Keith S in Arizona USA

<p><strong>“Kudos!” -- to Ken Oikawa, Canon SLR Repair Service!</strong><br> <strong> </strong><br> A recent purchase [for a secondary addition] was a 1970’s Canon EF from a large and respected camera store / service facility in the Southeast U.S. area. They are known for very decent prices, a usual under-statement of condition of used equipment, customer praise for quality repair service, and an easy return policy.</p> <p>The EF they offered on-line was in really good physical condition with NO mention of electronics power issues (no BATT CHECK LED function, and a meter barely moving.) The camera price was good, and upon receipt of it the two issues were discovered. As I am wont to having my equipment CLA’d and repaired when needed, I felt no particular desire to return the EF for the no-questions asked refund. I knew there were folks out there who could address these problems at non-astronomical rates. This camera was a candidate to save.</p> <p>A well-known SLR facility who has done much work on my Canon and Nikon (and they do others as well) did not want to work on it, and in fact stated they no longer work on EF’s. “Buy another good one.” When further queried, it was stated that “It is not actually a parts-availability issue.” They would not comment further. Not the responses I wanted to hear concerning a salvageable item that could be used for future decades if brought up to speed with a few repairs.</p> <p>Another well-known film SLR repair facility stated a similar view. Yet, these facilities still service many old SLR’s – including earlier Rangefinders, and some less-popular lines. (Could the repair refusals simply be issues of internal mechanical complexities for certain models? Hmm. Guess I will never know.)</p> <p>I have been aware for years that certain lineages of EF’s seemed to have electrical issues develop, seemingly(?) involving earlier(?) serial numbered units. So non-functioning EF circuitry was not a surprise. My repair was serial number 363xxx, and my original, still in perfect operation since 1978, is serial number 404xxx. Many EF’s I have seen on auction sites with non-functioning electronics or the photographic neophytes’ suspiciously worded “meter moves” are earlier serial numbers than those. Many sellers have not a clue as to meter function / accuracy, and often do not have batteries with which to test a camera, if they even knew how to evaluate the meter.</p> <p>From what I have learned watching EF’s on auction sites over the past years, a buyer should be aware of ‘potential electrical issues’ with the EF model. This camera does function mechanically from 1/2 second to 1/1000^th plus ‘B’, so the exposure meter is really just a perk.</p> <p>From Canon FD SLR repair information posted here at Photo.Net, I phoned Ken Oikawa of Sun City, CA. (He does not do email.) The call to him was very short and sweet. He was VERY confident about the EF issues and expressed only two comments: “I will fix the camera; send it to me.” By the way, just for future information, Ken prefers items sent to him via USPS, not UPS or FEDEX.</p> <p>Ken is a retired Canon Japan person and his repair skills and knowledge are reported to be exemplary.</p> <p>Literally within hours of receiving the EF, he was on the phone to me that same day with what I felt was an extremely reasonable quote.</p> <p>After his callback he was sent a personal check --his payment preference. The next week the EF was returned to me via USPS. He even included a detailed invoice. The EF sported new door dust seals and mirror cushion, and the power issue and metering were both fixed. Its meter agrees with my other EF, plus an accurately calibrated TV-industry PENTAX V Spot-Meter. The shutter speeds were adjusted, the slow governor was adjusted, and on top of all that the body had been cleaned and polished to a sparkling shine. I was amazed at how nice it appeared. I double-checked the serial number to make certain it was the same camera I had sent him! There was NOT a fingerprint or smudge anywhere on its body. It was also bagged and wrapped for shipping protection. Water would have not gotten to it.</p> <p>Ken also reported -with an enclosed note- that he repairs and services: The A-1, AE-1, AE-1 PROGRAM, F-series’, and “most” of the FD Breechlock and the newer type FDn lenses.</p> <p>Once again, as stated above, his prices are extremely reasonable.</p> <p>All of my future Canon SLR A, AE, EF, F-1 work will definitely go to Ken Oikawa and nowhere else.</p>

<p>My AE-1 purchased at its introduction in 1978 broke the ASA string about a year later and after replacement it is still going strong today. Talk about durability! And this was never a professional type camera.</p> <p>Received my EF back from Ken Oikawa this afternoon. It had a power / meter issue. (I had purchased it cheap that way from a camera store.)</p> <p>Not only is it polished to look almost new, the meter is functioning right on and agrees with both my first EF and a professional PENTAX Studio VI Spotmeter.</p> <p>Could not be happier with Ken's work, ethics and attitude. All of my Canon work goes to him from now on. I have had issues with two other well-known Canon repair facilities (to remain unnamed here.)</p> <p>Ken included a note that he also repairs: The A-1, AE-1, AE-1 PROGRAM, F-1, F-1N, and "most" of the FD and FDn lenses. Clean, Lube, Adjust, whatever services you need. And he obviously does not run up charges for extraneous things that do not actually require service. He also includes a detailed, dated invoice for any future reference.</p>

<p>The reflector components / optical alignments are out of kilter inside the prism. Time for a Tech's evaluation. Perhaps something simple in there that is easy to repair or replace broke or came loose, or shifted. You just never know.</p> <p>Mark, are you U.S. based? Give a phone call to Ken Oikawa in Sun City California. 951-246-9136. Ken is a retired Canon Factory Technical expert who still loves to repair the Canon SLR line. He does not do email. His physical address is: 28288 West Worcester Road, Sun City, California, 92586. Sun City is a northern area of San Diego.</p> <p>He may be able to advise you over the phone what the issues are and what the cost would be. I have found his repairs to be extremely reasonable in cost. Ken has likely run across your issue at some point. He would also automatically replace the mirror cushion and the door dust seals as a matter of good quality repair policy and longevity, and properly lubricate the drive shaft for long-term service to eliminate and/or prevent the infamous "Canon Shutter Squeal." (Very annoying.)</p> <p>Should you end up sending it to him, use USPS. He does not like to use UPS or FEDEX. After he has personally evaluated your camera, he will contact you for payment and his preferred method is by personal check (no cards, PayPal, etc.)</p> <p>IMHO, any repair under $100 or so would be a good deal <strong>for the future life you will receive from this very fine camera</strong> if that is something in which you are interested. I like the A-1 series so much that I have three, which have all been serviced in the past decade to last for many more years. Long term since 1978 when I got my first one, there have been NO service issues other than those 'standard' ones mentioned above, and all of the LED displays still function just as new. The LED displays are apparently quite durable / reliable.</p>

<p>The Ken Rockwell website has a great informational article on usage and set-up of the D700. As Ken points out, the Nikon Custom menu functions leave quite a bit to be desired. However, go there and read up on it. I also have the David Busch book for the D700 and it has very valuable information. It's a really good manual for how to use and set up the D700 for all sorts of scenarios. There are tons of typos and other very minor errors BUT it is an incredibly valuable resource and definitely a worthwhile investment.The D700 is still a very fine camera, even by today's standards. You can find this book at a Barnes & Noble if you can find one near you.</p>

<p>Well I am certainly not any sort optics expert but I will try a few inputs.</p> <p>Lens functions and focuses properly on the AE-1 with appropriate distance values and viewfinder focus = lens and the AE-1 would seem indicate that both of those are good.</p> <p>Is the A-1 focusing screen inserted properly, not loose, and completely flat to its mounting area?</p> <p>Also- you might examine and compare the positions of the mirrors in both cameras to each other with the mirrors down in the view position. Are the the EXACT same angle up and down AND left to right? If so, that is good.</p> <p>If the mirrors both seem correct, I would at this point 'think' that something is out of alignment or damaged up inside the A-1 prism. Is there the slightest dent in the prism? Even if not, the camera may have received a shock somewhere that could have caused unseen damage.</p> <p>You did not mention if you have obtained the A-1 secondhand, and the focus issue could be the reason it was sold.</p> <p>Hope my input was somewhat helpful.</p>

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<p>Hey all.</p> <p>I can attest to the fact that exposure to UV HAS cleared up a yellowed lens for me. I had earlier contacted Gus Lazzari regarding my yellowed Canon FD Breechlock 35mm f2 lens, S/N 528xx. He told me that not only did he have the same lens, but to take mine and place it in a window or dashboard of car for a few weeks and that the UV light should help the problem. It was the darndest thing to hear that, but I placed the lens on a shelf window so it would get all-day sun and left it there for several weeks (five I believe?) I did turn it two to three times a day to follow the sun. (I placed the rear of the lens facing the sun so the lens would not focus the sun to a pinpoint and start a possible fire.) To my astonishment, after several weeks of treatment, the glass became clear again, and as near as I could tell was very close to matching all my other lenses.</p> <p>So YES, I have verified for myself that UV exposure CAN clear a yellowed lens. Now keep in mind that various other lenses, due to construction and number of elements, may have varying results from this process. All I DO know for certain is this worked on my Canon FD 35mm. Apparently the earlier FD 35mm f2 lenses, with the sort of flat-ish or concave front element, are the culprits for having radioactive glass.</p> <p>I do have a bit of concern about long term use of any radioactive lenses, but I seldom used my 35mm f2.</p>

<p>The 50 DR is one of the finest Leica/Leitz lenses ever made. No way should you do anything to modify it. If anything, sell it for its value (and that could be "high" if it is in really good condition) and help preserve it for posterity. The very fine Leica/Leitz M lenses are extremely popular with collectors and users, and becoming more so. Just look at eBay sales. I know for a fact from using various well-known and respected Service Facilities that they have many M lenses of all types shelved, waiting for CLA's.</p>

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<p>if indeed the larger aperture lens provides a more reasonable, accurate focus.</p> <p>OOPS! I meant to say <strong>smaller</strong> aperture lens.</p>

<p>Hey there Annie</p> <p>My experiences with focus issues regarding the 50mm f1.4G is that the depth of field of this lens is so shallow that many times my Digital Nikon cameras "hunt" back and forth, attempting to determine where to lock the focus. If you have a smaller aperture lens, such as a 50mm f1.8, 24mm f2.8 or such, try making comparison shots using the two lenses and see if indeed the larger aperture lens provides a more reasonable, accurate focus.</p> <p>Your issue may turn out to be nothing more than normal auto-focus operation for a larger aperture lens.</p>

<p>Hello Andrew.</p> <p>I have a like issue "on occasion" with my Pradovit CA-2500. It too uses the grey 50-slot trays.</p> <p>My old cardboard slides from the 1960's measure 0.045" thick and the newest plastic slides from today measure 0.060" thick. The thicker slides do feed more reliably, but still not always 100% of the time. There is also an occasional "failure to extract" issue.</p> <p>I am unfamiliar with the black LKM 80 trays you mention.</p> <p>I have been "meaning" to look into this to see if there is a simple fix to make the feed 100% reliable, but so far have not gotten to it. With this posting I am likely to start looking into this situation. I will post again at such time more information is determined.</p> <p>Still, these old Pradovits are far better than the carousel types ever were.</p>

<p>Ben -- Have you thought about "carrying what you think you would take" around here at home for a day or a few hours? That may help you decide what to pare the items down to as far as weight. A trip could turn out to be quite miserable if you are severely overloaded. That 24-70 2.8 can become a real burden over time. Believe me I know! Smaller-apertured lenses (therefore less weight) would be a good choice as the VR will help in that regard. I have learned from my travels that I could focus (sorry for that bad pun) on mostly "moving around" for my shots as opposed to relying on numerous focal lengths. A few prime lenses would be smaller and lighter over the more massive zooms. Just a few thoughts to consider. By the way, HAVE FUN on your trip!</p>

<p>Gie, have you looked closely at the Battery Check push-button? Can you press it in, is it stuck in the depressed position, does it have a good spring return action to keep it in the raised position? There is a possibility that the switch itself is somehow shorted if it is not remaining in the depressed position.</p> <p>Putting the lever in the non-dot position puts an ADDITIONAL switch in series with the battery check switch. This is why the LED does not light and that means that THAT switch is doing its job as normal. But . . . .</p> <p>. . . . your symptom DOES sound as though the battery check push button switch itself is some how being closed without actually pushing it in.</p>

<p>Hey Arlindo</p> <p>Nice, clever, sweet. Good job!</p>

<p>Stephen, you posted my input while I was typing it !!! :-)</p>

<p>DANG !!!</p> <p>Correction to my post. Jon's address is on <strong>"Loma Vista"</strong> (not Loma Bista)</p> <p>Sorry for the error !!!</p>

<p>Hello Dave; Welcome to the FD Forum!</p> <p>Unless it has been serviced in the near past, you will find that the A-1 rear door dust seals and MIRROR CUSHION are likely bad, rotted, dried out. The mirror cushion in particular can be crumbling (poke at it with a Q-tip to see.) If the cushion is crumbling, you will end up getting sticky glue and particulate matter transferred to the mirror due to mirror flip-up actuation when you take photos, and THAT is a nightmare to have cleaned off (by an expert, do NOT mess with this yourself, REGARDLESS of what someone here may post!) If the cushion is bad, DO NOT make photos or actuate the shutter until the old cushion has been replaced. Believe me, I learned of the sticky mirror contamination the hard way. It is NOT fun and needs to be avoided!</p> <p>The door seals and cushion can be replaced by you, if you so desire. Jon Goodman sells kits and instructions. (If I can do it, so can you.) His email is JGood21967@aol.com and the A-1 seal/cushion kits are $9 with superb instructions. His physical address is 9153 Loma Bista, Dallas, TX, 75243.</p> <p>eBay might have original A-1 manuals on occasion if you'd like to go that route.</p> <p>As to the shutter squeal, if you get it, a camera repair depot can take care of that without too much of a cost. It can be done yourself but it is very tricky. Also, DO NOT EVER try to fix that by squirting oil into the camera as some posters may recommend. The oil WILL migrate everywhere and can cause bad problems.</p> <p>A good checkout and possible CLA may be in order IF you desire to maintain and use the A-1 for a long time. I have three of them, and they are great cameras. They were CLA'd ten years ago and are still going strong with much use.</p>

<p>Stephen's advice should be followed, and soon. The oil will likely migrate into the lens internals and then you will have substantially worse issues, possibly even corrupting internal lens coatings and the element cements.</p>

<p>Rick, Thank You for the fascinating article !!</p>

<p>I have just done in the past two months three Canon A-1 seal kits obtained from Jon Goodman.<br> I have his email I used then:<br> His email is JGood21967@aol.com<br> and his physical address is 9153 Loma Vista, Dallas, TX, 75243<br /></p>

<p>Marc, these historical articles are great! But, is there any method to zoom them for easier reading? Holding CTRL while rolling the mouse wheel doesn't do it, nor does attempting to implement my ZOOM - + selection feature of my browser do it either.</p>

<p>Tim your electromagnetic shutter is sticky, a very well known and easy to fix problem.</p>

<p>per JAY<br> <strong>--- a lesson from Amazon is stupid packing of expensive items for shipment by putting folded bubble-wrap on top of the item, and then leaving the bottom and sides totally unprotected against shock. B&H should change the B-W machine and have the item placed between the bubble-wrap at the minimum.</strong></p> <p>Jay I have always been really aggravated to receive packages in that manner, but so far no damage. The worst time of year is the holidays when UPS, FEDEX hire part timers who could not care less how they handle deliveries. But as I stated - so far no damage.</p> <p>All the stores do it -- B&H, ADORAMA, AMAZON, many others. Frankly I cannot and never do pack boxes like that. My shipped items are always packed in the center of a 360 degree foam / peanuts / cushioning, surrounded by at least 3 inches of protection.</p> <p>I am surprised but also pleased to read Mr. Posner's comments on the miniscule returns for damage.</p> <p>One bad thing that really got my ire up recently was a few months back when I ordered a lens filter and it arrived in what amounted to a hermetically, vacuum sealed 8 X 10 or so, very tough plastic envelope. It was so difficult to slice that <strong>never-meant-to-be-opened package</strong> open that I came close to returning it partially sliced open with the nastiest letter ever written by man. I forget whether the filter was from B&H or ADORAMA but it was 95% most likely ADORAMA as that is from whom I have been getting most of mine.</p>

<p>B&H and ADORAMA are <strong>THE BEST</strong> and in fact their prices <strong>almost</strong> always match for items. They also have terrific return policies.<br> For any 'bad' review you may see for B&H or ADORAMA, there is likely a few thousand or more 'good' ones, so take any bad reviews with a grain of salt.<br> I have used both exclusively for a long time and would not even consider going elsewhere. As far as I am concerned, they are both interchangeable stores.<br> By the way, both are FAMILY owned and run and are old, established stores.</p>