Help With An Old AE-1

[smoke665]

Pulled my Dad's old AE-1 from the 70's out of the closet last night. Been a long time since I actually looked at it. Seems to be no worse for wear after sitting unused for close to 30 years. Batteries were dead of course, but the contacts are clean. The Canon f/1.4, 50 mm lens seems clear with no signs of fungus. So now the questions:

1. I snapped the shutter a couple of times, without incident, but now the shutter is locked open and the mirror up. I thought at first it was a mechanical shutter, but I'm assuming it's actually an electromagnetic. If I put new batteries in will it unlock the shutter? Or, is there something more that needs to be done?
2. Cleaning. Is it possible for someone with decent mechanical aptitude to do a general cleaning of the inside, or is this something best done by a professional. What and how far would you recommend going?
3. Any suggested reading on the cleaning/maintenance of the this camera?

 

[WhaleDaughter]

Pulled my Dad's old AE-1 from the 70's out of the closet last night. Been a long time since I actually looked at it. Seems to be no worse for wear after sitting unused for close to 30 years. Batteries were dead of course, but the contacts are clean. The Canon f/1.4, 50 mm lens seems clear with no signs of fungus. So now the questions:

1. I snapped the shutter a couple of times, without incident, but now the shutter is locked open and the mirror up. I thought at first it was a mechanical shutter, but I'm assuming it's actually an electromagnetic. If I put new batteries in will it unlock the shutter? Or, is there something more that needs to be done?
2. Cleaning. Is it possible for someone with decent mechanical aptitude to do a general cleaning of the inside, or is this something best done by a professional. What and how far would you recommend going?
3. Any suggested reading on the cleaning/maintenance of the this camera?

The shutter is mechanical. Electric shutters are a modern digital invention. Mirror and shutter shouldn't be tied to the battery. If the mirror and shutter are stuck, and you want to have it cleaned, it's best sent to a professional. There are so many things that are finely tuned that you could seriously mess up the shutter speeds in the camera or aperture blades in the lens. Unless you just want to take it apart for the fun of it and are OK having it not work right when you put it back together. There may also be specialized tools, especially if you're looking to take the lens apart.

Have you tried googling about the stuck mirror or looking on YouTube? It may be a known issue with a known fix. But the known fix may be to take it in to a professional...


"Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you"

 

[smoke665]

The shutter is mechanical.

Little more research, it appears to be an electromechanical design. Going to try new batteries first and if it doesn't release then check, further.

 

[Gary A.]

I suspect new battery(s) should do the trick.

(There is also a mirror-lock lever somewhere on the camera which may have been inadvertently activated.)

 

[Gary A.]

PS- As to cleaning ... I imagine an AE-1 is worth somewhere between $50 and $75 ... a professional cleaning most likely won't be cost effective (not counting the sentimental value of ... your father's camera).

 

[smoke665]

n AE-1 is worth somewhere between $50 and $75

With the f/1.4 lens I was surprised that fleabay was showing them closer to $200.

 

[Gary A.]

Sans lens.

 

[smoke665]

I don't remember much about the camera's automatic modes, as I've never really used it. I do remember that Dad bought the little 1.5 volt watch batteries in bulk, because it went through a lot of them. Usually because the toggle on/off switch would get left on or bumped on. So besides being involved in shutter actuation, the camera meter, and aperture control, is there anything else that draws power.

 

[TCampbell]

It uses a 6v battery. The door is just below the "AE-1" logo on the front of the camera body.

The shutter actually is mechanical, but there is an electromagnet that releases it.

Your camera may actually be jammed. There are a couple of ways this can happen but one method is cleared by opening the bottom of the camera (which is fairly easy). But if it isn't possible to clear at the bottom then there's a point up top (under the shutter speed dial) where it can jam. That jam usually jams the ability to a wind the camera for the next shot and hopefully that's not a problem with your camera because it's a bit more difficult to clear that jam (you have to take quite a few more things apart to reach it.

There's a YouTube video channel called "Fix Old Cameras" which illustrates how to get into both the bottom and top areas to clear the common issues.

Another common issue with AE-1's now that they're "old" cameras is the shutter-squeak. There's a flywheel that can start to squeak and it needs to be lubed with a drop of clock oil. The drop of oil isn't the problem... it's getting the oil into the right part without major disassembly that's a bit of a challenge. Clock oilers usually have a very long metal "needle" that you can gently bend and there's a way to disassembled part of the front of the camera to get the oiler to the right spot. It took me a few tries but eventually I was able to oil mine so it no longer squeaks.

 

[Designer]

I used to have one of those clock/watch oilers. The oil was whale oil. I don't know whatever happened to that thing. I've misplaced so much stuff.

I once collected old cameras, and had one that looked new. Some Kodak, as I recall. It was apparently kept in its leather case on the top shelf of a closet for decades. The bellows were kind of stiff, but everything worked.

 

[vintagesnaps]

There's mention on Rick Oleson about the Canon squeak but I didn't at a glance see anything about your AE-1. Great info. Tim.
Camera Tech Notes

I love old cameras. I don't do much of anything to them unless absolutely necessary. I've found on occasion that sometimes if something jams (especially if the camera may have been sitting unused for a long time) that in time it will release on its own (I've come back and for no particular reason the shutter button is working again). Maybe they're haunted.

Hope the battery does the trick.

 

[dxqcanada]

All AE-1's I've ever handled had the classic squeak ... it just meant it was happy to take a picture.
I do not recall having to do anything more than put in a new battery to get the camera working again.
Cleaning ... in most cases it don't need it, unless their is a lot of crap in the viewfinder ... many will just continue to use the camera as this ain't cheap to do.
The lens (if it is an FD) is probably worth more than the camera body ... I had one of those, very good lens.

 

[smoke665]

It uses a 6v battery. The door is just below the "AE-1" logo on the front of the camera body.

Tim.

Well I feel like an idiot now. I pulled this out last night late, I was tired, and never paid attention to the logo, just assuming it was an AE-1. When I pulled it out just now in the light of day to look for the door you described, much to my surprise, there in plain view on the front was an "EF logo". So I don't have the AE-1 I have the "Black Beauty" EF model, only produced between 1973 and 1978. Canon EF camera - Wikipedia

According to further reading on the "EF model", "The EF used a unique shutter among Canon's 35mm SLRs: a Copal Square vertical-travel metal blade focal plane shutter. Unusually, long exposures (from 1 second to 30 seconds) were electronically controlled, while shorter ones (1/1000 second to 1/2 second) were mechanically controlled. This was very useful in conserving battery power, and allowed one to use the camera even with dead batteries. I had fired off several shutter clicks at higher speeds, then turned it down to a really slow speed, so I could look through back for dust and dirt. Apparently that's what caused it to lock because of the dead batteries.

Sadly it seems the EF model didn't have the means to regulate voltage, which is why the used the EPX13 mercury battery. Supposedly the only substitute is a 1.5 volt alkaline, that can give erratic readings, because of voltage variance. I read about a modification using the 1.4 volt, 675, and an insulated wire to fill the gap. Or if I can get the shutter to release, I can use it as a manual shutter as long as I stay above the threshold. Any suggestions?????

 

[dxqcanada]

Ah, EF ... that is much different camera than an AE-1.
My F-1N had a similar mech/elec shutter.

I do believe that EF had a voltage regulator to handle 1.5v batteries.

Battery, WEIN Cell PX625 Replacement

 

[smoke665]

I do believe that EF had a voltage regulator to handle 1.5v batteries.

Actually have read conflicting information on this. Some say it does, some say it doesn't . The original battery was 1.35 volt, which might be part of the reason for the erratic meter results. I think the cheapest alternative might be to do a simple modification of the battery box and use the 1.4 volt 675 battery. Since I'll be using manual only and an auxiliary meter that seems to be best bet.