OFFICIAL I HAVE A NEW (FILM RELATED) TOY THREAD!!

Andysnap said:
I presume you have fence posts that need knocking in. :D Lovely bit of kit.(y)
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When I go out cycling or using the motorbike I usually have a 35mm around my neck h'mm it wouldn't work with the RB :eek: but no problem with the weight if you use a back pack as all you have to do is to wrap the gear in bubble wrap to stop them banging together....and I would think anybody that is reasonabally healthy at any age over say 14 years old should be able to carry up to 18ibs on their back.....h'mm well I can and look at the shots of me :eek:
 
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stevelmx5 said:
I've just bought a spares/repair Olympus XA for a good price. It's listed as not winding on or firing the shutter so I'm hoping the rewind button is stuck in and the batteries are flat :0).
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Well, it's not quite as simple as I hoped...

The rewind button is stuck in but I'm not getting any response from the battery check even though there's power at the battery holder itself. The clamshell door was also half hanging off but luckily the metal roller bearing behind it was still there (inside the body!). I've got it part disassembled but think I'm going to have issues until I can sort out the power. I always like a challenge...
 
Oh and someone has been here before me and removed the card cover over the top of the rangefinder. The only problem is that they forgot to put it back again! Another job on the list.
 
stevelmx5 said:
Oh and someone has been here before me and removed the card cover over the top of the rangefinder. The only problem is that they forgot to put it back again! Another job on the list.
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A tip - there is a "battery is flat" light inside the viewfinder, if this is on, it wants you to replace the battery.
 
Thanks but the battery check light isn't illuminating either even though the 2xLR44's I'm using are fine (I know it prefers SR44, but it should still fire with LR44). I've sorted out the dodgy clamshell door and rangefinder window cover that wasn't retracting properly so at least that's something. I've also found that there is some power getting through because the light meter circuit is responding to changing light so I'm thinking there's a short somewhere in the shutter circuit.
 
I nearly posted last night but got side tracked

I have spares........I bought one, and it was busted, since I do not gleam any fun from dismatleizing cheap plastic compacts, I came on here to whine about it.
And whine I did, feeling sympathy for my plight that fabulously eccentric old geezer....Brian.....sent me his, which works......subject to a soup.
Anyway, the bust one is yours if you want it Stevie..:)

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...a-new-film-related-toy-thread.239121/page-162
 
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stevelmx5 said:
Thanks but the battery check light isn't illuminating either even though the 2xLR44's I'm using are fine (I know it prefers SR44, but it should still fire with LR44). I've sorted out the dodgy clamshell door and rangefinder window cover that wasn't retracting properly so at least that's something. I've also found that there is some power getting through because the light meter circuit is responding to changing light so I'm thinking there's a short somewhere in the shutter circuit.
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Bright side, you have a beautiful new paperweight :D
 
joxby said:
I nearly posted last night but got side tracked

I have spares........I bought one, and it was busted, since I do not gleam any fun from dismatleizing cheap plastic compacts, I came on here to whine about it.
And whine I did, feeling sympathy for my plight that fabulously eccentric old geezer....Brian.....sent me his, which works......subject to a soup.
Anyway, the bust one is yours if you want it Stevie..:)

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...a-new-film-related-toy-thread.239121/page-162
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Thanks @joxby that's very kind. I'll strip the XA down and if I find any bust parts I'll take the XA2 off you (assuming they share parts that is!).
 
Ok, the meter is working perfectly now after cleaning up the needle as it was catching so not showing anything faster than 1/60th which is a positive step. I've also re-greased the clamshell door and fitted some wider-headed screws on the top plate under the rewind knob as the original ones had pulled through meaning it wasn't sitting flush. According to a workshop manual I found for the XA, the battery check light should turn on with anything above 2.2v. The batteries themselves are reading 2.8v at the holder but only 1.7v at the battery check contacts so I'm hoping it's just a power issue now. I've ordered a pair of SR44s so will try them out and keep my fingers crossed!
 
I did once have two XAs but one died with symptoms similar to those you report. I concluded that leakage from the battery had found its way along the wire that went from the bottom of the battery compartment to the top of the camera and severed the connection by corrosion. I did dismantle the camera but considered it impossible to replace the wire owing to lack of room.

Obviously the batteries need to give a good voltage when under the load of the shutter's solenoid. Incidentally the battery check light is also in parallel with a buzzer, so you should hear a noise from a piezo type buzzer when you move the lever. In checking the function on my one remaining XA, I wondered if the meter still showed a reading without batteries (like my OM1 does) but sadly it doesn't. When I replaced the batteries after this, I had the same symptom as you, the shutter wouldn't fire. I had to scrape the top and bottom of each battery separately to restore it to a working state, even though nothing was visible on any of the 4 faces.

I wish you luck with your endeavours.
 
Thanks @NickT. I thought the same about corrosion before I opened it but the internals are sparkly clean. I've already disconnected the piezo under the top plate so I could get to the internals more easily. Once my new batteries arrive I'll hopefully have a positive result and will leave the piezo disconnected!
 
Does a new toy have to be a camera or lens? I've just got volume 2 of Grant Haist's Modern Photographic Processing. Now I just need volume 1 to comp[lete the set...
 
StephenM said:
Does a new toy have to be a camera or lens? I've just got volume 2 of Grant Haist's Modern Photographic Processing. Now I just need volume 1 to comp[lete the set...
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Not at all, if it's photography related then it can be posted in here:) ......sounds like you may be requesting, from family or friends, volume 1 as another "new toy" for Christmas :D
 
That will depend on being able to find volume 1 - volume 2 had to come from the United States. I may have missed the boat, since I recall looking a couple of years ago and finding somewhere that could do it as a "print on demand", but I can't find that again. Possibly Grant Haist himself may have been behind it, as there is a Haist Press imprint. Alas, he died earlier this year.

A pity you quoted my post - I can't quietly correct the typo and pretend it never happened :D
 
As Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist anything except temptation". I just found (and ordered) a volume one. Volume two is very interesting, but volume one promises to be even more so.
 
That's not a cheap set, in fact it ain't easy to find either volume.
The cost of photographic literature is often overlooked till you want to buy it.
I need to keep my eyes open in my charity shop visits...:)
 
stevelmx5 said:
Thanks @NickT. I thought the same about corrosion before I opened it but the internals are sparkly clean. I've already disconnected the piezo under the top plate so I could get to the internals more easily. Once my new batteries arrive I'll hopefully have a positive result and will leave the piezo disconnected!
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It wasn't the batteries :0)

I fitted a newer pair of LR44's last night which were putting out 3v so I knew they had enough power but the shutter still wouldn't fire so I put it on the shelf in a huff.

I've just removed the bottom plate again to test the power getting through and decided to remove the cog surrounding the film rewind button to see if it was just jammed. There's just a c-clip holding it on so when I got it off, the ratchet that was against it dropped down onto the gear in the bottom left and the winder became free!

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I've re-fitted the gear and bottom plate and the film transport is winding on and shutter firing so it all seems to be good. I've looked at other images of XA internals and the ratchet is on the top left gear (around the rewind button) so I think it probably should be there which is strange? I'm going to keep winding/firing it for a while to see if it carries on working then fit a test roll in to see if it transports the film properly. It's definitely getting closer!
 
Taa-Daa!

IMG_1477919970.065329.jpg

I've moved the ratchet back to the original gear and re-assembled and it's now winding on and firing happily. I've got new SR44's fitted and the metering is spot on. The battery test light isn't coming on but that's either an issue with the led or the circuit needs to have the piezo connected. Not the most important part so I'm not going to re-solder the piezo to check.

Now I need to put some film in it :0)
 
Not strictly a film camera, but for the time being I'll be using it exclusively with my Pentax K lenses - just ordered a Fujifilm X-E1 from Wex Photographic! Can't wait, I've wanted one of the Fujifilm X cameras for a while now :)
 
mothdust said:
Not strictly a film camera, but for the time being I'll be using it exclusively with my Pentax K lenses - just ordered a Fujifilm X-E1 from Wex Photographic! Can't wait, I've wanted one of the Fujifilm X cameras for a while now :)
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:eek:..old Pentax lenses were made for film cameras (that's their home), and modern plastic fantastic computerised lenses are made for digi to match the software and sensors.
 
simon ess said:
Oooh Brian...

Old lenses on digi cameras can produce wonderful results.
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Well yes but Simon you won't get the film look, so why are we using 35mm film cameras, erm well ignoring a cheap skate like me :D lets all buy digis and use old lenses..anyway I think most digi owners would agree that modern lenses are "clinically" superior to old lenses
 
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