Tag: vintage

Chinon CE-5 35mm SLR and power winder

A heavily damaged Camera from 1981/2 needs some serious care and attention. A Chinon CE-5 35mm SLR.

Here’s what the listing stated:

Please review all photographs carefully as the images form part of the item description and provide the best representation of the items cosmetic condition & any included accessories Any significant flaws or relevant information will be shown below if applicable. Camera, lens and power winder are tested and working. Body and power winder show scuffs, scratches and paint wear to edges and base. Film rewind crank is damaged/loose and sits high on its spindle at a angle Light seal foam around the film door shows ageing and residue. Lens glass is clear with light dust only. Supplied as camera body with fitted 50mm f/1.7 lens and PW-545 power winder only; no caps, strap, batteries, film or manuals included. 

Brand: Chinon

Model: Chinon CE-5 35mm SLR film camera.

Colour: Black metal and plastic body with black leatherette grip panels and matching black power winder.

Type: Manual focus 35mm SLR film camera with pentaprism viewfinder and built-in light meter.

Format: Uses standard 35mm/135 film cartridges loaded via the rear-opening film door.

Lens: Auto Chinon Multi-Coated 50mm f/1.7 prime lens with aperture and focusing rings plus 49mm filter thread.

Focus: Manual focus operation through-the-lens optical viewfinder with focusing aids.

Exposure: Auto exposure and manual exposure modes with selectable shutter speeds and aperture control.

Features: Built-in light meter, hot shoe for external flash, self-timer, ISO/ASA speed dial and compatibility with electric drive units.

Power: Designed to be powered by batteries for the camera electronics and PW-545 power winder (batteries not included).

Included: Chinon CE-5 35mm SLR camera body, Auto Chinon 50mm f/1.7 multi-coated lens and Chinon PW-545 Power Winder S motor drive only; no caps, strap, batteries, film, case or manuals are included.

Country of origin: Camera and lens marked Japan.

Keywords: Chinon CE-5, 35mm SLR film camera, Auto Chinon 50mm f/1.7, PW-545 Power Winder S, manual focus, auto exposure, Japan

EBay

Probably one of the most descriptive listings I’ve encountered on EBay. This alone gave me some confidence in making this purchase, as rather than the standard “Not working” non descriptive listing, I actually have a good idea as to what the problems are here, and they can also be seen in the photos in the listing.

Front
Lens
Scuffs and loose covering
Wonky capstan
The camera I have purchased, showing peeling vinyl and a faulty rewind capstan

These units were on sale between 1981-82 in the Uk via the electrical goods store – Dixons. As a result, sales of this camera were probably not as good as if Chinon had gone out on a limb and promoted their own product. There was a lot of snobbery in the photo trade, and cameras from electrical good stores were looked on as “cheap” alternatives. However, they couldn’t have been more wrong as the quality was very high, maybe just a bit more plastic than some would like, and the lenses were equal or more advanced than a number of other lens brands available at the time.

I was just starting out in photography, I had my first job in 1982 at a colour laboratory in Bushey, Hertfordshire Uk at this time, and saving my money meant I was able to purchase this very combo I have purchased today for a total of £28:00GBP with free postage, after negotiating down the sellers original asking price of £39:00GBP.

Back in 1981-82, i believe the package for the lens and camera was about £110:00GBP with the winder coming in at about £40:00GBP. A total outlay of about £150:00GBP at the time. Considering I was probably only earning about £300:00GBP per month back then, it was closer to the end of 1982 that I purchased my combo, and by that time it was near to the end of its production run in the UK. There were AF lenses that were available as options that were so big they actually dwarfed the camera. The lens in this combo is the standard 50mm lens that it used to ship with. That said I loved the camera, it was easy to use, no fuss and the auto focus on the camera was way ahead of its time, even though I didn’t have the AF lenses to use. So far ahead of its time that it actually beat all the big players to the finish line. The big names caught on though and very soon they were flooding the market, the snobs were happy once again.

I had to offload that camera after I’d given it some good usage. Computers were appearing on the scene and the money I made from selling it went towards my first computer purchase, a Sinclair ZX81.

I wish I’d kept the camera…..

No panic though as I now have another one to revisit those heady days of 1981-82. It just needs some attention.

Here’s some info about the CE-5:

The Chinon CE-5 was a 35mm SLR camera produced by Chinon, that was one of the first cameras to have autofocus-capable lenses produced for it. It was produced for about 12 months between 1981-1982.

Specifications

The camera had a Pentax K mount (addressed to in the specifications as the Chinon “universal mount”) with which its lenses were mounted. 3 autofocus pins were present upon the top-left of the mount, which the autofocus lenses interfaced with. These autofocus lenses were rather heavy and depended upon their own large, lens-mounted motors.

The camera had two modes: aperture-priority and full manual. The shutter speeds ranged from 4 to 1/2000 seconds (stepless) in aperture priority mode and 2 to 1/2000 seconds in manual mode, in addition to a “bulb” mode. The shutter was controlled electronically in both modes; and was a Seiko electromagnetic metal focal plane shutter. A multiple exposure switch was also incorporated into the camera, alongside a 5 or 10 second self-timer. 

The CE-5 was shipped with a full ground glass screen along with a split image range finder and a microprism collar to aid focusing. Other screens were made available.

An “X sync” flash hotshoe was incorporated, with contacts especially for the Chinon range of dedicated flashes.

The camera had the dimensions 135.5mm width x 88mm height x 50.5mm depth and weighed approximately 490 grams without batteries and lens.

Wikipedia

I very much suspect that this camera has been dropped at sometime. Just looking at the sale photos tells me this. It appears the corner where the rewind capstan is situated has a cracked body top, the capstan pin is also bent, the ASA counter also appears to have some damage, its fair to say this camera has suffered impact damage to that very part of the camera.

Ok so I need to now wait for the item to arrive to carry out a full assessment. The good thing is that I do already have a non working donor available in my spares box to carry out a little bit of a Frankenstein operation if I need to, and i think that operation may well be required.

Assessment:

The camera arrived and I must admit I’d forgotten just what a hefty lump it is. It is quite a weighty beast. The camera is pretty much as described apart from missing one major issue. There is an issue with the shutter mechanism timing, but I’ll come back to that later.

The camera received

The top of the rewind crank is out of alignment and there is slight damage to the ASA ring beneath it. There are scuffs and scratches all over as described but in general it is not too bad cosmetically.

Crank and ASA ring damage

When I load two LR44 batteries into the camera base everything appears to work ok, the self timer works in the 5 second and 10 second mode, all indications work through the viewfinder and the shutter fires. However even though it fires it is at a slower, probably 100th of a second speed no matter what setting you have it in, Auto, 1/2000, or B setting it’s all the same. The B setting does not work at all, when the shutter is depressed the shutter springs open as it should, however it doesn’t shut when pushed again as it should, it remains open and you have to move the shutter speed ring to another setting for it to close again. There is a definite shutter speed fault that I suspect is as a result of this camera being dropped on one edge. Hence the damage to the area around the rewind capstan.

The lens is in a fantastic condition, showing no damage, it’s clean and free from mist and fungus.

The power winder is dead. It’s in a good cosmetic condition, but a quick look inside the battery chamber shows signs of battery contamination, hopefully I can resurrect this item.

The top case is cracked.

Repair:

First. I’ll print off a body cap to protect the lens barrel when cleaning, I’ll also print caps for the front and rear of the lens as well, that way everything is protected from any further disturbance.

Lens cap, body cap and rear lens cap printed

I’m going to start with the power winder as I now have it separated from the camera. There is a cartridge that inserts into the winder base that holds 4×1.5v AA batteries. The output therefore should be 6v but when the multimeter is used there is no voltage making its way through the cartridge. One of the cartridge contacts is tarnished and requires a clean. A quick buzz with my grinding tool cleans the contact and then a wipe over with a cotton bud soaked in IPA finished that clean. Batteries re installed and we now have continuity with a healthy 5.97v being supplied at the terminal ends.

Before (top) and after contacts are cleaned

However when installed in the chamber the winder is still non operational. A look into the battery chamber reveals further contamination on the contact inside that would mate with the contact I have just cleaned on the battery cartridge.

Further contamination

The power winder has to be dismantled quite considerably to access the contacts inside. You could probably do a clean without dismantling, however you will never know if any of the contaminants have gone beyond the contact. I tend to get into the machinery of things for piece of mind, and today I’m pleased I did as I was able to confirm that the contamination was only on the battery contacts.

Power winder dismantled
Contacts before and after
All gearing lightly oiled

I cleaned the contamination with a grinding pen and then cleaned the contacts with some IPA. A blow through with an air gun removed some old dust and debris from the handle area, and whilst in here I lightly oiled all the cogs and gears in the handle area.

We have life

I’ve partially reassembled the winder and put the battery back in place and we have power lights when switched on. I connect the winder to the camera and it works just fine. There are two settings (S) single shot and (C) continuous shot that fires a frame every two seconds approximately. All are functioning well and working as they should. I now clean the outer of the winder of old glue and adhesive, re glue and put all skins and label back into place. This repair is now complete. Onto the camera now.

With the camera the first thing I am doing is checking the rewind capstan. When unscrewed the screw and spindle are straight, the actual damage is with the plastic cap that is bent out of shape and split on one side. As I stated earlier I do have an old donor camera so I have taken the ASA dial and the rewind capstan off of that to replace the damaged items on this side of the camera. I will also replace the cracked top as well. I must admit it looks good and appears to be functioning at this point. I’ll have to have it all off again when I investigate the shutter speed issues. But for the meantime it’s a needed job completed.

How it now looks (left) and how it did look (right)

Now we need to look at the shutter timing issue.

It took a time to get the top off due to there not being a lot of information available about breaking these units down. However I now know how to, and this took the best part of an hour for me to achieve, I’ve replaced the cracked top with the one from the donor camera.

As soon as the top was off there were three issues that welcomed me, I suspect these all occurred as a result of that drop that damaged the ASA dial and the rewind capstan.

Firstly above the prism area there were what appeared to be three detached wires.

Red wires should be one and have been broken. Green wire is a rogue hot-shoe earth

In the photo above, you will see two red arrows. These wires they point to were once upon a time a single wire, somehow this wire has snapped. The wire that is indicated by a green arrow is a rogue earth wire that should be connected to the hot-shoe in the prism roof.

There was no way I was going to be able to route a new wire as it originated deep inside the body, and I just didn’t fancy going there today. Instead I melted the two ends slightly to expose some wire, I then used some multi core solder to tip the ends and as I had some room to move the wire slightly I joined the two ends back together with a solder joint. Once soldered I used some conformal coating to stabilise the joint, then covering it with a small piece of Kapton tape to ensure it was secure and not interfering with any other metal/components.

Soldered together, then conformal coating was used prior to being sealed with Kapton tape.

The rogue earth wire was then soldered back into place in the roof of the prism housing.

The issue with the speed settings appears to be as a result of disturbance, again related to that drop that caused the other issues. When the speed dial is removed you are left with a set of tracks with very fine copper contacts. One of these contacts is specifically for the “B” setting, it should sit shy of a contact point until it is required however from what I could see it was permanently activated, it didn’t look right so I adjusted it to sit properly, now when the dial is operated it switches in and out as it should. I don’t know how this affected the earlier tests that showed we only had one available speed, I can only presume the issue is a culmination of all the issues so far experienced.

At the top permanently on. At the bottom adjusted so it will switch in and out with operation of the dial

I have now commenced reassembly after giving a good blow through and a light clean of the contacts.

Batteries have now been installed and I’m reluctant to switch the camera on. But I have to, so I do. So far so good. I rewind the lever all good. I set the shutter to 2s and activate the shutter, it opens and then it shuts again about 2 seconds later, I move through the shutter settings and all appear to be reacting to their relative speeds, 125 sounds right, 2000 sounds very quick, they all are giving different speeds which is superb. And the “B” setting is now operational. This is fantastic. All indications in the viewfinder are as expected, and with the winder attached all systems are go. I think I’ve fixed it. Wow. I’m shocked.

Let’s get the light seals and bumper felt replaced now.

Bumper and light seals have now been replaced, an awful lot of felt came out of those grooves, I thought it would never stop coming

Shutter curtain covered
A lot of dirt came out after felt removed

I always apply light seals slightly dampened on the adhesive side as this gives you a few minutes to reposition the felt, prior to it setting and drying. I’ve got it down to a fairly quick process now, I’m not perfect but I’m improving with each new set of seals.

So this camera is now complete.

Result:

We now have a perfectly good operating camera and power winder with a nice clean 50mm stock lens for a reasonable layout of £28:00GBP. It had an awful lot wrong with it, but thankfully having a spare unit to harvest parts off has helped with this repair immensely.

The camera and power winder now working

A lovely camera, much maligned from the early 80s now working as good as it did from the box. I just can’t wait to get a roll of film through it to show just how good a camera this was and still is.

It weighs a ton, but that’s how I love and remember my old cameras, they are such beasts but have immense character and original design appeal that modern cameras just don’t have today.

Another camera saved from landfill. A good result.

Many thanks for passing by, you know it is always very much appreciated.

Nikon F50

A learning camera for me, with a fault I’ve never dealt with before. Damaged shutter curtain blades. Can I fix it?

What the listing stated:

NIKON F50 UNTESTED FOR SPARES OR REPAIR. SEE IMAGES. THE REAR SHUTTER RIBBON APPEARS TO BE LOOSE – I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH OLD FILM CAMERAS SO THIS COULD BE A QUICK FIX OR NOT AN ISSUE. ALSO HAVE A FRONT BODY CAP AND STRAP – COULD BE A BARGAIN FOR SOMEONE. SOLD AS SEEN.
+
The “Complete Users’ Guide: Nikon F50/N50” by John Clements is a comprehensive textbook published in 1994 by Newpro UK LTD. This paperback book, with 140 pages, provides detailed information on the Nikon F50/N50 cameras from the 1990s. Written in English, this guide is a valuable resource for photographers looking to enhance their knowledge and skills in using these specific camera models. The author’s expertise and clear instructions make this book a must-have for Nikon enthusiasts.

EBay

My purchase today

As you may have already gathered, and much to the dislike of my wife, I spend a lot of time trawling the sales for cameras. I don’t particularly look for anything high end, one of my main reasons to purchase is purely for learning purposes. So why not buy a lower end mass produced camera and fix it? That’s what I tend to do. It’s a good way to learn, and if you cause even more irreparable damage it’s no problem, you will still have a selection of usable parts. Damage someone’s pride and joy though and not only do you lose reputation, you would probably be severely out of pocket financially.

So I look for cameras with issues that I have not yet dealt with, and this camera has such a fault. It’s shutter blades have become detached from the frame in which they are set, it can be fixed if conditions are met, and one of those conditions are that the blades should not be creased. And I have my fingers crossed that this is the case. I’ve never fixed this issue before, so for me this is a learning camera. The bonus for me is that I get a body cap, a strap and an informative 140 page book on how the camera operates. And I paid the sum of £7:77 for this complete package.

Here’s a little info about the Nikon F50:

The F50 (or N50 as it is known in North America) is a 35mm film SLR camera which was introduced by Nikon in 1994. It was aimed at the lower end of the amateur autofocus SLR market.

The F50 features autofocus, TTL light metering and various “programs” (ranging from manual operation to a highly automated point and shoot mode). It could not however meter with non-CPU lenses.

It was replaced by the similarly-priced F60 (also known as the N60) in 1998.

The F50 body was made from polycarbonate and metal, and available in both “champagne silver” and black.

Notable omissions include depth-of-field preview and any form of remote shutter release.

Wikipedia

I’m now awaiting the arrival of the camera so I can carry out an in depth assessment. And prior to its arrival I’m reading up, and seeking advice on how to deal with such an issue as this shutter curtain damage.

Assessment:

On arrival it is quite clear that prior to its shutter blade damage this camera has been very well looked after. It has no damage, scratches or signs of wear across the entire camera. It has an original Nikon body cap and narrow strap. There is even a DK-5 viewfinder cap that is a rare thing to see on a second hand unit. Battery contacts are clean and contaminant free.

And the users guide that was also received is an absolute gem of information.

The camera I have received

Testing beyond this is not possible at all, as the last thing I want to do is insert a battery and cause further damage. I will have to try to sort the shutter blades before I can test any further.

So let’s get straight on with trying to sort out that mess in the lens barrel.

Repair:

Whilst awaiting the cameras arrival I’ve been seeking advice on how to approach this issue, as this is my first attempt at such a fault. And after a while, looking around I found this video tutorial that first came out in 2014. I have decided to follow the advice within this video.

Fix old cameras – shutter repair

The first thing I have to do is to modify a pair of tweezers that I will be using for this repair. Firstly I have to bend them at an angle.

Bent accordingly

Secondly I have to put some shrink tubing over the points, heat them so they adapt to the outline of the tweezers, and whilst warm just flatten the tips as this will be the surface that handles the blades.

Shrink tubing added and shaped

And to be honest, once I started it took all of less than 20 seconds. Here’s the proof

It worked, and the camera works

You may well be looking and thinking ooh! That looks dodgy, but believe me it works just fine. It’s been severely beaten up and it fell back into place quite easily. It doesn’t look pretty but I have tested the chamber with a very bright light and the front and the rear curtains are working well with each other and there is, or appears to be no light leakage. I will have to run a film through the camera but I am very confident that there will be no further issues.

With the 2CR5 battery in place I have been able to carry out the tests that were not possible earlier, and I’m pleased to report there are no other issues and this shutter blade fault was the only problem. This camera is now working just fine, all settings, buttons, dials and switches are working as they should, as is the self timer.

With a lens connected all focus indicators in the viewfinder are good, the flash operates as it should and the info screen is clear and readable.

This camera is good to go.

Result:

In the end this turned out to be a twenty second repair, my first of this type and it went exceptionally well. A camera of this quality for just £7:77GBP with a guide book as well. is exceptional value, and I’m sure someone is going to love and cherish this camera for years to come. I’m going to run a film through it first just out of curiosity, however, I am supremely confident that there are no issues with it.

Looking superb, working

Again we have a classic case that shows just how 30 seconds of activity can bring a camera back to life saving it from the scrap heap. And a lovely looking camera it is too. Once I have run a film through I’m going to pass this on, it’s a good beginner’s camera and I’m sure it will get a lot more use, and that’s always a good thing. If Nikon produced in excess of 150,000 of these units, then I wonder how many others have suffered a similar fault and just been tossed into landfill.

Scary thought… though this one has been given a pardon.

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

Nikon F-401 35mm SLR Film Camera

A nice little starter camera from 1987 sold as faulty when actually its operation was just misunderstood. Not so much a fix, just a lesson in why you should read instruction manuals.

What the listing stated:

Nikon F-401 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Only – Spares or Repairs. Unsure why it won’t work, I bought brand new batteries and it doesn’t want to power on. No exterior damage or scratches to suggest it’s been dropped. Battery compartment is nice and clean. Any further queries feel free to ask. Thank you for browsing.

EBay

The camera I have purchased

Known pretty much as a dollar camera, it’s a Nikon but aimed at the entry level, and is of a plastic construction. The dollar tag is generally used to say just how cheaply available it is. I paid a bit more than a dollar, I paid £4:00GBP, after knocking the seller down from the £12:00GBP he was originally requesting. Still a bargain I believe, will be a nice little starter camera for someone if I can get it working.

Here’s a little about this camera:

The Nikon F-401 (N4004 in North America) was a beginner’s level, autofocus, 35mm, single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera built by Nikon and introduced in 1987. The camera represented one of Nikon’s first endeavours into consumer-based autofocus, as a follow-up to their first autofocus SLR in 1986, the Nikon F-501 (known as the N2020 in North America). The camera lacked many of the advanced features that more seasoned amateurs and professionals required, but it was a harbinger of the future as it included a pronounced, built-in grip as well as an integrated TTL Flash that is now commonplace on all but the most high-end SLR cameras.

The F-401 introduced the now common-place feature of using a thumbwheel instead of lens aperture ring to adjust the aperture. Furthermore, the camera’s lack of support for AI lenses meant that while all previous Nikon lenses could be mounted to the camera, none supported automatic exposure TTL metering. 

An upgraded version the F-401S (also known as the N4004S) was released in April 1989. The F-401X (also known as the N5005) followed in September 1991.

By the 1990s, the F-401 was part of a lineup of autofocus consumer SLRs that included the more expensive Nikon F-601 and Nikon F-801.

Wikipedia

Looking on line at other F-401s that are for sale seems to highlight that power issues are a regular point of failure for these cameras. Let’s await its arrival so we can carry out a full assessment of this unit.

Assessment:

Here’s what has arrived today with the postman

The camera that arrived today

I’ve just sat at the kitchen table looking this camera over, and for £4:00GBP it’s a bargain. It’s very clean despite not having a body cap, there is only a tiny bit of paint damage near one of the strap connectors, apart from that this camera is in a very good (cosmetically) condition. A bit of a clean will take it to another level, however we will look at that once the fix has been done.

Fresh batteries installed

I have put 4 x AA batteries into the base of the camera and there appears to be no life in the camera. Contacts appear clean, the batteries are good, let’s take a deeper look into what the issue may be.

Repair:

As I always do with any camera I purchase, I like to ensure the lens barrel, mirror and curtain are protected. In this case I will therefore 3D print a suitable body cap, and a hot shoe cover. If I then have to start any in depth cleaning at least I won’t have to worry about any excess debris intruding into this area.

New body cap and hotshoe cover

The next thing I really study with any new camera that I obtain is the instruction manual. If some of the sellers actually did the same then they’d quickly realise, that sometimes there are no issues with the unit, it can really just be down to the quirkiness of the camera and how its controls work. Each camera brand differs slightly, so if you have no experience with a specific brand, it can quickly come across as the camera is not working. In a lot of cameras I deal with this is not the case. Knowledge really is king here.

And I suspect that this very camera may just well be a case of the sellers lack of operational knowledge.

I really feel like a fraud here, there is a button on the rear of the camera directly behind the shutter button. Here there is also a small slide switch. This combination of slide switch and button allows you to rewind the film when finished. The button appeared depressed, and when pushed a number of times along with moving the switch side to side the button then popped up and the camera kicked in to life.

Rewind slide and button. This was stuck down

A little contact cleaner placed behind the slide and down the side of the button ensured a free and easy operation. When the rewind procedure was used at least six times it has worked perfectly without issue.

When the rear of the camera is opened, the exposure counter resets as it should. When it is closed again and the shutter button is depressed, three quick fire actuations occur forwarding the film to its first exposure. All is working well.

Self timer operational
All indications working

A Nikkor 28-100 lens on the front confirms all indications are working in the viewfinder, and auto focus appears to be just fine. All aspects of operation on the camera have been tested and everything is doing exactly what it should be doing. This camera was never broken. Its operation was just mis-understood.

Result:

£4:00GBP is a very good price to pay for a fully operational camera, even though it was purchased as a faulty item. Every camera i purchase, I always download a .pdf instruction manual file to store on my server. Nine times out of ten a brief read of just the setup information can sort out a myriad of issues, and if the seller had done the same they would have been able to up their sales prices accordingly. I’m not complaining though as I’m able to bag a bargain on many occasions.

Here’s how this little unloved piece of camera looks after I have sorted it out, cleaned it and paired it up with a suitable lens:

Looking fine and in full working order

To think if this camera had not been purchased it would have just been chucked in the waste. Instruction manuals are supplied for a reason, and it’s always wise to refer to one when things start to go wrong, nine times out of ten there isn’t a problem, just a minor misunderstanding.

Take it from me, instruction manuals are good. I have hundreds stored electronically referencing cameras I have had, through my hands over the past years.

Thanks for passing by, and as always it is very much appreciated.

Canon AE1 – Program

I have my final piece of the jigsaw. My sixth, and final camera of the classic Canon “A” series collection

I purchased this camera as part of a job lot of 5 cameras that were faulty, read about that purchase here: More camera odds & sods

Canon AE1 – Program
Broken battery door

I’ve been working towards purchasing the entire range of Canon “A” series cameras, and this is the final piece of the jigsaw for me. I haven’t paid premium prices, I have purchased each and every one of them as damaged items and have had to effect the repairs on them to get them working. It’s a wonderful collection of old cameras, all showing their individual battle scars but each performing without fault in taking photographs. What they were designed to do, growing old gracefully and with a now extended life span.

My complete collection

It works out that this camera has only cost me £8:00GBP, and that is a superb price to pay for one of these cameras, even if it was only for parts it would have been a bargain, however these all have the ability to be revitalised and to be given another crack at life. I have done a very brief assessment and nothing appears to be operating as it should be. Electronically this is potentially a very unstable camera, I just need to run a final test on the electrical system. It has two parts that need replacing. There is a small power winder cover that is missing, it’s not important but I will replace it purely for aesthetic reasons. Secondly the battery cover is broken, I do have a 3D file downloaded so I will see how that prints out.

This camera is currently unloved, very dirty and will require quite a bit of work just to bring it up to usable standards. I don’t wish for it to be pristine and at display standards, I want it to be clean and capable of carrying out what it was originally purposed to do, it will be used and thoroughly loved.

Here’s a little bit about the AE1-Program:

The Canon AE-1 Program is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera that uses Canon’s FD mount lenses manufactured by Canon Camera (today Canon Incorporated) in Japan and introduced in April 1981 as the successor to the Canon AE-1, five years after that camera’s introduction.  The major difference was the addition of the Program AE mode first seen in the A-1. This mode sets both the shutter speed and aperture automatically—albeit with a slight bias towards the shutter speed setting. The user focuses the camera and then presses the shutter button. For those desiring more control, the AE-1’s shutter priority auto-exposure and full manual modes are still available.

Wikipedia

Repair

The first thing to do is to get the relevant battery in place and to see what does or doesn’t light up or function. These cameras take a standard 6v 4LR44 battery, and I have some more of these arriving later today, these cameras are reliant on that power source to pretty much do everything, so we have to have one in place to carry out an accurate assessment. Once i can see how the electrical system is working I can then make a decision on how to progress.

The battery has arrived and when it is installed, nothing happens. Electrically the camera is dead and requires attention, and that’s not good. The auto, lock, self timer switch under the winder is not moving, and hence the winder won’t wind, and the shutter won’t fire. It’s a very poorly camera. I go to remove the 6v battery and it is extremely hot, I’d suspect very close to exploding, this is not good at all. I’ve put the battery to one side, it’s now obvious that we have a short circuit somewhere causing the battery to overheat.

I have printed off a replacement door and catch. It’s not to the original standard but should do the job, until a quality one becomes available. To replace this door the top of the camera has to be removed anyway, so whilst I’m in there I will try to see if I can find the cause of the short circuit.

Top off. Damaged battery door removed

The pin that supports the door has to be pulled up through the mass of electronics to release the old door and the little spring that opens the door.

New replacement door installed after being printed

The printed door has cost me approximately 0.22p to print, and considering that Canon no longer produce the door, the options are limited to auction sites that charge horrendous amounts up to £30:00GBP, or the alternative is a 3D printed option of about £15:00GBP. Seeing this camera has cost me £8:00GBP, a layout of 0.22p will do for me just to get this camera up and running. I can always “tart” it up in the end if I choose to. To be honest, if it does a job, if the camera does what it should, then should I really worry about it? Probably not.

Just for the sake of it I have also 3D printed a speed grip that used to be facilitated on the “A” series cameras. These give a little more security to the battery chamber door, stop the door opening if the catch should fail, and give extra grip to the camera body. And it kind of looks nice so I have printed one out to use. I just need a black M3/8 screw to attach it.

New speed grip printed

I’ve also printed off a eye cap for the camera. Just because I can to be honest, it just finishes it off in my opinion.

New eye cap

I stated that the switch that puts the camera into auto mode, switches it off and operates the self timer was seized. When the top is removed and all the relevant parts are removed the area in question can then be observed. And there was a problem.

Under the film winder is a small Perspex frame with a spring loaded catch. This operates the three settings “A” – auto, “L” – lock or “S” – self timer. The switch must have been forced in the past, as the metal catch had sprung under the Perspex plate and was firmly wedged between the copper contacts underneath causing the short.

The copper traces under the Perspex

The metal catch had to be coerced back into position, lifted slightly to sit comfortably back in the position it had previously occupied. A quick test confirmed that the switch was now behaving how it should, and clicking firmly throughout its range.

The selector switch under the film winder in the correct position

The original battery that overheated was now showing as severely depleted due to the earlier problem, this has had to be disposed of, and so into the battery recycling receptacle it goes.

With the camera now reassembled I can try a new battery, and the result is the polar opposite of what occurred earlier. Straight away the shutter fired, when I put the switch into auto mode, the shutter could be fired again in fact it could be fired repeatedly. The light meter inside the viewfinder is working and showing lights. When in auto mode, and the battery check button is pressed you hear an intermittent sounder showing the electrical circuit is now operational, the more frequent the sound the healthier the battery is. When in self timer mode it didn’t work, it should beep and after ten seconds should fire. Hopefully it’s just dirty contacts, but none the less it will need looking at next time I take the top off. And all the while the new battery has remained cool with no temperature change. We have found the short circuit and the basic camera operation has been restored.

One thing I noticed with the shutter working is that there is quite a “Shutter cough” often heard on these older unloved canon cameras. Not a real issue, this will mean further dismantling of the camera to get to the shutter area for a little clean and some light lubrication.

So, let’s deal with that little “Cough”….open wide now!

I’m going to approach this issue by going in through the base of the camera, here I can deal with two issues at the same time. I suspect someone has been in here before me as there is only one screw securing the base when there should in fact be three. I will get these replaced now as I do have a fairly good supply of spares in stock.

This is the magnet coil, it’s known to get dirty after time causing issues such as a continuous wind with no mirror movement.

Magnet coil

This camera doesn’t have that issue, but because I’m in here it’s a simple case of removing two screws, the casing and then just clean the magnet and coil contacts with some IPA.

Case removed
Contacts cleaned

That done, the plastic case is put back on, and the two screws put back into place. Simple job done, it’s future proofing the camera against this issue ever occurring. A blow through with an air canister and a little light lubrication of moving parts in the area and then we can move onto the next issue I want to address.

I’m going to attempt a shortcut with my oiler pen to see if I can deal with the camera cough without going too deep inside the camera. With the long needle of the oiler I may be able to reach deep enough into the internal workings of the camera to oil up the offending cogs and levers. If it doesn’t work then I will have no option but to open up the camera and get inside. It’s worth seeing if I can get the shortcut to work, it’s not a permanent fix but might buy me a year or so of cough free operation.

I’ve left the camera overnight for the very limited amount of clock oil I used to get into all the nooks and crannies, and I’ve checked when I got back home from work, and I’m pleased to say it’s has worked perfectly. Have a look at this little video below that shows how it sounded with the cough, and then after treatment.

Before and after cough

Now with the cough issue sorted it’s time to go back to see if we can address the self timer issue. With the base now secure with all its screws (I’ve replaced the two missing ones) it’s time to get the top off again and have another look around.

Inside the camera just below the wind on lever is the mechanism that operates the selector lever. There are four tiny copper contacts that connect with the copper circuit just below. One of these four contacts had been crushed to a level where contact was no longer made with the circuit board below.

Copper based circuit board and copper contacts under this acrylic selector

Using a small set of tweezers, I was able to bend the delicate copper contact back into shape allowing it to once again make a connection with the contacts on the circuit board. I’ve also cleaned all points of contact with IPA to ensure all surfaces were clean. A quick test at this point proved the circuit, I was now able to reassemble the camera yet again. Prior to this though I gave a good blow through the circuitry with some compressed air before sealing the top of the camera back in place.

The self timer is now fully operational.

Self timer now working

The major issues have now been addressed. Let’s get on with the bread and butter items.

The light seals including the mirror bumper were in a very poor state and had to be removed. This took a lot of patience as the felt had broken down into dust and clumpy particles. I used IPA to soften the old adhesive and probably used about a dozen cotton buds to remove all the debris. The thing with cleaning these areas is when you think it’s clean, clean it again, and once more for luck. In theory cleanliness here is your friend as it helps you through the next stages immensely.

New felt and light seals

Once all the old felt and seals are removed, and dried, I can cut the new seals to size and get them installed. This has been completed and the new seals have gone into place without issue. Personally for me, this is the most boring but essential task in restoring old cameras. It’s one of those tasks you put off until the end as it is so fiddly and has to be just right.

With the light seals now complete, the last task now is to give the camera a thorough clean.

Result

A buff of the leatherette, and a good polish of the metal work and she is looking resplendent. A new quick grip, hot shoe cover and battery door and the look is complete. My £8:00GBP cast off, dirty, damaged and broken camera is now looking a lot healthier and is now in a good working order.

Looking good working well

I’m awaiting a roll of XP2 black and white film to arrive, and that will be the test film for this camera. I’m probably going to feature it in my weekly 7 days and 7 photos series at some point. I will post a link to that post when it occurs.

It’s been a long time bringing this camera back to life but I’m so pleased at how it has gone. These “A” series cameras will always be my favourite because of the place they have in my photographic past. I have a few that I have been working on, but this was the one that actually completed my collection. I now need to find a suitable way to display them all, rather than leave them packed away in storage.

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

Stay safe.

Nikon F90x 35mm SLR Film Camera and MB10 battery grip

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 SEEN

FAULTS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO,
MIRROR STICKS


COMES WITH EVERYTHING SEEN IN IMAGES

NO WARRANTY PROVIDED

EBay

Nikon F90X with MB10 battery grip

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.

Assessment:

It’s arrived, and as expected it’s a beautiful looking item in an extremely good condition.

Stunningly 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.

Battery pack clean and contamination free

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.

With a 28-100 lens added

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?

Is that 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.

Repair:

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.

The two areas where there is light seal – with no issues

However the bumper seal was showing signs of degradation, so this has been replaced.

Old seal
Removed

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.

New bumper foam installed
Focus screen removed to clean
Some of the dirt and debris from inside

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.

Hotshoe connector
Hotshoe cover in place

The sync cable cover also helps keep the exterior tidy as well as protecting the connector.

Without
With

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.

Result:

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.

A lovely looking, fully functional camera

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.

Yashica 35 ME

An old Yashica camera from 1972 with a non functioning light meter. Time to get it back into a working condition.

I purchased two vintage point and shoot cameras, and this post is related to the Yashica 35 ME. Both cameras were purchased for the princely sum of £4:99GBP and that equates to roughly £2:50GBP each. Both cameras were sold with the following sales statement:

This bundle includes a Yashica 35 ME and Ricoh Auto 35, two vintage 35mm film cameras ideal for collectors or those seeking parts for repair projects.

These cameras are being sold as faulty and for parts or repair only. They have not been tested for functionality and may have issues with their mechanical or electronic components.

Cosmetically, both cameras may show signs of wear consistent with age and previous use, such as scuffs, scratches, or dust. No accessories, batteries, or additional items are included, €”only the two cameras as pictured.

EBay

Having purchased from this seller before, I suspect the cameras themselves are in perfect working order mechanically, but as one camera – the Ricoh, is from 1960 and now in its 66th year of existence, I very much suspect the issue would be with it’s Selenium light cell that is more than likely now very dead. The Yashica however is from 1972 and has a CdS light cell that could also be an issue, more than likely related to the old Mercury 1.3v battery that used to supply it. Either way, even without the light sensors both cameras are very capable of doing what they were built for, however you’d just have to use a separate light meter or use the “Sunny 16” rule. Let’s wait their arrival so we can asses the issue. You can read more regarding the types of light metering used on these two cameras by reading a recent post of mine regarding their differences Photographic light sensors in older point and shoot cameras

Both cameras
Yashica 35 ME

Some more photos from the seller:

Yashica 35 ME

Whilst we await their arrival here is a little bit about the Yashica 35 ME:

The Yashica 35-ME is a small, compact 35mm viewfinder camerawith auto exposure, made in Japan by Yashica, introduced c. March 1972. 

It uses a 38mm f/2.8 lens made of 4 elements in 3 groups with a screw-in filter size of 46mm. The film speedis set using a ring around the lens, with the setting window on the bottom face of the lens. The metering system uses a CdS sensor with a sensitivity of 8 to 17 EV. The viewfinder has bright line frames with parallax correction marks for focus distance of 1.5 meters or closer. The shutter display scale is on the right of the finder has speed markings 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/650 of second. Aperture scale is also displayed at 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 and 14. The setting for the meter uses a pointer type indicator. Correct exposure is assured when the pointer is in the yellow areas of the scales. Also in the finder scale is over exposure, under exposure zones along with symbols of the selected zone focusing settings. The top plate carries the shutter release, hot shoe and frame counter.

Specifications

  • Lens: Yashica 38mm f2.8; zone and feet/metres scales
  • Shutter: Copal auto, speed set by metering, 1/30-1/650 sec.
  • Meter: CdS sensor
  • Film speed: 25 to 400 ASA
  • Flash: hot shoe, flash sync 1/25 of a sec.
  • Power: 1.3v mercury

Camera-wiki.org

It’s arrived, it has that familiar aroma of age old mustiness, but looks a nice item, in good condition for a camera that is now 50+ years old.

Assessment:

The case is quite tatty, but it does the job. The body is dusty but free of any dinks dents or scars. Inside the rear of the camera all is good, it’s clean and the light seals are ok. They will need replacing at some point, but currently they appear to be ok.

Camera looks nice

The winder works fine, the shutter fires and there is no sticking of the shutter leafs.

When you look through the viewfinder it’s a fairly clear view, however the exposure reading needle on the right is sitting firmly on the bottom of the scale. Moving the camera from light to dark makes no difference, the meter is not responsive. Let’s check the battery.

Meter reading does not move

Repair:

The battery that was used is an LR44 cell rather than the old Mercury 1.3v cells that used to be installed on these cameras. They are hard to come by nowadays and people tend to go with the more modern LR44 cells that have a slightly higher voltage of 1.5v. They work, however some have stated that they notice a slight overexposure of about one stop, personally I haven’t really had issues when I have made these battery changes in the past. Each to their own as they say.

The battery currently in place was dead so I tried a new battery to no avail. When I opened the battery chamber again I then noticed some oxidation of the contacts, so a quick clean with some contact cleaner and they looked a lot different.

Before and after battery contacts

A new battery back in place, and hey presto the light meter is now working.

Light meter now working

I’ve given a good disinfectant clean. Buffed up the case to make the best of a bad thing, and it all looks good. The only thing I can do now is run some film through it to give it a final test. I have some old out of date colour film at home, so I will use one of these to run a test roll. As I stated at the beginning there is not really a lot that can go wrong with these point and shoots, and I’m confident that the only issue was with the exposure meter as everything else seems to be fine. let’s get that film run through the camera to check things out.

I’ve taken the film out of the fridge. It’s a roll of Kodak Gold 200ASA film, and it’s only 20 years out of date. I’ve tested a roll of this before, you can see that post here: 20yr old Kodak Gold.

Expired in December……2004

The results won’t be anything spectacular, it will be grainy, it will have a colour cast and in fact might not even work at all. After this period of time the sensitively Will have dropped so I’m going to over expose this roll by one stop to attempt to compensate a bit. This 200ASA film will be exposed on this occasion at 100ASA. When I’ve exposed this it will be off to a local film developer- Classic photo supplies – for them to do the developing and scanning. Read this post regarding my rationale behind using this film: 3..2..1 – 20yrs out of date.

Result:

Well, the scans of the developed film have arrived back and it has proven a couple of things, one that the camera does actually work and two, that the film has definitely reached its limits, as the negatives show immense grain, and a colour cast due to the chemical structure of the film breaking down. I’m glad I only overexposed by one stop, I know that the recommended +2 stops would have been too much for this film. Below I have displayed a selection of pictures from this film, you can see the age related “colour cast” along with grain size if you zoom in. These aren’t the high quality pictures as the originals came back at about 30mpx each, and that would be far too high a resolution to show on this site, and I’d probably use up all of my photo allowance as well. So here are the greatly reduced results of those scans.

Back gate
Forklift
A house view
Driveway
Train passing
Football shelter
But if double exposure
Broken fence
Refreshments
Chat
Graffiti
Storage

To be totally honest if you switch to B/W in editing mode, all the pictures come out fine and are completely presentable and maybe that’s the way to go with the next batch, don’t bother trying to get a good colour balance as that will never be achievable, just display in good old black and white, you can’t go wrong.

So the camera works, and this one will now be put aside until I decide how I’m going to move it on. It’s such a basic camera, the distance selections are questionable, but that’s just a remnant of the 70s technology behind it. It’s a good little point and shoot, but I do believe the likes of the Olympus trip totally outshone all other competitors in the point and shoot category.

Job done. Another old camera saved from the scrap heap, and given a new lease of life, and it probably took no more than 10 minutes to get it back in working order.

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

Toshiba Camileo X400 Camcorder

Let’s have a look at a non functional Camcorder from 2011 that appears to have bathed in molasses as it’s so sticky. Can I get it working once more? Why not?

What the listing stated:

It has not been tested but outside case is sticky. 
Would recommend for spares and repairs only

EBay

Toshiba Camileo X400 Camcorder

Not one of the finest quality camcorder cameras out there, but for £7.00GBP, I’m not really complaining. This camera appears to have a battery included, it has no charging equipment or anything else included, but I’m hopeful there’s not too much badly wrong with it. However as this is a platform for repairing old knackered equipment, hopeful there is something that we can get our teeth into that is sufficiently suited to this platform. All I can currently gather from the listing is that this a bit sticky, and those of you who follow this site will know that stickiness, especially on cameras is not an issue that has caused me any problems previously. Hopefully the issue is a little more than just stickiness, and as this listing has the classic EBay “Get out of jail free – seller not tested” claim, then there could be absolutely anything and everything wrong with it, we will just have to wait and see.

Here’s a little bit of background for this camcorder.

Toshiba’s CAMILEO X400 Full HD camcorder offers 1920 x 1080p video capabilities, 23X optical zoom, and other great features for taking great video and making great memories.

No matter what you’re looking at, the CAMILEO X400 Full HD camcorder takes jaw-dropping video in 1920 x 1080p resolution. You’ll be able to capture all the color and clamor of that Fourth of July parade, or your daughter’s first soccer goal. And with the 23X optical zoom, you’ll see the big smile on her face, too.

Want to follow your baby as she takes her first steps? Follow your friends as they head up that mountain trail? Record your Jeep ride across Africa’s Serengeti plain? Go for it. The image stabilization capabilities on the CAMILEO X400 Full HD camcorder ensure your ensuing creation will be hunky-dory, not herky-jerky.

Video trimming on the CAMILEO X400 Full HD camcorder makes editing easier by letting you cut out a section of the video from the front, back or both–plus start and end the video at any point you wish. What’s more, with a built-in pause button, you can stop wasting storage space and reduce file clutter by recording multiple scenes into a single file.

Your son just learned to surf and caught a nice point break for a good long ride. Want to freeze the frame for pictures you can share in an album, email or hand out to friends? Do it without interrupting the video. Simply press the Photo button* on your CAMILEO X400 Full HD camcorder and your surf dude will be immortalized forever.

Features:

  • 1920x1080p Full HD resolution video
  • 23x Optical zoom
  • 3″ swiveling LCD monitor
  • 5MP CMOS sensor
  • 4.7 x 2.1 x 2.4 inches
  • Weight 300g

Toshiba

Well, to be honest that has to be one of the worst background write ups I’ve read, and in reality the tone of it doesn’t fill me with confidence, all that talk of “Dudes” and “Hunky dory and Herky Jerky” my god, who do they let write this stuff? This camera didn’t stand a chance to be honest right from its release date in late 2011.

So, let’s forget the awful promotional write up, and just like true “Dudes” try to find out what is actually wrong with the damned thing.

Assessment:

It’s arrived and to be totally honest, it’s in a right poor condition cosmetically. Very poorly packaged, I suspect the seller couldn’t wait to get it out of the door. Here are two of the better looking pictures.

The good…

As soon as you pick the unit up, the stickiness the seller wrote about becomes obvious. It’s as if this camera has been immersed in a vat of molasses, it’s super sticky and if you review the close up pictures below you will see this unit has obviously been involved in some sticky situation, in places it is still wet, with liquid clearly visible, however that liquid is in a super sticky state of suspension.

Sticky Liquid
Wet, with protective film still in place
Dirt and stickiness
Just plain filth

…The bad, and the very ugly

The battery is in place, I suspect it is dead but it will need to be tested, thankfully the battery contacts are clean and luckily it appears that no liquid has managed to reach these areas.

Battery – possibly dead
Battery contacts all clean
Somewhere clean..hallelujah!

Before I even start to look at anything with this camcorder, a very thorough clean is the order of the day. It’s not going anywhere, and I’m not doing anything with it, until it is in a more presentable and workable condition.

I like to use a disinfectant spray when taking on a job like this, in fact I use it on most of my old cameras especially those that have an old musty aroma. The disinfectant has cleaned this unit up very well removing all of the old stickiness and residue. I finish off with some polish and a cloth and the beast has now been cleaned and is now in a much better condition to start looking at where the problem may lie.

A good clean and it looks like a different unit

Well, to be totally honest the unit is kind of dead. There is a minimal voltage in the battery and when I find a suitable charging cable and install it, there is not a great deal else occurring. There are some lights, but they are not doing what they should be doing, I’m expecting lights to flash whilst charging, and a solid light when charged. However this isn’t happening, so let’s move on to what we are going to do to try and resolve this issue.

Repair:

For the moment I’m going to focus on the battery. We need power, so we do really have to start here, we can’t diagnose or do anything without some power. It’s a 3.7v Li-ion cell, and the camera can charge via a 5v USB supply. I’ve managed to locate a suitable charging cable from that drawer of collected cables that “may come in useful one day”, that we all seem to have stashed in our homes. When the cable is plugged in you should get some intro music from the camera, and I do. This should then be followed by a flashing light that should remain lit until the battery has sufficiently charged. However I manage to get about two flashes from an amber light and then that’s it… nothing else. So far it’s positive that we have seen some life, however we need to see if we can encourage this battery to take a little more charge.

These batteries though rated at 3.7v usually charge up to 4.2v at full capacity. I’ve just measured this one with a multimeter and it currently sits at 2.64v. In the world of batteries this is severely depleted and to be totally honest looks as if this battery is dead.

A fully charged 3.7V nominal battery typically reads 4.2V, with 3.7V-3.8V being the average voltage during discharge. A 3.7V Li-ion battery is considered “dead” or fully discharged when its voltage drops to 3.0V to 3.2V.

While many protection circuits cut off at 2.5V to 2.75V to prevent damage, discharging below 3.OV frequently will significantly reduce the battery’s lifespan.

2.64v This battery is more than likely dead

And it looks as if this may have occurred here. It’s looking as if the battery is a dead one.

However, I’m going to see if I can rejuvenate this battery by putting a trickle charge through it, just charging it in the camera from a USB 5v power supply. I will monitor regularly for changes in temperature or other issues. I don’t have a spare around at the moment so if I want to do some basic checks on the unit I’ll just have to give it a try.

Dead at 2.6v
After an hour we have 3.5v
After 2 hrs it’s now 3.56v
After 3 hrs it’s now 3.6v
Slow work

So after 3 hrs we’ve only been able to get about another 1v of energy into this battery, and as you can see we are only just into the battery depletion range. We have sufficient power to start the unit up and see a welcome screen, the zoom works. It’s clearly visible that there is a low battery indication on the screen and then it all shuts down again.

Welcome screen
Battery indicators all red

There is just not enough life in this battery to sustain a 30 second video, the battery is just so worn down that I believe it is beyond resurrection. I may have to purchase a new battery to finish off this section of the post. It’s good though that we have tried, rather than just give up, and this has also allowed us to review what we have found out about the process, and the good news is that at this point it, is looking as if it is purely an issue with this battery.

The camera has cleaned up lovely and really looks like a nice piece of kit. For the moment I will put this post on pause whilst I await a replacement battery.

But…. Me being me, and not wanting to spend too much money at this point, I have persisted with leaving this battery on trickle charge. It has been consistently monitored to keep an eye on it, and I must admit neither the battery itself or the charger has been hot or even warm throughout this entire process, that is good.

Four green lights – Fully charged?

Seeing that about 4 hrs ago the battery indicator on the screen was only showing two green bars, it is now showing four bars and that indicates it is now fully charged. Let’s get the multimeter back on, and check to see what the current battery charge is and see if that gives us an indicator to show if the nominal charge has now been achieved, I’m quite excited at this – I’m easily pleased and excitable in equal proportions – I have a feeling that with patience and persistence we may have well just cracked the issue. So what is the current voltage of this battery? Well, here it is….

4.14v

Full charge achieved

Well, I’m very pleased with that, not only has it charged fully it appears to have reached pretty much full charge beyond the nominal charge. I’ve probably saved this battery from the trash heap, but I guess it will be more of a backup battery for me as I will probably purchase a new one, for my main battery, now though, there is no rush as it looks as if this one has been rejuvenated.

I’ve put a 32Gb SD card in and the screen is indicating 5 hours and 54 minutes of recording time, however on a full battery and using the minimum of activity (Not using Zoom and other effects) you can normally squeeze two hours of recording from the battery. But I’m never going to be filming war and peace, and I’m probably never going to get that kind of usage from this battery. My best bet with this battery is to not let it deplete totally, and try to keep it in a charge cycle were it doesn’t dip below about 25% of its capacity if I can help it.

I’ve tested all settings and everything is just fine. The touch screen is responsive and all setting and special effects can be easily accessed. There is nothing else wrong with this camcorder.

Available recording capacity
Touch screen working well

At this point I am now happy that this camcorder is a fully working and very capable little unit, that should serve me well as I use it to make videos for my YouTube channel and WordPress site. Repair is complete and successful.

Result:

This little camera cost me £7.00GBP and it’s been a fantastic restoration as such as it has not cost me a penny more than what I have paid for it. All I have done is invest time, done a lot of reading up about the intricacies of Li-ion power supplies, and done an awful lot of cleaning as this unit was probably one of the filthiest pieces of kit I think I’ve ever worked on.

A video, of me, videoing a video of me videoing

The camcorder is now a totally different looking camera from that which I received in such a sorry state just a few days back.

A nice camcorder, clean and restored

I’m going to use this camera myself for little items that I will be publishing here as well as on YouTube. It is so wonderful to see old unused and unloved items, repurposed and given a new lease of life.

Another one saved from landfill.

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

Canon EOS 3000

Another entry level camera, unloved, made good

Here I have another basic, entry level camera made by Canon. Produced around 1999? this camera is probably around 26 years old. These cameras don’t have the traditional identification number printed within the film spool holder that the older cameras had, hence the precise manufacturing date is difficult to confirm.

Canon EOS 3000

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

Here’s a little information about this camera:

The EOS 3000 is an autofocus SLR for 35mm film introduced by Canon in 1999. It was sold as the EOS 88 in Asia. (It was not sold in the US.) The pentamirror viewfinder and manually-activated popup flash helped keep this a lower-cost model; but a full range of autoexposure modes were included, including off-the-film flash exposure setting. Film transport is motorized and the camera requires two 3-volt CR123 lithium batteries to operate.

A compact, lightweight, low-priced SLR camera. Successor to the EOS5000, but with greatly expanded basic functions. The camera incorporates the Mode Dial and most other basic features of the EOS Kiss/EOS REBEL XS/EOS500 and includes six-zone evaluative metering linked to three focusing points. In addition, the flash is linked to the measurement point so that during shooting the flash out-put level is constantly adjusted for optimum exposure control. For reasons of cost, the flash unit is manual pop-up/retractable head type. The EOS3000 is compatible with system accessories for the Kiss and New Kiss. The high-quality design has a feel of genuine elegance.

Canon/ Camera-wiki.org

This camera was pitched at a low cost to attract people into photography, and to encourage those who were just hobbyists to upgrade to something more than the traditional point and shoots/disposables available at the time.

There is not a lot wrong with this camera as far as I can see, let’s have a look and do some tests.

Assessment:

It has a grip that’s starting to develop the sticky issue so that will need cleaning. The mirror and prism are dusty and will need a cleaning.

Sticky grip and dusty internals

Overall the condition is very good, again this was a training camera, and seems to have had a quite low usage, as there is no scratches or marks. And only one dink as such. That dink happens to be the right hand strap holder that has been bent down to a point where the rear case does not open completely, it restricts its full movement.

Strap holder bent, restricting door opening
Door doesn’t open fully

Top and bottom of camera look fine, no bleed on the LCD screen that is always a good sign

No screen bleed
Bottom clean

Battery chamber is clean and there is no contamination. This camera takes two 3v Lithium CR123A batteries. Let’s put two in to see if we have any life.

Clean chamber
Batteries installed

With the batteries installed we have a good display on the screen with no pixelation and it’s nice and clear. I install a roll of test film to see what happens. This camera winds the whole film onto the take up spool and winds back one exposure at a time. The take up when the door is closed works perfectly.

All lights up fine
Film ready to load
24 exposures loaded on to the take up spool

I then operate the shutter, to fire off the 14 exposures, all viewfinder indicators are good, with my 28-90 EF lens attached it focuses well and fires well. When the last exposure has been taken the film rewinds as expected with no issues. In reality the camera is working very well with no internal issues.

Repair:

First the dirty stuff. Let’s get that goo off of the sticky grip. I use my IPA and lint free cloth method that I posted about in a previous post here: Sticky, Rubber camera grips. This one is actually worse than I thought and has taken four applications to remove the deterioration on the grip. It feels a lot more pleasant though now that it is done.

The dirt from this grip can be seen on the cloth. Each black blob is one application

The issue with the strap lug restricting the door movement. Quite simply, a gentle movement with a pair of pliers was all that was required. Gently does it as these parts are brittle and easily broken. Don’t over do it, give up when it looks right.

A little gentle coaxing was all that was required

I’ve checked the film pressure pad and this is fine, there are no sharp ridges and the light seals are good. I don’t expect them to be bad as in theory they are not that old, they are in a good healthy condition.

I have cleaned the prism and the mirror with a swab and they are now fine. Using a B setting I have opened the mirror and curtain and used some compressed air to clean throughout. A brush blower was used with the curtain closed to clean around the film spool area and back plate. A quick final blow of the mirror and the aperture is then sealed with a cap to insure no further dirt and dust gets into the internal parts of the camera.

The final action is to use some cockpit polish to finish off the exterior of the camera.

Result:

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

Cleaned up lovely
Looking just gorgeous

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

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

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

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

Canon EOS 500N

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

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

Canon EOS 500N

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

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

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

Here’s a little information about this camera:

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

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

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

Camera-Wiki.org / Wikipedia

Assessment:

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

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

A sticker on the rear

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

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

Clean battery chamber
No screen bleed

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

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

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

Repair:

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

Sticker now removed

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

CR123A batteries
We have power

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

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

Film in and film out

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

It just needs a very thorough exterior clean and polish.

Result:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canon EOS 30

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

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

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

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

This dirty sticky pup, needs some heavy cleaning

Here is some information, about this camera:

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

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

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

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

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

Camera wiki.org

Assessment:

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

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

The horrendously sticky areas
Rear
Mode dial
Screen

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

Clean battery barrel
Dusty mirror and curtain chamber

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

Repair:

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

Looks beautiful after a proper clean

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

Transport tested

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

All functions and options tested via the display screen

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

All rear sub menus working, and buttons operable

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

Result:

She’s a beauty
Canon EOS 30

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

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

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

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