Canon sticky shutter.

[Alan W]

I've always been a Nikon man(FG,n6oo6,n80-with plenty of lenses)but I recently dropped my guard and bought an Elan iie and a 630.These cameras have to have the shutter cleaned of black goo periodically just to get 'em to work.I've been told that its the shutter bumper disintegrating,in both cameras!!How common a problem is this for canon fans? Does it happen to Nikons?I've got several other slr's-Pentax and Olympus mainly but I've never seen this before.What gives?

 

[brucemuir]

I have an EOS 1n, 3 & 1v and haven't had this issue.

Shutter bumper rotting sounds plausible but I really don't know how these mid range cameras are constructed so I can't say.

 

[CD55]

This is a common problem with the early Canon EOS models. I have two Canon EOS Elans from the early 1990's and they both have this problem. The only way to get rid of it permanently is to have the camera CLA.

 

[Lopaka]

I had the same problem a couple of years ago with my EOS (dates back to 1992). About $110 later, its like a new camera.

Bob

 

[Markster]

If you're describing the foam breaking down into goo?

Then you need to replace the foam. It ought not be goo. The shutter bumper is what the mirror hits when it pops up, and if that's not a soft piece of foam that you can touch with your bare finger, you seriously need to get it removed, cleaned, and replaced.

The foam does break down over many years from what I understand. It also becomes a big mess, and you don't want to get it anywhere such as the shutter, or on the mirror, or inside the optics or anything like that.

Some folks have suggested not taking this on yourself unless you know what you're doing. Others say you can get re-foaming kits online and do it on the cheap.

Regardless, if your bumper foam is rubbery, check the light seals around the doors as well. They may be going also.

 

[WetMogwai]

You can solve this temporarily with lighter fluid. Dip a q-tip in it and gently wipe the goo off. I have a 630 with the same problem. I can get 4-5 rolls through it before it starts sticking again by doing this. I don't consider that camera worth repairing and I don't use it very often, so this is good enough for me.

 

[ath]

This is a shutter-internal bumper disintegrating. To remove or replace it one has to disassemble the whole camera.
Sadly the EOS50 is affected too, I have it on one of mine. Tried to soak out as much goo as possible with stiff paper, worked for the last few months. Time will tell...

for a start see: http://photonotes.org/articles/oily-shutter/

 

[hpulley]

My 1988 EOS 650 and 2000 EOS 1N RS are fine so far, knock on wood, but my old FD bodies have deteriorating bumper foam for sure.