How major is a circuit board replacement on Canon A-1?

[Markster]

I'm the other way around... the EF and electronic cameras depreciate significantly over time as the electronics break down or fry or just get old and obsolete. On more manual cameras I think the value is worth the effort more, because it won't break down faster. It will last.

'Course that's just me. I like manual focus cameras. I have an AE-1P. I do agree with throwing good money after bad, though. I've reached that limit on my current defunct A-1 (it was a gamble that I lost)

[holmburgers]

Naw, the EF is an older FD body -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_camera

Don't worry... you're not the first

[Markster]

D'oh.. lol to me EF meant Electronic Focus.. Forgot Canon used that designation!

[John Koehrer]

If your camera were an AE-1, I'd be able to give you a broken body with all of the necessary circuit boards. The shutter button on mine was sticking and it wouldn't take a picture unless you really jam the button, making it impossible to take a photo that doesn't have a massive vertical blur. I decided I'd try to take it apart and clean out whatever was making the button stick, but I didn't get very far before I couldn't take it apart any further; those things are a maze. At some point I accidentally closed the back while the rewind knob was removed, making it impossible to ever open the back again.

If you take a look into the RW shaft opening, there's a small bit sticking into the hole.
It's toward the left side if you're looking from the back.
A simple "L" shaped hook put down the hole and lifted will pop the back.
dental probe,scribe, coat hanger etc.

[lxdude]

If you take a look into the RW shaft opening, there's a small bit sticking into the hole.
It's toward the left side if you're looking from the back.
A simple "L" shaped hook put down the hole and lifted will pop the back.
dental probe,scribe, coat hanger etc.

Yes, very simple. Even a large paperclip, straightened and with an L formed on the end, will work.

[guitstik]

I would shop around and find a reputable tech that can get it back into service. The old adage holds true even with cameras, "stick with the evil you know". You might find a camera that works but you take a chance that it wil develop the same problem down the road. If you fix what you have then you know it's good and a good tech will warranty his work. The AE-1/p's are good cameras, I had the 1 back twenty-five years ago when my wife and I were dating, in fact, her favorite photo of us was taken with that camera and sits in a place of prominence in our home. Alas, the camera is long gone replaced by so many over the years that it is just a blur. I have repaired many a camera and had just as many sent off for repairs all for the sake of keeping them in use, it would be a shame to have another good camera end up in a landfill.

[benjiboy]

D'oh.. lol to me EF meant Electronic Focus.. Forgot Canon used that designation!

EF was Electronic F because it had a hybrid electro/mechanical Copal Square shutter when at that time the Canon F1 had a purely mechanical shutter.

[hpulley]

Electronic reFlex (SLR).