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.
It’s a colloquial term for a flat thin lens assembly that started to emerge from the 60s through to the 80’s, commonly seen in compact SLR cameras of the time. This then developed into a body cap lens, an extreme type of pancake lens that is designed to both protect the camera internals as a body cap normally would, yet still allow the user to take photos. These lenses are manual focus only and generally have no more than a couple of optical lens elements, no image correcting elements, a very-slow fixed aperture, an extremely thin focusing ring (if any at all), and a retractable lens element cover. Due to this compromise in design, body-cap lenses generally suffer from numerous image quality issues such as heavy vignetting and poor image sharpness.
Recently there has been a resurgence in this type of lens culminating in the one that seems extremely popular at this time, a cookie lens.
Cookie lens
It’s not hard to see why it is named so, it looks like a big Oreo cookie, it even looks as if it has the cream between the two biscuit pieces. These current ones are sold as being recycled from old disposable cameras. Original pancake lenses can cost many hundreds of pounds, however these ones are classed as disposable, and are priced at around £30 to £40GBP, being sold by a company called Retropia. But hold it! Don’t waste your money on that one, as they can be purchased for at least half that price from Ali Express of Temu, just make sure you shop around. By looking at the reviews £30 can still be a bit of a hefty outlay for what is basically a cheapo lens out of a disposable camera set in a cookie shaped piece of plastic.
One guys in depth review of the “Cookie” lens
These lenses have risen in popularity, as the new mirror less cameras have become more accessible. This lens allows these cameras to be used as a straight forward point and shoot camera, no focussing or metering. achieving that retro disposable camera look, but in much more modern equipment. It’s a fun item and for an outlay of around £13GBP, which is what I paid for mine, it’s not too big an outlay to do some experimenting with, and if it turns out to be a load of old bilge, then it’s no real loss. Reviews are mixed, but in general it seems people are having fun, and that’s what photography should be.
I’m waiting for mine to arrive, and when it does I shall post some photos below to see how I’ve got on with it. Oh, and I now have a suitable camera to use with this lens and that can be found here Sony A7II Mirrorless camera.
The lens has arrivedLens installed
It’s such a simple thing. It turns a complex camera into a quite basic point and shoot disposable, lomography type of camera. Perfect for street photography and just everyday randomness, yep kind of like you’d now find on your mobile phone. However this is more fun and you actually have a camera into your hand, Perfect.
The lens is 32mm, and the CCD in the camera is full 35mm so there is a kind of small vignette around the edges of each shot, but that just adds to the basic rawness of the lens. it’s a bit of fun.
Angles in the living room
Garden pub
Rusty chair
Across the kitchen early morning
Above are a small selection of some of the scenes around home, taken quite randomly and all I have done in the post process is added some vintage presets. The light has been so poor lately that to be honest this already added to the vintage effect. If we see any sun I suspect the results would be very similar to the hazy 70s effect that the disposables always managed to achieve. Don’t expect too much from these lenses, they are just fun to experiment with, and that’s just what photography should be. Fun.
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 rightArea 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.
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.
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 setResets 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.
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.
I’m genuinely interested to find out just how many people use a traditional style camera. Film or digital I’m not fussed, just anything other than the Mobile phone cameras of today.
Loads of Slr/Dslr cameras
I posted an item way back in the early days of this site, that gave numbers of roughly how many cameras have been produced up until 2022 and it was a phenomenal figure in the region of 45 Billion. That’s enough for 5.5 cameras for every single person on this planet. Vintage Camera figures
Ok. This figure does include all mobile phone cameras as well as CCTV cameras, but even if you halved this figure there is an immense amount of traditional hand held cameras still out there.
But how often do you see one being used? Where are they all? I must admit the only time i see them in use is if I go somewhere such as Iceland, you do see a lot of the Far Eastern tourists still using them, but when I get home there is nothing seen at all. I must admit when I go out with one of my old cameras I don’t half get some funny looks, as if I’m some kind of weird trend setter, believe me, I’m anything but.
I would just like to do a very brief straw poll as such to see just how often we use a traditional style camera. As I said at the top, I’m not bothered if it’s digital or traditional film, just as long as its sole purpose is to take photographs. So please don’t include mobile phones, computers or tablets. Just a handheld lump, a piece that just serves the purpose of photography. This poll will remain open for a week.
Oh, and I’ve just found out you can do these poll type things on WP so I had to give it a try. Please forgive me as I’m easily distracted / pleased 😂
Have a super day and thank you for visiting…and voting. Much appreciated.
Anyone who has had an 80s/90s/00s camera through their hands would have experienced this at some point. During this time period many if not all camera manufacturers went through the phase of putting rubber hand grips on their cameras. Aesthetically pleasing, and ensuring a good grip of your new “Expensive” toy. I guess, they thought they had got it right. But as with all these good ideas they often come back and bite you right on the bum at a later date.
My particularly sticky Nikon D70
Ok there were probably no recalls regarding this issue, it’s just affected the price of these goods on the second hand after market, and more than likely a perfectly good unit has most probably gone to landfill for no other reason than “Feeling sticky”
Let’s look into the reasons why this occurs.
It’s pretty much down to a process called Vulcanisation. Vulcanisation is a chemical process that hardens rubber by cross-linking polymer chains, making it more durable and elastic. This process, often using sulfur, heat, and other additives, transforms natural or synthetic rubber into a material with improved properties like resistance to heat, cold, and deformation.
However after many years, the process begins to break down, this causes the rubber to become sticky and in some cases the rubber just breaks down causing traces of rubber dust all over the place. Add to that the normal oils from fingers and palms and the stickiness then becomes highly noticeable, and makes for a very unpleasant experience.
We can’t stop the progress of the degradation, we can however do something about the sticky state, maintain good quality and make the use of the item as pleasurable an experience, just as it was when first purchased. Many believe the stickiness is down to the way the item is stored, and it not being used on a regular basis, as there is plenty of evidence out there of similar aged cameras not suffering from the issue at all, as they are used daily, namely by professional types where these cameras are tools of their trade.
It involves some work, and patience. I am writing this post as I have 8 cameras that i am currently working on, all Nikon D70/D70S and they all have this problem, and they date from 2004.
A load of very sticky Nikons
I use a process that you will easily find on line, the most simple process and it involves using a substance called Isopropyl Alcohol, my one is 99% pure, (also known as rubbing alcohol) I don’t think the purity of 99% is essential but i use it as i have plenty of it around, what with all the circuit board work i do, and the cleaning they also require.
Some people have had results just using a dry cloth and no chemicals, patiently rubbing and rubbing, some for a few hours at a time, until all the mess is removed. If that’s the way you wish to go then fine, i haven’t got the time for all that, i’ll be talking you through the way i do it below, with a chemical.
My technique is simple, lint free cloth and some cotton buds are all that i use, along with a tissue wipe (Such as armoral, or a car cockpit cleaner solution with a dry cloth) and a cocktail stick to finish. The reason for the wipe will become clear at the end.
My Guinea pig for today is a Nikon D70 I have requiring repair. It is a particularly “Sticky” individual and will be a good candidate on how to deal with this sticky situation. This is the process I use on all my equipment that has rubber such as this as part of its structure. It’s worked for me for many years, some people say that it will need doing again after a short while, that’s never been the case for me, and there are a number of documented cases on line where six years after this treatment has been done, there is no repeat of the initial problem. The rubber remains good.
Using a small amount of IPA on a lint free cloth gently wipe the area of concern and you will see the stickiness start to lift, it looks like a glue.
A glue type deposit Gently wipe The dirt is soon lifted
Make your way around the whole camera paying particular attention to those really sticky areas. The IPA evaporates really quickly so you get to see results really quickly. If after one try the stickiness remains then try another application. A good indicator is that when you use a fresh part of the cloth, you see less dirt come off with each application. When you put an application on and come away with a clean cloth, your job is done.
The cotton buds for the cornersSecond application The dirty cloth and cotton buds
The cotton buds are used for getting into those inaccessible crevices you can’t get into with the cloth. As before as they stay cleaner and pick up less dirt your work is done. All this cleaning and moving about of dirt sometimes transfers the dirt into creases and joins between the rubber and the camera body, this is what the cocktail stick is for, to get into those small gaps and scoop the dirt and debris out. Complete with a final application of IPA in this area and the dirty work is now done.
Now earlier I mentioned about using Amorall wipes or a car cockpit cleaner. Sometimes this process can dull rubber, as you have just removed the layer that was providing the gleaming glory back in the day. You can’t have it all your own way but a good quality interior dashboard cockpit cleaner really does add some shine and life to that old camera and really does do a good job of restoring it. I use Auto Glym interior shampoo on a lint free cloth and apply this by gently applying all over the exterior of the camera. It is now exceptionally clean. A quick rub over with a dry cloth once this is dried and what more can I say? This is a different camera, looks stunning and has lost all trace of stickiness and dirt. Now it has that extra layer of protection as well, it’s now a pleasure to behold.
The finishing touch.
This little task probably took just over 20 minutes to achieve and gives so much satisfaction to me as you can see a cameras appearance change in front of your very eyes, and anyone can do it. No camera deserves to go to landfill just because it has this sticky exterior, it’s simple to do and can revitalise an old and much loved camera.
The finished item – stickiness now a thing of the past
I hope this has helped with dealing with the stickiness issue, if you ever experience it. I have even heard reports that a good quality window cleaner can also give similar results, but I’ve never tried it, so there really is no excuse if you have a camera in your ownership needing similar attention.
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 firingTransport light in top right cornerFocus 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 glueMotor 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 okLens 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.
Nikon Nikkor 28-100mm Zoom Auto Focus Lens F3.5-5.6 G
It will autofocus with: Df-D1-D1x-D1H-D2-D2x-D2xs-D3-D3x-D3S-D50-D70-D70s-D80-D90-D7000-D100-D200-D300-D300s-D600-D610-D700-D750-D780-D800-D810-D850-D7000-D7100-D7200-D7500 & Fuji S1, S2, S3,S5
This lens will not autofocus with : D40-D40x-D60-D3000-D3100-D3200-D3300-D3500-D3600-D5000-D5100-D5200-D5300-D5500-D5600 as these cameras do not have integrated autofocus motors in their bodies, but it will still work with manual focus and auto exposure as it has a “chip” mount.
It will also work Nikon 35mm AF film cameras: F80, F90/90x, F75, F70, F65, F60, F55, F50, F80, F90/90x, F101, F100, F401.
Comes with front / rear lens caps
EBay
Anyone that has followed my recent repair of the camera: Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro will be aware that I purchased a lens as a test lens for working on some stock that required a Nikon mount. I went cheap and purchased a lens that was so badly affected with lens fungus that it will require a deep clean and some TLC. Anyway, it allowed me to test electrical contacts and all the menus, and that was about it, it served a purpose there, but taking a picture was like looking into a deep fog, it was hopeless. Anyway that lens is now set aside and will become one of those projects to dig into on a long winter evening…or two, or three.
As I have a number of Nikon based cameras needing assessment on the horizon, some with sensor issues, i have made the decision to pay a little more for some quality, from a company called AP photographic who specialise in quality used equipment, a company that is based close to where i used to live down in the south. This Lens has cost me £58:95GBP including postage, a fair but good price for some peace of mind. This post will not be a repair post as there is nothing wrong with this lens, it will be more of an assessment of the lens when used with the Fuji S2 pro i featured in a previous post.
Nikon Nikkor 28-100mm Zoom Auto Focus Lens F3.5-5.6
I’ve put this post up to show the difference in the pictures taken on the S2 with both the old lens as well as this lens. I think the results will show quite a noticeable contrast and confirm just how restrictive a lens is when it is infected with a fungus problem.
Assessment:
The lens has arrived
The lens arrived within a couple of days and is in perfect condition. It has a lens cap and bayonet cap so is perfectly protected against dust dirt and damage from foreign objects. And when the lens cover is removed there is another little surprise, a post it note saying “Filter is a free gift” that just happens to be attached to a daylight filter. Nice little touch 👌
Nice touch
Lens is a perfect fit, no aperture ring on it as it is fully automatic, full autofocus. I’m not sure how the flash will work with this lens though when I use the Fuji S2 Pro, as that body works best with a fully closed lens aperture, but I’m sure I’ll be able to work it all out and get it functioning as it should. And I did, i played with the Aperture settings in “A” mode and it works just fine. It’s faultless.
Attached to the Fuji S2 Pro
That said on the S2 it not only looks good, it takes good pictures. Compared to the lens I last used this one is crystal clear, not a bit of fungus no aberrations and not a speck of dirt. This is a good lens and will serve me well for the purpose of testing other equipment I have awaiting attention. I think I’ve purchased a good example here.
Result:
I can confirm that the Fuji S2 Pro does not have a thing wrong with it and is working perfectly. All modes, all conditions are performed just as they should be. This lens is gorgeous as it is so clear and has been so well looked after. I believe this whole unit will be the one I wander about with when i go out on my walks. I can’t wait to take some serious photos to post.
A quick comparison fungus lens v clear lens as seen on the camera LCD screen
I took some pictures just randomly around the home setting with the old lens to show how foggy things were with the lens fungus. I have tried to take some more photos of the same locations with the new lens as well to just show how they compare and these can be seen in the pictures grouped below.
Before and after pictures, what a difference the fungus has had on the results.
All these pictures are on an old CF card so it is a bit of a palaver to get them on to new technology, but it is doable, it just takes a little time, and this gadget allows me to load numerous card types even the CF cards direct to my iPhone via a lightning connector. It also has a USB-C connector for other phones. It works really well as you can see in all the pictures in this post.
Multiple media cards direct to my iPhone
And below are a few random photos taken on the S2, it has a good black and white mode but is quite heavy on contrast. Post editing would probably be recommended, but to be honest I really love its moody appearance.
4 random photos in and around the house. And Tabs the feral cat popped by
This camera and this lens have proved fantastic. I know you can get far superior picture sizes and quality on a basic mobile phone, but where the heck is the fun in that? This camera cost me £8:00GBP. Just £8:00. And it is a superb camera that will be going on many trips with me as I just love it and how it looks. I now know it intimately after reading up on it and testing it, and cannot wait to put that knowledge to use.
Cameras are better than mobile phones. Old ones like this are fun, and an absolute privilege to use. It’s not all about the Megapixels, just remember these old cameras were the ones taking high quality professional pictures back in their day. Just because time moves on, and just like an elderly old lady or gentleman, they should not be discarded because they no longer serve a purpose. Respect the older technology, learn from it and you will ultimately become a wiser person yourself. Oldies rule! Never forget it. 👊
Thank you so much for passing by. It’s always very much appreciated.
ALL ITEMS IN THIS LISTING ARE FAULTY FAULTS MAY VARY BETWEENS ITEMS
SOLD AS IS
NO RETURNS
EBay
Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd
I’ve purchased three cameras as a job lot in an auction. All of them have issues but the issues have not been clarified. This is very much a “Suck it and see” auction where I get what I’m given. I’ve paid £24:22GBP for all three and that includes free postage. I’ve purchased from this seller before who is a bonafide Camera business based in South Wales. He has no time for faulty items though, quick in and out is his way of working, no time to fix stuff. I’ve got three good cameras in this bundle and this works out at just about £8:00GBP per camera. And where can you get cameras like this for those prices nowadays.
I really don’t know what the specific issues are with this camera, only that it appears to have the mode selector dial missing from its top. I guess we will just have to wait it’s arrival for a full assessment. In the meantime here is a little bit about it.
With the release of the FinePix S8000fd, Fujifilm brings to market a smart-looking digicam with an 8-megapixel imager, one of the longest zoom lenses in the market plus a compact, and relatively light, camera body. The cheapest of three similarly featured long zoom cameras in the current market (see table below for a feature comparison), the S8000fd has the distinction of being able to use both xD-Picture Card and SD cards (including SHDC), which are fitted in a single dual-format slot. Release date July 2007.
Photo review newsletter
Assessment:
Well, to be honest, for potentially the worst camera in the box of the three that were purchased, it works just fine. Apart from that missing mode selector dial on the top of the camera. You have to use a pair of tweezers to get each mode to appear, but they are all there and the zoom and flash all work and it takes pictures fine, just as it should.
Tidy unit – workingFlash operates All menus available Mode dial – missing
Apart from the issue with the dial, all that is really needed is a little clean up, and even that isn’t that bad.
It does not justify being used as spares and is far too good to just be disposed of. I’m going to try and repair this.
What a bonus!
A little bonus was that there was a 1Gb SD card in the memory slot that works. There were also 4 rechargeable batteries in the camera that after a while on my charger, have fully recharged, and this makes the deal an even better one and quite a bargain to be honest with you.
Repair:
I’ve tested all systems, menus and functions on this camera and there really is nothing else wrong with it. It’s far too good to be used as a spares camera and deserves to be repaired.
Missing mode selector dial
I have two options here, either buy the mode selector dial on its own from our friends in China, or buy another donor camera in a far worse state and available for about the same price as getting the dial from China. I just have to wait for that donor camera to first become available. I’ll give it a couple of weeks and if nothing comes up then China it is.
In preparation for whatever route I decide to take, I’ve decided to do some prep on the old camera and get the old selector dial mechanism taken out ready for the new dial to be put in place.
I’ve dismantled the camera unit to be able to access what is left of the mode dial switch.
Back is off Switch unit and ribbon cableSwitch removed It’s basically a two piece potentiometer type setup
This wasn’t too awkward to dismantle, half a dozen screws and a small plastic prise tool was all that was required to reach this point. There was some protectorate covering the metal frame of the switch housing that was contained by four tiny screws. Once this was loosened the housing came away and I was able to remove what was left of the old mode dial that had originally been in place. There wasn’t a lot left.
Remains of previous dial
The camera now sits in this position of being dismantled whilst I source a new dial to replace. As stated I have two options of buying a new dial either from China, or by getting a damaged camera as a spares source, and I’m currently looking at the latter as this could be purchased for about the same price as the dial from China, and would allow me a few more spares.
I’ve purchased another unit as a donor. The unit in question has a damaged LCD screen. I’m going to use that camera as a donor for the mode dial I require.
The donor camera has arrived. And to be honest it looks ok. It has been dropped at some time as the lens has a scratch on it, and the Rear LCD screen is damaged. That’s about it.
A good looking donor camera, the only issue being the damaged LCD screen
I’ve taken some pictures with this unit and the camera is working fine, as you can still view pictures you have taken through the viewfinder. It works ok, but I need this mode switch to fix another camera, so i’ll probably just use what remains as spare parts due to that scratch on the lens.
Let’s get the donor camera disassembled to harvest that mode switch.
There are only about six screws to get the back of the camera taken from the body, you just have to be careful not to damage the ribbon cable that is connected to the mode dial assembly that we are going to use today.
The two cameras, and the mode dial assembly we need to fix the original camera
I did all the disassembly of the original camera to save time, and it took about 5 minutes to get the donor camera stripped down. Once inside there is some insulating material covering the switch assembly, this has to be removed but cannot be reused as it has lost its adhesion. When reassembled I have used electrical Kapton tape to replace the original insulation. This has worked just fine.
New Kapton tape insulation
Assembly involves checking that the button settings relate to the markings on the camera body, this is important at this stage as the last thing you want to do is reassemble the camera to find out that you have the dial in the wrong setup. Do it now and save time and reduce the possibility of damaging the connectors and body clips.
Before and after
Result:
We have a beautifully restored and working and fully functional bridge camera that takes good snapshot photos. It’s not high end, it’s very much a learner camera but good at documenting what’s going on around you. Its mode dial that was missing is now working fine. A little polish and it has come up looking lovely cosmetically. it’s a good little unit.
The camera has come up lovely and is now complete and fully operational
Here are a selection of snapshots from around the home just to prove it’s working as it should. Nothing special, it just does what it was always built to do. Take snap shots.
It works. I’m happy. And another camera has been saved from landfill.
Thank you for passing by, as always it’s most appreciated.
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