Stiff speed dial?

1337 · Jan 28, 2017

Hi,
I've just bought a mint Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 and I have a hard time using it since the shutter speed dial is SO GODDAMN stiff. I've never seen that but then again I've never used a fully mechanical body before. Is it because the camera is almost new? Should I get used to it? Or is there a proper "grip" for this camera so you can turn the dial comfortable with just one finger?

(You CAN turn the dial if you apply enough pressure and the whole mechanism sounds nice but I'm just unable to change the speed without moving the camera away from my face and that's really disruptive...)

shutterfinger · Jan 28, 2017

Possibly a little stiff from age and non use but mechanical film camera usually require a thumb and fore finger to turn them. It can be done without taking the camera from your eye.
Practice!

1337 · Jan 28, 2017

Any tips for a camera that has stuff all around the speed dial? And you can't pull the advance lever too far...

Chan Tran · Jan 28, 2017

Of the old SLR only Canon AE-1 and A-1 and may be the AT-1 were designed so that you can turn the shutter speed dial with 1 finger. Others are meant to be turned with 2 fingers.
I guess you started out with digital SLR or at least with newer SLR the type that has integral motor drive.

1337 · Jan 28, 2017

Chan Tran said:
...only Canon AE-1 and A-1 and may be the AT-1...

Well, that explains it. All the other cameras I have are AE-1/A-1s...

Well, time start practising. Maybe it will get better with time...

Theo Sulphate · Jan 29, 2017

Right - usually two fingers are needed to turn the shutter speed dial on a mechanical camera. It should offer about the same amount of resistance as that of a loosely tightened plastic bottle cap.

Nice looking camera, BTW.

cooltouch · Jan 31, 2017

Chan Tran said:
Of the old SLR only Canon AE-1 and A-1 and may be the AT-1 were designed so that you can turn the shutter speed dial with 1 finger. Others are meant to be turned with 2 fingers.
I guess you started out with digital SLR or at least with newer SLR the type that has integral motor drive.

Actually, there is a number of older SLRs that allow the shutter speed dial to be turned easily with one finger. Basing this on my memory as well as cameras I own, here's the rundown:

The Canon EF was the first Canon to position an oversized shutter speed dial slightly proud of the body to facilitate one-fingered selection. Minolta used this same idea with the XD-11. The Canon AT-1 uses the exact same shutter speed dial layout as the AE-1, so yes, it has this feature.

Others I've found where I can easily operate the shutter speed dial with one finger are the Minolta X-570 (thus most likely the X-700 and X-370 as well), the Nikon FE and FE2, the F3 and even the F4. I'm thinking that, since I can operate my FE/FE2 with one finger, then chances are, the FM/FM2 can be operated with one finger as well. And as memory serves, the FG's dial can also be operated with one finger. The Pentax LX and MX's dial can be operated with one finger. With a firm press, I can operate the Canon FTb's dial with one finger, as well as the original F-1, but it does take a fair amount of pressure to do so. And even though the Canon AE-1 Program's shutter speed dial is positioned inboard, I find I can still easily turn it with one finger. The Canon T90 has a vertical dial that is used to change shutter speeds, which can only be operated with one finger.

There are probably more, but these are the ones I can specifically vouch for.

Just looking at that Yashica, however, I'd have to say that it looks like a two-finger dial to me.

loman · Jan 31, 2017

The FM and FM2 have stiffer focus dials than the fe/fe2. I don't know why they did that, but there's a marked difference.

shutterfinger · Jan 31, 2017

loman said:
The FM and FM2 have stiffer focus dials than the fe/fe2. I don't know why they did that, but there's a marked difference.

The FM and FM2 are marked to Pro and advanced apertures. The stiffer dials help prevent accidental changes as the camera gets bumped around in fast action situations.

cooltouch · Jan 31, 2017

Hmmm . . . if that's the case, then I have to ask, why is it the F3 and F4's dial can be operated easily with one finger?

GRHazelton · Jan 31, 2017

cooltouch said:
Actually, there is a number of older SLRs that allow the shutter speed dial to be turned easily with one finger. Basing this on my memory as well as cameras I own, here's the rundown:

The Canon EF was the first Canon to position an oversized shutter speed dial slightly proud of the body to facilitate one-fingered selection. Minolta used this same idea with the XD-11. The Canon AT-1 uses the exact same shutter speed dial layout as the AE-1, so yes, it has this feature.

Others I've found where I can easily operate the shutter speed dial with one finger are the Minolta X-570 (thus most likely the X-700 and X-370 as well), the Nikon FE and FE2, the F3 and even the F4. I'm thinking that, since I can operate my FE/FE2 with one finger, then chances are, the FM/FM2 can be operated with one finger as well. And as memory serves, the FG's dial can also be operated with one finger. The Pentax LX and MX's dial can be operated with one finger. With a firm press, I can operate the Canon FTb's dial with one finger, as well as the original F-1, but it does take a fair amount of pressure to do so. And even though the Canon AE-1 Program's shutter speed dial is positioned inboard, I find I can still easily turn it with one finger. The Canon T90 has a vertical dial that is used to change shutter speeds, which can only be operated with one finger.

There are probably more, but these are the ones I can specifically vouch for.

Just looking at that Yashica, however, I'd have to say that it looks like a two-finger dial to me.

Re the Pentax LX and MX: None of my three MX allow the shutter speed dial to be easily moved with one finger. My three LX cameras are a little better. As you can see I am a Pentax fan.

MattKing · Jan 31, 2017

You all need to transition to an Olympus OM system camera.
The shutter speed control falls naturally into place with the fingers you use for all of your camera adjustments.

Chan Tran · Jan 31, 2017

cooltouch said:
Hmmm . . . if that's the case, then I have to ask, why is it the F3 and F4's dial can be operated easily with one finger?

The stiffer dial is not because it's a pro camera. The stiffer dial because the FM has mechanical controlled shutter and thus the dial has to move the timing mechanism. The F3, F4 have electronically controlled shutter and the dial only move a graycode encoder.

cooltouch · Jan 31, 2017

GRHazelton said:
Re the Pentax LX and MX: None of my three MX allow the shutter speed dial to be easily moved with one finger. My three LX cameras are a little better. As you can see I am a Pentax fan.

Yeah, I hesitated initially including the MX, but then I operated it back and forth several times with the camera up to my eye and decided that, if I push against it firmly, it is controllable with one finger. Yes, it is stiff -- stiff like the Canon FTb and F-1 -- but doable.

Stiff speed dial?

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