arnold_schmidt

<p >Gordon: Since my last message I have done some ‘exploratory surgery’ on the Canonet. Upon removing the top cover I was shocked to learn that the aperture scale hasn’t dislodged itself as you speculated but has entirely vanished! I am presuming at some point my Canonet has been plundered for parts and someone else has made off with its aperture scale.</p>

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<p >I now plan to buy another broken Canonet (they go for petty change on eBay) and use its aperture scale to complete my camera.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >May I take this opportunity thank you for your continued help, I couldn’t find a definitive answer to my dilemma anywhere else on the web!</p>

<p>I see, well that solves the mystery of why I have no apeture scale and yet the camera is still fully functional. I am glad someone has worked this out!<br>

Is reinstalling the scale an easy job? Or would the camera need a proper service?</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply Gordon. Could it be possible that my Canonet has had the sheet removed? All I have is a set of parallax corrected framelines.</p>

On my early Canonet (base winder, ISO range 10-200) should I be seeing aperture numbers in the viewfinder? All I have is a blank set of frame lines that will display arrows if I stray too far out of the AE range.

If it helps the serial is 613021<br /><br />This is confusing because Canon on their spec sheet (<a href="http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/data/1956-1965/1961_net.html?lang=us&categ=srs&page=net&p=2" target="_blank">http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/c...s&page=net&p=2</a>) say the camera features aperture an scale, however I’ve read elsewhere (<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00VL6N" target="_blank">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00VL6N</a>) that the earliest Canonets feature no aperture display.<br /><br />The camera functions perfectly. I know its selenium metering system can be temperamental however I’ve shot slide film with mine it’s turned out nicely.<br /><br />Can anyone with Canonet experience or expertise set me straight, should my Canonet have a viewfinder aperture display or is my sample somehow faulty?

 

<p>Thanks Michael. I have just found <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FVYGuuNYF6QC&pg=PA27&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPA17,M1">http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FVYGuuNYF6QC&pg=PA27&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPA17,M1</a>, a problem similar to mine (loose winding crank) is noted on pg17.</p>

<p>Interesting suggestion Dave but the wind lever is still slack wherever the rewind button is placed.</p>

<p >Hi everyone. I just picked up a Nikon FE from eBay, I didn’t actually intend on buying one but it shipped with a Nikon 55/2.8 Micro which I have been wanting for some time.</p>

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<p >The lens is working well, however the FE has obviously had a bit of hard life and isn’t working quite right at the moment. I was wondering if any more experienced Nikon users could cast some light on why this might be the case.</p>

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<p >There seems to be a total lack of linkage between the winding/shutter cocking mechanism and the winding handle, in other words when I pull back the handle in an attempt to wind on the film and reset the shutter for another cycle nothing happens. The handle moves freely because there is no resistance.</p>

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<p >Otherwise I see the camera as being fine, I put some fresh batteries in it and the metering needle moves freely and provides sensible results based on the set film speed and lens aperture. However due to the lack of resistance in the handle (which doubles as the on/off switch) the meter is running whenever the batteries are in place.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >My friend has another faulty (light leaking) FE which he doesn’t use anymore and he may be willing to pledge some parts to help my cause. Maybe I could extract a crank mechanism from that body and insert it into my own I could get the camera working properly.</p>

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<p >Does anyone have any words of wisdom for me, I’m not hugely fussed if I don’t get any joy from this camera but if there’s a quick fix or something I’m obviously missing it’d be nice to have it running properly once again. Thank you.</p>

Which two lenses are you using? You're output standard would probabally increase with better glass as opposed to a better camera. Of course practice and experience helps too!

It's a similar story in the UK, F3s unless mint don't sell for much. You can pick up a perfectly good working example for 100 GBP or (directly converted) 195 USD.

Well... you could always give it a try and if it doesn't please you then why not send it back. You should check the returns policy first though!

I have an old 50mm F2 AI which I use on my D50 sometimes, like your D80 when used on a D50 AI and AIS lenses have no metering.

 

You may or may not be aware that the D200, D300, D2 and D3 offer full matrix metering with AI and AIS lenses.

The F100 will not provide matrix metering with AI and AIS lenses, only the F4 and F6 will give you matrix. The remaining high end bodies will give you just cw metering.

I will go with what the above two have said, the 55-200VR is the choice if you're not totally commited to a tripod.

If you can afford it the D300 it's probabally the way to go

I agree with Don about getting a card reader, they tend to save a lot of hassle. There's all sorts of driver and hardware issues that could be at the root of your problem.

Does it do this in all scenes or just ones with very high dynamic range?

Interestingly the D50 will automatically choose ISOs in third stops between 200 and 1600 in AutoISO, otherwise they're not available.

Sounds like you've got yourself a bargain, well done. Seems like the repair/cleaning was worth it.

Setting the ISO won't be difficult, in M mode you will need to disable auto ISO (it may be on by default) and then set your chosen ISO of 800. The booklet will explain how to do this.

 

The Sigma lenses which focus with your D40 are the HSM models, they are exactly like the Nikon AFS ones.

You didn't mention if the games are indoors or not, if they are the 55-200mm may struggle to give you enough light to make proper exposures without blurring the action. As the previous user said try and use the highest ISO as possible.

The 300mm lens mentioned above will not autofocus on a D40, it will provide metering however. In my opinion you're best off going with a Nikon 55-200mm VR or the Nikon 70-300mm VR if you can afford it.

If you are asking if you can you E series (AIS) lenses on a D40 you can however you will not have metering and therefore will have to set apeture manually on the lens then set the exposure in manual mode. It's not impossible but it's not exactly easy to do, you will have to repeatedly check results on the LCD and histogram to ensure proper exposure.

Thanks for the confirmation Jim. I have moved the flap around manually and the meter operates as expected. The seller has offered me a refund which I may take, however I'd to first investigate repair options as getting a spring mechcanism won't be major work to undertake and I think I got a fairly good deal on the camera anyway.

I think you may have cracked it! You say the part is supposed to be spring loaded and it should 'want' to rotate clockwise as viewed, the spring on my FA seems to have failed I can rotate the plastic flap however I please with no resistance at all.

 

This fits with your theory and explains why the metering doesn't seem to work.

The flap seems to be ok, it will freely move around the lens mount (allthough it is a little loose). Can you confirm what I'm actually supposed to be looking for, I don't really follow your logic- sorry.