[Spock]

I have a very nice condition ESII that I have run film through with good results.



Yesterday I took it out of the cupboard after not using it for about a year and it still seemed to work fine. Testing it showed that its shutter speeds compared favorably with my DSLR at the same aperture and focal length settings. The only thing is, I noticed that at slow shutter speeds (eg. 1/2 second) the shutter closed as soon as I released the shutter button - whereas if I held it down, the shutter stayed open for the full 1/2 second.

I've never noticed this before - and it's possible that its always done this as it would be hard to notice this at faster shutter speeds - eg 1/125 second.

Does anyone know if this is normal behaviour for the ESII and similar old cameras?

In any event, I've loaded a partially (actually mostly) exposed film, so I guess I'll know soon enough if there is a problem!

[pentaxus]

It is not normal for the camera to do that.

[Spock]

It is not normal for the camera to do that.

Damn. Hopefully it will still expose correctly if I hold the shutter button down until it finishes doing its thing. I'll shoot the rest of the (slide) film in it and see what happens.

[sergysergy]

I have had 3 bodies behaving like that. At some point I even thought that was the way it was supposed to be until I asked here in the forums. I gave up on the ESii

[Spock]

I have had 3 bodies behaving like that. At some point I even thought that was the way it was supposed to be until I asked here in the forums. I gave up on the ESii

But do your ESIIs still expose correctly if you hold the shutter button down to work around the problem?

[sergysergy]

I never used them when I detected the problem but my guess is that they would expose fine.

[Spock]

I never used them when I detected the problem but my guess is that they would expose fine.

I just finished off the last few shots of a roll of Ektachrome slide film I transferred to the ESII to test it. So in a few days I will know and report back!

[Spock]

I just finished off the last few shots of a roll of Ektachrome slide film I transferred to the ESII to test it. So in a few days I will know and report back!

I finally got my slide film processed and the good news is it looks like the ESII still exposes correctly despite the issue with the shutter button (pics taken with SMC Takumar 85mm F1.8):

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[AAlfano]

Nice shots. Your furry friends are very handsome.

[Finn Lyle]

The mechanism which keeps the electronic shutter "on" for the duration of the exposure is linked mechanically to the switch which turns on to meter when you depress the shutter button, this is a common issue that is caused by either a worn collar on the shutter button linkage, or by the plastic switch body cracking. The former is usually an easy fix if you can find the collar, but unfortunately the switch housing cracking is much more common.

[Spock]

The mechanism which keeps the electronic shutter "on" for the duration of the exposure is linked mechanically to the switch which turns on to meter when you depress the shutter button, this is a common issue that is caused by either a worn collar on the shutter button linkage, or by the plastic switch body cracking. The former is usually an easy fix if you can find the collar, but unfortunately the switch housing cracking is much more common.

Thanks for the info. If the switch housing has cracked can it be fixed?
Should I even bother to attempt to have it fixed - given it works if I simply hold the button down for the duration of the exposure?

[Finn Lyle]

I’ve used a dab of liquid super glue in the crack of the housing before and held it together with a small forceps to “set” the break, which fixed it well. Not professional for sure but it works. If you don’t have exposures longer than you keep your finger on the button it’s a horse a piece.

[Spock]

I’ve used a dab of liquid super glue in the crack of the housing before and held it together with a small forceps to “set” the break, which fixed it well. Not professional for sure but it works. If you don’t have exposures longer than you keep your finger on the button it’s a horse a piece.

Thanks. I think I'll take the conservative approach and just hold the shutter button until the camera has completed its exposure. My feeling is these old cameras are fragile and opening them up may cause other problems!