in his new house. “Would you be interested?” You betcha, so as a result I’m now the owner of a complete Bowens lighting system, two Canon EOS 1D MkIV cameras and a Canon EOS 5D MkII camera.
My days of fussing and farting about with lighting rigs has now long passed, so I know a youngster starting out in the world who is a very talented young fellah, I have donated this equipment to him and he will certainly have a use for this lighting setup. He has been approached and accepted the offer, I think he is quite happy with his new acquisition, here’s hoping his talents continue to flourish.
However the cameras are mine as no one wants this old stuff anymore 😂
This post focuses on the repair of the Canon 5D MKII, the repair of the EOS 1D MKIVs can be found here: Canon EOS 1D MkIV There is also a link to my first attempt at a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and here is the actual assessment of that camera and the issues experienced with it Canon EOS 5D MK2 assessment and repair, I failed with this repair due to it having sensor issues, so sold it on at a small profit, i’m hopeful that this new attempt at the 5D will bring better results.
Let’s hope this camera acquisition comes with a better outcome. Whereas the other two 1D cameras i received in this package have required me to to purchase a new battery and charger, I do already have a number of LP-E6 batteries and a charger in my possession, so there is no initial outlay required to test this camera. We are off to a good start here and should be easily able to diagnose any issues fairly quickly.
Anyway, before we assess the camera, here is a little bit about the Canon EOS 5D MkII.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a 21.0 effective megapixel full-frame CMOS digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon, the first Canon EOS camera to have video recording capabilities. It succeeds the EOS 5D and was announced on 17 September 2008.
On 2 March 2012, Canon announced the camera’s successor, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. On 24 December 2012, Canon Japan moved the camera to their “Old Products” list, effectively discontinuing the camera.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a full-frame camera and requires Canon EF-mount lenses. It is not compatible with EF-S lenses (which are for APS-C crop sensors).
Features:
- 21.0 megapixels (5,616 × 3,744 pixels), compared to 12.8 megapixels (4,368 × 2,912 pixels).
- DIGIC 4 image processor, compared to DIGIC II.
- 100 to 6400 ISO (expandable to L (50), H1 (12800), H2 (25600)), compared to 100 to 1600 (expandable to L (50), H (3200)).
- 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting (78 JPEG or 13 Raw in a single burst), compared to 3 frame/s (60 JPEG or 17 Raw).
- Small Raw modes: sRAW1 mode (10 megapixel/3861 × 2574 pixels), sRAW2 mode (5.2 megapixel/2784 × 1856 pixels).
- 98% viewfinder coverage with 0.71× magnification, compared to 96% coverage.
- Larger 3.0-inch (76 mm) LCD with 920,000 pixels, compared to 2.5-inch (64 mm).
- 1800 mAh LP-E6 battery, compared to 1390 mAh BP-511A.
New features
- Movie recording full HD at 1920 × 1080 and SDTV at 640 × 480 resolution.
- Monaural microphone for audio during video recording, speaker for playback and microphone jack for external stereo microphone
- Live preview with ExpSim LV “exposure simulation” live preview (full exposure preview control utilizing ExpSim LV, a first for video in a DSLR)
- Live preview with contrast-detect autofocus
- HDMI video output for live preview or playing clips and images on an external monitor via Type C MiniHDMI port
- Dust reduction system to perform automatic sensor cleaning
- Battery management software
Key Lifespan Factors:
- Shutter Rating: 150,000, though this is considered conservative by users.
- Real-world usage: Many cameras show failure rates increasing closer to the 100,000–150,000 range, but many exceed it significantly.
- Longevity: Some, though rare, individual cameras have recorded over 2 million shots.
- Repairability: The shutter mechanism can be replaced if it fails, which may extend the camera’s life further.
- Component failure: Other parts, such as the power board or rubber grips, may fail before the shutter.
Common Issues:
- Rubber grips: Rubber grips can become loose over time.
- Button/Dial functionality: Buttons and dials may wear out over long periods of use.
- Sensor maintenance: Regular sensor cleaning is needed to maintain performance.
The 5D Mark II is the first camera in the EOS line to provide video recording functions. Still photography during video recording is possible, but the camera suspends recording video until the final still frame is captured.
The lithium-ion battery for the 5D Mark II (LP-E6) has an 1800 mAh capacity. Each battery contains a microchip with a unique identifier for reporting charge status and battery health for display on the camera. The 5D Mark II’s “Battery Info” screen can track battery health and shooting history for up to six LP-E6 batteries.
The camera has native ISO values of 100 multiplied by a power of 2; other ISO values are obtained by a digital exposure push (ISO values that are multiples of 125) or digital exposure pull (ISO values that are multiples of 160). The digital exposure push ISO is 1/3 stop greater than the native ISO, and a digital exposure pull ISO is 1/3 stop less than the native ISO. The digital exposure push ISO settings produce more noise than the native settings with a reduced dynamic range, and the digital exposure pull ISO settings produce less noise than the native settings.
Wikipedia
The camera has arrived and here are my first thoughts. But first some pictures.
Just holding the camera and looking around it, you can see it has been well used over the last eighteen years. There are chips and scuffs, but nothing excessive, and certainly no “hard” dents that would indicate it has been dropped at anytime. The top LCD panel has a scuff on it, but this doesn’t stop any information being read.
The battery contacts are clean and there is just a small rubber cover missing on a connection that is on the base of the camera. All switches and buttons appear to operate as intended, everything is there and the exterior appears to be used, but in a good condition.
The lens barrel appears to be clean, the mirror and focus screen have a little dust and dirt on them however this is an easy clean. The shutter is closed underneath the mirror ensuring the sensor stays isolated from the outside world. I won’t be able to check how this is until I have a battery installed.
Batteries. As I have stated above I do have compatible batteries for this camera. This camera has a battery management system installed that communicates with the original “Canon” batteries that report back on their charge status amongst other information. However my batteries are not Canon originals and are in fact third party ones that don’t have the ability to communicate as original batteries would. That said, they are more than capable and usable. I just know that the very second I put the battery in and turn the camera on, it will show some kind of battery communication error on the rear screen. It’s ok though as we can opt to ignore that warning, click ok, and just get on with things, with no issues to the general operation of the camera.
Let’s do a little digging around. I’ve downloaded a little program that appears to be quite popular, to try and find exactly how many times the camera shutter has been activated in its lifetime, (still photo count – not including video). Here is that count.
I guessed the count would be high as it was the previous camera of a syndicated sports photographer, I just wasn’t quite expecting this high. But who am I to complain when I have received this camera for free. if you read the camera specs in the paragraphs above, the expected lifespan of the shutter is around 150,000 actuations, however the photographic community tends to question this figure. Some cameras have gone into the millions with shutter counts, however this one will plod on with me on much lower figures, if I get it working. I don’t know its service history, it’s a rugged built heavy use camera, that will go on for years if looked after properly. And that’s what I intend to do with it.
Another piece of information that can be obtained from the piece of software above is the firmware version. The current installed version is 2.0.7 and that was installed sometime in 2010. The latest and last version is 2.1.2 that was released in 2012. I will attempt to update this cameras version of firmware to the final updated one.
I think I’ve had a good assessment with this camera, I know what needs looking at so let’s get on with giving it a little TLC to ensure it will go on working for a few thousand more shutter actuations, I’ve got to try and get this camera to the 1/4 million mark at least!
The first thing I want to do, is to look into why, when you input a date into the camera, the information disappears as soon as the camera is turned off and turned on again? This is a simple issue, easily located and soon rectified. These cameras normally have an additional battery buried somewhere in the camera that acts like a cmos battery in a computer. It simply supplies a small charge that maintains dates and program settings when the camera is an a sleep mode, instantly reinstating the correct information when the camera is switched on again.
And this camera is no different.
A single coin cell CR1616 battery is what does the job in this camera, its life span is usually around five years. So let’s check this one out as I suspect it has failed. It is located on the bottom of the camera on the opposite side of the main battery chamber, below two rubber accessory panels.
The CR1616 battery is a 3v lithium coin cell. Using a multimeter I was able to confirm that this one was well and truly depleted as it was only holding a charge of 99.3mV. The new battery cell was holding a much more acceptable charge of 3.3V.
With the new coin battery in place, I’ll reset the date values and test that the battery is doing its job, by powering the unit up and down a few times.
As you can see in the picture above, I’ve managed to update the settings, and when the unit is shut down and restarted the information remains. Hence the new clock/cmos battery is working fine.
Next let’s try to update the firmware to the latest release. This small video below shows how easy this task can be. This particular file in the video is for an earlier, older update, however the principle is exactly the same for all camera updates with Canon.
Following the recommendations in the video above I have downloaded the latest firmware update file and extracted its content to the freshly formatted CF card for the camera.
The whole process was followed exactly as laid down in the instruction video, and it went as expected. The update was successful.
The camera is now correctly updated to the most recent firmware. I can now progress to doing some final checks in the lens barrel area prior to moving on and checking the functionality of the camera with a lens in place.
The mirror bumper felt is in good condition and does not need replacement. I have blown out the barrel and inspected the sensor and that is clean and needs no attention.
Final touch is that I have printed off a cover for the hotshoe flash holder.
Time to get the battery installed in the camera, along with a formatted CF card, and I’ve also put a stock 28-80 EF lens on the front to test. And here are some of those pictures taken to test, just around my garden.
And I am so damned impressed. It’s only a basic lens but the tonal quality, sharpness and colour has really shone through. The camera has worked perfectly, I’ve used it in auto mode, shutter priority and aperture priority and all works fine. When I use the video mode, all is fine but the basic lens when you telescope, can be heard throughout the video, not really an issue just an observation, hence why people invest in the higher end optics. For testing purposes though, this lens has performed perfectly. I’d be more than happy to venture out for a picture session with this setup.
Every setting on this camera has been tested and it has passed with flying colours. My job here is done.
A far better result than my last attempt on this specific type of camera. This time around the sensor has performed perfectly and remains in good order, hopefully for quite a time yet. It would be good to see it go through the 250,000 exposures count, and seeing that it’s only about 6,600 exposures away I don’t foresee it being a hard to achieve target. I’m going to get some good use out of this camera, I’m currently looking at taking it to a local nature reserve to see what can be photographed. I’m quite looking forward to that.
A final polish and this project can now be put to bed. Onto the next one.
Many thanks for passing by, it’s always very much appreciated.
This camera influenced the partnership between NIkon and Kodak to produce one of the most expensive prosumer cameras of the 1990s. However this one is a lot less expensive but with some issues. Let’s have a look at it:
What the listing stated:
THIS UNIT IS FAULTY
SUTIBLE FOR SPARES / REPAIRS ONLY
SOLD AS SEENFAULTS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO,
MIRROR STICKS
COMES WITH EVERYTHING SEEN IN IMAGESNO WARRANTY PROVIDED
EBay
Just couldn’t let this one go. Whilst browsing the sites for my next challenge last evening, this little bundle of joy just popped from one of my preferred sellers for a quick sale, it was about 11pm and was just posted at a sale price of £30:00GBP, however with a voucher I had, I was able to secure it at £27:00GBP. Considering this is a good quality camera of the mid 90s it also comes with the added bonus of an MB10 battery grip, superb value in my eyes. A lot of camera for a very low price.
Here’s a little bit about this camera:
The Nikon F90x is a 35mm autofocus SLR using Nikon’s F lens mount. It was targeted toward the advanced amateur or prosumer; its feature set is comparable to that of Nikon’s current D100/200/300 SLRs. The name N90s was used for marketing in the United States; everywhere else, the camera was called the F90x. This camera was also used as the base for the Kodak DCS 400 series of digital SLRs.
The N90s/F90x was introduced in 1994 and discontinued in 2001. The camera’s predecessor, the N90/F90, was introduced in 1992 and discontinued in 1994. The successor to the N90s, the F100, was introduced in 1998.
Features & Specifications
Nikon N90s global naming N90S adapted into Kodak’s DCS460, a 6 Mp Digital SLR
- Bright viewfinder with 92% coverage, .78x magnification
- Current settings are displayed at the bottom of the finder; information area is automatically backlit in dark conditions
- Top LCD displays current settings and facilitates changes
- Backlit for use in dark conditions; the backlight switch is near the left die of the viewfinder
- Cross-Type Wide Area AF System
- Choice of wide-area or spot AF
- One CAM246 AF sensor
- Continuous AF mode with release priority in addition to standard AF with focus priority
- 4.1FPS capable with continuous AF; 4.3FPS with standard AF
- 2FPS mode available
- 3D Matrix Meter when used with a D or G-type Nikkor lens
- Center-weighted and spot metering are also available and usuable with AI lenses
- 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash capability (with Nikon Speedlights SB-800/80DX/28DX/28/27)
- Seven Vari-Programs: Portrait, Portrait with Red-Eye Reduction, Hyperfocal, Landscape, Silhouette, Sports, Closeup
- Explained in detail in the instruction manual
- Four exposure modes: Program, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, Manual
- Shutter speeds of 1/8000 – 30 seconds + Bulb
- Flash sync speed of 1/250
- Flash sync modes: normal, slow, rear, red-eye, FP high-speed
- Self-timer: 2-30 seconds
- ISO/ASA Range 6-6400
- DX-enabled (automatically reads speed information from film canisters)
- Eyepiece shutter stops excess light from entering the viewfinder and interfering with metering
- Overall strong build throughout (comparable to Nikon’s current D100/200/300SLRs)
- Stainless steel lens mount
- Requires 4 AA Batteries
- Extensive system compatibility & accessories; see below
Accessories & Compatibility
F90X with MB-10 grip
The N90s/F90x is compatible with nearly all Nikkor F-mount lenses as well as all Nikon SB series speedlights.
Additional, camera-specific accessories available are:
- MF-26 Multi-Control Back
- Long Exposures to 100 hours
- Freeze Focus: triggers the shutter as soon as a subject comes into focus
- Custom Reset: customizes which settings are affected by the green-button reset
- Date Imprinting: can also imprint shutter speed and aperture information
- World Clock
- Flash exposure compensation
- Interval timer: up to 100 hours between pictures for 99 frames
- Limit frame count in continuous shooting mode
- Multiple exposures
- Customize which settings are affected by AE-L and AF-L (auto-exposure lock and autofocus lock)
- MF-25 Data Imprint Back
- MB-10 Vertical Grip
- Takes 4AA batteries or, with the MS-11 battery holder, two CR123 lithium batteries
- Interchangeable focusing screens
- E screen provides grid lines in the viewfinder
with 28-80mm, 20mm and 80-200mm
Lens Compatibility
- All functions, including autofocus, work properly with Nikkor AF, AF-I, AF-D, and AF-S lenses.
- AI and AI-S lenses are usable, with the loss of these functions:
- Autofocus
- Shutter-priority exposure mode
- Programmed exposure mode
- Vari-program exposure modes
- 3D Matrix metering (though center-weighted and spot metering remain functional)
- The camera does not use VR with any lens.
- G-type lenses (lenses without aperture rings) can be used with the loss of some functionality: only the lens’ smallest aperture can be used in manual or aperture-priority exposure modes.
Camera-wiki.org
Now my experience with this seller is that unless it is absolutely perfect he will not even entertain it. He doesn’t take the time to check and fettle, if it isn’t working from the start he will just get rid of. This attitude of his has meant I’ve had some right bargains in the past with very little wrong with them. I refer you to a recent purchase Canon EOS D60 that had very little wrong with it, but was also a lot of camera for a very low price.
Now I’ve always wanted a Kodak DCS 400 series camera, especially a 460 version as it takes me back to my days when I was working at Kodak in Harrow, I remember when the DCS 400 series came out and back then they were introducing such a new technology that they were commanding a huge price of around $35,000 at the time. These cameras were basically digital versions of the film camera I have purchased above. So whilst I’m on the lookout for a reasonably priced DCS 400 series camera, I guess I will just have to do with the camera that started it all off. And for £27:00GBP I’m not complaining.
I think I may know why this mirror is sticking, and if it is what I believe it to be it could be quite an easy fix. (Famous last words)
So let’s stop all the reminiscing, and wish list writing and get on with this camera’s assessment.
It’s arrived, and as expected it’s a beautiful looking item in an extremely good condition.
The mirror appears to be in a semi raised position, the battery pack is clean with no signs of contamination and battery leakage, so now seems a good time to put in four AA batteries and slide the battery pack into place and secure it.
Turn the battery on and the mirror clicks back into its closed position. And here I am, probably 40 or 50 actuations later and I can’t recreate the sellers fault of a sticking mirror. The mode the camera is set in, is indicating long exposure times, maybe this has given the impression of the mirror sticking when in fact it’s just doing what it should relative to the light it is seeing. I need to check in clear daylight, but I’m sure this is part of the issue….if there is one.
I have a 28-100 lens mounted that I use for testing, the autofocus is working really well and all seems good.
However, take a look at the picture below. It contains two photos of the LCD screen on the top of the camera. What do you see in the top photo that would make you think there is an error?
For the un-informed, those who are not familiar with this camera or its operation, you will instantly see the letter “E” that is commonly known as an error indicator, in later models it is shown as “ERR”. I do believe the seller has possibly mistaken this for an error code, but if you refer to the bottom photo where I have now installed a test film, it becomes clear that the “E” on this camera represents the word “empty”. No film installed, a simple and easy to make mistake. The bottom picture indicates a film is installed and that 4 exposures have been taken.
As these cameras have in the past been known to have a mirror sticking issue, I will replace the mirror bumper felt. It is well known that when the felt has deteriorated to such a level, the felt becomes sticky, and the mirror just sticks to the felt when it opens. It’s an age related issue that is easy to repair. Even though I have not experienced it with this unit, I will replace it as it will probably fail at some point. I will also check the light seals and replace them if I deem this necessary.
The light seals do not need replacing. In fact there are only two small spots of light seals on this camera and both are in good condition.
However the bumper seal was showing signs of degradation, so this has been replaced.
The old seal peels out but leaves a sticky residue behind, this has to be removed with some IPA prior to cutting new foam to size and reinstalling. Whilst I was in the lens are I also removed the focussing screen to clean it and remove the old ingrained dust and dirt.
The area within the mirror area is now clean and dust free after I have used a small air blower to get the last of the debris out of the barrel area. Mirrors have been cleaned and polished and the body cap has been put back on the front of the camera to ensure no further dirt or contamination gets in there whilst I work on the outside.
I’ve printed a hot shoe flash cover purely for aesthetic reasons, I’ve also printed a sync cable cover, for similar reasons, but generally just to ensure any open and exposed areas are covered up. It does make it look a lot nicer.
The sync cable cover also helps keep the exterior tidy as well as protecting the connector.
All I need to do now is clean the exterior of the camera where there is some light dust and dirt. When this is done I will use my usual car cockpit polish to finish the camera off.
When that’s done I will do a quick fly through of all the settings to check if they are all functioning as they should.
The camera has cleaned up very well and looks glorious. All settings are functioning as expected, and there have been no issues with a sticky mirror or any other issues. The camera is just working well and doing exactly what it should be doing.
I’m using a G type lens so I’m restricted on the type of photography I can do, it stays on its lowest aperture (F:32) but that’s perfectly fine In bright sunlight conditions. I need to purchase myself another lens for testing to allow me the use of the full spectrum of apertures on this unit. That said, my lens has performed perfectly on this unit.
As I’ve stated before, this seller is one of my favourite suppliers as his cameras are always in a good condition, he doesn’t like anything unless it’s absolutely A1 perfect, so this is where i benefit as every unit I have purchased from him is perfect in my eyes, and in many cases need very little doing to them to bring them back into a working condition. This is one such unit.
So, I have yet another lovely piece of 90s “Big” tech restored and working perfectly. The next thing I need to do is to put some film through it. I’ll let you all know when I’ve done that.
Thank you for passing by, have a wonderful weekend, I really appreciate your being here.
Take care.
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