T90 with faulty shutter

[flatulent1]

<p>I picked up this camera several months ago from a local repairman for the princely sum of $65. He was selling it cheap because it had the EEE error and I suppose was hoping I'd hand it right back to him for repair. Instead I beat the thing on the floor until it started firing normally. Great! Fully-functioning camera for cheap!</p>

<p>Umm, not so. I finally attempted to shoot a roll through it a few weeks ago and had nothing but problems. Loaded it with Fuji Pro 800Z, mounted an FD 50mm f3.5 macro, and headed up to the Volunteer Park Conservatory on Seattle's Capitol Hill, where it was sure to be drier inside than out.</p>

<p>First thing I noticed was how wrong I was about the weather. While it was cold and miserable outdoors, it wasn't raining at the moment, while inside was warm and humid and I had water repeatedly dripping on me from the roof or overhanging plants, etc. Damn. Shoulda brought a hat.</p>

<p>Without film, this particular T90 fired exactly as normal, slow speeds, fast speeds, single shot, high frame rate, all good. Once I put film in it, it gave me nothing but trouble. Take a shot, the shutter would fire and the camera would lock up and cry HELP - EEE. I wasn't about to waste a 30 minute drive for a misbehaving camera, so I punched the battery check button to clear the error and took my next shot. HELP - EEE! Damn. HELP - EEE! Damn. HELP - EEE! Damn. </p>

<p>I kinda like the results, however. Let's see if I have any luck uploading these...</p><div></div>

[flatulent1]

<p>and another</p><div></div>

[flatulent1]

<p>number 3</p>

<div></div>

[flatulent1]

<p>can't seem to upload a photo here...</p>

[flatulent1]

<p>No idea what this was...</p><div></div>

[steve_mareno1]

<p>I like those shots.</p>

<p>On the other hand, it appears that your camera's shutter is on the way out. Beating the camera on the floor may have limited results when it comes to fixing the problem :)</p>

[feanolas1]

Strange!

I first thought the shutter is not travelling uniformely, but after looking closely to the pictures, it might be that the shutter leaks light. The last example is obviously a long exposure, so the shutter stayed open longer than expected. The others look like they have two pictures overlayed, one a normal exposure and one a long exposure.

Maybe you could check the behavior with the back open.

[flatulent1]

<p>Unfortunately that wouldn't work; without film, the camera behaves normally. In most of the images the subjects have sharp edges and excellent exposure. It almost looks to me as if the film advanced before the shutter could close. </p>

<p>Pounding the camera is an inexpensive way to get it working again. This was the only case I've found so far where the problem continued only with film loaded. So it's going to get professional servicing after the first of the year. Until then, I'm going to try to shoot a few more rolls, if the camera'll let me.</p>

[flatulent1]

<p>This was the only image on the roll that I shot in portrait mode, and only one of three (out of 27) that had no problems.</p><div></div>

[w_t1]

<p>I fixed my t90 shutter about 2006 or so with the same* method, based on recommendations by Mark Wahlster and others here. However, I banged it into a pillow/my hand, not the floor. It is fine to this day.</p>

<p> </p>

[feanolas]

<p>I think you are right about the film advance. It looks like the pictures are contaminated from the side (quite visible in the last horizontal one).<br>

Could be interesting to check the assumption by putting a test film (old film for example) in the camera and looking through the front whether you can see the film movement during exposure. On a slow speed, it may be quite visible.<br>

If that is the case, it might be the film advance trigger that has a false contact. Would have to look up the repair manual to see how it works exactly.</p>

[flatulent1]

<p>Sounds like an interesting experiment. I have just such a roll of film right here. I marked diagonal lines along the length of the film with a Sharpie, to make it more obvious. Yep, sure enough, I see the film advance before the shutter closes and the mirror drops.</p>

[mark_stephan2]

<p>If you have it repaired I highly recommend Steve at Camera Clinic. He charges $140 for a complete overhaul and your camera will work like new and be reliable for many years.</p>

[Member69643]

<blockquote>

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2030919">Mark Stephan</a> , Dec 06, 2012; 08:20 p.m.</p>

 

<p>If you have it repaired I highly recommend Steve at Camera Clinic. He charges $140 for a complete overhaul and your camera will work like new and be reliable for many years.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Take this warning directly from him about brand new T90's:</p>

<p>"Yes, these cameras did suffer from this problem shorthly after they were purchased, depending on how long it sat unused or how much it was used."</p>

<p>I bought one from him, completely refurbished, and despite use EVERY DAY it still redeveloped the problem. I eventually sent it back to him and told him to keep it. The T90 is a marvelous but fatally flawed piece of history, and you simply should not trust one.</p>

[flatulent1]

<p>To each his own, of course. He's done a few bodies for me, two of them T90s. He does a good job; they still work several years later. I have six or seven T90s altogether, all but one of them completely trustworthy. I also have two that are dead. One of these days...</p>