Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: More photo-gear fussiness

This is topic More photo-gear fussiness in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=004232

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 09-01-2005, 06:50 PM:

Hi, Guys -

Would like to ask once more, if any of You have experience with cameras like those old dinos, I'm buying now and then on Ebay:

This time Canon EOS 650: I've got two of those - about 15-16 years old (just few weeks with me), and normally no trouble, if I don't ask them to focus on a motive at sea, -water in big portions seem to confuse the AF.
Two weeks ago, one of the cameras started having trouble with exposure and mirror, -the mirror stays up some times, at on the latest two rolls, about half the pictures vere unexposed and some few wrong exposed. -Several rolls of film in advance perfect, and the other half of the shots on the troubled films likevise. Battery less than a month old.
Yesterday, EOS 650 #2 started exactly the same way - until now only twice - mirror does not come down after release before i presse the release button again... LCD display shows "bc" - code for battery check. -But check shows battery ok - so does the photo dealers meter.

Anyone tried this ? What happens ? What to do ????

I normally work with Canon T-70 (3 of the kind, one from new in 1987) - no trouble at all with any of them, but as the 650's go for less than fifty bucks these days on ebay, I just had to try my first autofocus. Also lately got a T-90 on ebay, but i guess, that one needs some manual reading to get use of all the features it offers.

Today MADAGASCAR gets its danish premiere. -It just might be the first money-maker for months. Hope so !

all the best

Per

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-02-2005, 12:12 AM:

Per,

Although electronically controled the EOS line is also mechanical and because of such does require periodic maintainance and its possible for sub sections of the camera to fail. I used to repair cameras at Canon USA back in the late 70's. AE-1's A-1's F-1's and so on down the mid to late 70's product line. Those cameras also experienced failures but certainly not on a large scale consodering how many of those older cameras were produced and sold. Things like shutter assemblys, mirror mechanisms, and other sections can and do fail... its part of the built in frustration of photography itself. Anyway back in those days Canon was a great company and manufactured some of the finest SLR cameras and lenses made at that point in time... alas that unfortunately is not true today and the start of the decline was the comming of the first Auto Focus camera called the Auto focus 1 which I believe was around 1979 or so. From there on in it was a downhill ride for Canon's quality and things were drastically "cheapened up". Interestingly, after moving to Utah I made use of a set of Nikon lenses that I had bought for my VistaVision camera. It was those lenses conbined with an old F-2 body that I had paid a hundred bucks for that I found out how far superior the Nikor glass was to Canons glass. Not that Canon is bad but the difference in the images was quite startling and very noticable. I still have my Canon F-1n and set of glass for it but ANY camera that I purchase in the future will be a Nikon with Nikor glass. Luckily, I also own two Nikor lenses along with 3 Rodenstocks for my 4X5 view camera and the Nikors are easily on a par with the Rodenstocks. But the Nikors are so much better than the Canon glass that they led me to abandon a good friend maned F-1n that I bought back I worked there.

Mark