If you've ever seen a sale of mine before, you'll notice one common thread: nearly every single thing has some problems. This is because I'm a cheapskate and balk at spending any more than the lowest possible amount of money on gear, then cross my fingers that it'll work when it arrives. I'm not proud.
This one is no different! It's a Canon P that I bought from a Japanese eBay seller who described its only problems as a dent in the top plate, peeling leatherette, and a broken self-timer. Sadly, I discovered two more. One was minor: some light, not particularly bothersome fungus in the viewfinder. The other, though, was that the closing shutter curtain doesn't close all the way, causing a light leak.
This seems to be a pretty common issue, and is apparently not so tough to fix. I took a crack at it myself; I took off the bottom plate, cleaned out the appropriate gears with a bit of lighter fluid, and relubed them with some clock oil. It solved the problem for a bit, but now it's back to the way it was. I actually think there might be something going on with the bottom plate itself, but I really don't know what I'm talking about.
Incidentally, I also took off the front/rear plates and found that the self-timer seems to be working. The problem is that the little bit that connects the lever to the mechanism is gone, so the lever just doesn't engage. I'm sure somebody can find a way to activate the timer without it! I also think you could probably soften the leatherette and reglue it, but if not, you can get a new one from the guy at cameraleather.com for around $30. Shutter speeds seem alright, and the curtain is typically wrinkled but not enough to be a problem.
Price: $65 shipped. Includes a body cap and, what the hell, an OK condition Industar-61. The rangefinder is currently calibrated for another lens, though.
This one is no different! It's a Canon P that I bought from a Japanese eBay seller who described its only problems as a dent in the top plate, peeling leatherette, and a broken self-timer. Sadly, I discovered two more. One was minor: some light, not particularly bothersome fungus in the viewfinder. The other, though, was that the closing shutter curtain doesn't close all the way, causing a light leak.
This seems to be a pretty common issue, and is apparently not so tough to fix. I took a crack at it myself; I took off the bottom plate, cleaned out the appropriate gears with a bit of lighter fluid, and relubed them with some clock oil. It solved the problem for a bit, but now it's back to the way it was. I actually think there might be something going on with the bottom plate itself, but I really don't know what I'm talking about.
Incidentally, I also took off the front/rear plates and found that the self-timer seems to be working. The problem is that the little bit that connects the lever to the mechanism is gone, so the lever just doesn't engage. I'm sure somebody can find a way to activate the timer without it! I also think you could probably soften the leatherette and reglue it, but if not, you can get a new one from the guy at cameraleather.com for around $30. Shutter speeds seem alright, and the curtain is typically wrinkled but not enough to be a problem.
Price: $65 shipped. Includes a body cap and, what the hell, an OK condition Industar-61. The rangefinder is currently calibrated for another lens, though.
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