Konica C35 EF dead light meter

[sidney_zohn]

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm looking to repair the light meter on my Konica C35 EF, which I just purchased off of ebay, and am wondering if anyone was successful in doing it themselves? I have never repaired a camera before, but have been meaning to learn how. Also, my budget is pretty tight right now and I'd rather not spend $50 to get it repaired in a sub-par camera shop (I've had bad repair experiences in the camera stores near me). I saw step-by-step guides to take apart the C35 and C35A, but was ultimately forced to stop, as the interior of the C35 EF is completely different. If the repair ends up being too complicated, I guess I'll have to fork over the money to get the camera looked at professionally, but I'd rather at least attempt to fix it myself. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>PS - the flash works, if that's any help? I put a 1.4V hearing aid battery in the cell compartment, but the light meter didn't budge.</p>

[sidney_zohn]

<p>On an unrelated note, I'm also noticing that when I advance and rewind film in this camera, the sprocket teeth (or whatever it's called?) has a hard time grabbing onto the holes on the film, so i often end up either double exposing or taking forever to wind up a film (I've only put one test roll through the camera) -- anyone have any ideas as to what this is caused by?</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>The C35 EF has a completely different shutter/aperture set up than the C35 and C35 A. The C35 EF has a single shutter speed of 1/125 second with automatic aperture settings whereas the other two offer programmed automation from 1/30 sec. at f2.8 to 1/650 sec. at f14. However, the EF still has the fine 38 mm f2.8 Hexanon lens so if you can perform a DIY repair all the better. I don't know if $50 would be a good repair investment for any C35, even the last C35 A since the C35 series in general is usually very inexpensive on the used market. If your primary interest is flash photos then of course the camera is still useable. If you like outdoors and available light you might want to look for a C35 or C35 A since it is functional over a much broader range of lighting. And you get a coupled rangefinder for precise focusing. If you like the zone focus of the EF, though, there is the C35 V, which is a C35 without the rangefinder, but with same metering and exposure.<br>

To your original problem, the metering problem might just be a broken or corroded wire, but the advance problem might be more serious.</p>

[winfried_buechsenschuetz1]

<p>Surprisingly enough, I never ran across a 35EF. But if this camera has a button cell in a battery chamber on the bottom, maybe your item suffers from "black wire corrosion" as many of these cameras do. The wire from the button contact to the innards corrodes and breaks off the solder point. <br>

If this is the case, re-connecting the wire will be the cure. Unfortunately, once a wire is corroded this way, it is hard to re-solder even if you cut it off as far as possible. It is better to replace the wire completely, but this requires a teardown of the camera body. You may try to solder a new wire to the cut-off end of the original wire, isolate the solder point with isolating hose (or tape) and solder this wire to the battery contact. To get access to the latter, remove the bottom plate (mind the rewind button which usually is the only part to fall off) and remove the screws around the battery chamber. </p>

[sidney_zohn]

<p>Thanks Winifred -- I'm suspecting that it has to do with the wiring too, but the battery chamber is on the top back, and I don't know how to take that part off (there are too many knobs in the way). I might just bring it into a shop to get it looked at.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>You can get your Konica repaired by Greg Weber. He can be reached at 402-721-3873 or at <a href="mailto:gweber@webercamera.com">gweber@webercamera.com</a> </p>

[charles_stobbs3]

Can you access the contacts in the camera for cleaning after removing the battery? I've had several

cameras come back to life after cleaning the contacts. BTW I have a C35EF3 (AA batteries only) and

IMHO it is the best of the extensive C35 series.

[sidney_zohn]

<p>Charles, I've cleaned that area the best I can, but it didn't help. I suspect it's a wiring issue -- I've actually just bought another one off of Etsy for pennies (I made sure the flash and light meter both work), so I guess I'll just have to shelve the one I currently have or attempt to sell it as a camera with a broken light meter.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help, everyone!</p>

[chuck_foreman1]

<p>Well now that you've bought one with a meter... I do hope it works.. please post the results. </p>