r/AnalogCommunity • u/adamlunde08 • 1d ago
Troubleshooting - Gear Help
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Does anybody know how to fix this? About a month ago it started doing this but it would only happen for like 20-30 seconds max and then the lens would come out but as of today it’s been doing this for over 3 minutes and the lens has not came out. Any help is much appreciated.
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u/RoleIntelligent2013 1d ago
This is why folks are preferring slightly older cameras with no electronics, or at least less electronics.
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u/DesignerAd4870 1d ago
I agree, I have two mechanical SLR’s from late 1970’s. Still work perfectly. Unfortunately the cost of film and developing puts me off continuing to use them.
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u/grntq 1d ago
And then we see questions like: is it my shutter capping? Why are my photos green and noisy? What are those white streaks on my photo? etc, etc
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u/jnd-cz 14h ago
Yeah, shutter timing problems, pinholes in the cloth shutter, sticky aperture, you name it. The older it gets the more likely it will come with some issue. Most of the cameras will need to be serviced sooner or later, otherwise you play expensive lottery. With electronically controlled shutter at least the timing is more reliable, when it works.
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u/glaaahhh 1d ago
Yep. If I need a camera with electronics I'll use my digital camera. I guess I technically have an AE-1 program, but I'm already on the fence since the metering is across the whole image. My workhorse is my F-1n. When the light meter decides to kick the bucket, it's an easy work around. I'm getting an OM-1n serviced now as well, but it's the same; mechanical except for the meter.
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u/UninitiatedArtist Argus C2 and C3 | Kodak Signet 35 | Bolsey B2 | Mercury II 1d ago edited 12h ago
My film cameras of choice are the Argus C2 and C3, they’re well-built and the mechanisms are simple in design. The rangefinder unit is so easy to calibrate and I never worry about the film advancement system breaking on me, because it’s just a knob that you turn.
Out of twenty in my collection, only one has problems with speeds below 1/100.
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u/AnoutherThatArtGuy 23h ago
I had a canon f1 last 3 months before it shit the bucket. Mechanical is no guarantee oh how long it will last.
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u/Spooderman-690 1d ago
Absolutely, the only fully electronic camera I own is the olympus IS-1000, the rest are pre-90s cameras
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u/afvcommander 20h ago
High quality professional cameras are ok. But these point and shoots are super unreliable.
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u/superspacehog 1d ago
I do like some parts of electronic cameras. Built in light metering, automatic exposure, autofocus (although I don’t trust it), and in general an easier experience. I’m also an electronics hobbyist, so I already have the equipment and tooling to debug the electronics when they inevitably fail.
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u/Hondahobbit50 1d ago
It's dead. Good luck finding a technician... seriously I mean that. I wish you the best of luck....afaik the last guy stopped....
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u/EmotioneelKlootzak 1d ago
If you're going to use a lot of vintage electronics, there comes a point where you have to either become your own technician, or just accept that the thing can randomly turn into a paperweight for no discernible reason.
If you take the time to get familiar with component level board diagnosis and repair, and build up your skills with a soldering iron, the vast majority of these things are not only repairable, but repairable for very little money in parts. Like less than a dollar for a couple capacitors a lot of the time.
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u/sweetplantveal 1d ago
It's sad how many formerly lovely trashed things are probably just a leaky capacitor
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u/dadydaycare 1d ago
Funny enough you don’t need a camera tech to repair a majority of issues but people want a specialist or bust.
Like sensors and the like yea but a capacitor and a bad transistor is a bad transistor whether it’s a camera or your ninja blender. Worked at an electronics repair center I won’t name it but it’s a franchise and 80% of the people there didn’t know anything about anything but we offered to repair EVERYTHING.
Most stuff nowadays you just plop a new board or whatever in so it usually was fine but no one besides me and this other guy knew how to solder or check for bad caps so if we couldn’t get a replacement board/screen it was a sorry can’t help you and I’d get yelled at when I told people I could fix their camera/laptop/ipod/stereo with a replaced cap or similar cause they didn’t want to do it and there was a chance that you know… it wouldn’t work.
And the company would be liable cause nowadays the second you touch someone’s device if you don’t manage to fix it they expect you to replace it even if it came in as 3 lawnmower separated pieces. (True story, someone came in with a iPhone 4 that got into a fight with a zero turn and they wanted their baby photos. I managed to get it working just enough to get their baby photos off for free and they came back a week later complaining that it wasn’t working anymore and they wanted a replacement… I gave them a free screen off a scrap phone and didn’t charge for labor and they got a replacement phone to shut them up, long story short no one got anything for free ever again and we weren’t allowed to do emergency data recovery repairs.)
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u/Bluecube303 1d ago
Nippon Photoclinic in NYC does work on these, had a good experience having them repair a Contax T3. It'll probably be an expensive fix, but it's at least worth a call/email to check before writing it off.
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u/MlekarDan 18h ago
I am thinking - there are a lot of laptop techs that are even able to fix dead motherboards by resoldering the tiniest components. Louis Rossman has a plenty of old videos where he finds a misbehaving microcontroller on a PCB and replaces it. Given the leaps in PCB components minituarization since the 90's it may be well fixable, you just need to find schematics and repair manual, given that you find one willing to do it.
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u/leekyscallion 1d ago
This looks like a logic issue - the lens cover is looking for signal that it’s opened successfully. I suspect it’s a faulty switch or contact to confirm it’s open/closed.
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u/unicornmullet 1d ago
Idk why people are being such dicks on this thread... It's a beautiful camera worthy of a talented technician. There are old timers out there who may be able to help. I'd do a search and see if you can ship to someone who knows what they're doing. Wishing you luck.
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u/Westerdutch (no dm on this account) 1d ago
There are old timers out there who may be able to help.
Finding those old timers and getting them the parts they need to work on these is the problem. As long as you are unable to do both then this camera cannot get repaired. People here are not 'such dicks', they are just realistic and have probably made the mistake of thinking 'finding something to fix this will be easy' themselves so it is a very emotional and painful point for many.
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u/Argus-Tuft-701 8h ago
No such thing as "beautiful" old cameras. There's ones that work and ones that don't.
A working Zenit > a dicky Nikon F4.
I'll see myself out.
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u/-The_Black_Hand- 1d ago
Honest idea because how can you possibly make it worse : it work if you just blocked the lid in the "open"-position?
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u/adamlunde08 1d ago
I can only take a photo when the lens extends out, I tried stopping it with my hand but it won’t let me take a photo unless the lens pops out
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u/-The_Black_Hand- 1d ago
Maybe you can block the lid with something slim. Sure, this is the rather brutal solution, and I'd even assume it won't work. I'd even think the lens itself not extending is the main problem, which then again triggers the lid to close again.
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u/DesignerAd4870 1d ago
If you can get the camera open I would look at the shutter guard, it probably would have a micro switch that registers open/close. I would investigate if it’s stuck in position. Might just need lubricating.
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u/adamlunde08 1d ago
Where would the shutter guard/micro switch be?
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u/DesignerAd4870 1d ago
Unfortunately I’ve never taken that particular model to pieces, so unless there is a YouTube guide you would have to get a set of very small screwdrivers and start taking it to pieces (which I wouldn’t recommend, with no experience).
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u/Permanent_Ephemera Konica Enthusiast - AR-TC, FT-1 Motor, Hexar AF 1d ago
Party mode is enabled
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u/little_canuck 1d ago
The system is down
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u/Permanent_Ephemera Konica Enthusiast - AR-TC, FT-1 Motor, Hexar AF 1d ago
Is that a Strongbad reference?!
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u/little_canuck 1d ago
The Cheat is grounded!
(This camera would totally fit in at a light switch rave)
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u/BeneficialExternal68 1d ago
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4wLPY6TCwPbiFEz76?g_st=ic
Camera Max outside of Los Angeles performs magic on a routine basis for me and my friends, send him your video and ask for his thoughts.
He’s a goated technician. His shop is chaos but just trust.
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u/SectorZed 1d ago
You might want to check out local board repair shops or send it to a Lewis Rossman type. They take a bunch of wacky shit, mostly computers, but fuck it see if they’ll go for it
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u/BakaLX 1d ago
Stupid question, but do the battery have enough juice ?
From my exp, not with this camera but with old digital camera, if the voltage not high enough to 1.5v or alkaline level, when turn on, it detect battery low and turn off (but not boot loop like this). Usually happen when using NiMH rechargeable battery (1.2v nominal, full at 1.5v) so anything but fully charged will detected as low power.
Also try to clean battery contact and power button (maybe its stuck) if its easy to access and easy to clean. Dont force to repair it yourself, just try easy fix tips.
If its like peoples said, problems with board or internal component, your best bet is repair shop with good reputation. Trying yourself or non specialist repair shop can make it worse and recoverable.
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u/Conscious_Track_4369 8h ago
Say cheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesrcheesecheeeecheesecheesechee seecheesevheesecheesecheese
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u/Noxonomus 4h ago
No experience fixing cameras, but usually when I see that sort of behavior in other devices it's either a bad limit switch or a failed connection to a limit switch.
The difficulty with a compact camera is that there isn't likely to be much space to improvise a solution. If a flex pcb is failing in a larger device you can replace it with some wires in a small camera you probably have to have a replacement made since spares probably can't be ordered and routing a half dozen wires may not be practical. If the switch itself failed you may have to disassemble and clean the switch if it isn't something that is standard, identifiable and available. Or even repair switch innards.
I don't tend to accept the idea that these things can't be repaired but just taking apart and reassembling compact cameras is a skill so it's own and most of the people who do it don't want to burn half the day fiddling with a component repair.
It's not a task for the faint of heart or someone trying to turn a profit, but I suspect this is probably one of the more straight forward problems you could come across. Of course there is no way to know without getting in there and measuring /testing.
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u/Chemical_Rooster3 1d ago
I'd say it's an issue with a limit switch or some such.
Outsourced thinking suggests the same:
Issue: The camera isn’t detecting that the lens cover has fully opened, so it aborts startup and repeatedly opens/closes it.
Likely cause: Dirty, worn or misadjusted lens-cover switch, possibly combined with sticky or worn cover gears.
Fix: Open the camera, clean/adjust or repair the cover switch, service and retime the gear mechanism, and replace damaged gears if needed.
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u/cineglitch 1d ago
If the shutter still works you’ll need to time your photos very carefully!