Should I get my Canon AE-1P CLA'd?

BySumbergsStache · Oct 12, 2015

I have a Canon AE-1P that I've shot maybe 30-40 rolls on - I know it works. I've replaced the light seals and given it a good cleaning. It does have some shutter squeak - I have the mechanical skill to fix it but honestly I've been too busy and I've read that it doesn't affect camera operation. (Is this correct?)

Here's a sample image, scanned and with some minor photoshop adjustments (not a serious photograph, just a snapshot): http://imgur.com/Ye2Oe88

Should I get it CLA'd for $60? I have some sentimental attachment to the camera, and it looks great, but I can buy a T90 for the same price. (Though it doesn't look nearly as good) Do you think it needs the adjustment that a professional would be able to do, such as light meter calibration, shutter speed calibration, ISO calibration, etc? Or do you think it's fine as is. Honestly, I don't mind the sound of the squeak, do you think it'd be worth the effort to disassemble the whole top?

frank · Oct 12, 2015

It all depends on the strength of your emotional attachment, so no one can answer for you, really.

Malinku · Oct 12, 2015

I'd say for $60 go for the cla. It is a better bet then buying the t90 which might end up needed a cla anyways.
then you should have a good working ae-1p for years to come.

BySumbergsStache · Oct 12, 2015

What would you do on a pure logical basis?

BySumbergsStache · Oct 12, 2015

Malinku, do you think my camera requires a CLA?

trythis · Oct 12, 2015

Nope, not worth it. It's one of those things that you could do but as soon as you get your camera back something that wasn't broken could break when you sent 60 bucks on something that could fail anyway.
I did the same with my Canon A1 that my dad gave me a 1980. Two rolls after spending 60 bucks to have it CLA'd one of the interior parts failed. I was able to fix it but I realized that the insides of these things are built like Sony Walkman from the same era. Opening them up fiddling with them is just as likely to break something or stress very fragile part that wouldn't fail without the tinkering.

The squeek is so easy fix by removing the screw behind my thumbnail.

Just need a syringe with a bent needle and some light detergent free oil like sewing machine oil.

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Andrew K · Oct 12, 2015

Worth it - although for $60 I'd be surprised if it was a proper CLA (remove mirror box, lube mirror governor, clean release magnet and AE switch/brushes, lube shutter rollers, clean shutter cocked switch, clean main switch, releases switches, ISO dial, main release magnet and 2nd curtain magnet, readjust shutter speed timing, shutter speeds and exposure)..

Then again I've always thought the AE1P was the best of the Canon A or T series cameras (I'm biased, but I've probably repaired/serviced over 1000 bodies.....)

If you decide to get the T90 who knows - in 3 months it may get the dreaded EEE fault, adn the only way to fix that is to remove the mirror box and shutter unit and service/repair the shutter unit (if parts are not needed...)

And please - DO NOT USE SEWING MACHINE OIL - it goes everywhere, and can get on the magnet faces and cause the camera to fail....

Just my 2 cents worth...

Andrew (former camera tech with Canon Australia in the good old days when FD camera were still available new, and the EOS 620 was still top of the range in EOS........)

CMoore · Oct 12, 2015

All depends if you intend to use it, and if you want it to work properly.
Unless it HAS Had a CLA.......there is not an AE-1P on the whole planet that does not need a good CLA.
best

pbromaghin · Oct 13, 2015

Hell, yes. $60 won't make a difference your life.

BySumbergsStache · Oct 13, 2015

Alright looks like I have a couple options for a CLA, have you guys had any experience in these repairman?

looscanons on eBay for $60

Gary's Camera for $45

Ken Oikawa for ?? (Anyone know what he charges?)

John Titterington for ?? (Anyone know what he charges?)

My camera works fine other than the shutter squeak, so all it'd need would be a standard calibration and lubrication.

gone · Oct 13, 2015

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

My experience with camera repair people has been sub optimal. Should have just fixed them myself, or simply purchased another camera.

trythis · Oct 13, 2015

Gary did my A1. I would not do it again.
Came back with the same old yarn I used for light seals 5 years ago but the battery door was authentic. I as asked and he said the seals were good so why change them. I was sloppy and it wasn't pretty but it was good enough I guess.

Sorry about the oil suggestion, its been working fine in my ae1p for three years though. I think I used half the length of a needle's volume.

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blockend · Oct 13, 2015

Shutter squeak, aka mirror bearing abrasion, is something nearly all A-Series Canons suffer from at some point in their lives. If left unattended the mirror becomes slow enough to show in the shutter frame while making an exposure, as well as making one of the most horrible sounds in photography. The fix is straight forward, if a little fiddly and there are tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere to give you confidence.

A CLA depends on various criteria, how time rich/cash poor you are (or vice versa), how sentimentally attached you are to the camera, how much investment you have in A-Series accessories. If the answer is "not much", I'd buy another camera, if you like your AE-1 and want another five to ten years out of it, go for it.

mgb74 · Oct 13, 2015

I used Gary some years back on 2 cameras: a Minolta and a Nikon. I was pleased with the result. But I think you have to be realistic about what gets done. I would expect addressing specific problems, a proper lubrication and adjustment, and replacing seals. But it's not going to be a complete teardown and rebuild.

I don't think trythis's experience is acceptable unless the seals were recently done and of the right material.

benjiboy · Oct 13, 2015

I wouldn't spend any money on an A or T series FD camera, I would invest in a Canon F1 either the new or old type and get that CLA'd then you would have a reliable serviceable machine.

CMoore · Oct 13, 2015

pbromaghin said:
Hell, yes. $60 won't make a difference your life.

Yeah...I gotta say...if you do not have 60 bux to fix the camera, you may as well just stop right now.
IME... John Titterington is very good.

flavio81 · Oct 13, 2015

The mirror squeal/sweak is something you can fix yourself. I have posted a drawing on how to do it years ago (2005 i think), and there is a lot of info in forums.

That being said, $60 seems fair and the AE-1, often derided, is a really good camera, and internally is far better than what its plastic exterior would make you think. The mirror and shutter operation is very smooth. Actually the "squeak" problem appears because Canon took the luxury of using a mechanism to "break" the mirror acceleration, thus the smoothness of operation.

It is also a very reliable camera. Yeah, it's a 100% electronic camera but those electronics are very reliable. In fact I dare to say that the AE-1 is one of the most reliable electronic cameras out there. The only problem I've seen with those is that the string that connects the ISO dial with the shutter dial breaks, rendering metering inoperable. But that's something a camera repairman can fix without the need for specific or exotic parts.

j-dogg · Oct 13, 2015

I will go ahead and vouch for both cameras.......get it fixed if it's worth it to you.

However I've shot both cameras and prefer the T90, I got lucky and found a good copy without any issues and I've put a few rolls through it.

AgX · Oct 13, 2015

benjiboy said:
I wouldn't spend any money on an A or T series FD camera, I would invest in a Canon F1 either the new or old type and get that CLA'd then you would have a reliable serviceable machine.

There is something to this argumentation. On the other hand, we are living today. Why not use a camera today that suits best?
(In case that would not be the F1. But for instance the T-90.)

GarageBoy · Oct 13, 2015

Use it til it's dead and pick up another one (granted, the one you pick up may have the same issue)

trythis said:
I was able to fix it but I realized that the insides of these things are built like Sony Walkman from the same era.

Sony Walkmans from that era were damn nice and fully rebuilable ...

benjiboy · Oct 13, 2015

AgX said:
There is something to this argumentation. On the other hand, we are living today. Why not use a camera today that suits best?
(In case that would not be the F1. But for instance the T-90.)

I have owned a T90 for about twenty years and would rather have one New Canon F1 than ten T90's which aren't noted for their long term reliability and amongst other things subject to the shutter magnets becoming magnetised and sticking together causing the shutter to cease up and it's difficult to find someone to repair them because of the availability of spare parts.

blockend · Oct 13, 2015

benjiboy said:
I have owned a T90 for about twenty years and would rather have one New Canon F1 than ten T90's which aren't noted for their long term reliability and amongst other things subject to the shutter magnets becoming magnetised and sticking together causing the shutter to cease up and it's difficult to find someone to repair them because of the availability of spare parts.

I think you were a fanboy before the term ever existed! A good F1 at current prices might cost the same as ten T90s! Both are good cameras, the T90 was the most technologically advanced manual focus camera ever made, the F1 one of the most durable. The T90 appreciates use to stop the magnets freezing, it's definitely not a shelf queen but it was the prototype form for every film and digital SLR since, and was widely used in photojournalism, as was the F1.

The surprise isn't that some cameras fail and die, but how long so many of them have lasted. The A-Series cameras probably had a life expectancy of five years or so, but many of them are still functioning 40 years later. So long as my cameras last my life time I don't care how indestructible they are.

benjiboy · Oct 13, 2015

blockend said:
I think you were a fanboy before the term ever existed! A good F1 at current prices might cost the same as ten T90s! Both are good cameras, the T90 was the most technologically advanced manual focus camera ever made, the F1 one of the most durable. The T90 appreciates use to stop the magnets freezing, it's definitely not a shelf queen but it was the prototype form for every film and digital SLR since, and was widely used in photojournalism, as was the F1.

The surprise isn't that some cameras fail and die, but how long so many of them have lasted. The A-Series cameras probably had a life expectancy of five years or so, but many of them are still functioning 40 years later. So long as my cameras last my life time I don't care how indestructible they are.

I'm not a "fanboy" because I appreciate the the difference in quality between the T90 and the F1 range of Canon cameras or any other fine cameras manufactured by other companies. I have indeed been a photographer before the term "Fanboy" was coined for more than sixty years in fact, long enough to appreciate the difference.

MartinCrabtree · Oct 13, 2015

"I've had a T90 for twenty years............"aren't noted for their long term reliability......."

Uhm..........OK.

blockend · Oct 13, 2015

benjiboy said:
I'm not a "fanboy" because I appreciate the the difference in quality between the T90 and the F1 range of Canon cameras or any other fine cameras manufactured by other companies. I have indeed been a photographer before the term "Fanboy" was coined for more than sixty years in fact, long enough to appreciate the difference.

A fanboy is someone who defaults to the same product or person no matter what the question or context. Canon FD lenses on an F1 body are a nice combination but they aren't the holy grail. The holy grail of photography is great photographs, and those things don't care what camera they were taken on.

Should I get my Canon AE-1P CLA'd?

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