Zero to Hero - Repair and Restore Broken 1979 Canon AV-1 Analog Camera
I got this camera from the local market for about 5$. At first, I didn't want to take it because it was in horrible condition even visually.
But for 5$, I decided to take it at least I could disassemble it and learn more about vintage cameras. Fortunately, the light meter is working but the shutter was stuck and could not be released.
After so many working days on my spare time, I finally resurrected the camera. I covered the whole working process as much as I could in one video.
Canon AV-1 is a sibling of the Canon AE-1 series and it is targeted at the armature market. It can only operate on fully auto or aperture priority mode there is no manual mode. But don't underestimate it. It is lightweight and really fun to shoot with. Enjoy watching and hope you get useful info from the video. Thanks!
Chapter
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00:00 Intro
01:10 Disassembly
01:57 Removing the Top Cover
04:30 Removing the Mirror box Unit
05:18 Removing the flex circuit
07:24 Removing the broken Shutter Unit
09:36 Removing the Winding Gears
10:50 Mirror box disassembly
14:00 Repairing the Shutter Unit
19:45 Replacing the new shutter
26:38 Working on the Mirror box unit
35:45 Working on the winding gears
37:45 Repainting the body and covers
47:15 Reassembly of the winding gears
48:28 Reassembly of the shutter unit
55:44 Measuring Flange to focal sharpness
56:49 Cleaning and checking the Viewfinder Unit
59:47 Checking and reinstalling the Flex circuit
01:03:00 Testing the light meter
01:03:44 Adjusting the shutter speed
01:05:20 Re-lettering the cover text
01:08:10 Replacing the light seals
01:14:00 Nickel plating the metal parts
01:16:26 Reinstalling the rest of the parts
01:17:51 Film loading test
01:18:36 Before and After
01:19:04 Final test with Kodak Vision 3 500T film
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-CORRECTION-
There is a tiny white plastic gear I forgot to add below the exposure counter plate (underneath the main winding gear, between the winding gear shaft and black film counter gear). Otherwise, the film counter will not work...
Also, there is a retaining circlip ring on the ISO knot (main electrical contact knot).
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#camerarestoration #camerarepair #vintagecamera #vintage