Canon FTb Film Advance Lever Issue

mdwilbourne · Jan 15, 2015

Hello! I just got my FTb in the mail, found on eBay, it's in great condition and everything is working well except the film advance lever. It will only move a about a quarter of the way - is this because I don't have film loaded yet (I was thinking the QL feature might have it locked or something until there's film involved), or is something wrong? Thank you!

naeroscatu · Jan 15, 2015

Hi there, the film advance lever should move all the way even if you don't have film in the camera. I tried on my Ftb. I assume there is a problem but I wouldn't be able to give you a solution, I'm not a technician. If the film advance lever moves only a quarter of the way what happens when you press the shutter?

David Lyga · Jan 15, 2015

The shutter button is surrounded by a 'lock' switch. Make certain that this switch is off. If, still, no shutter fires, make sure that the self-timer switch is not half-way down. If this is not resolved, the shutter will not fire. Finally, see if the curtain is fully closed. On these old, cloth shutter bodies, sometimes the curtain tension wanes and the shutter does not complete its journey. You might, carefully, lift the mirror and, with thumb and index finger, grasp that cloth curtain and gently guide it to completion. If so, the curtain springs need to be tensioned, from the bottom. (Too difficult to go into here.) - David Lyga

mdwilbourne · Jan 15, 2015

Oh no! Pushing the shutter doesn't seem to affect anything. But then again, the shutter isn't going down very far, so it may have problems too. I gambled on ordering it from a Salvation Army, though, so who knows how long it's been unused/technical things could be messy.

mdwilbourne · Jan 15, 2015

Oh wow, I feel dumb. David, that fixed it! I had only been trying the lock on A and L, and when I accidentally knocked it to the right/hit the shutter, it started whirring, and now the lever is moving smoothly! I'm too excited and can't wait to try this camera out!

AgX · Jan 15, 2015

I got no idea what this turning right beyond "A" is refering to.

Anyway, you find the manual for your camera here:

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ftb/canon_ftb.htm

You most likely have not got the right cell inside for the meter. That might lead to some metering fault.

Welcome to Apug!

mdwilbourne · Jan 15, 2015

Haha ah - another embarrassing moment for today. I was looking at the wrong side of the lock switch - what I thought was a painted marker was actually only a notch, so I meant to say *when it was on A. Thank you for the welcome and the manual link, I really appreciate it! I'm sure it will come to be very helpful.

AgX · Jan 15, 2015

Concerning cameras we all got our embarrasing moments.

My weak point is opening lens doors...

David Lyga · Jan 16, 2015

You see, the utter brilliance of David Lyga has 'discovered' that switch (which finding transcends even transcendentalism).

Without such intellect we would all be in dire straits here, as ONLY David Lyga possesses the mental acuity and wherewithal to discover this long hidden entity. So small, so subliminal in nature. - David Lyga

Canon FTb Film Advance Lever Issue

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