Camera Malfunctions

Agfa Isolette II with Solinar 1:3.5 / 75mm (ca. 1953)

In this day and age of ubiquitous digital photography - both on smartphones and dedicated digital cameras - camera malfunctions sound like a thing of the past. Which of your digital cameras has malfunctioned? Ever? Especially, which of those cameras that you bought over the past, say, ten years, has properly malfunctioned? Properly, as in totally shut down, refused to focus, refused to shut down or fire up, produced random multiple exposures, overexposures, had light leaks etc.

My guess would be that very few of your cameras has had any issues other than the occasional dead battery, or worse, leaked battery, or some software glitches (as in firmware glitches). As a long-time user of Sony RX 100 compact cameras I know that some of them tend to have problems with properly starting up or retracting the zoom lens after shutting down. But neither my Canon DSLRs or my Panasonic mirrorless cameras have so far let me down big time (yes, my Panasonic S5 did have some focusing issues, but that was more a design flaw than a malfunction).

Now take a step back, breathe, and go through your collection of analog cameras that you may have amassed over the years. Initially, I thought about writing “over the decades”, but I do get it - not every photographer using these cameras may actually be that old.

In my case, the first camera that really stopped working properly for me was a Nikon EM SLR that I had bought second hand in about 1990. That camera’s film transport wasn’t working, and I got a lot of slippage there, with frame overlaps or empty frames. I’ve sold it quickly after I realised the matter and forgot about any camera problems because my trusty Nikon FM2 simply didn’t let me down. But then at some point I also had an MD12 motor drive for the FM2 that didn’t work. I had it repaired for way too much money (for me anyway) and then never used it again.

The next camera that comes to mind was my first Canon SLR, an EOS 30 (or 33) that I bought around the year 2000. That camera worked for a couple of years until it didn’t. The film door wouldn’t keep shut. In hindsight a minor problem that could have been repaired. But by the time that issue occurred, I had moved on to digital cameras and am not even sure what happened to that Canon EOS 30. It might be somewhere in the basement. Then I forgot about camera malfunctions for a number of years during which I mostly used digital cameras.

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Earlier this year, when I got back into shooting film again, I took stock of my collection of vintage and not-so vintage cameras. The one camera I really wanted to try again, after many years, was my Agfa Isolette II, a very compact folding 6x6 medium format camera. I can’t remember where I bought it or found it, but for a time we were living near a thrift shop in Berlin-Charlottenburg and occasionally some interesting cameras popped up there.

Now, upon first inspection, the Isolette II looked still very good, but I quickly noticed that its age started showing. This camera is about 70 years old by the time I am writing this up, and some of the older cameras of this type tend to have stuck lenses (meaning that the lens can’t focus any more because you can’t turn it). The reason for this is mostly that the greasing agent used for the lens mechanics got sticky and basically glued the lens barrels into the bodies. Sometimes, skilled mechanics are able to free up those lenses by applying heat or use chemicals, but more often than not, this can’t be repaired, as it was the case with my Agfa Isolette II. The camera service I had asked will, however, clean up and adjust a nice Isolette III for me.

***

Then there was the story with me buying a vintage SLR again. Since I generally liked the older Nikon cameras, I thought I am going to get one that I never could afford when I was younger (or it wasn’t available) - the Nikon FE2, the electronic sister of the camera I used to own, the FM2. Buying that FE2, however, turned out to be a bit of a sad story. The first one that I got from the vintage Nikon specialist had a film transport issue (just like the Nikon EM back in about 1990), so I returned it. The next model seemed to work properly and I was happy. Until it stopped working during an afternoon walk. The batteries, which I had put in when I bought it, had died.

Nikon FE2 with Nikkor 1:2.8/28mm, ca. 1983 (or later)

And then I noticed that the exposure memory switch, which is unfortunately coupled with the self-timer lever, didn’t work either. While trying that out, I broke the lever. The camera service that looked at my Isolette was able to replace the broken lever, but didn’t really dig deeper into the electronic issues.

So the FE2 is only partly working at the moment, but it is also a bit of a liability. I will try to have it repaired (and probably also have the focusing screen cleaned) as soon as possible because it is actually a great camera and for me ticks most of the boxes of an analog camera.

+++

The malfunction of the Nikon FE2 got me thinking about writing about the reliability of vintage cameras. But alas, in recent weeks I also had to learn that even brand new analog cameras are prone to malfunctions. I have two examples that I want to share here.

The first one was a Lomo LC-A 120. It is probably Lomography’s most expensive camera and generally does get good reviews. After shooting the first film without issues, I ran into trouble while shooting the second film. The camera has a multiple exposure switch next to the film transport wheel. And that switch didn’t work any more as it should. It seems that either the switch is broken or something else, but the camera changes from multiple exposures to random exposure mode randomly. True to the Lomo slogan - don’t think, shoot! It’s a real shame as I like the format (still pocketable) and ease of use of this camera! And the lens is plenty sharp.

Well, if this was a 60 Euro camera like the Lomo Sprocket Rocket or a Holga, I could probably live with it, but this camera had set me back 449 Euros. So I tried to contact Lomo by email or phone to get it replaced or repaired, but to no avail. Until just before Christmas I finally got an answer when I pinged them on Facebook via the messenger. Let’t see how that pans out.

Lomo LC-A 120

The last camera I want to write about for now is something completely different. The other cameras came from large manufacturers like Agfa and Nikon, who both had a long tradition in camera-building. The Lomo is probably produced in China on behalf of the Lomo brand by some smaller contract manufacturer. The last camera covered in this post was designed and produced by Chroma Cameras, a one-man outfit based in Liverpool, run by a gentleman called Steve Lloyd.

I personally have never heard of Steve or Chroma cameras before I started reading up on special-format analog cameras, like 6x17 panorama cameras or 6x12 medium format cameras or other special formats. Steve designs these kind of specialist, quirky cameras, mostly either using second-hand large format lenses or pinhole plates. The camera bodies and lens cones are 3D printed.

While I originally fancied one of the medium format monsters, I ultimately went for a panorama camera for 135 film. The key reason was that I thougth that if I ever want to have one of those panoramas printed from a negative, there was no way to find a lab that could print those 6x17 or even 6x12 negatives. Even scanning those negatives would have been really difficult. So, 135 format film it was.

The camera took some time to arrive (mostly due to the German DHL and its customs process) and I was eager to take it out but when I finally did, the film transport mechanism broke. Unlike Lomo, Steve was responsive and didn’t hesitate to offer me a replacement. I will cover the camera in-depth once I have that replacement. Meanwhile, I could only dream of what the pictures will look like, coming from a well-regarded vintage Nikon 65mm large-format lens.

Chroma Cube Pan 135 with a Nikkor-SW 1:4 / 65mm

Postscript, 13 Jan 2024

Lomography has replaced the defective LC-A 120 without problems. It was just the communication issues with them that drove me mad.

And it seems that the Nikon FE2 cannot be repaired. Two reputable repair services told me that there haven’t been any spare parts available for the FE2 for many years already. I will give the service in Berlin one more try before I give up on the camera. It would be a real shame, but well.

And that is not all - at least one of the cameras I have is probably giving up any time because of some electronic issues - the Minolta X-700. At least this seems something that could be repaired.

And meanwhile, another camera, my old Canon EOS 300 has started to have issues, too.

The replacement Chroma CubePan is still stuck in German customs, so no update on this.

Postscript, February 2024

Since the customs issues with the Chroma CubePan continued, I decided to have it returned to the manufacturer and get a refund, which worked without problems. It was not an easy decision, but I didn’t have the energy to put up with the German bureaucracy any longer.

The Nikon FE2 will get assigned a nice spot on the shelf and gather dust there. I have no intention to spend more money on it with no guarantee that it can be fixed. As a replacement, I found a cheap F-301 which offers the automation and simplicity of use that I sometimes want.

Another camera ended up in the repair shop - the Yashica FX3 Super 2000, and this one seems to be fixable. The mirror had become loose and didn’t return to its place after shooting a picture. With it in the repair shop is a lens that I love but was in need for a aperture blade cleaning - the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.7. I hope to get both back in two weeks or so.

A Pentax Spotmatic II that I’ve added recently also seems to suffer from a sticky mirror and I wonder if it’s worth repairing. I didn’t like the shooting experience with it too much, so this can wait.