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Be careful when removing the first glass on the front of the Rangefinder if you also want to clean the inner glass. The two are connected by an adhesive layer, so the Rangefinder will become blurred when you separate the two glasses. We carefully removed the adhesive layer with nail polish remover and a cotton swab and then the Rangefinder is clear again. And to remove the top cover you do not have to remove the rewind crank. The cover can also be removed by inserting the crank vertically and threading it through the recess.
This video saved my butt. I got a super good condition Canon P recently and shot a whole roll through it only to notice my negatives were 1/3rd cut off consistently. I attempted the lighter fluid fix one time, but didn't help (and I ended up scratching the locking nut on the tripod mount pretty bad, !!!), so I took it to a repair shop, where the guy there said he wasn't comfortable working on it due to his older age and possibility he might damage it worse, and he said it's probably the shutter brake, and would need to be taken apart quite a bit more to analyze (I appreciate this because of the money I am going to save). Anyway, I came back home and watched this video again, and noticed the arm next to the black spinner shaft wasn't moving on my camera when I was cranking it. I decided to apply a little more naptha on that specific spot and pry it a tiny bit and amazingly it came loose and now my shutter works as expected! Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you for this video ! It helped me to tension the first curtain on my Canonflex from 1959. At 1/1000, it was visible that the second curtain had more tension than the first. As a result, there was no exposure at 1/1000. After tensioning the first curtain by about 1 1/2 turns, the exposure at 1/1000 is good now (I compared it to my trusty F1). The way you explained and showed how to deal with this issue in your video gave me the confidence to do it ... and it worked. Thankx !!
Sorry but only putting in zippo gasoline to clean slow speeds will make the camera work in the short term, but in the long term it will wear out very quickly. The low gear mechanism needs to be lubricated sparingly with oil spike.
Shot in dark here, but my Canon P has a shutter advance lever that sometimes locks up. Almost like something is in its way. You ever see anything like that on these guys? Loved the video. Appreciate your time.
Thanks for your comments about the canon 7sz. Today I managed without damaging the flash sync to remove it without drilling the holes. I gripped the outer collar with a padded wrench and a quick twist and it was lose. The black wire to the light meter is really buried deep so I'll solder to existing and test for resistance. If the meter will not work it's no big deal but I only want to clean the glass and put the top back on. The front glass has no protection and can be easy to mark if your not careful taking the cover off. Many thanks.
Hey, great video! Thanks a lot for filming and uploading this very useful guide! My Canon P starts to skip pulling film after around 4-8 shots. Meaning it starts doing so on random and the only way to make it stop and is rewind the film, load it back in and hope I can advance it this time. When the skipping starts you can hear/feel a gear skipping steps as you move the lever. The shutter is still being cranked and the shot counter is also progressing but you can see on the left (via the small line on the rewind crank) that the film stops moving. The spinning dot under the shutter button continues to spin though so I assume that the film registration gear is actually turning but it's the registration teeth that can't properly grab and pull the film anymore. Have you encountered this before?
Thanks for this! Had a slow moving rangefinder cam (when focusing close quickly the rangefinder patch would take a second to catch up to the lens) and thanks to this video was able to take off the body, put a dab of lube on the mechanism and now it works perfectly.
Hey Sean, sorry to revive a 2-year-old comment, but I have the same problem with my Canon P and I was wondering what part you lubricated/what part of the camera you took apart to get to it? Thanks!
Hi thank you for the video! This helps greatly on my canon p! Unfortunately my canon p has a fungus on its prism, Would love to see a video on that! Thank you again!
Thank you so much for this video! I've used this before to clean up the fungus on the viewfinder. Now I'm having trouble with my frame counter resetting to S. It only gets to 6 and refuses to go back to S. Would you have any tips as to how to fix that? Thanks
Thank you for the great video, it's very helpful and very simple. Will try to use it as a guidance to fix the slow speeds and curtain tension issues of my L3. I wonder what lubricant do you use to lubricate the slow shutter/slow speed mechanism?
I do not lubricate the slow speed mechanism, most lubricants will cause it to slow down or stop working. For the shutter mechanism, I use small amounts of machine oil which does not seep or travel around easily.
Great video, thank you! I cleaned the slow shutter mechanism and it works great mostly. The 1/15 and 1/8th are still way too slow tho. Any advise what could do the trick? Thanks again!
Very informative video! By the way, both my 1/1 speed and bulb on my Canon P does not work, will following this guide be the solution? Thank you so much!
Very useful video of one of my favorite RF cameras. One question: you're not shown replacing the glass block behind the beamsplitter, which you had mentioned is cemented in place with lacquer. When you replaced it, did you re-cement it, and if so, with what?
Hi, thank you so much for detailed instructions. I see there are already 2 of us in the comments who got their Canon Ps with broken curtains.. Mine isn't wrinkled that much, but at the right bottom corner of it is a little bit torn, seems like that's the place where it has been bent many times and now there's a tiny little gap in there. It can be seen only with the use of a flashlight. the light gets through it and i have light leaks on my photos. Could you please tell us, is there any way to fix it? On rangefinder forum one man said he had the same issue and he taped the gap. I'm not sure it would work and won't affect the curtain movements and shutter speeds. What would you recommend? Thank you in advance, Anton.
Thanks for these videos. I recently bought a Canon P and everything seems to be working fine, but the shutter sounds like some lube is needed. Could you show how to lube any relevant bearings in the shutter assembly? Thanks!
great videos. for the Canon P, i got the timer stuck, it won't let me click on the shutter button. do you have any advise on how to get the timer to run and unstuck the shutter button? thank you.
Hi Japan Vintage Camera. Thanks for making this video. Would you be interested in making a video explaining how to fix the shutter counter on the Canon P? Mine is not stuck but it will not reset when I put in a new roll of film. Ether way have a great day.
Thanks for this video, really helpful! The Shutter Curtain of my Canon P is broken, can you share how to Repair it? Do I need a new curtain to replace it?
The curtain is probably okay, more than likely the ribbon is broken. This is not an easy job for most people. If you remove the shell to the camera as shown in the video, you can see the ribbons on the bottom and top of the curtain drums.
For me the challenge is light seals. Also, I never understand or seem to experience this fungus problem, why does it exist etc. I don't seem to see it in any of my equipment, but then I don't live on an island surrounded by water and half the year around here you have forced air heat so it is very dry. Any thoughts on the fungus thing? I would like a video showing the stages, possible fungus cleaning, why it happens, etc. Thanks for the video! Also, is there a technique to test and adjust shutter speeds that you use, generally? Do I detect a Canadian?
For checking shutter speeds you can record them with your laptop / phone and use an audio editing app to measure the lengths between the opening and closing sounds.
Thank you! I got the fungus on my Canon L1 prism. The only way to clean is to take prism out. But it doesn’t want to come out. The glue is so strong! How yours come out so easy?
Thank you for this video. My canon seven has issues with slower speeds. Now I know how to take it a part and fix it. Just one question here. Where can I get a light seal kit for my camera? I searched online, but I couldn't find it. Please help me if you can. Thank you.
I have a few yellow dots on my rangefinder patch that I can only see when I look at the front of the viewfinder from an angle, Not sure if its mold or what...Is there a way to open and clean the rangefinder patch and clean mold that's on it?
Thanks for the good video. I manage to get my Canon P shutter working after follow your steps, I just did not do that last steps the curtains tension. Now my Canon P shutter curtain wont close on 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, & 1s....Any idea what did I miss out?
Make sure that the intermediary shaft (where the flash sync contacts attach) is lubricated. This can stick and stop the shutter from closing all the way.
The Canon P doesn't actually have a light baffle between the prisms, there is only the retaining plate which holds the rear prism in place. There is sometimes a bezel on the side of the front prism, which has a round hole through which the split image comes from the rangefinder mirror. The Canon 7 does have a metal baffle which is glued onto the front prism, it does not block out stray light, but prevents dust from getting between the prism elements.
The point I was trying to make is your video showed you taking out at least two items that you did not show us how they go back in... This is a great video for this camera, almost like the reference video for it... just noticed it was missing that one thing.
hey, so I have a problem with my Canon P, searched the whole internet but could't find the solution. The camera won't focus to infinity, instead it focuses at 8m away from the camera.It's not about the rangefinder, I focused using a ground glass so I know for sure that the camera is at it s fault because the lenses work flawless on my other Canon 7. Is there any way I could move the lens closer to the film plane ?
Great video with superb walk through instructions for the future in case something goes wrong. I just bought a Canon P from you. Hopefully soon to be shipped to the U.K. Perhaps the one you mentioned. Keep producing the videos please.
Just ran my first roll through newly purchased P. I think someone did what you warned against at 4:10 concerning the set screw. Lever spins independent of fork with set screw tightened. With set screw loose, lever spins but fork does not unscrew. Any tips on removing the fork and finding a replacement?
There is some play to the fork, it should turn somewhat before it either stops, or begins to unscrew. Normally if the the threaded end of the shaft were to break, the fork would fall off. Replacement parts are hard to find, and usually mean you have to find a parts camera, I have a few Canon P cameras on my shelf which are waiting for rewind forks should I ever find any.
@@japanvintagecamera8869 Thanks for the reply. It just spins endlessly without unscrewing. Maybe the threads are stripped enough to not keep it from spinning, but have enough thread to hold it on. Not sure. I've tried pulling it straight off with no luck.
@@japanvintagecamera8869 This video shows the issue. It behaves this way whether the set screw is tightened or loose. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NOmSI-WX4YM.html
Paul E. Taylor Yesterday at 12:17 AM I posted this info to facebook and someone suggested reaching out to you. Is there any hope for this camera? I am going to look at your Etsy store for another P. This great looking Canon P arrived today. The seller described the shutter as sticking. I attempted to fire the shutter and the curtains did not even open. I removed the bottom cover and these three items were floating around inside. The shutter adjustment dials were mutilated and one was completely sheared off. I will be getting my money back unless we can work out a deal. This goes well beyond just drilling out the stem here.The entire shutter mechanism will need to be replaced. #canonP Canon Rangefinder Image may contain: camera No photo description available. No photo description available.
I cleaned the slow speed governor with lighter fluid but all it did was make 1/15 and 1/30 hang open for way too long. how should I correct this? also does the whole unit just slip out like on the nikon F or is it timed with other gearing I need to look out for
Too bad that you took this hacks advice. After several decades, mechanical cameras need proper overhauls if they are to continue to be used regularly. All squirting lighterfluid into them accomplishes, at best, is a temporary return to functionality. It can also just redistribute dirt into places which were clean before (your case) and degrade functionality.
@@MysteryManBob I hope I'm not bothering you but I seem to be experiencing the same issue as you after I freed up the mechanism. Prior to freeing it up, none of the speeds would close the second shutter. Now it just seems like the 1/15s and 1/30s are just repeats of 1s and 1/2s. What is the set angle of the retarder's piloting gear? How do I readjust it to work properly? Thank you!
The winding action can sometimes feel rough or unusual when there is no film in the camera, it feels almost like the gears are rubbing somewhere, but with film it works smoother. This does not apply to all Canon P cameras, just a few of of them.
@@japanvintagecamera8869 i just test it, turn out it's the second curtain not catching up. I saw your other video about the gear beside that light sync system, but the dial of mine is pointing at 5 o clock after firing the shutter, instead being off to the left hand side as you mentioned in another video of yours Is there any fix for it? Thank you again in advance!!
Yes I did, unfortunately that clip seemed to vanish when I uploaded the video. The coating on the prisms is quite strong, and I was able to remove the fungus with the lens cleaning fluid and cotton swab.
I just took my Canon P in for repair, shutter issue. I had the lens on the camera he said he didn't need it to adjust the rangefinder but you indicated in the video that you would need the lens on the camera to make that adjustment? He's charging me $115 in California to go through the camera, I hope he does the same quality work that you do, thanks. PS I did think about sending the camera to you, but it's so far away, lol.
If you repair guy has a lens he can use, he can adjust the rangefinder easily enough. Personally, I like the adjust the camera with my own lens on it as there is sometimes a little variation between lenses.
I cleaned my rangefinder and now the point for focus is not exactly in the center. Is that normal or have I done something wrong? Would be nice if somebody could help me😬
To center the horizontal adjustment, you have to remove the chrome screw on the front above the lens, then adjust the screw underneath until the rangefinder lines up. If the vertical adjustment is off, you need to remove the round ring from the rangefinder window, then turn the glass lens underneath one way or the other until the images line up.
@@japanvintagecamera8869 Hi there. I’m having trouble adjusting the vertical alignment. It seems like it isn’t adjusting at all when I turn the glass. I’ve tried adjusting to both extremes and eventually the glass gets tight to where I can’t turn it, or is loosens to the point of unscrewing the mount underneath. Any suggestions on what to do?
@@parkerburbank771 There is another adjustment you can make, but you need to remove the top cover. The rangefinder mirror is actually a prism which allows a little adjustment with small set screws. If those don't move enough (or at all), you can carefully bend the housing which holds the prism up or down, depending on how you need to move the split image. Move as little as possible, and try to do so in a way that the lever which supports the prism does not bottom out on the camera body, or the rangefinder will stick.
What a hack. After several decades, mechanical cameras need proper overhauls if they are to continue to be used regularly. All squirting lighterfluid into them accomplishes, at best, is a temporary return to functionality. It can also just as easilly redistribute dirt into places which were clean before and cause damage. And no tech. Increases shutter tension to compensate for dried lubricants, that just guarentees rapid wear and breakage. All these "refurbishment" methods do is restore temporary functionality to the cameras he flogs on ebay,
