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Dmh
Tinkerer
Username: Dmh
Post Number: 16
Registered: 04-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2010 - 01:59 am: | 
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I have a Canon AE-1 that has a problem with its slow speeds. If a slow speed is selected (say one second) and the shutter button is held down for the duration of the shutter operation, the timing is accurate (at least by ear!).
But if the shutter button is allowed to lift during the shutter cycle, the shutter immediately closes. In other words, correct timing is dependent on the shutter button being kept down. I've never encountered any camera that was supposed to work this way, and therefore assume that this one is faulty.
I've browsed and googled these pages for the problem, and noticed that AE-1 shutter problems are by no means unheard of... but this particular problem doesn't appear to have been raised before.
If it was an OM10-style inoperative or intermittent shutter I would simply clean the relays in the base of the camera. But as far as I can tell, these relays are operating cleanly.
Any suggestions gratefully received... |
Gez
Tinkerer
Username: Gez
Post Number: 205
Registered: 09-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2010 - 01:02 pm: |
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Actually this is a common problem with the AE-1 but mostly goes unnoticed. The cause is a dirty switch underneath the release button. To get at it you will have to take off the top cover. The offending switch is a simple electroplated strip of copper on a circuit board, rubbing with a pencil eraser should fix it. |
Dmh
Tinkerer
Username: Dmh
Post Number: 17
Registered: 04-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 09, 2010 - 02:43 am: |
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Thanks Gez. Had a feeling someone would have encountered this issue before. Could you clarify; do you mean the top cover of the shutter switch, or of the camera? |
Dmh
Tinkerer
Username: Dmh
Post Number: 18
Registered: 04-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 09, 2010 - 04:45 am: |
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This issue appears to be solved. I'm naturally averse to disassembling the camera, so I depressed the shutter and dropped a little lighter fluid into the gap around the button. Then "exercised" the button 40-50 times in the hope of getting the fluid onto the copper strip in the switch and removing some or all of the dirt on it.
The first application reduced the problem, and the second all but eliminated it. After three applications the fault seems to be fixed.
Of course since the fault was an intermittent one in the first place, it is difficult to say for sure that it won't recur. But the shutter now seems reliable enough to justify a roll of film.
CO contact cleaner would have been a logical choice for the job, but a bit riskier to the surounding materials and lubricants. Whatever the case, lighter fluid seems to have achieved the desired effect.
Thanks again for your help Gez. |
Gez
Tinkerer
Username: Gez
Post Number: 206
Registered: 09-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 09, 2010 - 07:41 am: |
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It appears you have solved the problem, lighter fluid can indeed sometimes be the cure for many photographic ills. I was going to give some instructions for removing the top panel, and there are sure to be some details in the archive, but it is not always easy as there is a delicate coupling wire under the cover just waiting to fly off, so you did well by avoiding disassembly. |
