Who likes to venture on a tele-diagnosis?

[LaFoto]

My SLR is sick.
Not dying like I first thought, but... sick.

If I'd send it to hospital, they'd charge 80 Euro for opening it and for telling me there is nothing wrong other than that it would need its batteries changed.

It does NOT need its batteries changed. It is not that. They are brand-new. And when I put them into the camera in the very shop where I bought them and thought, hang on, they are not full, the shop-assistent went to measure their filling state for me and yes, they were full.

However, the first symptoms showed on Saturday, when my sister and I went to an open air museum just across the border to The Netherlands. I had put in the film all right in her home and did not suspect a thing: the Canon EOS 500 pulls out ALL THE FILM at first and exposes it backward, so that all the exposed pictures are in the roll. That requires battery energy and the motor. All worked fine.

Then, once in that museum, I clicked, the mirror jumped shut and - stayed.
Hmph.
I switched it off in frustration - on again - zzzrrrr! - the film transported and the mirror jumped back so I could look through AND SEE something through the viewfinder again.

I left taking photos on film to my sister then and reverted to the little compact digital Canon that I have too.

Here I thought (mostly so after my sister had told her about her experience with the Canon people and their replies to her camera problems), before I send it in, I try out again. I press, mirror jumps shut and stays, I push the release button just a fraction more, the mirror jumps back. Hooray. Not all is lost. But it is highly inconvenient and I don't know whether the photo has by then been taken or not or if the second little push will cause camera shake on all my photos?

Meanwhile however, some new thing occurred: I press, release the mirror by that second little push, and the battery sign goes to "all empty". I open the box, shut it again, the sign is back to full and the film transports fully.

What can it be?
What causes this?
Has anyone had this phenomenon with their camera?
What could be done?
What helped in the end?
If I give my SLR away now to be examined and maybe repaired, I'll never get it back before I'll fly over to England for our European Meet-Up!

 

[Big Mike]

Does your camera have 'Mirror Lock Up' ? It could be possible that you have MLU turned on...that would explain the mirror flipping up and staying up...and then coming down when you press the release again.

Are you sure that the film caught the sprocket and that the film is wound? The first time I loaded film into an EOS Rebel (with pre-wind)...I had to do it a few times before I got the film to catch.

Maybe the battery is the problem...it might be the contacts on the battery or inside the camera. Check if they are clean. Maybe try a new/different battery just to see if those ones really are OK.

 

[hobbes28]

^^^ I second that assessment. Especially the part about the mirror lock up. That happens from time to time and that's why they usually recommend having a good cleaning periodically.

 

[LaFoto]

I have had this Canon for over 6 years now and MLU is a totally new term to me. So it can't have that.
It shows if the film caught the sprocket. The numbers are counted through to 37, then jump back to 36. If that happens, I know the film is correctly loaded.
I might consider getting myself new batteries.
Like I was saying, I had trouble with these even in the shop (the shop assistent threw away the package for me)... any means of how to possibly clean the contacts - just in case a new set of batteries should not bring about any change?

I am beginning to grow more and more convinced that it is not a problem with the camera as such. It is a problem with the energy supply. Everything does work (like the film being transported, the mirror going back, all that), only too much at random and in too erratic a manner for anyone to be happy.

Next step will be new batteries, though I growl at the thought of having spent that money on bad ones...

 

[probe1957]

>>any means of how to possibly clean the contacts <<

Try a pencil eraser.

 

[Mitica100]

I've had bouts of mirror return squeaking on a Canon A1 and AE1 but never heard about this kind of problem. Hmm...

I agree that it must be electrical. If you clean the contacts with a pencil eraser, as suggested above, and it works, then congrats! Many cameras have weak contacts, Canon shouldn't be amongst them but who knows...

Also, my guess is that if you open (read: carefully open) the bottom plate, you'll probably see that the Canon cameras use a little electromagnet to activate the shutter/mirror assembly. It will look like a letter 'U' and have a bunch of fine copper wire around it. Sometimes the piece that needs to move towards the magnet gets sticky. Cleaning is easy, use a few drops of Naphta (or cigarette lighter fluid, the old style) and then blow some air on it. It might just take care of the problem. Again, it's just a guess!

Good luck.

 

[LaFoto]

Mitica, my son and I carefully, ever so carefully opened the bottom plate (something I have NEVER done to the camera before EVER!), and this is what we saw. No U and copper wires around. We did NOT dare to open that second little (silver) plate.

And the more I think about it (and have tested here and there) the more I think that the set of batteries that I bought only two weeks ago is defective. It did not let me take one single photo, and I took over 500 of them only the weekend before without any problems.

So my next step will be to go and get a new set of batteries. Seems like a waste of money on this set (they are not exactly cheap!) but what can I do?

My son and I blowed clean whatever we could, but now the batteries completely refuse to work, so I think they are defective.

 

[Mitica100]

Dang it! They don't make them like they used to!...

Anyway, my next two or three questions:

1) does your camera have the extra battery grip mounted on? If so, are the contacts clean?

2) are you sure the contacts in the battery compartment reach the batteries?

3) are you using a Sigma or Quantaray lens with it? There are some incompatibility issues with these lens makers and the EOS 300/500, such as mirror lock-up.

Check this up:

http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html#compatibilitythirdparty

Let me know if you have any 'yes' responses to the above questions.

 

[LaFoto]

1) does your camera have the extra battery grip mounted on? If so, are the contacts clean?

You can look right into the battery compartment, it is to the left and it is open so you can see the state of the contacts. We cleaned them both with pencil eraser AND very fine (600) sandpaper. No effect.

2) are you sure the contacts in the battery compartment reach the batteries?

Yes, I am pretty sure they do that.

3) are you using a Sigma or Quantaray lens with it? There are some incompatibility issues...

I've had a Sigma 70-300 zoom lens for - let me think - over three years with it now and until July 16 it worked absolutely fine. Only July 17, the then used set of batteries went flat, and on Monday, July 18, I bought myself a new set. Got a gut feeling that something was not right with them even in the shop and had the shop-assistent measure their contents for me. Their apparatus showed "full". The feeling inside me remained. But I did not use the SLR until I tried to take photos on Saturday, July 30. That is when I first found out my camera was in trouble.

Today, so I think, a trip to the shop and a new set of batteries are on the agenda. If another set should give me the same problems, then my camera and I are in deeper trouble than we thought. But somehow my "gut feeling" (again!) tells me that something was wrong with those batteries that I bought on that Monday, 18 July, and that has never let me take one single untroubled photo...

Thanks for taking your time to come to this thread and help me, Mitica. Without you, I'd NEVER IN ALL MY LIFE have dared to open the bottom plate and take a look inside and blast it clean with my son's air compressor... especially the mirror is now cleaner than ever

With all those measures, mind, the batteries have packed up completely...

 

[Mitica100]

Your instinct might prove to be correct! It does sound like a bad set of batteries after all. But do give it a try with a Canon lens, be that primary or not, just to be on the sure side. Besides that, I'm dying of curiosity...:lmao: :lmao:

Let me know how it went after the new batteries went in. Good luck. Oh, and never hesitate to carefully open the bottom, it sounds like you did a great job.

 

[LaFoto]

New batteries, no change.
I must have done a BAD job upon opening it and cleaning it

Now I know I won't have a functioning SLR for our meet-up in England in two weeks from now.

Oh-oh-oh

 

[ThatCameraThingy]

LaFoto.

I'm fairly sure that the problem you describe is not battry related. The Canon camera's have feedback systems to tell it that :1 the mirror has locked up to take the pic. 2 the shutter curtains have opened and closed. 3 tha lens apperture has stopped down .

if the camera does not get feedbacck from any of those it asumes that the batteries are flat. and then gives you error msg.

I have come across that before on the Canon's. Every time thus far it was one of three things :

1 - The shutter curtains are stuck,torn,or sticky.(finger through them when loading the film) the way to check is to take out the film and open the back - see if they are opening and closing on slow shutter speed.

2 - lens not mounted properly - take it off and put it back on again - listen for the click

3- lens is faulty - apperture does not regulate - test with different lens.

If this does not help , please PM me - I will ask Technichian friend for advice.


Hanno

 

[Mitica100]

New batteries, no change.
I must have done a BAD job upon opening it and cleaning it

Now I know I won't have a functioning SLR for our meet-up in England in two weeks from now.

Oh-oh-oh

Darn!! Have you tried it with a Canon lens yet instead of the Sigma?

 

[LaFoto]

Yes! I have. I followed all your advice. Put on the original kit lens before I entered the shop to get the new batteries.

 

[ThatCameraThingy]

LaFoto

please take out the film and see if the shutterblades are fine. even if it means spoiling the film.

did you see my previous post ?

Hanno