Chinon 35EE lightmeter issue

Woutervg97 · Jul 30, 2024

Hello hello,

Recently I've picked up this new hobby by buying a few old 35mm camera's, which has been frustrating in a mostly positive way. It's a fun little puzzle to figure out how to use a camera at all, let alone the technical side of it.

My first addition was a rapid, which was a bummer to find out couldn't really be used anymore easily. Second one a Chinon 35EE followed by an Olympus PEN S (for 7,50!) and now a PORST 135L (which is apparantly a clone of the CHINON.

The Chinon had an issue tho: the lightmeter wouldn't budge. I've taken a few shots and send them off for development, but I couldn't let it rest. The Porst has worked with the hearingaid batteries (although a little wonky). The Chinon doesn't seem to be getting any energy from it however, although I've had moments where I thought I noticed the needle had moved up into the '60' but stayed there. I've cleaned the battery compartment by using alcohol and scratched the metal piece a bit to see if that would help, but I don't think it did anything. The Porst seemed to be way more corroded as well.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on what to do next to check if the lightmeter is simply broken or that it is a power issue.

xkaes · Jul 30, 2024

Welcome to the FORUM. That battery chamber looks clean to me, but these problems happen all the time, and for various reasons. Some problems are easy to resolve, some not. #1, you have to make sure you have the correct battery (the NUMBERS can get confusing), and you have to know that it's GOOD (some "new" batteries are old & weak or DOA).

#2 Next, you need to clean the chamber -- as you already did. If there was corrosion in the chamber, this could mean that the two wires connecting the chamber are corroded UNDERNEATH the chamber -- but that means removing the base (probably just two screws), and seeing if you can check out the wires underneath for signs of corrosion.

#3 BEFORE you do that, check the TWO contacts in the chamber. There's the tab in the middle that has to stick up enough to make contact. There might also be another contact on the SIDE of the chamber -- it looks like there is from the photo. This has to stick into the chamber slightly to make contact with the SIDE of the battery.

Do you have any electrical testing gear, like a voltmeter??? This can test the battery and the camera metering system.

Nice cameras -- and GREAT deals!!!

Andreas Thaler · Jul 30, 2024

xkaes said:
Do you have any electrical testing gear, like a voltmeter??? This can test the battery and the camera metering system.

Ad camera metering system:

Can you explain how to measure? What do you have to do?

Woutervg97 · Jul 30, 2024

xkaes said:
Welcome to the FORUM. That battery chamber looks clean to me, but these problems happen all the time, and for various reasons. Some problems are easy to resolve, some not. #1, you have to make sure you have the correct battery (the NUMBERS can get confusing), and you have to know that it's GOOD (some "new" batteries are old & weak or DOA).

#2 Next, you need to clean the chamber -- as you already did. If there was corrosion in the chamber, this could mean that the two wires connecting the chamber are corroded UNDERNEATH the chamber -- but that means removing the base (probably just two screws), and seeing if you can check out the wires underneath for signs of corrosion.

#3 BEFORE you do that, check the TWO contacts in the chamber. There's the tab in the middle that has to stick up enough to make contact. There might also be another contact on the SIDE of the chamber -- it looks like there is from the photo. This has to stick into the chamber slightly to make contact with the SIDE of the battery.

Do you have any electrical testing gear, like a voltmeter??? This can test the battery and the camera metering system.

Nice cameras -- and GREAT deals!!!

Thanks for the reply! #1I looked up on several websites. I used the 375 batteries, although an lr43 worked for the Porst too. The only thing I could think off is that it's fitting is slightly different to that of the Chinon and maybe thats why it wont work.

#2 That was my next guess. I'm going to do that next. Should I look for anything specifically or will the corrosion be obvious?

#3 Can I use the voltmeter on the contacts in the chamber as well? Or wont that do anything? (I'm not a great electrician)

xkaes · Jul 30, 2024

I assume you know what battery is correct for the camera -- I certainly don't, but just check it before use. Your camera is probably very similar to my Minolta Hi-Matic G2. The battery chamber has the tab in the middle and another on the side.

If there was no corrosion in the chamber there is probably none underneath the battery chamber either, but the corrosion on wires is just a white/red/blue bunch of dusty crud. Pretty obvious.

Set your meter to OHMs, then place one pin on the center pin and the other on the side pin -- without the battery of course. The meter in the camera should be ON, if it has an ON/OFF switch -- my G2 is always ON. Take two readings -- one with the lens cap on and one with the camera pointed at a bright object. Hold for several seconds. Do you get different readings, or is it simply 0.0?

MattKing · Jul 30, 2024

Woutervg97 said:
frustrating in a mostly positive way.

Welcome to Photrio.
I think this quoted phrase would look good on a T-shirt.
We hope you enjoy participating here.

Woutervg97 · Jul 31, 2024

xkaes said:
I assume you know what battery is correct for the camera -- I certainly don't, but just check it before use. Your camera is probably very similar to my Minolta Hi-Matic G2. The battery chamber has the tab in the middle and another on the side.

If there was no corrosion in the chamber there is probably none underneath the battery chamber either, but the corrosion on wires is just a white/red/blue bunch of dusty crud. Pretty obvious.

Set your meter to OHMs, then place one pin on the center pin and the other on the side pin -- without the battery of course. The meter in the camera should be ON, if it has an ON/OFF switch -- my G2 is always ON. Take two readings -- one with the lens cap on and one with the camera pointed at a bright object. Hold for several seconds. Do you get different readings, or is it simply 0.0?

Alright, I checked under the battery compartment and there was no corrosion either. The camera doesn't have an on/off switch, but I did use a lenscap of another camera to try this out:
- The moment I put it in any light, I get a reading in the battery chamber (somewhere between 0,9 and 1,2 most of the time)
- The moment I put the cap on, I no longer get any results.

I don't quite know the science behind this, but does that mean that the sensor works?

Woutervg97 · Jul 31, 2024

MattKing said:
Welcome to Photrio.
I think this quoted phrase would look good on a T-shirt.
We hope you enjoy participating here.

Definitely looking forward to participating. The quotes are stolen directly from my father tho, but I seem to be getting to an age where I am morphing into a clone of him.

xkaes · Jul 31, 2024

Woutervg97 said:
Alright, I checked under the battery compartment and there was no corrosion either. The camera doesn't have an on/off switch, but I did use a lenscap of another camera to try this out:
- The moment I put it in any light, I get a reading in the battery chamber (somewhere between 0,9 and 1,2 most of the time)
- The moment I put the cap on, I no longer get any results.

I don't quite know the science behind this, but does that mean that the sensor works?

Every meter is different, but the fact that you are getting different readings indicates to me that the circuit is OK. So concentrate on the battery and its contacts. Do you have a camera manual? Maybe there's something that you need to do to get a meter reading -- assuming this camera gives you a meter reading. Many don't.

Woutervg97 · Aug 1, 2024

xkaes said:
Every meter is different, but the fact that you are getting different readings indicates to me that the circuit is OK. So concentrate on the battery and its contacts. Do you have a camera manual? Maybe there's something that you need to do to get a meter reading -- assuming this camera gives you a meter reading. Many don't.

The meter uses a needle in the viewfinder to indicate enough light. I was thinking that it was perhaps the needle itself that could be stuck in the chamber?

xkaes · Aug 1, 2024

I'm not familiar with that camera, but the needle could be stuck. If your camera has an auto-exposure feature, you might be able to determine if that feature is working correctly by testing a few "shots". The camera might automatically adjust the shutter speed or the f-stop -- or both. Take a shot with the photo cell covered, and note the sound of the shutter and f-stop setting. Then take a shot with the cell pointed at a bright light. If the sound of the shutter is different (faster) or the f-stop is now smaller, then the auto-exposure might still be working even if the needle is stuck.

Woutervg97 · Aug 3, 2024

Well I got the pictures back today. The Chinon works fine! Some pictures were a little dark, but my guess is that that is the amateur doing the shooting. The olympus had a lot of movement in the pictures, so I'll have to try that out too. Going to try and fix the meter.

Woutervg97 · Aug 8, 2024

Alright, opened the whole thing up. Found the needle and moved it around a little to see if it was just physically stuck. but it didnt help. I think I'm going to leave it like this, since it is working and I am affraid of breaking the more delicate parts.

bagelcamus · Dec 13, 2024

Hi there, I’m finding the same problem but with the 135L. Light meter needle doesn’t move. Camera is great otherwise.

I don’t have a way to test the compartments or the batteries but they seem ok to my eye. Batteries are ll43 and the seller says he actually used them this year with no problems.

The camera works and shoots, but regardless of me shooting towards bright light or with the cap on, it’s always the same shutter speed (as far as I can hear). I believe it is around 1/30, so hopefully some photos may be too bright but with film it shouldn’t affect much.
Do you guys have any recommendations besides opening it? I’m stacking a photo of the battery compartment.

xkaes · Dec 13, 2024

Lots of cameras "revert" to a fixed, set, mechanical shutter speed if the metering system is "dead". For example, if the battery is dead. So if you listen to the shutter when the lens cap is on versus when the camera is pointed at the sun -- and the shutter sound is the same, that means the metering system is not functioning correctly -- assuming that you have set the camera correctly to use the meter in auto-exposure mode (this, for example, might be by setting the lens to "A").

With a "dead" metering system, there are several possible suspects, from a dead battery, dirty/bad connections, corroded wires, stuck needle, etc.

bagelcamus · Dec 13, 2024

xkaes said:
Lots of cameras "revert" to a fixed, set, mechanical shutter speed if the metering system is "dead". For example, if the battery is dead. So if you listen to the shutter when the lens cap is on versus when the camera is pointed at the sun -- and the shutter sound is the same, that means the metering system is not functioning correctly -- assuming that you have set the camera correctly to use the meter in auto-exposure mode (this, for example, might be by setting the lens to "A").

With a "dead" metering system, there are several possible suspects, from a dead battery, dirty/bad connections, corroded wires, stuck needle, etc.

I see. Thanks for the clarification. Indeed, it sounds the same. Since film can handle overexposure well I think photos may turn out fine mostly, even if it gets more light than needed.

I’ll try cleaning the contacts and batteries with alcohol just in case. If anyone has other recommendations, happy to read them.

xkaes · Dec 13, 2024

Most cameras revert to a speed of 1/30, and as long as the camera allows you to manually adjust the f-stop (or GN) on the lens, you can operate pretty well under a lot of conditions. That assumes that the shutter is not electrical, and fires on its own.

Paul Howell · Dec 13, 2024

The manual is somewhat sparse, but the link is below. Wonder if any of the issues is due to using a modern 1.5 battery rather than the 1.3 mercury?

Chinon 35 / 35ee instruction manual, GAF MEMO 35 EE user manual

Chinon 35 / 35EE instruction manual

butkus.org

xkaes · Dec 13, 2024

That might give a wrong reading, but it should function -- and the needle should respond.

Woutervg97 · Feb 25, 2025

In my case, the galvanometer was the only broken part. The first roll came out great. However, I broke the camera trying to figure out if I could repair it.

Chinon 35EE lightmeter issue

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