| Author |
Message |
    
sara
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 11:20 am: | 
|
I have just purchased a canon a-1 and was wondering about this notorius shutter squeak. My old camera is a minolta xg1 and the shutters sound quite different but I'm not sure if it has a squeak or not. How can I tell(this is my first canon camera) and if it is a squeak and not just loud how can I fix it? thanks
Sara |
Ben
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 02:56 pm: |
|
I can e-mail you a recording of my camera, which is afflicted with the squeak, if you would like. There's also a recording on the Canon FD Yahoo list if you don't mind joining(which I highly reccomend anyway, as it's a great bunch of people).
Unless you know how to take the camera apart and reassemble it, you're best to let a competent repairman take care of it. There are instructions on how to snake a needle oiler into a certain hole, but it's easy to misplace a drop and ruin the whole thing. If you wish to try, though, I'm sure someone along in here can give you some guidance. Most repairmen will fix it as part of a CLA, which usually runs around $100, and is probably due on your 25 year old camera anyway. |
sara
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:09 pm: |
|
Yes, that would be great if you could send me an email with the squeak, will it affect the preformance of my camera or is it just an annoying thing. I would like to get it serviced though. Thanks ben, I appriciate it.
sabyc@mta.ca |
Ben
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:39 pm: |
|
In my camera, the mirror black-out is a lot longer than on my other two SLRs, but other than that, I don't know of any other problem. The squeal is directly tied to the mirror mechanism and not the shutter itself, so it won't affect exposure or anything like that. I have heard of one or two people who have had their mirror get stuck up, but I think that in their case it was the squeal combined with bad damper foam. It's still a good idea to have it fixed though; the only reason I haven't yet is because I haven't used my A-1 as much since I got my T90. I will probably have it repaired sometime soon though. |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 04:10 pm: |
|
Firstly the squeak has nothing to do with the shutter. It is due to wear in the sleeve bearing of the flywheel assembly in the mirror inertia damper.
As for causing performance problems; if the rest of the camera is correctly lubed and clean, the camera can still work correctly. The problem is that the other gears in the damper are made from Delrin and after prolonged use, the loose flywheel assembly causes one of the plastic gears to wear. This can cause the mirror to move slowly or stick. However the through put of film, from the onset of squeak, to mirror problems is way more than an amateur would use.
Trouble is, if you purchased a squeaky A-1 you do not know how long it has been like that. You can oil the bearing via three routes; remove the top plate, remove bottom plate and use long needle or remove mount screw nearest shutter release and use needle. The last two methods can get oil into the wrong places and thus I use/recommend the first. Whilst removing the top plate is more complicated, I recommend it because it also allows you to remove all the accumulated dirt under the top. These cameras were not well sealed, no matter what Canon said in the sales literature.
If you Keyword 'Squeek' - not a spelling mistake - you will find plenty of information. However as Ben stated the camera will need a complete service anyway, unless you know it was done prior to purchase and in this case it should not squeak. |
Ringo
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 09:10 pm: |
|
Prof. Rick has a nice little write-up with diagrams concerning this problem at
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-157.html
might give u an idea of what u r up against. |
sara
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 10:58 am: |
|
Thanks guys,
I tried to take the bottom cover off,, no problem but like you said there are a lot of things to snake through and I can't really see the mechanism. I tried the top cover and I wasn't sure which screws to remove and what else had to come off in order to squeeze the oil needle through. I checked out the diagram but it really did'nt show me much about the cover. There are no real repair shops around here and I have to make a special trip to Halifax but until I get there I would really like to get that mirror lubed as it has just started to squeak and does not do it every shot yet, thanks in advance
sara |
Ian Henry
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 12:21 pm: |
|
I found this website which shows you how to repair the squeak from the bottom. It has excellent photos showing exactly where to place the syringe needle. The only drawback is that it's in German. Hope it helps.
http://www.aldo-net.com/Canon/ |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 04:21 pm: |
|
Sara,
I would suggest that you should be more concerned with the condition of the light seals, than the damper squeak at this time. Were the seals replaced before you purchased the A-1? If you do not know, rub your finger on the foam strip stuck to the hinge end of the back. If it feels sticky, rubs off in bits or blackens your finger, then the seals need replacing. You will waste more film by having faulty seals than a squeaky damper.
If you intend to really use this camera, then you should have it serviced. The squeak indicates that it has not seen a service bench for many a year. Unless you are into servicing cameras, I would recommend that you send it to a repair shop. I say this because to do the job properly you need the correct tools, lubricants and a good digital volt meter. That the A-1 is not the ideal apprentice piece does not come into it, I know of two people who started their repair hobby with the A-1. Both managed to produce very nice working examples, however they both had all the required tools etc to hand. Just use the camera until you can get it to the repair shop.
To cure the squeak all you need is ONE 1.5mm drop of oil in the CORRECT sleeve bearing. Dripping multiple drops into the damper mechanism, in the hope that it will work its way into the bearing can cause problems. At best just an oily dirt gathering mess, at worst contaminated switches etc. The most common fault in the A Series is contamination on the poles of the electromagnets, you do not want excess oil migrating all over the interior of the body.
You can easily reseal the camera yourself, look for Jon Goodman on this site, as he sells seal kits - they are the best and cheapest around. Also search in the Camera Articles on left of screen, as all his instructions have been placed in that section.
If you really want to fix the squeak yourself, I can provide detailed step by step instructions for top plate removal - just email me direct - but I think all the details are in the archive anyway.
Glenn. |
ringo
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 06:35 pm: |
|
sara: suprised the diagrams didn't help. didja scroll down ther's more than one. |
|
