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David
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 08:00 am: | 
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Here's the deal. AE-1 Program, clean, mint camera, obviously never abused. When you wind the camera, the shutter travels across and opens the hole. That is, the best I can figure from what I've read, the second half of the shutter is not traveling. When the camera is cocked, the shutter opening is completely open, a big square hole. Tends to over expose.(smile) Other than that, the camera works fine. Help??? |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 09:18 am: |
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It sounds like the curtain ribbons for the other half have become detached, torn, broken, something. As you wind, both curtains should travel across the hole together, exposing no light (they are being pulled across by little ribbons which are hidden from sight). As you fire, the ribbons are released, allowing one curtain to zing quickly across, followed by the second...either almost at the same time (fast speeds) or after a delay (slow speeds). Correcting this could be sort of costly, and is not exactly a beginner's project. Sorry. Wish I could think of an easier solution. Well, one comes to mind...Did you ever make a pinhole camera as a youngster? With some heavy duty foil, a good needle and some tape you could convert it and make some really "artsy" pictures. They might sell. If you do this and get famous, please remember me. Hey, wait...brainstorm (or flashback...no, I never inhaled, can't be that). If you make a pinhole camera with several holes arranged randomly or in a pattern, would it be like one of those multi-image filters? We could be talking real money and a Today Show appearance with something like this. Name all the pictures in Pig Latin, too. Onamay Isalay, Ondonlay Idgebray, Ickeymay Ousemay, Usclemay Eachbay. Isn't this great? And this forum doesn't even charge for career counseling!
Jon |
David
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 10:51 am: |
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Thanks for the info and the suggestion. Actually, how about one of those bug-eye prisms that makes a bunch of images in a circle like a flys' eye supposedly does? Just glue it on the front instead of a lens........
What if I had a camera with a good shutter assembly? Is it too much of a project to replace that whole section of the camera? And would an assembly from an AL-1 work? Or...would it be easier to go the other way, if I have a camera with a bad control and a good(hopefully)shutter to go that way? I don't have much experience with cameras, but I've been a mechanic for 30 years and I've seen some carbs that looked about as complicated as the inside of that camera. Thanks for the very quick response by the way. Never expected it. If you ever need any advice on forklift repairs, let me know.(smile) |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 01:05 pm: |
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Well...last question first: It is possible (and easy in some instances) to perform transplant operations on cameras. A lot of them shared enough similarities (just like Chevrolets) to allow some mix & match. However, it might be easier to find an AE-1 parts camera onto which you could graft pieces of yours and hope for a worker. Actually, I think I have one with what seemed like a working shutter. Swapping the shutter assembly might not be as easy as you'd like, however. With a good mechanical knowledge, you probably could do it, but there are some pitfalls and things you would only learn after mistakes had occurred...like knowing to match the little numbers on the connecting rods to the corresponding number on the rod cap or the right way to install one of those &^%$## rope rear main seals so it actually keeps oil inside the engine. Things people don't always remember to tell you.
As for the fly's eye lens...Good Idea! I assume you're talking about a cheap one like kids used to get in a happy meal or something. I have one of those, somewhere. It didn't sell in our garage sale, and I've wondered what it would do if stuck on the outside of a lens like a filter. I'm disappointed I didn't think to actually use it as the lens itself. However, if we go back to the pinhole camera idea, why don't we just glue some actual fly's eyes onto the little holes we poke into the foil? They'd be about the right size.
Jon |
David
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:05 pm: |
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Good idea about the flys eyes. Now, to catch the little beggars without smashing them....bug zapper, here I come. Actually, some of the flys we have around here are big enough that their eyes would have to be for night shots only. Maybe I should go digital and graft a flys eye onto the ccd in this piece of cr*&**&p FinePix that won't work either. Just let him swivel his little eye around.....I should get some kind of award for that, don't ya think??
Aaanyhow, it sounds like maybe I better give this one up for a draw and try to get my money back out of this thing. I bought it non-working, sight unseen because the mirror was stuck up, and I had read about the sticky mirror foam, so I decided to take a chance. Guess I'll pass it on down the road now.
Two more silly questions adn I'll let you be. How hard would it be to get to the view finder in my AL-1 to clean it, and would it be worth the trouble? I don't mind the little specks so much, but in low light it's hard to see the light meter.I don't mean dark either, I mean moderate shade on a sunny day. Is that normal for these cameras? I have two, and one seems a bit brighter than the other.
The other question is: drum roll please!...can you reccomend a good tripod, that will hold a long telephoto and AL-1 with winder good and steady, and here's the kicker, that won't cost more than my kidney operation. Thanks a bunch for all your help, I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again. I'm kind of enjoying this stuff. |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 13, 2004 - 09:22 am: |
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Well, the bug zapper in our back yard conked out last night. The zapper works, but the black light doesn't come on. So, I think really clumsy or stupid bugs are the only ones I'll kill for a while. Or maybe blind ones, and they'd be worthless for the project. Questions, again in reverse order: I have an old tripod that looks like Alley Oop may have made it and a new one my wife gave me a couple of years ago. I can not recall the brand, but it is simple, and it was pretty cheap. I think it was about $30, actually. As for holding a heavy camera with a long telephoto, either one of mine will do fine. But, the only really long telephoto I have has a tripod mount at about the point where it and a camera would balance, so I never try to mount the camera to the tripod...just the lens.
Next...getting to the viewfinder of your Canon: You can clean some of the viewfinder glass by removing the top and concentrating on the rear side of that lens and the top plane of the pentaprism, but what most folks complain about is actually either on the bottom plane of the prism or more commonly the focus screen. Getting there won't be easy, unfortunately. Many of the early SLRs were a snap to deal with. There weren't lots of electronics, and you could generally get a pentaprism and focus screen out without too much angst. Today however...well, take a look at this as an example:
https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/pentaxmeramblings.html
All the electronics nest on top of the pentaprism, and must be removed in order to get in there. Again, if you are mechanically inclined, good with a solder iron, have good eyes and the patience of Job, go for it. Otherwise, I'd say live and let live.
Maybe the best course of action on the AE-1 Program is to bail out of it. Hopefully, you don't have too much in it. If the price is right, I'll usually buy a parts camera, so there's one option for you.
Jon |
Will
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 13, 2004 - 01:02 pm: |
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Hi David,
I need an AE-1 P parts camera. Contact me off list if you are interested in selling it.
Thanks,
Will |
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