20 Most Recent Canon EOS-AE-1 35mm SLR Camera - Page 4 Questions & Answers

If the camera is actually at fault here (and yes i always blame mine ;-]) it is usually due to the shutter getting out of time with the flip mirror. When you take a picture the mirror flips up out of the way and then the shutter opens and the camera actually takes the picture. What can happen i the track gets gummed up. Can be from old lube or the wrong stuff being used or dust. So when you take the picture the mirror doesn;t get out of the way and you get a picture of the back side of the mirror. I think that has a titanium shutter but older ones had a cloth shutter and those would stick a lot easier.

You can clean the track using isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs. You need to be careful not to lave any cotton fibres in the tracks or the mirror or the shutter. Take the lens off and then push the mirror out of the way with a swab (don't touch anything in there with fingers) Wet a swab end and just follow the track a few times. It may take a few passes before any buildups start to loosen up. And you may not see much if any thing.

Don't use any lube unless you have a high quality silicon. So don't be tempted to spray some WD40 in there (yes I've seen some do that and then wonder why it doesn;t work). There is a reccomended lube but I'd have to dig out the shop manual for the series to find what it was. It either was a silicone lube or a graphite. Anyway if the cleaning improves or fixes the problem then you should be good to snap away.

do you mean the film advance lever?

This is a very common fault now on almost all AE1's and related models like the AV1.

Most of the time, it's due simply to age and dried out lubricants. The cameras need a strip down, thorough clean, and reassembly using fresh lubricants (known as a CLA service). It's wise during this process to remove and replace all light seals and mirror buffers as they'll have turned into a corrosive sticky black goo by now. The job is for professionals only due to the need for special tools and skills and the need to readjust the shutter speeds upon reassembly. Although it's not cheap (£80-£100 parts in the UK, cheaper in the USA and much cheaper in some Far Eastern countries such as Malaysia. If broken parts need replacing there is an extra charge), it's far cheaper than any new camera of the same quality and will ensure that the camera gives many more years of service. A freshly CLA'd camera has a resale value, a broken AE1 is usually completely worthless.

You have the first signs of a very common problem on all AE-1's and similar AV-1's. Left unattended your camera will soon seize up with the shutter and rewind buttons, plus the advance lever all stuck. The trick to maximise chances of a successful repair is to get it fixed before it totally seizes.

Basically the camera needs a thorough strip down and overhaul. They're well built but fairly mechanically simple so in practice it usually just means that the camera is stripped down, parts cleaned of all dried-out gummed-up lubricants, and then reassembled and re-lubricated. New parts are near impossible to find, but there were millions of these models made so there are plenty of spares donors for most parts. DIY servicing IS possible, but you need to have the right tools, materials and instruction books and the investment for a one-off repair is simply not worth it. You also need to be confident in tackling repairs to precision machinery which may not have been disturbed for thirty years.

Just contact a camera repairer to ask what a CLA service (Clean, Lubricate, Adjust) will cost. In hard economic terms, it makes no sense, but a freshly CLA'd AE-1 in regular amateur use should be good for many more years of reliable service so you can get your money's worth. In the UK the service will normally cost between £60-£100 and in the USA it's a bit cheaper. Demand for camera servicing outstrips availability worldwide as so many repairers have gone out of business, so a common turnaround time is up to six weeks worldwide unless you pay a lot extra for express turnaround as used by professionals who depend on their cameras to make a living.

It's worth getting the camera light seals and buffers replaced at the same time: originals were made of a chemically unstable foam which by now will have turned into a corrosive sticky goo. Higher cost CLA's will include it as standard, lower cost ones will try to charge extra, but I have found that sometimes the shop may do it for free if you point out that you can take the camera elsewhere.

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You have bad mirror release magnet.
The magnet became weak and not holding the mirror so when you wind, the mirror goes up and takes pictures or releases the shutter by itself.

I think you have already ruined the film except the frames that are rewind back to the film cartridge.
You can take the film out from the camera, push in the rewind button at the bottom, pull out the film from the film take up reel.
On the film cartridge, turn on the long tube in the middle clockwise to wind all the film back into the cartridge.
If you had the back opened briefly, do manual film rewinding in the dark room.

For Canon AE-1, you have to lift up the film rewind knob to open the back.

Hmmm. Sounds like something internal is not engaging as it should. It probably is a plastic gear that has aged a little too long, and some of the teeth are broken off. Yes, this will need a trip to the repair shop. It's probably due for Clean, Lube and Adjust anyway.

Garryscamera.com and many others will repair this camera for you. Luckily, AE-1 was a great seller for Canon, so there are lots of spare parts out there. On Ebay, they are inexpensive and common. Buy one as a backup or parts donor, as they are old enough to start falling apart.

That camera needs tobe services. The IC2 is the technicians code that tells where to start. With the problems you describe it would be best ot let a technician overhaul and recalibrate it if possible. then you will have a camera that operates like new.

bad capacitor

This is very common on all AE-1 variants and the closely related AV-1.

The simple answer is that your camera needs a thorough CLA service (Clean, Lubricate, Adjust). In most cases all that's happened is that the lubricants put in there thirty plus years ago have dried out and gummed up. If you're unlucky then gears or levers have worn, but there are plenty more of these cameras in good condition for free/cheap if that's happened (although they'll also be due a CLA if not done recently).

At the same time, you can get the camera's gooey foam light seals and mirror buffers replaced; most places charge extra for this one-off service, but sometimes they'll do it for free if you politely point out that you can take the camera elsewhere.

Freshly serviced, your camera can last for many more years.

If in the UK then I can recommend Colchester Camera Repair, they're Canon specialists and absolutely excellent, but you may have your own preferred repairer. Any competent camera repairer can do this job very easily.

Don't try to force anything on your camera until you get it repaired, and try to get the job done asap, as sometimes this fault weakens internal parts due to springs being held in stressed positions for longer than designed.

DIY repair is possible but quite tricky, but if you're prepared to risk it going wrong then the experience is worthwhile. You'll find various "how-to" guides online although I haven't got any bookmarked at present to refer you to.

I hope that I've answered your question, please don't forget to rate my answer.

The camera may have tricked itself into thinking the film is at the end. I know that's not likely in an older manual focus SLR, but just fer grins, try pushing in the little pin on the bottom.
It could just be that the camera mechanism has jammed. When was the last time it was in to a repair guy for Clean, Lube, Adjust? Those AE-1 cameras are getting to that age where they need maintenance.
I had to get a couple of my manual focus SLRs in for CLA service too.

Sorry, converting a film camera to digital involves more than just a back cover. Medium- and large-format cameras can do this because the back involves the entire film transport system. Open up the back of your AE-1 and you'll get an idea of just how much of the camera is devoted to film--the casette on the left, the take-up spool on the right. Converting the camera to digital would cost a lot more than a new digital camera.

That's what the rewind knob is all about: It will allow you to rewind the film back into the cassette to avoid it to be exposed to the light and therefore losing your pictures.

When loading the film you must insert the film into the receiving spool by hand while the camera back is open. Make sure to advance the start enough so that the spool will 'stick' to the film.

If the crank is missing a very strong tool is needed to hook into the area inside to open the film door. Use a tiny screw driver for eye glasses for this fix. Insert the tool and apply pressure to it so it will not come out, then pull it upward as you did whe the crank was there before. These partts are on Ebay every day too for sale

That can be a problem. The ASA dial has a post that links to another ring under the top cover. The ring under the cover is spring loaded via a tungsten cable that travels the span of the top of the camera to the rewind side. If you are not careful, the cable could break.

To get to the dial, unscrew the cap screw that holds the film advance lever on. The cap screw has 2 small holes for a specific tool, but small needle nose pliers with fine points will work. The lever can be removed with 2 washers along with it. You can now see the retaining nut for the dial. It is best to set the dial at 'B', 3200 ASA. Use the same pliers to remove the nut. The dial can be removed at this point. Best to lift it on the far side near the edge of the top. If the dial itself is damaged, I probably have a good used one. The ring under the top has a notch for the ASA dial post, at rest it should be at about 10:00 oclock. With the ASA dial still set at B/3200, lean the post into the notch and slowly turn it counter-clockwise till the ASA dial can be seated fully. Reassemble the other parts in the reverse order.

The film is either at the end or stuck. The shutter will not release unless the film advance lever has gone all the way and back.
Make a note of the frame counter. Rewind the film and remove it from the camera (When you feel the film to come loose from the receiving spool, stop rewinding to prevent the end of the film to disappear inside the can. This way you can reload it if it was stuck in the middle.) If the film was completely exposed, take it to be developed.
With the empty camera, try to advance the lever and release the shutter. If this works, the problem was the film and not the camera. Everything is fine. If the problem persists, take it to be repaired.
If the film was stuck in the middle, load it again into the camera. With the lense cap on (preferably in a dark room or similar) 'shoot' as many 'empty' frames as you had on the counter plus two more. Finish the film and develop the pictures.
If the film stucks again at the same place, rewind it and develop normally. It was a bad film.
Hope this helped you to solve the problem.

The prism is a major repair. If the prism is damage the the camera is trash. If the focusing screen in fornt of the prism is scratched then you can replace it if you can find another one. Because the camera is so old you will not be able to get them from Canon. Because of the age you may be better off buying another used AE-1

Mechanical problem that must be repaired by a technician. It may be time to retire this camera.

The camera is no set correctly. Set the lens on P and the camera must match if AE-1P. If this is the AE-1 original and the camera is set on M then the lens cannot be locked on P