Mamiya M Autofocus – 35mm point and shoot camera – Part two

Here we are again. I recently wrote of my failed attempt to get this 80s camera operating here: Mamiya M Autofocus – 35mm point and shoot camera.

Not one to give up on a project I have looked at a suitable donor camera and believe I have found one as detailed below. Only difference is that I had to buy two cameras as they came as a bundle. Not a problem as I can always do a separate post on the other one, the two have cost me a total of £15:00GBP bartered down from the original price of £30:00GBP. A bargain! So let’s just call it £7:50GBP per camera.

What the listing stated:

mamiya shutter button is stuck. red light on the right comes on. some external corrosion pictured

ricoh no power at all

EBay

The two cameras

Assessment:

The Mamiya is in quite a poor state, and is the Time Memory version that differs very slightly from the version I originally worked on, it’s essentially the same camera as the Mamiya M, but with an added quartz dating mechanism for imprinting time and date information on the film. This model was the last 35mm camera Mamiya produced before focusing solely on medium format. However the back seems to be a bit rusty whereas mine is in excellent condition, so I will be using a mix of the two units to make the one good one.

Repair:

The Mamiya looks good cosmetically until you open the rear and see the rust around the door, not a problem as I won’t be using this part of the camera. The red light does not come on at all and the shutter button is stuck, that’s for sure. The whole camera is dead.

Let’s get into it.

Once opened all looks ok so I decide to have a search around with the multimeter checking the basic operation. Am I getting 3 volts at the top of the battery barrel? No I’m not. It appears that one of the traces on the positive side of the power input board has lost continuity. For some reason the traces has been damaged, this could be either from corrosion or rubbing on something. The area affected is in the photo with the red ring around it.

The board top right
Area of no continuity

I’ve fixed this immediately using some solder to bridge the gap, I have checked continuity and all seems ok. I put some batteries in and the motor squeals like a banshee and then stops. You can hear the screaming motor below in the short video from its first screaming session through to its proper 80s sounding drone.

The screaming motor through to its repair

I don’t think this motor has run for years and it does not run consistently. I have sprayed it with some contact cleaner and let it soak. I have left it overnight and checked the operation in the morning and it seems to have improved.

I’ve used the original fascia, rear door, focussing beam and flash capacitor from the first failed unit, and apart from a few bits of soldering, plenty of contact cleaner and some silicone grease, I’ve revitalised a failing motor and it is now working as it should. I forgot to mention I used some graphite on the shutter leafs to “lubricate” them. All optics cleaned and camera has been tested without film and is working just fine.

View finder indications are good with light meter operational, motor rewind works, flash and exposure is fine, and the motor advances as well.

Result:

I’m really pleased with this little camera and am pleased I didn’t give up on it. It’s taken two broken cameras to make one good one, and I have a good few spare parts left over to be used at a later date.

Re assembly taking place

The unit looks so smart, the only real issue is the battery door that is notoriously flimsy and lots of references to its poor design can be found on line. A temporary way around this is just to put some tape across it to keep it closed.

That flimsy battery door

Beyond that issue, the camera is a really good looking unit that has cleaned up really well.

The completed camera

I can’t wait to run some film through it to see how it performs. I have a few cameras like this to test so I’m looking for some decent priced film to use, as i do need quite a bit.

As soon as I have some photographs availability I will link to this post accordingly.

Many thanks for following the repair, it’s always very much appreciated.

30, you’re having a laugh

List 30 things that make you happy.

  • Cameras
  • Holidays
  • My wife
  • My family
  • Chocolate
  • Biscuits
  • Beer
  • Music
  • Art
  • Architecture
  • Dogs
  • Hedgehogs
  • Football
  • Countryside
  • Lakes
  • Rivers
  • Mountains
  • Money
  • Comfort
  • Friends
  • Boats
  • Aircraft
  • Colleagues
  • Conversation
  • Electronics
  • Radio
  • Silence
  • Books
  • Health
  • Security

I’m sure I could add a lot more, but at this time of the morning this is all you are going to get.

Another pointless prompt from the AI gods at WordPress. Enjoy, glad I could be of assistance.

Next please……

Have a great day y’all

Hope, Curiosity and Caution

What are you curious about?

To be totally honest at the moment, I’m focused and really excited for the future. Talk to me tomorrow and I’d probably be a different beast with an attitude lower than a snakes belly, but at the moment everything is fine. I’m curious why I feel this way.

Curiosity

As you will all possibly be aware, I like fixing cameras and I love my photography, it being a major feature throughout my life. I struggled in the transition from Analogue to digital and that was when my interest in the hobby dwindled. I wasn’t ready to accept the digital age, I was and still am really, an analogue dinosaur. But I’m curious.

I have recently delved deep, deep into the digital world, tried some really good equipment belonging to a photographer friend, and I really like it, I want to do more. I’m now interested. But is it too late?

I have also been a social media dinosaur, having had bad experiences in the past I’ve pretty much ignored everything but YouTube for the last ten years or so. I’ve regularly slated social media, and now this is another subject that makes me curious.

I’ve changed my attitude. I have in the last, few days gone back into the social media community, yes in many eyes I’ve probably succumbed to the call of this evil temptress, however, hear me out you have some learning to do regarding moi!

Im now on FB, Instagram, and Bluesky and these accounts are pretty much locked down to subjects that I want to see, and people I want to correspond with. It’s opened up communication with distant family members, old professional contacts and over the last few days I’ve even had requests from some of these old contacts to step back into the business professionally, and assist them. I just need to learn to ignore negativity if it begins to creep its way in, and it probably will.

The issue here is that I’m not set up professionally or in the position do so at the moment. But the call to return has hooked me and I am giving it immense and serious consideration. As many will know, and it’s there written there within my profile, that im wishing for an early retirement, and this could be an option that brings in a small income to allow me to realise that goal earlier than I initially intended. But like any business opportunity there is some investment required, and I’m now looking at ways of providing for those required tools of the trade as such.

This has been a positive, because of Social media that has opened up to me, but I’m being cautious.

Im always going to be here working with my old cameras and stuff though, as that’s what i love to do, it just all ties in like a great big knot of contentment, hope and ambition.

And it’s a nice, not always felt, feeling.

And I’m liking it, a vein of positive energy running through an aging body.

Long may it last. We all need dreams. We all need goals. It’s just I’ve left it so late in life, that’s the only nagging doubt that remains.

But who cares, I’m up for it!

Have a wonderful day, stay safe.

A walk in Humberstone park

Today I took the wife to have some dental treatment. Whilst awaiting for her to rise from the chair, I decided to take a walk around the local park and surrounding areas to take some pictures. I only had my iPhone with me, so I snapped away. Whilst back in the surgery waiting for her to exit her temporary “Prison” (Her words, not mine) i was able to do some edits of what I’d seen. A thoroughly enjoyable walk, and a view of the area that on previous walks, has just passed me by.

A selection of views from today’s walk

Have a great day.

Shooting blind

Strange title. I know. But I had my first experience of it only yesterday. A photographic moment that I’ve never experienced before, but shall be using more of in the future.

My dear wife – totally unaware, as was i

I’m currently in the middle of repairing a Nikon Coolpix L820 16mp bridge camera. The camera has a broken rear LCD screen, and this is the only way of seeing the subject as there is no through the lens viewfinder. Whilst testing its limits and finding out about the faulty screen, I became aware that it sounded as if was working, it was making all the right sounds. So I threw an SD card into the camera to give it a try.

I was just pointing anywhere and pushing the exposure button, taking pictures of everything and nothing, I had no control on settings and functions only the exposure button. Anyway, I did this for a few minutes then transferred the SD card to a reader connected to my iPhone.

Nikon Coolpix L820

Wow, I was impressed with this one picture only, of my dear wife just finishing some lunch. She wasn’t aware I had taken it and neither was i.

This is the magic of photography.

The original was colour, I was so impressed with the sharpness, tones and colours in the picture. It’s not a particularly good picture, just a candid one of someone going about their day, totally innocent and unaware.

I love Black and white pictures, so I quickly converted the colour version via my phone.

I was in two minds as to whether I continued with this repair, as the cost of parts were rising the more I delved into it. This picture alone, changed my mind. I am going to finish the repair as this camera is too good to let go.

And I’m just amazed, that a random photo, that the photographer and the subject were both totally unaware of being taken, has come out so well. (All that has been done is a bit of cropping to align the subject)

The post for the camera referred to herein, will be published shortly.

Thanks for passing by.

Someone’s wedding day

Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.

No one likes to blow smoke up their own asses and confess to these actions. I’m not going to start doing that here, today. Random acts of kindness aren’t usually discussed, because that’s seen as boastful. Most people seem to just keep these actions to themselves, building up the personal satisfaction levels in their own minds, and there is nothing wrong with feeling a bit of pride for your actions. It’s good, and should be encouraged for everyone to do, however some people are naturals, and some people just need to try a little bit harder.

I’m just going to discuss one act of whatever that both my wife and I were involved in, in the seaside town of Latchi in Western Cyprus.

We were out for dinner at a small restaurant. A couple sat at the table adjacent to us and we struck up a conversation, we had never before met in our lives. It transpired they had married that day, just the two of them, as they had no immediate family, or friends with them.

We were finished and were saying goodbye as they were about to choose a drink, we heard them talking about how expensive the wine was and that they’d stick with the water.

Drinks

We were paying our bill away from the diners when I asked the waitress to send a bottle of good wine to the newly weds table, but they were only to tell them it was paid for and not to disclose who had paid for it. I’m sure they would have known eventually.

As we were leaving, the wine was arriving at the table and from the distance that we were, I could see them looking around and best of all they were both smiling. I couldn’t see anyone celebrating such an event without being able to toast their momentous day.

Yes it gave us a warm feeling, and I sincerely hope the recipients felt the same way, knowing that not everyone out there is bad, and there is always someone looking out for you. Someone cares.

Have a joyful day, stay safe.



Not the lottery, but for me – just as good

I’ve been after a couple of cameras for quite a while now that hold a great deal of sentimental meaning to me. This will become apparent when i publish the individual posts for them, but for now i just want to share the result of an auction i participated in on the 31st July 2025.

A Canon A1 and an Olympus trip

Today I’ve probably made the best purchase off of an auction site that I have ever made previous. I’ve been following a number of Canon A1s lately and they have all been going in the £120+GBP bracket, some even higher than that. Today I have lost out on two that sold for £93 for a damaged body and one for £121 that was just a body but of a much better quality. This particular auction I was watching was for an untested duo of cameras, a Canon A1 as well as an Olympus Trip 35mm. The Olympus alone normally commands the high £80GBP range and both of these were in this particular auction. I was just watching as this was going to sky rocket in my opinion, two good cameras from a respected seller who I have used before. Two minutes from the auction end, bidding was sat at £39GBP and I thought that any second now the price was going to go crazy, especially in the last 30 seconds. I put in a max bid of £55GBP for the lot, as I pretty much knew it would sail past that amount and go for a price in the £150-£200 price range. I hit the bid button with 20 seconds left on the auction….

You have won – congratulations!

I thought you’re having a laugh, no way. And then it came up with the winning bid being £39:00GBP no one else was bidding, crazy.

The A1 camera consists of the body, a winder, an FD 50 1:1.8 lens, a camera manual as well as a lens manual.

Postage was the grand total of £4:99 so my total for these two cameras was £43:99GBP. That is nuts, and to say I’m pleased about this is the understatement of the century. I have two of the cameras I wish for the most, and I have just landed the bargain of the day, I was in the right place at the right time. Wow. It’s unusual to catch other auction bidders sleeping, it will probably never happen again for me, it’s a very rare occurrence. Two cameras of this magnitude for £22:00GBP each! That’s unheard of.

I don’t know for what reason they are not working, as they both appear to be quite tidy examples. I have used this seller before and the posting above could also be worded such as to imply that the units may well not have been tested. But, that’s what this site is about, repairing old cameras and getting them working again. There’s no fun in talking about a good functional camera, that’s boring. We want the meat and potatoes as they say, we want to see things being fixed, or broken further….you never know with me.

Thanks for sharing my excitement at this purchase. It will all make sense once i’ve assessed the cameras and carried out any repairs.

Thank you for passing by. It’s always appreciated.

Dwarf sunflower

Just a tiny sunflower

Planted these from seed a few months back and they seem to be a dwarf sunflower. It’s only about 18 inches tall and it’s in full flower. Needs support though as the stalk is about half the circumference of my little finger. Looks lovely though.

Canon Powershot S5 IS

What the listing stated:

This is a Canon Powershot S5 IS Digital Bridge Camera which is faulty and sold for spares or repair only.

The camera is in excellent cosmetic condition but when switched on there is an error message saying lens error please restart camera (see photo).

It takes 4xAA batteries and SD cards (not supplied)

Canon Powershot S5 IS

A little bit about this camera:

Released in June 2007, the PowerShot S5 IS is the successor to the S3 IS model launched in April 2006, which was well received for its optical image stabilization, high zoom ratio and ample movie-shooting capabilities. Like its predecessor, the high-function, high-performance S5 IS features a 12x optical zoom lens equipped with a lens shift image stabilizer and realizes fast, quiet zoom performance by means of a high-speed Ultrasonic Motor (USM).

Compared with its predecessor, the PowerShot S5 IS delivers improved imaging performance through the incorporation of an 8.0-megapixel CCD sensor-increased from 6.0 megapixels in the S3 IS-and an upgrade to Canon’s high-performance DIGIC III image processor from the earlier model’s DIGIC II. Additionally, the S5 IS employs a 2.5-inch high-resolution (approximately 207,000 dots) vari-angle LCD monitor that offers a wide viewing angle to realize a high level of shooting flexibility, and includes a hot shoe for compatibility with Canon EX-series Speedlite flashes.

The new Canon PowerShot model supports the recording of high-quality movies by enabling users to make use of the camera’s optical zoom and Face Detection AF/AE functions. The S5 IS also offers an LP movie mode, which employs a higher rate of image compression to enable longer recording times for VGA movies, as well as high-quality stereo sound, and seamless transitions between the shooting of still images and movie recording.

Canon

I’ve been watching this one for a little while, it looks very good cosmetically and I’m surprised as I was the only one that bid on it. I’ve paid a total, including postage of £8:81GBP and I think that is an absolute bargain. An issue with these cameras has always been a motor/lens error. These motors within these cameras are an ultrasonic motor (USM) and to be totally honest they can be quite delicate and are known to give up as such, if even a grain of sand was to get stuck in the lens gear mechanism. They are delicate souls that don’t really like hard work 😂

A good clean is sometimes all that is needed to get these cameras working again, however I’m not going to get ahead of myself here, as I just don’t know what kind of pain the previous owner has inflicted on this camera. I just hope they have not been too brutal.

Assessment:

Now this is an absolutely beautiful looking little camera in pristine cosmetic condition. The previous owner has in fact been extremely careful and treated this camera very well.

The elephant in the room

The only issue that I can see is the one that flashes up on the screen, continuously when to turn on the camera. Even moving the telephoto/wide switch when starting up does not clear the fault. I really need to get the lens extended to see what’s going on. If I can do that without getting the screwdriver involved then that is even better.

Repair:

The lens remains stuck in the closed position despite there being movement with the lens iris, all other actions are as expected, just no extension of the lens turret. It does sound as if something is trying to move inside.

I’ve tried resetting and going back to factory defaults with no joy. I have been noticing though that when i put in a time and date, it is resetting every time i turn the camera off and then back on again. This is usually a sign that the small internal memory battery is dead, and as it’s probably been in the camera since 2007 it’s probably a good idea to change it. If I can find it. That is.

Internal memory battery located

Panic over I have found the memory battery (CMOS) it was located in the battery chamber beside the SD card slot. It’s a small CR1220 coin battery and I have one of these in my battery box, so this will be replaced as soon as I get it home, now replaced all is working as it should be.

Time set
Resets when powered down

Back to the error. The error is more often than not caused by something, even a grain of sand getting in the turret area and catching in the workings, as these cameras are so delicate. We have to somehow get into the turret area to see if we can dislodge whatever is causing the problem.

Lens turret no movement
A strip of paper down the turret

I’d advise against using canned air here, as doing so would most probably dislodge the obstruction, however the route down the turret leads directly to the image sensor and you don’t want debris on that. Careful is the buzz word.

A strip of paper down the turret
Released, and a clean with an optics cloth

I cut a small strip of paper and feed this down between the tiny gap between the lens and the body. I manoeuvre this around the full circumference of the lens, and as I do I can feel some slight resistance as if something is there. I go around again and that resistance has gone. I turn the camera on and still there is no extension of the turret. At this point I put the mode dial on the camera into video mode and then turn it on. Straight away the turret extends and what looks like some grains of dirt fall from the lens area, at last we have the lens extended and there is an image on the LCD screen.

We have successfully freed the lens turret

I clean the lens turret with an optics cloth and you can see it was very dusty inside, there had definitely been some debris enter this area causing the issue.

I operated the on off button a number of times to ensure the turret motion was smooth, and it was. There are no further obstacles in this area, causing the mechanism to seize.

Test photos

I have taken a number of test photos trying out all modes and features and the camera is just perfect.

The camera is now working
The camera operating as it should

I’ll show a few more photos below, once I have been able to download them.

Result:

This camera is simply a little beauty. It is probably one of the best looking of the later generations of bridge cameras but maybe not the best photo quality wise at 8mp. But who cares though, when you are as good looking as this?

The handsome devil

The camera is pristine in my eyes, and for just over £8GBP this is a bargain. These fixes do not always involve a total dismantling of the item, sometimes it is so simple it’s unbelievable. Here I used a piece of paper and a lens cloth, that’s all. Now a camera destined for an old box in the loft and then the tip has been saved to carry on taking photos for a good few years yet. In fact here are a few photos that I have taken randomly around work, and around my garden.

I’m probably going to use this camera with its pivoting screen to construct videos to display on this site regarding future repairs, I’m going to ensure it gets good usage under my ownership.

Here’s some pictures taken in a series of seven days and seven pictures that I have started in August 2026: Seven days in seven pictures. Week two

Did I tell you how much I love this camera and how handsome it is? Oh, I did, sorry about that, I get really carried away with these older cameras, I just wish everyone else could get as excited as I do, and maybe so many of these wonderful machines wouldn’t then, just get thrown out with the bath water.

Thanks for passing by. It’s always most appreciated.

Domestic abuse

What traditions have you not kept that your parents had?

It was the one who called himself my father, and it was pure mental and physical abuse, aimed at my Mother, my little sister and me. We were his soft targets to his hard man bravado.

It was that bad, that i always viewed it as traditional, sad isn’t it? It just happened so often.

I’ve mentioned it before, I have no wish to continue this tradition as no one deserves it, and no one wants it, and no one should ever decide they are going to dish it out, no one person ever has that right to do so.

Abuse anywhere is awful, in the home it is ten times worse, as that should always be your place of comfort and safety, in the very bosom of your family.

God bless anyone suffering in this way.

I have worn your shoes and walked that mile, I do not wish to do that ever again. These “Men” have the reputation outside of the family of being “a great bloke” but at home they have a family waiting in the shadows of fear, waiting, scared out of their minds anticipating his return home, and then the nightmare begins as soon as that key is heard in the door. They are not men, they are merely weak shadows of a real man, as real men don’t entertain such levels of abuse, real men do not condone abuse at all.

I have no wish to follow that tradition. I never have, and I never will. I think I’m the bigger man, and always will be. My home is a place of peace and safety. I have grown, whereas he did not. No one in my household will ever be subjected to that fear.

Domestic abuse, all abuse, is unacceptable.

Stay safe.