Home repair of AE-1 focus screen: legible repair manual?

[steven_clark]

<p>I damaged the fresnel on an AE-1 attempting to clean some mirror foam off. I found what claims to be a replacement screen at auction for cheap (I know it might be a Program screen but it seems to be missing the mounting hardware and tool for that, so I'll give the benefit of the doubt). I'm very short on money and long on spare time so I'm going to attempt the repair myself.</p>

<p>Unfortunately I'm having trouble finding a legible repair manual or guide online. I found one, but it's a scan of a bad photocopy as far as I can tell and none of the pictures are legible. I'm not even sure where to start. On the Program you can pull out the screen by just unclipping it. The A-1 has a screw under the top of the lens mount that you can unscrew for access to the screen. Neither of these is the case on the original AE-1. It looks like there might be a way to pull it out from the back of it's housing but the frame is in the way. Maybe it's part of the mirror box and if I pull that out the front I can pull it out the back. You can see why pictures might be useful. It's not like the thing is welded in, there must be a way to replace it.</p>

<p>Anyone have any repair experience? Found a better illustrated repair guide that isn't for the Program?</p>

[awahlster]

<p>Your getting into a huge can of worms. You have to take the top off the AE-1 to get at the screen and you have to preset the meter and shutter speed dial because once you remove the tungsten cable that runs up over the top of the prism you might never get it calibrated again if you don't. Taking the top off an AE-1 is not for the first time camera repair man.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Yeah, I've had the top off an AE-1 once and seeing that string that syncs the meter was enough to give me pause. I didn't even want to think about messing with it. Chances are you will have to remove the pentaprism to access the focusing screen. I don't know if this will be possible without having to remove that string first.</p>

<p>I have found the AE-1 repair manual at three different Internet sites, and they are all pdf's of the same manual that looks like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, etc. I'm pretty sure this manual was produced by National Camera and not Canon because it actually has directions on how to dismantle the camera. Unfortunately the photos of the top area of the camera are pretty well useless, but at least there is a description of what's going on so it might not be a total waste of time trying to use it. Here's a link to what I found:</p>

<p>http://www.baytan.org/prak/pdf/serv/AE-1serv-rep.pdf</p>

[steven_clark]

<p>I have that one. It's an article from a periodical, you can tell by the way they refer to Canon as someone else. The directions sound at least good enough to get the top plate off when used in combination with youtube videos on the subject. I just have no pictures at all of the back of the camera with the top off to speculate on removing the screen. At a certain point exploratory surgery will just happen because the camera is useless without it (bad focus screen probably throws off metering too much). It won't be the first camera I've take apart but it might be second one I've ever put back together.</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<blockquote>

<p>"Your getting into a huge can of worms" <strong><em>Mark W.</em></strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p>And how! to screen replacement of an AE-1.<br /> But you don't have to mess with the tungsten wire except to be careful at the <strong>first stage</strong> of the top removal and the settings you should be at on the speed & ASA dials.</p>

<p>For screen replacement, one needs to remove the mirror box/cage assembly, then the (easy to tear) flex is out of your way and the prism layers can be dealt with in order to reach the final and very delicate screen. If you do have a screen replacement, then that probably means you have an entire mirror box; just swap them out !</p>

<p>Or better yet, get a fully functioning black or chrome AE-1 for $25 or less...</p>

[User_502260]

<p>This is a good argument for getting an AE-1 Program instead. The AE-1 Program has user interchangeable focusing screens. My AE-1 program now has a plain matte screen in it so it is easier to use for macro work and with slower lenses like zooms. </p>

[steven_clark]

<p>Thanks for the actual instructions. That's kinda what I suspected. Unfortunately I didn't order the whole mirror box, just the screen itself. At least that article has directions for that so it should be reasonable. As for getting other cameras? This is just my backup camera. I have a fully functioning (for now the mirror squeak might be coming back) A-1 as my main body.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Being a more recent camera than either the AE-1 or A-1, this is probably one of the main reasons why it has interchangeable focusing screens because back then, its competition did. I'd pay attention to Gus and Jeff. You can pick up a clean AE-1P, often for less than $40, then just keep your eye open on eBay for whatever screen you'd most prefer and jump on it when it appears. That's what I did with my AE-1P. Like Jeff, I prefer the plain matte screens -- I have them on all my interchangeable screen cameras. But that's a matter of what you're used to, and it isn't for everybody, I'll freely admit.</p>

<p> </p>