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EOS-3 repair

Joel_L

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 12, 2011
Messages
584
Location
Colorado
Format
Multi Format
Hi,

Looks like my EOS-3 needs fixing. Anyone know of a place in the US that can work on them? The couple places I called no longer have the test setups for them.

Thanks
 
Did you try site sponsor Zacks camera repair?

If not, Nippon USA in NYC.
 
I think you meant Nippon Photo Clinic NYC.?

Zack's is a closed store but Michael? will answer email and still does repair. I'm saving him for fixing the potentially inevitable M5 light leak.
 
hap said:
I think you meant Nippon Photo Clinic NYC.?

Zack's is a closed store but Michael? will answer email and still does repair. I'm saving him for fixing the potentially inevitable M5 light leak.
Click to expand...

There is a Leica repair shop in Oregon that also knows how to fix that M5 leak. reddot something..
 
Red Dot Repair.. I'll remember that, thanks
 
Seems I am stuck. The two places mentioned do not do the EOS-3. The one place that said they could, after looking into them, have a really bad reputation. The quote they gave me seems to follow that rep.
 
There is a working one w canon 28-105 lens on ebay for $170. There are also a bunch of broken ones so not sure if that is a good sign.

If you don't have another AF slr, it may be good to check out Canon's more budget models. You may be surprised as to how good they are.
I have a Nikon F6 and was frankly shocked as to how good the N80 is in comparison. At a fraction of the cost. I'm sure there is similar stuff in the Canon world.
 
If you can get it fixed cool. If not and you don't mind slightly slower AF the EOS 1N is a great alternative, I actually prefer it for the 100% viewfinder. Everything else is practically the same between the 1N/3/1V.
 
I don't think the 1N has E-TTL flash. I think the 1V picked that up which is a consideration.

I really liked the eye control focus on the EOS-3. Some thought it was gimmicky, it always worked well for me.

KEH says they can fix my camera, might cost as much as some of the more expensive ones on E-Bay. I'm tempted to just get it fixed ( if KEH really can ), then I keep the devil I know and not buy an unknow.
 
After going back and forth with KEH a few more times, I do not believe they can fix it. I'm finding a lot of places just replace the shutter thinking that solves all issues. What I also found is no one seems to have the calibration fixtures for the EOS-3s, it was programmed through the hotshoe.

What I found on mine is that the meter is inconsistent. Some circumstances it meters close, sometimes it's off by 2 stops ( under exposing ). If it were consistent, I could just dial in some exposure offset or adjust the ISO setting. I used my light table to check the exposure against a couple of "working" cameras. At a brighter intensity, the working cameras measured an exposure of 1/125 at f5.6, my EOS-3 measured 1/500 at 5.6, so 2 stops off. When I stepped through aperture settings the offset was about 1 stop when I reached f22.

This smells a lot like the issue my camera had when I first got it in 99, I think Canon flashed new firmware and recalibrated it.

I decided to go into my camera just to see what I could see. I cleaned and reseated all the flex cables but to no avail, still has it's issues. so now I'm on the hunt for a replacement.

 
Or just shoot it in manual. But yeah... one of the things I really, really like about my EOS-3's is that they are always spot-on with metering.
 
BTW, did you try Garry? I know the EOS-3 is not on his list of cameras that he repairs, but may be worth a shot.

Garry's Camera Repair

Garry's Camera Repair
www.garryscamera.com
 
Does not look like I have tried either of those places, I will give them a shot.
 

I think it is time to pour one out for your homie.
 
My new EOS-3 showed up. Was advertised as unused and it seems it really is unused. Looking at the date code, it's about 5 years newer than my original.

First thing I did was compare the exposure meter to a couple other cameras and it seemed good. Oddly my first EOS-3 compared relatively close, but then when I initially was trying to sort it out, it was inconsistent.

Now I will shoot a test roll and see how the new camera works.

Because my last use of the first camera before it started failing was with the flash, I'm a bit afraid to try the flash on the new camera, thought in my head, I don't see how the flash could have done anything.

Funny how a camera can come from Japan to the US in 2-3 days. If I send a letter to my neighbor, it takes the same time.

new camera has the lens

 
Last edited:

Was the flash that you used on your Eos that broke specifically compatible? Some flashes have voltages much higher than should be used with ‘modern’ cameras.
 
Yes, it is a Canon 550EX, was the flash for that camera at the time.
 
Ok, you're good with the flash. Did you clean the electronic contacts on the camera body in the lens mount? As well as on the lenses? Perhaps that is causing exposure issues.
 
I did clean everything. My original camera is still inconsistent. I'm still just nervous to try the flash on the new body even though I doubt it has anything to do with it. Fortunately I use the flash very little.
 
Just a quick update on repairs,

I contacted everyone that was mentioned and them some. Some places will do basic CLA, a couple could replace a shutter. When it came to meter calibration or adjustment, nobody could do the camera. So it seems that if an EOS-3 develops metering issues, it's a fatal disease. This is not the same as the camera metering correctly and exposures being off because of a shutter issue, that seems like it can still be fixed, if the metering itself is off, no go.

For now the replacement EOS is working well. I think I rather it expose just a tad more which is easy enough to do. Main point with the new camera is that it is consistent, so an offset to suit my liking works fine. My original was all over the place depending on actual lighting conditions. In some cases it "seemed" to work right, then fell apart quickly.

Sad that no one can really fix these
 
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