That 1980s shutter bounce issue took me 2 weeks in Boise

Honestly, I thought I had a bad solenoid in this old Canon AE-1, so I swapped it out on Tuesday. But the mirror still flopped on slow speeds, and I kept chasing the timing circuit until Friday. Turns out the real fix was cleaning the foam bumper that had turned to sticky goo, not any electrical part at all. The mirror was just sticking for a split second, and that felt like a bounce through the whole frame. I wasted close to 14 hours on part swaps before I looked at the mechanics with a loupe. Has anyone else spent days on a slow speed issue that ended up being pure cushioning, or am I the only one who ignores the obvious? What's your go-to trick for spotting worn foam without tearing the whole camera apart first?

2 comments

2 Comments

sagey6926d ago

My last Canon F-1 ate a whole Saturday over a "sticky magnet" that was just the mirror damper turned into maple syrup. I even bought a whole new light meter before I looked at the foam with a flashlight and felt like an idiot. You ever just use a q-tip to poke every rubber pad you can reach before touching a screwdriver?

finley93925d ago

That foam degradation gets everyone eventually, @sagey69, it's like the camera equivalent of finding out your tires were flat the whole time. My old Pentax K1000 had a similar moment where I replaced the whole shutter assembly before realizing the light seal was just shedding bits onto the film gate. Still, there's something oddly satisfying about fixing a camera with nothing but a q-tip and some patience, makes you feel like a proper mechanic instead of a parts swapper.