bruce_lindeman1

<p>Hi -- In the process of removing the old fake leather skin on my just arrived white SX-70 Model 2, I accidentally bent the metal plate downward on the front bottom from which the film exits from. <br> Any suggestions on how to bend it back i to place? The plate is held in place with rivets, so it can't be easily removed. I'm kind of bummed that I messed it up in my desire to get the old skins off.<br> Thanks in advance for your help!<br> Bruce</p><div></div>

<p>I'll be sure to post some pics from my first roll I shoot. I have a couple other "new" cameras to shoot as well, so it might take a few weeks. I also won an OM winder off the bay that should arive this week. I do a lot of shooting down on the Shore and have lost a number of shots on my Mamiya 645 Pro because I wasn't ready/film advanced. So, I've been tryign to get winders for the film cameras I shoot the most with. I've also got a Canon A-1, AE-1 Program, and an AV-1 and they all use the Canon winder 2, which is sweet. The best thing about all of this is how affordable it all is as long as you are willing to do a little clean up, replace some seals, etc. Thankfully, from help on forums such as this and other web sites, the info is usually there to guide you :)</p>

<p>My first 35mm camera back in school was an Olympus OM10. I can't tell you how many rolls I shot through that thing through college and grad school and later on until I made the transition to digital. I eventually gave that camera to my nephew over 10 years ago. Lately, I've been wanting another and found one on the SGW auction site for $11.75. </p> <p>It's funny, but I've been reading some old threads here about the OM10 and all the negative things folks have to say about it. I never had a problem with my original one and the one I just got, after a little clean up, looks and seems to work as new. The batteries in the camera (LR44's) when I removed the camera from it's packaging fired the camera right up. I'll replace them with fresh SR44's before I run a roll of film through it, but so far, I'm impressed. It's still a nice little, simple to use camera. </p> <p>Is it as good as the single-digit OM's? Of course not. But, for what I plan to do with it, it's perfect. Even the seals are in decent shape. I'll end up replacing them but they're fine for now.</p> <p>Anyway, just thought I'd share. </p> <p> </p><div></div>

<p>I just went outside and compared the QL17 with my iPhone's Pocket Light Meter app and it's pretty much dead on, +/- 1 stop in varying light conditions. With print film, that's negligible. Pretty happy with that...</p>

<p>Arthur - Thanks! Agreed on the battery check button. I was just trying to figure out why it wasn't working and, more importantly, did it mean my meter didn't work. Both work, so there's the good new. </p> <p>I changed my seals last night. I've changed them on a Yashica Electro 35 GSN last year, so I was ready for it. However, I thought I bought a kit from Jon Goodman on eBay but ended up buying some other guy's kit. Not nearly as good as Jon's, if you've ever used one of his. Jon provides model specific instructions complete w/ pictures (he also provides the instructions to anyone free of charge on his site). This guy's kit did not. But, I fudged my way through it.</p> <p>That said, the film door opens unintentionally if I press on it the wrong way. It didn't do that before. I already put a roll of film in it but I may rewind it and figure out where I sent a little heavy with the seals. Again, not a problem with Jon's kits because his are pre-cut. UPDATE: Just trimmed back a couple of pieces of seal material that were too long, but that didn't fix the door opening problem. I wondered if I may have bent one of the tabs on the door slightly during my cleaning, and sure enough -- I took a small flat-head screwdriver and pried both tabs out ever so slightly and now they catch as intended. No more unintended door opening. A half-roll or film wasted, but that's a minor inconvenience to having a good-as-new 40 year old camera functional again!<br> Bruce</p>

<p>Thanks, Gus. I purchased one from pratedthai last night. Thx!</p> <p> </p>

<p>Just wanted to follow-up...<br> I had ordered a new seals kit for my QL17, which came on Saturday. When I got home from work this evening, I spread out on the kitchen table ad went to work to clean out the old and install the new. All went well. However, I bought a kit off eBay form someone other than Jon Goodman. Although I made it work, Jon's kit and instructions are hard to beat. I used his to replace the seals on my Yashica Electro 35 GSN last year. <br> Anyway, when I finished up and cleaned off my QL17, pressed the batter check button and... it worked. So, whatever I did by flipping my camera around, etc. must have corrected, perhaps only temporarily, we'll see. But, at least I know that the camera "works". By the way, I found this one for $35. It's in like new condition with really no wear. It was gungy when I got it. But, gunge is easily cleaned.<br> I'll try the 386 silver oxide batteries w/ the diode adapter once it arrives (bought one on eBay). But, for now, I've got several Wein Cell batteries to keep me going. Now, to load it up and make some pictures. <br> Thanks for all of y'alls help. Great community of folks out here!</p> <p>Bruce</p>

<p>Thanks, Craig. I'm going to do a meter compare this afternoon. I don't really care about the battery check light, as you suggest. t just got me to wondering. I just want to make sure the meter's working as it should. We'll see how it goes! Thanks again!</p>

<p>I see this guy's listing from Bangkok: MR-9 Battery Adapter for Film Camera & Exposure Meter / Mercury MR9 PX625 PX13. That it?</p>

<p>Interesting, John. You'd think that the Wein Cell, which is touted as having the same voltage as the original mercury battery would trip the light when depressed, But, stranger things occur with these old cameras. I have a Canonet 28 which works flawlessly w/out a check battery light. Looking forward to comparing this one w/ its 1.7 lens to the 2.8. Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>That was my thought; that if it seems to be working properly, the meter moves as I move through shutter speeds, and prevents firing when out of range -- it must be working. <br> I've got a new seals kit and I plan on removing the old, gummy seals tonight and installing the new -- then dropping in a roll and see how she does. Thanks, Arthur!</p>

<p>Hi -- I'm new to this forum. I've been collecting/shooting various classic film cameras for several years, and have honed in on Canon for some reason. <br> But, I just acquired an almost new condition QL17 GIII rangefinder. I popped a new Wein Cell PX625 battery in it and pressed the check light button -- and nothing. Yet, the meter seems to work. I have the aperture ring set on "A" and I can turn the shutter speed dial and see the match needle in the view finder move through the meter scale accordingly. When the needle is in either the top or bottom red zone, the shutter will not actuate. When I move the shutter speed dial so that the needle falls within the white zone, the shutter fires as expected. I can hear/see the differernce between 1/4 sec and 1/500 sec as well.<br> My question is this: does it sound as though the problem is simply with the battery check light (e.g., a wire has come unsoldered, perhaps) and the shutter/metering is working properly with the battery. Or, does what I describe occur regardless of whether the battery is good/making contact or not?<br> I realize that the camera will work in manual mode without a battery. However, I want to know if this camera seems to be working properly in Automatic mode.<br> I want to run a roll of film through it in Automatic mode to see how well the meter works, but I also don't want to waste a roll if it doesn't.<br> Thanks in advance!!!<br> Bruce</p>