Canon EOS A2E

Still digging this camera. I also have an EOS 3 but it seems to have developed the infamous shutter-magnetic release problem. I'll try banging on the floor a few dozen times to see if I can rescue it.

 

In the meantime, a few shots from the reliable A2E. This camera has been really reliable and has nearly all the features I need. I wish the eye-controlled focus worked in portrait mode, and I wish it had more focus points. But it's rare to miss focus with this thing.

 

EF 135mm f/2 + Kodachrome 25 (my very last roll).

 

 

Zeiss ZE 35mm f/2, Provia 100.

 

 

Zeiss ZE 35mm f/2, Provia 100.

 

Zeiss ZE 35mm f/2, Provia 100.

If you're mechanically inclined and willing to assume the risk, you could try repairing your EOS 3 rather than banging the crap out of it. There are a bunch of DIY videos online, such as this one:

 

 

I was successful at repairing my EOS 1n by cleaning the electromagnet. Once I got the shutter working, I exercised it by tripping the shutter a dozen or so times daily for a month or two which loosened it up significantly. Lately, I've been checking it weekly and it's still running fine.

Thank you Gordon. That looks pretty straight forward and I’ll work on it this weekend.

The A2E was (because of a patent problem with eye-controlled focus in portrait mode) a little restricted in function, and many of us prefer the overseas model, the EOS 5.

 

More details at

 

EOS 5 (variant in USA ~A2e) - another historical Canon EOS camera

 

where there is also other discussion and examples.

 

Here is the camera with the add-on battery extension VG10

Yes I have a VG-10 for my A2e. It makes the camera much easier to use.

 

And following that video, my EOS 3 is working again. I’ll be sure to exercise its shutter daily for the next week or two.

Glad to hear you've got your EOS 3 working again. The EOS 1n I repaired was purchased used and with a non-working shutter. I don't know how long it was in this condition, but it was at least several years. That's why I exercised the shutter as extensively as I did. If your EOS 3 developed its problem recently, you shouldn't need to exercise it as much as I did to keep it in good working order.

I recently discovered that a strong magnet can easily repair the BC error on EOS 1 and 3 cameras so I tried it and then posted a video on YouTube.

 

That's pretty cool Mike! Thanks for posting.

The EOS A2 (minus the "E") was my first autofocus SLR back in the 90s, and it was my trusty companion everywhere I went, including a 3-week trip to Indonesia. It was always reliable and performed without a hitch. At the time I bought it my choice was between it and the Nikon N90, but the A2 felt better in my hand and it was quieter. I remember marveling at the 5 AF points and how they could track a moving subject so well. To me the only thing I wanted the A2 to do better was for the AF to lock on to a subject and track it all over the viewfinder, but that was high fantasy back then. Interestingly my EOS R6 will do exactly that! I still have an A2, though not my original one; I sold it in 2002 to help fund purchase of my 1vHS, but nostalgia hit recently, so I have another A2 with the grip and 430EZ flash. It's great seeing one in use again. Thanks for sharing this!

 

Andy

I am going to have to try Mike Sowson's fix.

 

My EOS 3 is one thing, but I really mourn the loss of function on what I consider to be the ultimate pre-EOS Canon - the T90 (Canon T90 - Twilight, harbinger, and herald)

I really wanted a T90 when it came out, but I was a poor graduate student at the time and couldn’t afford it. I considered myself lucky considering it was the second to last FD mount camera. But even now, the shutter problem prevents me from buying one.

I love my T90. Got it as a 21st birthday gift and it kept me going until digital came along. Still going strong but it did have a new mirror box and shutter, done by Canon UK, in ‘97 or so.

That was very cool. So any explanation what the magnet is doing? Tugging on stuck metal mechanism, inducing a voltage in some circuit with magnetic field passing across a wire inside a wire in the camera? Spooky magic...lol.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Mark Keefer

I think the shutter is actually controlled by an electromagnet which gets stuck. Taking the camera apart and tapping on the electromagnet frees it up to get it working. Using a magnet nearby seems to fix it also.