Canon AE-1 Shutter Capping?

Hi, everybody.

I'm new here so I hope this is going in the correct thread. Anyway, I'm having what appears to be issues with shutter capping (I think that's the term) with my AE-1. I shot a series of shots yesterday and they all came out with a faint line in the same position on all of them. It was at slower speeds rather than higher speeds as most people talk about with shutter capping. It doesn't extend beyond the exposed frame so I'm certain that it isn't a light leak. You can see the line on the left side of the photo. Do you think that shutter capping is the actual problem and that it just needs to be tightened?

Either way, I'll take it to the shop to have it repaired, but I live in Korea so it's always best that I go in with a decent idea of the problem so I can prepare an explanation in advance due to language barriers.

Thanks!

Focus_Tilt said:

Hi, everybody.

I'm new here so I hope this is going in the correct thread. Anyway, I'm having what appears to be issues with shutter capping (I think that's the term) with my AE-1. I shot a series of shots yesterday and they all came out with a faint line in the same position on all of them. It was at slower speeds rather than higher speeds as most people talk about with shutter capping. It doesn't extend beyond the exposed frame so I'm certain that it isn't a light leak. You can see the line on the left side of the photo. Do you think that shutter capping is the actual problem and that it just needs to be tightened?

Either way, I'll take it to the shop to have it repaired, but I live in Korea so it's always best that I go in with a decent idea of the problem so I can prepare an explanation in advance due to language barriers.

Thanks!

View attachment 308396

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This looks like shutter bounce. Yes it can be repaired.

flavio81 said:

This looks like shutter bounce. Yes it can be repaired.

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Excellent! Thanks for the response. It'll be helpful when talking with the repairman.

You should have a great camera once it's fixed. The AE-1 Program is more versatile, but there's something special about the AE-1's. FD glass is special too. Not as sharp or contrasty as Nikkors, Canon chose to go in a different direction. All the FD lenses have a particular sort of IQ that's uniquely Canon.

momus said:

Not as sharp or contrasty as Nikkors,

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As an owner of many Nikkors and Canon FD lenses, i find this a baseless claim.

Canon cameras and lenses are basically soulless compared to the joie de vivre one experiences when using Nikon equipment. Always been this way, always will.

choiliefan said:

Canon cameras and lenses are basically soulless compared to the joie de vivre one experiences when using Nikon equipment. Always been this way, always will.

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Yes, i'm sure the best way to experience "joie de vivre" is shooting in low light, trying to look at the microscopic "+/-" meter display on the Nikon F3 and trying to reach for the viewfinder illuminator button with your right pinky finger, while keeping pushed the shutter button with your index finger, only to find the illuminator no longer works, never worked, perhaps was designed as a practical joke.

Or maybe the other way would be to change lenses in a hurry with your Nikkormat, setting the lens at f5.6 and then moving the aperture coupling pin on the camera to the far right so they match. You mount the lens and keep shooting but much later you realize that you forgot to do the "nikon twist" after fitting the lens, so all your exposures are now wildly off and probably unusable.

Maybe the "joie de vivre" is using a Nikon EM, after all it's so elegant, compact, tiny, easy to use, easy to carry, and it uses most Nikkors, what's to go wrong? Until you finish your roll, start rewinding with maybe a little too much "joie", and thus the plastic rewind knob completely breaks off.

No, maybe the "joie de vivre" is in servicing Nikkor lenses -- trying to remove the lens mount screws. Probably there dwells the joy... to find that somebody invented the perfect thread lock compound, one that gets the screws completely stuck forever.