Centon DF300 Black Viewfinder - Am I being a fool?

[Barry Taylor]

Hello! I was recently gifted my dad's old Centon dF300.

I have a grim feeling that I'm being very stupid as a newbie to the analog world but I'm run into a road bump.

When I first received it, I could see through the viewfinder and there were 'cross hairs' present.
I pressed down the shutter, like an impulsive kid, and the view through the viewfinder has been black ever since. There's no film within, btw.

I bought new batteries (DL1/3N) but I'm still seeing nothing through the viewfinder, just pure black. Having taken the lens off, it seems the mirror is stuck upwards and I was hoping the new batteries would hold the power to jolt it back down. Alas, no.

Do you think there's another reason why I'm seeing nothing through the viewfinder?

Thank you so much and apologies if i've just wasted 1 minute of your life.

 

[AgX]

Welcome to Apug!

The reason you do not see anything (or much) in the viewfinder obviously is that the mirror has not flipped down again. It is stuck in the up-position, though not really fully up.
The mirror box does not look good, but as if part of the inside cover warped out. I guess here is the cause for the mirror not further going down.

 

[Barry Taylor]

Hello! Thank you very much. I think i'll be spending a lot of time here!
Yeah, the mirror box is looking a little off-kilter so I think you're right. What had me puzzled is that it all seemed okay when I first handled it, but now it's struggling.
I really appreciate the reply. I'm going to pop by Safe Light here in Berlin and see what they think is the best course of action.

Thanks again.

 

[AgX]

Anyway, I never even heard of the Centon brand before. But it is basically a re-branded/re-made Minolta X-300 or X-300S model.
So you could look there too.

 

[Barry Taylor]

So, I naively thought that the mirror was stuck 'up' to its full extent but your reply was key, @AgX. The mirror was indeed stuck on some of the mirror box padding. I'm going to investigate the necessity of that padding as a friend's newer version of the model doesn't have it. Yes, so it was produced for a chain in England and many copies appeared:

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Centon_DF-300

Apparently it's decent for starting off so it should tick the box, once I get it working!

 

[monopix]

Looks like you've found your answer. That padding, or lining, of the mirror box definitely shouldn't be there. Never seen anyone do that before. But it sort of suggests there were some issues and it was done to cut internal reflections. You might find you have some light leaks somewhere.

 

[Martin Rickards]

Looks like you've found your answer. That padding, or lining, of the mirror box definitely shouldn't be there. Never seen anyone do that before. But it sort of suggests there were some issues and it was done to cut internal reflections. You might find you have some light leaks somewhere.

A lot of SLRs had foam mirror shock absorber (like my Minolta X500, for example) at the top of the mirror travel. This was not anything to do with light leaks.

 

[cmacd123]

Centron DF300 is really a Seagull DF300. the Seagull DR300 is a made under license Minolta X300/X370 (same camera sold under different model number in different markets.) The Centron I have is more a X370n (more plastic.).

the foam at the top is mostly to control mirror bounce, and many cameras are overdue to have it repleced after 30 years. it is general included in a "Light seal Kit" Be aware that most of the minoltas DO have a metal barrier in that area, which keeps internal reflections under control.

the manual for the X370 can be downloaded from https://learncamerarepair.com/product.php?product=20&category=2&secondary=7 and although not identical you should be able to see an exploded diagram of the mirror area.

the mirror cushion is Part 2006-5112-03 in the diagram.

 

[monopix]

A lot of SLRs had foam mirror shock absorber (like my Minolta X500, for example) at the top of the mirror travel. This was not anything to do with light leaks.

You need to look more closely at the pictures. It looks like some has tried to line the whole mirror box. Not just the foam at the top.

 

[cmacd123]

Quick shots with a web camera, but this shows MY DF300, and the mirror bumper foam at the top. their is no foam at the sides and not very much room fro the mirror mechanism to move. I agree that it looks like someone has added foam at the sides of the mirror box.



endoscope camera closeup