Problem with my A-1

[mguffin]

Hello all, my first post here...

I have an A-1 with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 S.C. lens (silver mount collar) and all works fine in manual and "A" in either Av or Tv. I picked up a Canon 28mm f/2.8 FD-New lens and can't get the aperture below f/9.5. When ever I set to "A" and either Av or Tv, no matter what the light or shutter, the aperture never goes below 9.5. When I set the lens manually to anything below 9.5, it still shows 9.5 in the viewfinder... So I thought it was the lens, well I just picked up a Tokina 28mm f/2.8 and the exact same thing happens... By the way, in manual mode, both these lenses work perfectly in mt FTbn... Help... Mike

 

[benjiboy]

I've owned an A1 for more than twenty years and can't say I've ever come across this problem, if it happened to me I would take the camera and lens to a competent service technician to investigate and correct the fault, the A1 has more electronics inside than your transistor radio and needs specialized equipment to test. All A1s are more than twenty years old and the majority of them have never been serviced in their lifetime it would be a good idea at the same time to have the light seals replaced and the camera given a C.LA.

 

[Excalibur2]

A wild guess:- Does the A1 have a DOF button it might be stuck at the lens setting of f9.5 after fitting the 28mm lens.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I agree with Ben. It is a excellent camera, well worth the CLA.

Jeff

 

[hpulley]

Are you advancing to another shot? The A-series cameras have a quirk where they won't stop down past the aperture used for the current shot until you advance the film. If this happens after you advance the film, before you fire the shutter then something odd is going on.

The F-series is fully manual so it doesn't do this obviously.

 

[Pumalite]

I agree with the CLA. Then you have your camera for another 30 years without problems.

 

[mguffin]

Thanks for all the input... It is surely the electronics... When I set the aperture to 5.6 or 4 or 2.8, and press the shutter, I can see that it is the correct aperture. It also works when I press the stop down lever... However, these 2 lenses, the display in the viewfinder never shows anything below 9.5... I'll have to bring it in for some TLC...

 

[luomz]

The same problem occurs when I attach the NFD 28mm F2.8 on my canon A1. When the lens aperture is set on A the aperture value controlled by the cam stuck at 9.5. I tried to clean the AE switch pin and the problem is solved. I hope this would be helpful solving your problem.

 

[koraks]

Welcome to Photrio @luomz and for solving a long-standing riddle with nice illustrations!