Problems with newly bought Vivitar 35ES

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ManicLamb

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May 20, 2008
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Hi all,

I've just bought a Vivitar 35ES based on some very positive feedback on here and on other websites. I hadn't used a RF before so was very keen to have a go with one!

Anyway I have received the camera today, and the shutter, timer and shutter speed/ASA rings seem to function correctly. However, having put in a battery, the meter doesn't seem to be working. The meter dial seems to stay around the 1.7 mark, only by rotating the camera around does it seem to move the meter needle upto 5.6 etc...

I have put a 675ZA battery in it, which I assume should be okay? It is one of these - http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details.jsp?productid=1068439&classificationid=1049913

IS there something I'm missing? I've noticed that there is DN dial with Auto 28 56 and other numbers on it, what is this related to?

If the meter is broken, is it easy to fix? I've very keen to get it working, esp having just bought it!

Thanks for any help in advance!

Simon
 
Try swabbing the battery contacts with white vinegar. Swab, wait to let dry, swab again. Repeat this process several times. I've had cameras where the compartment seems free of corrosion but had enough of a thin layer to prevent contact.
 
NickTrop said:
Try swabbing the battery contacts with white vinegar. Swab, wait to let dry, swab again. Repeat this process several times. I've had cameras where the compartment seems free of corrosion but had enough of a thin layer to prevent contact.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Nick, I certainly will give that a try!

Does anybody know if the meter is dependant on the Battery? Or is the battery just responsible for controlling the auto-aperture?

Thanks again for your help!
 
Just tried cleaning the battery contacts twice and it doesn't appear to be making a difference.

Is there any service documentation for the camera? Or any other suggestions of what the problem could be? I don't mind taking it to pieces if there's something that could be easily tried.
 
Right have taken the top plate off the camera and have noticed something quite odd.

The Meter will respond to the light when the camera is placed flat on its back (ie lens pointing upwards). It seems to be pretty accurate, pointing it towards a bright sky sends it right to the top..

However when the camera is horizontal, ie normal position the meter will not move off the bottom.

Could it be that meter isn't getting enough power to 'fight gravity' or something? Or is there a spring that isn't tight enough? Really not sure what it could be!
 
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Hello maniclamb,

Check to see if one end or the other of the meter's armature has become dislodged from it's pivot point. This could have happened if the camera had been dropped. Also check to see if the pointer of the meter is dragging or making contact with another part of the camera when it is horizontal. Nice camera, good luck with it.

Steve
 
Thanks radiocemetery, I think me and a friend have found the issue regarding some of the movement problems. There was a loose screw trapped within the needle mechanism, this was stopping the needle from moving properley when horizontal.

However it still doesn't seem to be calculating the exposure correctly. Pointing at a bright(ish) cloudy sky, at 800ASA and 1/500th second the needleoi is pnting at f 5.6. The meter is obviously returning a figure that will massive overexpose. Could this be a case of simply re-calibrating the lightmeter? If so, is this easy to do and how do I do it?

Cheers again, I think I'm getting closer now!!

PS Should the needle be effected by gravity? Ie now if I put the camera upside the down , the needle will move towards the ground.
 
I have two of these little gems, and they are superb cameras, easily one of my top 3 favorite cameras. My first one behaves just like your camera does, with the needle hovering around the lowest setting on the aperture scale, and giving readings that seem as though it will "massively overexpose" the scene. When using print film, this hasn't been the case in actual practice due to the wide exposure latitude of print film. My second one has a much more accurate meter, and seems fairly close to the meters in my EOS slr/dslr bodies. What they both have in common though, is that to get a good meter reading, accurate or not, the meter has to be facing the subject directly. I've wondered if this was due to some factor in the design of the meter, as my QL17 doesn't seem to be as dependent on the camera being pointed directly at the subject as the 35ES is. Or that may have absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Either way, even if you don't get the meter situation figured out completely, experiment with the camera anyway and see what you get. You may be pleasantly surprised. This is a fantastic camera with an outstanding lens (a Minolta 7sII clone by many reports, minus the full manual capability), one that is so good that I don't mind that my Oly 35RD needs to be serviced and is out of service right now. One of my 35ES's is always a part of my camera bag line-up-it's that good!
 
racoll said:
I have two of these little gems, and they are superb cameras, easily one of my top 3 favorite cameras. My first one behaves just like your camera does, with the needle hovering around the lowest setting on the aperture scale, and giving readings that seem as though it will "massively overexpose" the scene. When using print film, this hasn't been the case in actual practice due to the wide exposure latitude of print film. My second one has a much more accurate meter, and seems fairly close to the meters in my EOS slr/dslr bodies. What they both have in common though, is that to get a good meter reading, accurate or not, the meter has to be facing the subject directly. I've wondered if this was due to some factor in the design of the meter, as my QL17 doesn't seem to be as dependent on the camera being pointed directly at the subject as the 35ES is. Or that may have absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Either way, even if you don't get the meter situation figured out completely, experiment with the camera anyway and see what you get. You may be pleasantly surprised. This is a fantastic camera with an outstanding lens (a Minolta 7sII clone by many reports, minus the full manual capability), one that is so good that I don't mind that my Oly 35RD needs to be serviced and is out of service right now. One of my 35ES's is always a part of my camera bag line-up-it's that good!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the positive words racoll, I hear nothing but good things about the camera which is making me more and more eager to get it working!

My friend has been kindly looking at the camera for me, as he's much more capable at this sort of thing! It now looks as though the light meter is working pretty accurately and the shutter seems to fire correctly at all speeds.

We do have one more concern though which is the Aperture blades. When you half press the shutter button, should the Aperture blades move into the correct f number? Or does the aperture get set on the firing of the shutter? Because at the moment the blades seem fully open at all times, including when the shutter is half pressed. On shooting the camera in Bulb, it appears that the aperture is fully open.

Is it possible that something was knocked when we were fixing the Light meter?? Is there some mechanical connection between the bottom of the light meter and the lens? To fix the light meter we only had to take the top plate off, we didn't mess around taking the lens off.

Thanks
 
Don't know this model, but Konica Auto S2 selects aperture when half-pressed (sure, only when in Auto mode). This sounds logical because even if light is metered when half-depressed, at that stage aperture can be set.

It should be easy to check your camera too - open back door and snap several times against different levels of light - even with longest time 1/8 you'll see how circle of light changes...if it does.
 
I was concerned with the same thing on my 35ES with the questionable meter. I tried pointing it directly at lights of differing intensity and noticed that the apertures did in fact change in different light settings when the shutter was pressed halfway. Aim it at your ceiling light and observe how it changes looking at it from the front, and then aim it at a wall and do the same thing.
 
Thanks for the info guys. We've now managed to get it moving the aperture on pressing the shutter button. However now when the shutter fires, it seems that the aperture is locked on at the smallest setting (f16 or something). This is opposed to the fully open scenario we faced before.

The Meter seems to be reading correctly, so I think that part of the loop is okay. So bit confused to what it could be!

Update: To keep you informed, we've tried everything with the spring from the mechanism and can't seem to find the issue. It is still firing with with the shutter on the smallest aperture regardless of the meter reading. The meter seems spot on now. Hmmm I'm starting wonder if its suffering from the 'sticky aperture' issue.
 
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