Відео

Thanks Dave. I started working on cameras in 1978, and I repaired the FM when it was new. It's a very good camera. In fact, I've got a FE on my desk now that I am servicing. The FM2 is even a better camera then the FM, as long as you never touch the shutter with your fingers by accident.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog The only issue with the FM2 (if you want to call it that) is the plastic tab for AI indexing. I wish they had put the metal FM flip up tab on the FM2. Much more durable. Also you could use the non-AI lenses (of which I have none). Just sayin'

Hello FMPhoto I always used a shoulder strap, but I never kept my camera in a camera case. Sometimes I would see a subject or scene and need to take the picture fast before I lost it, and so I kept my camera on my shoulder, with a wide strap, for quick use. My cameras got a lot more scratches and dents, but that was the price I had to pay to take quick pictures that were time sensitive.

​​@@FilmCamera_Vlog My teacher said the camera cases are for collectors, not photographers. -Regards.

Hello. It shouldn't be hard to set the meter on an FM2, if there are no other reasons the exposure is reading incorrectly. Just be sure to mark all settings before you begin, because you might have to go back to default settings if you run into problems. But, from what you have told me, I don't think the adjustment is going to fix it. If the 'insufficient light' reading will not light up at ISO 6400, 1/125, and F/1.8, that sounds serious, like a short in the circuit. I have no idea what could be causing it, but don't be surprised if adjustment does not work. The service you had on the camera, or perhaps your own DIY caused the problem. After I service a camera, if something is not working properly, it is usually my own fault, and I have to go back in and fix what I screwed up. I can't advise you because between the service and your DIY, it could be anything.

Thank you for watching.

Thank you for the compliment. I try hard to make my videos very detailed. I'm sure it bores the younger men (LOL), but the older men have more patience.

Age before beauty (& technology), hey 😄. Sure, but can we help it if we're handsome as well as smart 😉 Go steady, Sir. Greetings from Ireland.

@@andrewtongue7084 Greetings Ireland.

Hello Liam I looked over your text and pictures in the email you sent, and I can't find anything you did wrong. The steps you took were the same things I would have done. I am a commercial camera repairman, and I would not spend more time trying to repair such a camera. Time is money to me, and I would probably replace the meter or return the camera to the customer. If you want to play with the camera, you could take the meter apart, but I don't think it would help fix it. If it were me, I would probably buy a non-working junker OM-1 and try swapping out parts, such as the meter or switch. Or I would buy a junker and try to fix it instead. There is more than one path to fixing a camera. Sometimes you much consider buying a second junker and try fixing it or using the parts to fix the first camera. This is what I often do. Learning how the camera works and having fun doing it is the goal. Camera service, or DIY, is supposed to be a hobby. A fun hobby. To me it sounds like a bad meter that needs to be replaced, but it's impossible for me to know with out having the camera on my desk to test. Best of luck. Sorry I could not help more.

Hello Nguyễn Ngọc Quyền Both cameras are durable, but the Nikkormat is very hard to service because of the design, so I would suggest the Canon FTb if you want something easy to repair. Of course, the word 'easy' is a relative term. A Canon FTb is not easy if you have no experience working on cameras, but you can learn how to service the Canon FTb.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog I thought again, There is no reason to choose 1, will keep both. Currently, I feel that removing the Nikkormat is somewhat easier to maintain the focus screen and lever. I am an amateur and very young film photographer. Looking forward to learning more from you and the experienced generation ahead.

Hello Santiago Normally, if the two images overlap perfectly when the lens focus is set to infinity, the focus is considered calibrated. The numbers on the barrel will not always agree with the focus distance. Most rangefinder lenses have a lot of depth-of-field to allow for errors in focus, so it does not have to be exact. Just set the lens focus for infinity. If the images overlap, your camera focus is okay. The two images can be off by a hair, but not more. I usually check my rangefinders by pointing at telephone poles and wires for both horizontal and vertical alignment of focus.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Darn. I figured that was the case. Doesn’t seem to be calibrated then, and I’m out of luck with my local camera repair store here in San Diego, they wouldn’t accept it. Is this an easy fix? Ik in P2 you say that it’s a bit of a pain to calibrate that mirror. Thanks for your help!

@@santiagoro If you know exactly which adjustment to adjust, and how to do it, it's not that hard. I would need to know which rangefinder you have to show you the adjustment location. You would need to remove the top cover to reach it. I plan to write an article for my Patreon in a few days about how to approach focus adjustments. I suggest you search for focus adjustment videos on your camera for a few days and be patient. View them and wait before you start making adjustments to your camera. The main danger is making unnecessary adjustments to your camera focus and messing up the factory settings.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Got it. It's definitely the horizontal axis that is out of whack. I found a forum highlighting the specific screws that adjust the horizontal range and the vertical range. I'm pretty certain the horizontal range is covered by a screw near the tinted glass. I'll have to try it out and let you know. My main issue right now is getting top plate off, took off all the screws but don't really know how to get the advance off to fully uncover it.

Hello Stephen. C. I own a camera repair shop and at this time, I'm several months behind in my workload. I would like to make more DIY videos, but I just don't have the extra time at the moment, sorry. Perhaps after I get caught up. I get requests daily for DIY videos from subscribers on various subjects. If I had enough Patreon supporters to close my repair shop, I could make DIY videos full-time. Anyway, I'll add lubrication DIYvideos to my list and get around to it when I can. Thanks for the video suggestion.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Thanks for the reply. I recently found your channel, and enjoy your videos.

Hello Liamv4696 Glad to hear you fixed your meter problem. The Olympus OM-1 has a very simple meter design and is easy to service. It is also prone to failure because Olympus is not coat the contacts properly and they tarnish quickly.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog was playing around with it indoors with just the ceiling bulb on.. When set to ASA 200, aperture wide open (50/f1.4) the light meter only really picks up off the bottom of the range once I go to a very long, 1/2 or 1s exposure. Is that, normal? (I am entirely new to film photography) Will test outside in daylight tomorrow and see how it goes.

@@Liamv4696 I don't know how much light you had in the room, but I would say, yes. Film camera meters are not very sensitive in low light conditions. Digital cameras are, but not film cameras. I always suggest photographers buy a used handheld meter from eBay for metering. A handheld meter will give you correct settings in low light conditions. It is best to buy the ones that take batteries. The photocells can become weak on the handheld meters that do not use batteries, and the readings are incorrect, but the better ones do have adjustments to correct this if you have a calibration source.

Yes, I see what you mean. I changed the circle to yellow in all the images. The blue circle looked better in my Photoshop image, but the Patreon image had changed the blue color slightly, and it did not stand out. I will probably use yellow or red in future articles. Thanks.

It's comments like yours that encourage me to keep making videos. Thanks.

Hello It is a long, complicated process that would require making an hour long video tutorial. I plan making one someday, but not at this time. I am trying to catch up on my camera repairs at the moment. I'm running behind by several months. Search Google and UA-cam. Someone may have already made a focusing video for rangefinders.

Thanks.

You are probably right. I don't fact-check my videos for all models of a brand. I repair cameras full time during the day, and make these vlog videos usually in the evenings, so I don't spend much time on them to get all the facts correct.

Hello Thank you for the comment. I've worked on thousands of electronic film cameras, but slowly the electronic parts for these cameras stopped being available. Now I have to buy non-working junkers off eBay and rob them of electronic parts to use on the cameras I am repairing. You can find schematics for these cameras in publications like Camera Craftsman and SPT on eBay, although it sometimes takes time to find them. I am sure there are PDF files also, on websites that sell them for these cameras. I enjoy trouble shooting electronic problems on cameras using schematcs, but I am not very good at it. I usually try, fail, and replace the entire circuit.

Hello George I purchased many of my camera testers back in the 80's. My first ones were the low-end models. I would upgrade my testers when I could afford the better units. Around the early 2000's I started buying used testers on eBay that had been out of my reach in the 80's. I don't know what testers show up on eBay these days, because I am not searchng for them. I would suggest you setup a Search where eBay emails you when a used camera shutter tester or exposure tester appears. It may take weeks or months, but there will be testers forsale over time. There are many brands from the 80's ranging from cheap low-end models to the most expsnsive. I can't advise you on which brands to buy. You can learn about this with a little research. Anyway, that iis how I would buy camera testing equipment, if I were in the market. I hope this helps.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Thanks you so much for the detailed response ! I’ll try ebay more from now, with luck i’ll find one ! I love having to diy a lot of my tools and equipment in this job… but i feel it’s not enough anymore for the quality i hope to offer, that why i really try to push myself to find more professional and decent equipment. Anyway, thanks a lot for that ! I will keep following your great videos and you patreon !

@@georgeabitbol4180 I don't know if you've read it, but I talk about repair tools in this article. Where to Buy Camera Tools| Article #006 Those shutter and exposure testers are out there, it's just hard to find them because the sellers don't list them because of poor demand. I've waited months to find some item on eBay I've wanted. It takes time and patience.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog No i have not seen it but I’m going too check that ! Thank you ! But i mean yeah i guess that is something to expect when working on a ‘medium’ that is not produced anymore, we have to find things that are not everyday tools anymore…

Good point!

I had a look at your website and I saw that you have different offers for repairs andhelp etc. I think it would be really cool if you were to make a video guide on camera maintenance. Showing a bit the basics that need to be done for people like me that are learning to work on old cameras. I would definitely pay for a nice video course and I am sure others would too. There's not that many people around that have the knowledge you have and a lot of information that there is out there is aimed at people who are experienced technicians already. Either that or there's simply bad knowledge from people who don't seem to know a lot about mechanics. Anyway thanks for sharing the things you know with us.

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed my video and found it useful. EV 12 is the middle range for exposure settings. It will work, but you should pick up an LED panel and set your cameras again for EV15. Or at least test them to make sure they are exposing properly in bright settings.

@@nenemydog I would enjoy making camera maintenance videos, but I don't have the extra time since I operate a camera repair service. Even the few videos I make for UA-cam takes up too much of my time, and costs me repair time in my shop. Or something like that. (LOL) If my Patreon ever gives me enough monthly support, I will make those maintenance videos, and it will be fun.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog I would love to get an LED panel but i'm a bit on a budget right now so I have to make do with the things that I have lying around. Ideally i can gather more information and by the time I get better tools I can use those to apply the gathered knowledge. I really hope you can find the time to eventually make those videos. It is really complicated to find reliable information on camera repair and maintenance. And it gets buried between all the misinformation. Anyway thanks for taking your time to read my comment and Thanks for the videos!

Hello RR That is a hard question to answer. Yes, I suppose you could wash the timer with naphtha using a needle squeeze bottle of some type, from the top, and let it drain out the bottom. But, I would then test it to see if the timer is working properly after it dried out. If it is, leave it alone. Do not add oil. But, if it still is not working properly, you don’t want to bath the timer in oil of any type. The best way to oil it is to add a few drops of oil to a bottle of naphtha and apply the naphtha-oil, mix to the timer and lubricate it that way. The danger is too much oil. Less oil is better. The proper way to oil the timer is to remove the timer and put oil only on the moving parts.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Got it! thank you. By the way the acetone worked to remove the cap. I used a hypodermic needle to feed it into the edges and then would draw it out back into the needle and feed it in again so I was pumping it into the threads, It only took about .5ml of acetone using this pumping action which greatly reduced the risk of damaging the leatherette cover. Also, as you said, a cone stopper was useless but I found it helped to use a gripper rubber glove to turn the cap with my thumb. Thanks again for the quick reply and the suggestion of the naphtha oil mix.

@@mosinmeister25 Blow out the naphtha-oil mix with an airgun or debris will stick to the oil and cause problems. As little oil as possible is best. If a little oil will not fix it, a lot of oil will not make it work either.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog Update! The naphtha with a needle worked and the shutter speeds are all freed up and working correctly. I also replaced the eyepiece and meter window light seals. I was surprised when I opened it that there was the diode modification already done so I can run it on 625 batteries. Next I will replace the light seals and mirror bumper. I now have a fully functional Nikkormat FTn! Not too bad for a $37 thrift store find!

@@mosinmeister25 Glad to hear about your success. The main goal is to have fun with your DIY. As for the diod, I don't know. You might start out using a 1.55 volt battery and run some exposure tests. Anyway, glad to hear speeds are working again.

I'm always glad to help DIYer people service their film cameras. The meter adjustment on the OM-1 is a bit tricky, and not as simple as some other cameras, but if you play with it a bit, you will start to understand how it works. It never hurts to try.

Hello Taylor Thanks for the compliment and support. I only have a few manual camera meters to go. The Pentax Spotmatic and Konica. I’m not sure about the Nikon FM, since it has no needle. And then there is the Nikkormat, which really has no adjustment, which is strange. I might do a whole video on the Nikkormat meter adjustment.

I am surprised and glad to hear my video was helpful. Did you use an EV 15 light source to set the meter?

@@FilmCamera_Vlog I used my Cinestill CS-Lite light source (I use it to DSLR scan my negatives). I first tried the light source with my OM-2, which gives reliable negatives 99% of the time. Then I compared with my repaired OM-1 and adjusted adequately. Maybe not the most accurate and professional way of doing it, but it seems to work. I've checked several other film cameras with the light source and they all agreed +/- 0.5 EV. I'm just an amateur doing it for fun, and for friends, so that's good enough for me :) On the diode subject, a friend gave me a 3D printed adapter in which you can place a diode and a SR44 battery. It gives 1.35V and doesn't require any mod on the camera. And it's hugely cheaper than buying the MR-9 adapter online. I've modded a few cameras with diode placed directly in the electronic circuitry. But only when I needed to disassemble for big repairs.

​@@stratocactus have a link for that STL perhaps? Im using 1.35v zinc air batteries, but would love to give options to anyone I gift one of my OM-1s

Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. I used to work on the Canon F-1 cameras, but stopped because they are complex. Simply put, not fun to work on. LOL

Thanks David As I was making it, it didn't seem like a very interesting video. I was making it for a viewer who needed to re-string his OM-1 meter. Normal repair work on cameras makes for boring videos. Anyway, so many UA-cam videos are fake that I probably surprised you by being a 'real person' on video and complaining. LOL There was a time in the past when UA-cam had real people making videos, not like today where most are commercial, fake, and always smiling, like they are on drugs. LOL.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog i watch a guy who lives in Canaries and he is salt of the earth, a real genuine guy its electronics but he has grown it to be a fantastic site mainly because of him. Learn Electronics its called but he worked on computers and things back in the 80s and as i say take a look at him. And keep doing what you do best, no one was born with a life manual.

Give me time to see if I have a Konica T3 in storage. The video T3 was a customer unit and was returned.

Thanks!

+1. This would be really useful for me too.

Many of the rangefinder cameras have this problem, and I have fixed hundreds of them. It's a hard fix if done right. Anyone can just clean it from the front, but to be done right the mech has to be removed and taken apart and cleaned.

Sorry, I don't know what is wrong with your XG-M. It's neaerly impossible to fix cameras through comments. I have to see the camera and test it to understand the problem.

I still have a few more to add. I can only make videos on the cameras I own, or customer units, so there are many I don't have for videos.

Thanks. I'm making a few more this evening. It will take time to make enough videos to cover most cameras.

Hello. I am not sure what you are asking, but the exposure adjustment is the bottom right pot, as seen in the video. Go down and to the right. Be sure and mark all pots before you start changing them, so if you get into trouble you can change them back to default. But, I would leave them as they are. Only adjust the one on the bottom right.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog thank you for your response. i hope i can do it. have a good day

This is true. One gran of sand is enough to lock the cogwheel. I have seen it happen. I always tell people to only take point-and-shoot throw away camreas to the beach.

If you do get a working setup, post your results on your camera's exposure meter.

@@FilmCamera_Vlog of course, I just to get some free time.