[mojoe_24]

Pulled out my dad's old ME. (Original thread) Bought some film to check out if it still worked. Everything seems fine, but the shutter seems to get stuck. I have it set to Auto and the shutter will stay closed over a couple seconds each time. Am I just stupid and have the settings wrong?

[ryan s]

Without enough light, these cameras will end up with a very long exposure. What should be maybe 1/2s turns out to be like 30s. For what reason, I don't know. They tend to "hang" with less-than-ideal light.

Flip it to 1/125, fire it a few times without film in it to see if it's really stuck Or, try M mode in the same light. If the mirror doesn't come down, remove the lens and on the left side, you'll see the aperture lever. Pull it down, mirror comes down.

Normal, but weird.

[mojoe_24]

So I think that is what it is. I go from auto to 100x and it shoots fine and on B the shutter stays as long as I hold it down. Is it just not advisable to shoot on auto?

[ryan s]

Auto mode is fine as long as the light is good

I was curious and the manual didn't really answer my query (I'm wondering at which shutter speed does it lock up)...but here's a red "CAUTION" box from the manual:

If you should happen to press the shutter button while the shutter dial is set on AUTO with the lens cap on, or in very poor lighting conditions, the mirror may lock up, resulting in abnormally long exposure. To correct this, the shutter can be quickly closed by turning the shutter dial to 125X. After closing the shutter, be sure to reset the shutter dial to AUTO.

[mojoe_24]

Thanks. I plan to run a roll through this weekend. Hopefully I won't have too many problems. Really want to see how the 80-200 lens we have takes pictures. Planning on picking up a Kx and trying to decide why kit to buy. If I can use this lens with it I can probably save some money.

[sunny16]

Hey Mojoe,

I don't know what your experience level is so forgive me if I cover info you already know. "B" is for bulb and is usually used with a tripod and as you mentioned, is for keeping the shutter open as long as you want (this is generally for long exposures.) The 100x is for using a flash on the camera (shutter fires at 100 with flash.)

As was mentioned by others, the biggest thing that would cause auto to take longer exposures is the amount of light hitting the meter. First you want to make sure your film speed is set correctly (if you're just testing without film, set it to something like 400.) If it is set to something like "64" it is going to be slower as that is a denser film. Also if the aperture on the lens is stopped down (like f16 or f11) this would also increase the exposure time... try setting it to f2.8 or whatever wide open is for your lens.

I would say that if the camera is behaving this way outside during daylight, it very well might be something mechanical. If you're testing it indoors under lamp light, it might just be lighting.

Oh, and I hope this doesn't seem stupid to say... on some of my older Ricoh film cameras if the battery is dead the shutter will fire but will not close until set to "B" or "X" or a new battery is installed. I have no idea if the ME is the same because I do not own one... but it's another possibility.

Again, I hope you're not insulted by this info (if you already know all this) but not knowing your experience level, I figured I'd point out some of the common issues.

Good luck and take care!

[mojoe_24]

Haha thanks. I'm very inexperienced. I've always liked photography but never had a camera so I don't know too much. With finals and job training done I plan to start learning more before I buy a Kx in the next couple weeks. I don't think it's the battery. I am checking it out indoors and when aimed at a light source it was quick. I may have to take it to the airport tomorrow and try to take some pictures of planes landing.