 Brenda L. McCormick |
The soul but not the cents I'm thrilled to have found this site, but must admit to feeling a bit over my head, out of my league, and full of nearly a thousand questions. I'm sure in reading through your site, I'll get 990 or so of them answered, but I just have to ask a couple of them now, if that's okay. First, must I be uploading photos right off the bat to interact with the community here? Also, I'm terribly poor at this point, so puchasing books, magazines, a course, and equipment is virtually impossible at this point (hence why I'm here just reading and reading.) However, my father passed on my grandfather's old Canon AV-1 to me, minus most of the goodies (the turd!) He took the automatic winder, the 35mm lens, the flash, and lots of other accessories I don't even know what they were (my father does have some knowledge of photography.) Anyway, what I do have left is a 50mm lens (mounted) that I do use and a 100mm lens that I put on but can't see through. Something seems to be wrong with it. Also, the manual film winder knob is broke off, but I can rewind the film by turning the bigger base. In pitiful shape here, aren't I? But, it works and the photos come out much nicer than the cheap point and shoot I did have. I've simply been playing with this f-stops and all I've been reading about here and in the camera manual I did manage to get. It is all above my head right now. My question is (sorry it took me so long to get to it): Is this camera/the 100mm lens worth taking to a repair shop? Is is too old that it will even get repaired? At least I have the base of something to work with/add lenses to is what I'm thinking and that leaves me money for courses/books etc. I've just moved, so my scanner isn't out of the box just yet. But I'll dig it out and see what I can post here for you all. I really just "see" things, point and click, but have been somewhat pleased with a few of the results. I keep hearing I ought to take some classes or get more involved, so here I am. I'm really a writer by trade (or impulse.) That's how I normally "capture" what I see. So, maybe I'll try the more conventional means of "photography" and see where it leads. Well, this has been an awfully long post, please forgive me. I've got lots more questions, but I'll cease and desist for now. By the way, I'm very impressed with the work I've seen in the galleries. You guys have some great talent! I'm quite impressed. Nice to meet you all.
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Maynard McKillen |
Dear Brendalynn: It won't hurt too much (financially) to have a camera repair facility give you an estimate of the repair cost for the lens and the rewind lever. The latter is fairly quick and easy to fix. If you found a defective camera of similar design at a garage sale, you might even purchase it to remove the rewind lever and fix the AV-1 yourself. As to the 100mm lens, can you see anything at all through it, or is it simply black? Mold growing on the glass could cause an indistinct image, an out-of-place lens element (Shake the lens gently and listen for rattles and scraping sounds.) would cause a similar image, but if you see black, either by looking through the unmounted lens or when it is on the camera, I wonder if some aperture leaves haven't sprung from their mountings. The severity of the problem (Was it dropped onto a hard surface, for example, or did it go for a swim?) will determine whether replacement parts are required. Some facilities have "lens junkyards" they can dive into for the parts needed for older lenses. Ask for an estimate: you get to say no, and the lens would still be a great curio for the bookshelf. The camera was easy to use, simple in design, and popular with novices. It was different from many Canon A-series models in that it had aperture-priority semi-automatic, instead of shutter-priority. An autowinder may be slightly more difficult to find than the lenses (if you're sure you need to carry the extra weight around), which are still pretty common used items. The AV-1 could accept a dedicated flash which automatically set the shutter speed to 1/60th of a second, a convenience feature. You can easily find flash units for the AV-1: Even non-dedicated units work if you remember to set that shutter speed to 1/60th manually, no great effort really. My vote; take the plunge. Even if you fix the camera and showcase the lens, there are plenty of used lenses awaiting adoption. Yes, the galleries are an inspiration. It's great to see the "leftovers" from creative minds.
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Brenda L. McCormick |
Thanks for the response. Actually, I goofed. It's a 135mm lens. Anyway, it's just terribly blurry, and upon taking a closer look, and comparing it to the 50 mm lens (both dismounted and looking at them from the end that would mount to the camera base) the 50mm lens has a mirror(? or some sort of glass) right at the neck. I'm speaking directly behind the rim that would connect to the camera. The 135mm lens, being much longer of course, does not have this glass until several inches into the body. When there is a glass piece, it is curved away from me, being a cup shape, and this is coated in dust, which would account for the distortions I'm seeing. Logic, or comparing the two lenses tells me that the 135mm lens has been broken or is missing a vital piece of glass. However, I don't hear any rattling when I shake the lens. I'll definitely have to just take it in. As I said, I have had no previous experience with slr cameras. My father has been carrying this around and has passed it off to me. I was thrilled to receive it, put on the useable 50mm lens, and have simply learned to use it by trial and error. (I will get out my scanner and post a couple pics.) I'm now at this site and on my way to the library to try and learn more. Oh, one other thing. I found a flash at Wal-mart last night that fit and worked! (No camera stores by me. Will have to travel.) Not sure what you meant by dedicated/non-dedicated. Off to read more . . . Thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate it.
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