Mice in my AE1?!

[Steve Mack]

What does a squeak, which occurs when I trip the shutter on my Canon AE1, mean?

Anything dire?

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen

 

[Kevin Kehler]

You have the AE1 squeak? Normal in these cameras, in fact most of the A-series of camera. You will find your shutter speeds slowly becoming less accurate and the risk of jamming becomes more evident. Most repairers recommend replacing the shutter at $150; I have had 3 do this over the years and use the camera till it becomes too annoying. Given the low price of these models, it is not worth repairing in my opinion. I just altered my ISO setting to offset the delay. Best way to avoid this, wind and shoot several times a month to ensure lubrication of the shutter.

 

[Excalibur2]

What does a squeak, which occurs when I trip the shutter on my Canon AE1, mean?

Anything dire?

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen

On the net there are three ways of a home fix using a drop of fine oil and hypodermic needle, if you google you can try one of them.

 

[CanonShot]

> What does a squeak, which occurs when I trip the shutter on my Canon AE1, mean?

Elsewhere on APUG:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

How to fix:
http://www.paradesquare.ca/canon_fd/a_series_chirp.htm

By the time a camera develops "the Canon squeal," it's probably time
for a thorough Clean-Lube-Adjustment, a worthwhile investment if
the camera is otherwise performing satisfactorily.

 

[Excalibur2]

***How to fix:
http://www.paradesquare.ca/canon_fd/a_series_chirp.htm***

Well my AV1 has a very mild cough (same problem) and if I wanted to try a home fix would try "the unscrewing the bottom plate method", and apparently using a torch you can see a brass flywheel (going from memory of reading about it) and add a drop of oil near that.

Something like this in German (some pictures), but there is an English version I've seen:-
www.aldo-net.com/Canon

 

[John Koehrer]

I don't remember a brass flywheel i there but it doesn't matter.
The mirror squeak has no effect on shutter speeds either. the shutter is released when the mirror reaches the top of it's travel & hits the shutter release lever.
Anyway, remove the lens. There are four screws visible on the front plate, remove them and lift the plate straight off.
The lens mounting ring has four screws holding it on. Remove the TOP LEFT screw. The mirror governor is just under this hole. with your oiler 2-3mm into the hole and angled away from the mirror box apply a drop of oil. Work the shutter several times and as the oil flows downward it will lube the shafts. Put all the screws back & you're good to go.

 

[djacobox372]

This is a very common problem with the AE1. I've never had any luck fixing it myself.

The shutters in Pentax, Nikon and Minolta seem a lot more reliable.

 

[hpulley]

This is a very common problem with the AE1. I've never had any luck fixing it myself.

The shutters in Pentax, Nikon and Minolta seem a lot more reliable.

You can't paint all Canon shutters as unreliable. This problem is common to the Canon A-series, no others.

And that said my 1979 model has no shutter issues, still going strong.

 

[2F/2F]

My AE-1P squeaks at '250 and above. I've never had a single complaint about any of the images from the camera that was actually caused by the camera. I am not sure how important it is to fix the problem. I certainly do not want to spend $150 fixing a camera that cost me $20 with the lens and seems to work fine. I may try that home fix, though.

 

[Markster]

Well I did a lot of checking into it (online) when mine got really really bad. The squeak is just one symptom of a larger problem. Sometimes oiling that particular gear (the quick fix) can be cheaper, but might not fix the other problems tied to it. Namely, your shutter timing starts slipping. To me, if the shutter doesn't work like it should (that's 1/2 your main control!!) it's a problem that should be fixed.

Good news is it'll last another 20 years after you invest $150.


P.S. However if you can't afford the CLA, it will work just fine. My squak started getting really bad after 5 years, and I shot on another 5 not knowing/realizing this was abnormal. Then again, I'm not sure if it is the cause of some yellow tints on some of my photos now that I think about it. If your pics look fine and you don't have the dough, you can put it off.

I did find it VERY hard to be inconspicuous at one law school event I was asked to take pictures for. Every time it squealed eyes darted over to me, and the room wasn't all that full. Makes folks self-concious if you're doing people-shots.

 

[John Koehrer]

THE SQUEAK HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHUTTER TIMING. NADA,ZIP,ZERO, ZILCH!

Shutter isn't released until the mirror reaches the top of it's travel.

 

[Markster]

I'm not entirely sure of the specific relationship. I have heard there is a link to shutter speeds. Something about the speed of the mirror impacting the speed of the shutter if you let it go too long, screwing up (over-exposing) 1/1000 and 1/500 speeds. So, yes... It is the mirror gear that's making the noise, but it isn't isolated.

Also, the problem is not only one of dried out lube, but if you read the link below you'll see it often is a wearing on the bearing that causes the squeal.

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum/messages/6900/4800.html

I guess if it's that bad, I kind of agree with David Marsh here (from a while back) where he states there are other problems brewing; it's just the mirror that's screaming for attention.

http://www.acecam.com/message/2484.html

I could just be barking up a wrong tree, I freely admit. However it concerned me with regards to my AE-1P and keeping it doing what I wanted it to do.


(I'm not necessarily debating the issue, just clarifying where I came from when I did it)

 

[Excalibur2]

...at the end of the day it seems silly to spend say £60 for a CLA on an ordinary A series camera when for £60 you can buy a t90 body (of course with no EEEE in the viewfinder )

 

[John Koehrer]

The shutter speeds are not affected by the mirror! 1000sec to 14 days. The mirror does only one thing. It releases the 1st shutter curtain. period.

When the mirror reaches the limit of it's travel at the top of the mirror cage, it strikes the shutter release lever. This is not affected by the speed at which the mirror strikes the lever as long as it has enough force to move the lever. Once the release lever is struck it releases the 1st curtain, the 2nd curtain is released after the interval required by shutter speed selected.
If you could release the shutter release lever with a tooth pick, it would work accurately too.