Fujica AX-1 shutter problem

Trokaderox1 · Nov 25, 2018

Hello, i recetly got a fujica ax-1 i put a new battery in and the camera works it winds the led inside the viewfinder lights up but when i press the triger the shutter opens but doesn't close while i hold the button, no matter what i do it stays open until i realese the trigger. I'm confused am i missing something or is the camera faulty?Here is a video i recorded of what is going on to explain more clearly the situation.

shutterfinger · Nov 25, 2018

Attach a lens then check it again. Being this is an AE camera it will not operate properly without a lens attached.
Download the instruction manual here if you need one: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/fujica/fujica_ax-1/fujica_ax-1.pdf

Trokaderox1 · Nov 26, 2018

shutterfinger said:
Attach a lens then check it again. Being this is an AE camera it will not operate properly without a lens attached.
Download the instruction manual here if you need one: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/fujica/fujica_ax-1/fujica_ax-1.pdf[/QUOTE

With or without a lense it does the same thing, i even tried a diffrent lens stil does the same thing, the camere acts as if its in bulb mode no matter the mode selected.

shutterfinger · Nov 26, 2018

With a lens attached, camera turned on, lens pointed at a bright scene, press the shutter button half way and note the shutter speed displayed in the viewfinder.
Remove your finger from the shutter button, change the aperture 2 or 3 stops, depress the shutter button half way and note the shutter speed shown in the viewfinder. Did it change the same number of stops as the aperture?

Trokaderox1 · Nov 27, 2018

shutterfinger said:
With a lens attached, camera turned on, lens pointed at a bright scene, press the shutter button half way and note the shutter speed displayed in the viewfinder.
Remove your finger from the shutter button, change the aperture 2 or 3 stops, depress the shutter button half way and note the shutter speed shown in the viewfinder. Did it change the same number of stops as the aperture?

Ok so i did that and it didn't change no matter what settings i used the led was flashing between 2-4 on the same spot.I tried it outside looking at the sun or in a dark basment it was the same.

Trokaderox1 · Nov 27, 2018

I forgot to mentioun this the batteries i got for the camera are some cheap chinese ones, could it be possible that the batteries don't supply enough power for the camera to function properly?

shutterfinger · Nov 27, 2018

I would get a correct battery locally if possible. I don't have any experience with Chinese batteries but would only use them as a last resort.

Set the aperture ring on the lens to its smallest opening. While looking through the lens operate the aperture lug that makes contact with the camera aperture control lever and verify the aperture actually stops down.
With a known good battery in the camera operate the aperture control lever and verify the camera's metering system senses the aperture change.

Trokaderox1 · Nov 27, 2018

shutterfinger said:
I would get a correct battery locally if possible. I don't have any experience with Chinese batteries but would only use them as a last resort.
View attachment 211990

Set the aperture ring on the lens to its smallest opening. While looking through the lens operate the aperture lug that makes contact with the camera aperture control lever and verify the aperture actually stops down.
With a known good battery in the camera operate the aperture control lever and verify the camera's metering system senses the aperture change.

Ok i did that with both of my lenses and the aperture stops down corectly.I put a new battery in the led blinks faster than 4 times a second.But nothing changes it blinks on the same spot.

shutterfinger · Nov 27, 2018

The aperture control lever in the body is not making proper contact or the meter is bad.
The aperture control is usually a variable resistor and the wiper arm becomes corroded with age resulting with it not making contact. Sometimes flushing it with 90% Isopropyl alcohol or electronic contact cleaner and operating throughout its range many times with the battery removed will put it back to working while it has to be replaced other times.

You can download the repair manual here: https://elektrotanya.com/fuji_fujica_ax-1.pdf/download.html
It will be helpful to have on hand when contacting a camera repair shop if you are not comfortable attempting the repair yourself.

Trokaderox1 · Nov 28, 2018

This manual is a little bit confusing for my millenial brain so i will have to study it for a few days i even found some vides explaining how to open the camera.The aperture control in the body is a plastic ring with a lever conected to a gear from what i gather, when moving the ring the gears under the ring move and sadly there are no camera repair shops in my country, so this one will end up as a nice prop on a shelf if i dont fix it myself.

Fujica AX-1 shutter problem

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