arthur_mcculloch2 Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 Hi. I normally use the rangefinder site. But, I was 'gifted' four AE-1's just recently. Plus some lenses. One had a damaged battery door (the latch was broken, and the battery door cracked. I've superglued it so that it closes). In exploring the others, one of the battery doors lost part of it - again the latch. Was this a problem with AE- 1's? Any advice about what to do would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, they seem in good order, and I'll try to run some film thru them over the next week or two. See what happens. Regards, and thanks in anticipation, Arthur (apiarist1). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 Broken battery doors are a common problem with A series SLR's. It sounds as if you have dealt with it as best you can, at least the battery stays put without the door. I once replaced a missing door with a piece of black card cut to size and trapped behind the detachable finger grip to keep it in position. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 (edited) I help a local camera store testing the used cameras they receive, and many Canon A series cameras have the broken battery door problem you describe. Luckily, I have enough donor bodies to replace the problematic door in the otherwise working cameras - at least up till now. In my process to educate myself on how to fix these otherwise working cameras, I found great help from Youtube on how to replace the door (and lift off the top plate in the process). My research also indicated that the problem is so common that there are third party manufactured battery door parts easily available on eBay. Edited March 29, 2023 by Niels - NHSN 2 Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur_mcculloch2 Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 Thank you for that advice. I will search out replacement battery doors. Not sure that I' m up to doing a partial dismantle. Thanks again. I'll try and post some photos from it. Regards, and best wishes. Arthur (apiarist1). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin McAmera Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 I bought a replacement door from Micro-tools. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awahlster Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 I believe the door problem is from people pushing the door closed with the little latch extended causing a lot of stress. I have always been very careful opening and closing the battery doors on A series cameras and while I have had a couple with broken doors in purchases off eBay I have never had one break while in my hands. But then I have only used A series cameras since Sept of 1976 LOL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin McAmera Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 I used to wonder how people managed to break the battery door; it's not as if it gets used many times. Then mine fell off in my hand. If I remember right, it was as I opened it, when it came to it's fullest opening. I wonder if maybe the door gets stressed during normal handling of the camera, with the door closed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwhitegeog Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 You'd be amazed what people can break. I couple of years' ago, I bought online cheaply 4 non-functioning A-series bodies for spares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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