Repair a Canon T90

[antonio_rodriguez_sanchez]

<p>Hi,<br>

I have a fantastic Canon T90 but needs repair.<br>

Long story short, last year on a trip, I took the camera to a store I shouldn't have, the guy pressed the curtain shutter (I have no idea why, how, etc), we could get it back (more or less) to where it was. This camera is so good that it has been working perfectly for six months. But then starting giving an intermitent problem some weeks ago until the problem has become permanent and the camera won't fire anymore.<br>

I took it to repair, they told me $400 (ouch), the solution given was to get a used T90, remove the shutter and put it into my camera.<br>

But, of course, I would like a cheaper solution. I have seen a T70 at a pretty nice price. And I thought, Can I use the shutter from that camera and put it into my T90?<br>

So, I guess my question is: Do the T70 and T90 share the same curtain shutter? Can I remove it from a T70 and put it into my T90? (Yes, I know it won't be easy, but I want to try fixing it).<br>

Any help will be appreciated, thank you.<br>

Antonio</p>

[kellymjones]

<p>There's a few BGN condition T90's available on keh.com for under $150.</p>

[ladner1959]

<p>I got a T-90 off Ebay for 45.00, it had the dreaded EEEE problem. I paid $150.00 for a CLA and it works perfect now.</p>

[alan_swartz]

<p>And no, the T70 shutter is not the same and it will not work.</p>

<p>Disassembly of the T90 is an extremely delicate and complex task. I've done it (successfully), so I know. You must have great mechanical and electronic skills. The camera has to be almost completely disassembled to access the shutter mechanism. You are indeed far better off to buy a clean working T90 and either keep yours for parts or sell it as a parts camera.</p>

[antonio_rodriguez_sanchez]

<p>Kelly, Kevin, Alan,<br>

Thank you very much for your responses, very helpful. Specially Alan's.<br>

Yesterday I played a bit again with the shutter (by playing I mean sticking my finger and try to straighten it). Well, I got the camera to fire again, but the shutter is still slightly bent. I don't know how much it will last until it fails again. And I don't want that to happen on a trip.<br>

So, I will follow your advice, guys, they have very reasonable prices at KEH (thanks Kelly), even the "EX" ones. And will look for any bargain it may appear on eBay as well. I didn't realize how much the price for a T90 has gone down, thanks digital photography!. I will keep mine for spare parts or as a backup, definitely a cheaper and better solution than repairing it.<br>

I love this camera, I cannot believe the punishment it can take, it is like a rock. Many things have happened to it, including some quite serious accidents. And still produces beautiful pictures, like the first day. Long live multi-spot metering.</p>

[peter_ferling]

<p>I have a beat up T90 from ebay, paid $50, and continue the punishment with my own usage. As a pre-caution I have the unit sitting out by my workstation and occasionally cycle the shutter a few times each week, as a lack of use seems to be an issue, (there are stories of never used, new in the box found as DOA).<br>

I know KEH has some deals and they are well respected, but your running a gamble as to how long any of them have been sitting, (I'd call them first about the specific unit).<br>

I've seen a few on ebay that have been CLA'd and are not much over the price of having yours serviced. In my case (and I agree with Alan), I'd just buy one of those and keep the old for parts if the need arrises.</p>

[timwitt]

<p>Antonio, I have bought T90's and had T90's repaired/CLA/overhauled by Steve Sweringen of Camera Clinic in Sparks, Nevada. 775-829-2244 <a href="http://www.cameraclinic-usa.com/index.html">http://www.cameraclinic-usa.com/index.html</a> He normally has available, overhauled T90's with warranty, he can overhaul yours, he can rebuild your shutter, has parts and seldom needs to replace the whole shutter. I've been dealing with him for over a year now and he has always been trustworthy. The T90 is his favorite camera.</p>

 

[summitar]

<p>My third and most recent T90 was purchased from KEH for $275. It arrived and is in LN condition. This is just to give you a marker on the difference between cost of repair and cost of a replacement.</p>

[antonio_rodriguez_sanchez]

<p>Thank you guys very much, I appreciate your responses. This is a fantastic site, I did not know of all this possibilities, which is great because I wasn't going to pay $400 to the store to repair it.<br /> Thanks Tim for the Camera Clinic link and specially the phone number. 20 years later, and there is even a store specialized in repairing T90s, I am not the only one to have this camera in high regard. I will give them a call, but between shipment costs and repair cost I am guessing the final cost will be close to another camera. But I don't lose anything calling him.<br /> Kerry, thanks for the marker, $275 for a like new T90 sounds like a great deal. KEH seems to be respected as Peter points out and they have a lot of stuff, I found a viewfinder and a lens I was looking for my Mamiyaflex, so I may just throw a T90 in the order. I will call them before ordering, I don't want the EEEE problem, it happened to mine too. Let's hope I get a nice guy that is willing to go through the inventory and check. I want to know the warranty as well.<br /> BTW, Kevin, in my case, for the EEEE error, I "hit" mine against the floor several times while pressing the shutter and it came back to life. Yes, I know I am a bit of a barbarian, they use mallets, I have a T90, the same thing :-).</p>

[tom_johnston4]

<p>Just a comment: I have had a T90 since the late 80s and it still works perfectly. I only had one problem with it the first year I had it and it was covered under warranty. Being primarily a large format photographer, I haven't invested in digital except for my wife's little compact digital camera. To this day, I am still amazed by the incredibly intelligent design of the T90. Its great ergonomics set a standard that is still seen today. It's controls and functions are incredible. It's metering system, including multi-point spot metering is great. And when used with a 300TL flash, it could do things that many new cameras probably can't do although I'm not up on the latest equipment. However, my daughter just bought a mid-level Canon digital (12 MP, if I remember correctly) and my T90 has features that her camera doesn't have.<br>

I hadn't shot 35mm for a year or so but I got my T90 out a week ago and I am having a ball again! It is a wonderful and amazing piece of equipment and I like it as much now as I did the very first day that I owned it. In my opinion, it is one of the finest cameras ever made. I have always loved great design and the T90 is an example of a high point of design. Canon was so proud of the T90 that they published a special book about it. <br>

The modifications that you mention (PC socket and leaving the leader out) may have been done by Canon. When I had the repair done that I mentioned above, I asked Canon if they would also add a PC socket. They said, "Sure! No charge." Their policy was that if the camera was in for warrant repair, they would do all the work for a single set price and they would also do the mentioned modifications for free while it was in the shop. I'm so glad that I asked them about those modifications and I was delighted when they told me there would be no charge. </p>

[tom_johnston4]

<p>BTW, you can see what a T90 is capable of at my website. With the exception of my large format stuff, most of the rest was done with a T90 although some of it was done with an F1-N. </p>

<p><a href="http://tjohnstonphoto.com/">http://tjohnstonphoto.com/</a></p>

<p>One of the few criticisms of the T90 was that it didn't have a mirror lock-up. Actually the camera can be modified to have that feature. You can find instructions for how to do that if you do an Internet search. However, I never found the lack of a mirror lock-up to be a problem with the T90 and I did some extreme macro with it... actually in the realm of photomicrography with magnifcations of 20X or more. I don't have examples of those extreme magnfications on my website but I do have some that are about 1:1 in my "Nature" portfolio.</p>

<p>As for weight: I never thought of the T90 as being heavy. But I like heavy cameras and my F1N with a motordrive and high-power NiCD battery pack made the T90 seem to be feather light. Then again, I'm used to lugging 4x5" and 8x10" equipment around so any 35mm camera seems super-light to me. I think weight is good because it adds stability to the camera. In fact, that may be why I never had a problem with macro work without mirror lock-up.</p>

[andy_game]

<p>Tom, nice looking website...well laid out, easy to see and navigate, nice shots too. Congrats!</p>

[ak_siong1]

<p>This is an excerpt from wikipedia<br>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_T90<br>

"As of 2008, the T90 is 22 years old. Canon ceased supporting the camera in 1998 and spare parts are no longer available from them. The subsequent difficulty in obtaining repair services is likely to discourage any remaining professional use of these cameras. Users report that the cameras continue to be quite reliable, with two exceptions.<br>

The first is with the LCD display and is not unique to the T90. LCD displays age and wear out at a varying rate dependent on environmental conditions, use and other factors. Commonly quoted lifespans are about five to ten years;<sup id="cite_ref-manual_11-0" > <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_T90#cite_note-manual-11"></a> </sup> thus, many T90s will have displays nearing the end of their lives, even if they have been replaced. The spare part is no longer available and no third-party replacement has emerged.<br>

The second and more serious problem concerns the shutter. The T90's shutter appears to develop a 'sticky' nature as the camera ages. It is prone to locking up, in which case the camera's LCD displays "EEE" and the message "HELP" appears in the viewfinder display. This is commonly called the "EEE syndrome" among users. The problem is most likely to crop up after the camera has been left unused for some time; thus, the best way to prevent it is regular use of the camera. It does not seem to cause inaccurate shutter speeds before failure. The problem can be corrected by a knowledgeable technician without replacing the shutter mechanism. It is reportedly caused by dirt on the shutter's magnets affecting their performance. But if left unused for an extended period of time the circuit will need replacing, an expensive and time-consuming proposition.<br>

The 'sticky shutter problem' on the Canon T90 relates to a rubber washer which is involved in the operation of the shutter. With age and atmospheric conditions, it tends to perish and become sticky, so that it impedes the operation of the shutter. Frequent use can delay the stickiness from 'glueing up' the shutter, but once started, the only long-term remedy is to have the shutter repaired, when the rubber washer is replaced, and so another 10 years or more can be enjoyed with the camera working correctly. A good short term solution is to lightly clean the shutter diaphragm with a cotton ball and lighter fluid.<br>

Canon T90s fetch reasonably good money on the used market. Prices from used camera dealers providing warranties range from approximately US$150 for a camera in poor condition to approximately US$700 for a camera in "as new" condition with box and all original accessories and manuals. Most examples in reasonable shape fetch US$300–350.<sup id="cite_ref-12" ></sup> Prices on auction sites such as eBay are lower.</p>