AE1 Question

RedBeard8 · Jul 18, 2017

Hey guys, hope this is the right place to post this. My AE1 film rewind broke and I cant find a shop around my area that will touch it. Can anyone here point me in the right direction. Plus there is a roll of film in it I don't want messed up. Thanks.

Ysarex · Jul 18, 2017

RedBeard8 said:
Hey guys, hope this is the right place to post this. My AE1 film rewind broke and I cant find a shop around my area that will touch it. Can anyone here point me in the right direction. Plus there is a roll of film in it I don't want messed up. Thanks.

Remove the film in complete darkness. You should be able to manually roll the film back into the cassette.

The camera is not economically repairable. For the cost of the repair just buy a couple used bodies.

Joe

Derrel · Jul 18, 2017

Yeppers...Ysarex has it right...take the camera into TOTAL darkness...a window-less closet at night, or an apartment bathroom that has no windows, etc..,some place like that...stuff a couple towels into the bottom of any door cracks, maybe put the camera inside of a zipped-up jacket, and then throw a light-tight, tightly-woven fabric type of blanket over yourself--in the darkened room. We mean that kind of ****total***** darkness. Otherwise, the film will fog.

If you can see a white sheet of paper in front of your face after 5 minutes in "the dark"...then it is not in any way total darkness. Gotta be utterly,totally free of light. No photons!

Press the rewind release button on the bottom of the camera, and by hand, spin the film cartidge spool's nub end...and wind the film back into the cartridge, then take it to be developed.

sniper x · Jul 31, 2017

The film rewind mech is very easy to fix. It is just a mechanical axle on a wind lever/wheel. You can look on youtube on fix old cameras video channel. and you can find many AE1 cameras for sale on ebay for parts only and buy a couple or at least one for the part needed. I see them sell for 20 dollars. You can get a clean used AE1 there for 50 dollars if you are patient however, you may have to replace light seals and or do a CLA as well.