Canon EOS Elan troubleshooting

ParkerSmithPhoto · Nov 27, 2012

A recently purchased ($12 @ KEH) EOS ElanII has a bit of a problem. Every once in a while, the shutter will fire, but the film won't advance. A second press of the shutter will then advance the film. Upon developing the film, I find that these misfires result in either blank or dramatically underexposed negs. This happens very randomly. The camera will make 12 good exposures, then the next two will misfire, which leads me to think it may have something to do with the contacts on the lens.

Any ideas?

Peltigera · Nov 28, 2012

I treat my old EOS cameras as disposable. Try cleaning the contacts and if that doesn't work, invest another $12 on another one.

Molli · Nov 28, 2012

I'm not sure if you're experiencing the same problem I had with my Elan II or not, simply because your solution is to press the shutter again in order to force it to wind on to the next frame. With mine, I simply switched it off and then on again. As it turns out, the rather expensive Fuji battery I bought for it wasn't quite the fit it should have been. I already had a bit of foil in there to ensure the contacts met the battery properly, but in the end it just wasn't enough to avoid the problem all together. Oddly, the best fit for the camera I've found is a brand I've never heard of: Vattnic - half the price of the Fuji battery. Perfect fit and no more having to fiddle around restarting the camera every other shot.

I don't know if the same thing's going on with your camera... but I hope it's just as easy a fix.

ath · Nov 28, 2012

The battery might be lazy or the shutter might be sticky (search Canon sticky shutter). Do you get the blinking battery (which seems to be the general fault indicator on the EOS50)?
I have experienced both. The camera tries to cock the shutter without success and needs a second try or even a reset (on/off).

Jon Goodman · Nov 28, 2012

If you want a nice Canon 10s for $12 plus the actual cost of postage, please send me a PM. You can have mine along with a auto focus 28-80 lens. The camera shows normal wear but works fine. The lens was repaired by some clown before I got it. It works ok, however.
Jon

MattKing · Nov 28, 2012

Jon Goodman said:
If you want a nice Canon 10s for $12 plus the actual cost of postage, please send me a PM. You can have mine along with a auto focus 28-80 lens. The camera shows normal wear but works fine. The lens was repaired by some clown before I got it. It works ok, however.
Jon

Jon:

I've now got this picture stuck in my head of someone with big floppy shoes, frizzy hair and a big red nose repairing my cameras. Now what do I do?

Jon Goodman · Nov 28, 2012

Based on the work that was done, I think you're being much too kind with your visual image, Matt.
I think the clown only had two tools: Large rock. Smaller rock.
Jon

PentaxBronica · Nov 28, 2012

Jon Goodman said:
I think the clown only had two tools: Large rock. Smaller rock.
Jon

Been there, bought that, fixed some and recovered spares from the rest!

The one which particularly got me was the zoom with greasy fingerprints inside. Who on earth dismantles a lens and then puts it back together with fingerprints on the glass? They hadn't even bothered to tighten it all up properly, which at least made it easy for me to take it apart again and do a proper job.

Hint: surgical-type gloves are brilliant for avoiding leaving marks on lens elements while reassembling. Even the cleanest fingertips have natural oils on them, the gloves have nothing providing you make sure the talc is only on the inside.

Jon Goodman · Nov 28, 2012

You're right...those gloves are super for lens work. If you're working on a very dry day (meaning more static electricity than usual) and you're fighting with dust/lint/etc that you can't keep off the elements, you can do one of two things. Pass the element by an old style TV. The kind with the cathode ray tube. The dust will fall off. Since those tvs are about as scarce as a 5 year marriage for Mickey Rooney, you can use masking tape folded over onto itself (to make two sticky sides). Blot the elements very gently.
Jon

flatulent1 · Nov 28, 2012

I must be behind the times. All three televisions in my house, plus the computer monitor, are CRTs. They're just too freaking heavy for me to want to replace.

I had the blinking battery indicator when I shot with my IIe last summer, the pics turned out fine. I suspect the OP has some other issue, but I sure don't know what it might be. As much as I hate the thought of cameras becoming disposable, that's probably your only choice. Spend $10-25 to get another one and keep going. What the heck, get two.

Andrew K · Nov 28, 2012

sounds like the shutter buffer is disintergrating.

Have a look at the shutter blades - if you see any "black gunk" on them then the only way to fix it is to strip the camera and clean all traces of the gunk from the shutter.

I've fixed many of these in my time - it's a common Canon fault with EOS and some T series shutters

ParkerSmithPhoto · Dec 1, 2012

Andrew K said:
sounds like the shutter buffer is disintergrating.

Have a look at the shutter blades - if you see any "black gunk" on them then the only way to fix it is to strip the camera and clean all traces of the gunk from the shutter.

I've fixed many of these in my time - it's a common Canon fault with EOS and some T series shutters

And the winner is....

How does one go about stripping and cleaning? I only have $12 in this thing, so it would be a great way to learn about camera repair.

PentaxBronica · Dec 1, 2012

Lighter fluid is usually good for removing foam goo from cameras, best applied with a cotton bud in this case.

flatulent1 · Dec 2, 2012

Cleaning the shutter is only the first step, as the disintegrating bumper is still in there. You'd have to open it up and remove all of it, then install a replacement piece. No, I've never done it. One could, of course, continue to clean the shutter blades as the problem crops up.

Ko.Fe. · Aug 23, 2018

I purchased Elan IIe as lens cap. Camera was unused for years. Worked OK for first day and then low battery at few frames and later every shutter release.
I took slight detour about this problem with information on the web about batteries. Now I have two .
But it appears to be the buffer black gunk. I cleaned it with digital sensor cleaning swab and lens cleaning tissue on it with 99% alcohol. Camera started to works again.
Don't know for how long. Yes, this buffer needs to be out to solve it permanently and as reported online it is no need to replace it, just to remove.

cooltouch · Aug 25, 2018

I had a similar problem with my Elan IIe. I cleaned the shutter blades with denatured alcohol and lots of cotton swabs.

I've heard of people cleaning the buffer goo from the bottom track of the shutter using a cut down piece of business card. I'm not sure of the procedure to do this, but when it can be gotten rid of, it is a permanent fix.

Ko.Fe. · Aug 26, 2018

I did it with inkjet photo paper stripes. Without it goo was just keep on spreading on blades. The real test was to use it at 1/4000. Only after I cleaned it with more effort and time it started to work.

Canon EOS Elan troubleshooting

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency