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Anonymous
In the ways of used film camera bodies, what should I be looking out for wear and tear wise when buying? In b4 bad seal, battery compartment corrosions, and broken meter.
>> Anonymous
Reasonably accurate shutter timings.
>> Warren !WSxruxpIJs
Check for rotting foam at the top of the mirror box where the mirror (on SLR's) flips up during the exposure. Easily enough replaced, but if it goes bad and isn't tended to it can end up spreading little bits of black, sticky crap all over the mirror, focusing screen, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>156347
How important is that foam up there? I have an old SLR and the foam was all crispy so I took it out. I suppose I should replace it as it might damage the mirror. It's a Canon A-1. What should I be looking for specifically if I want to replace it? Is it attached by glue or something? Thanks.
>> Warren !WSxruxpIJs
>>156357
It's usually there to dampen the impact of the mirror. Without it, I suppose you could eventually damage the mirror, but at very least it's going to make things more noisy. micro-tools.com sells some self-adhesive foam sheet that can be used for this (they also sell other seal materials, camera-specific tools, etc). If you shoot with older cameras much, spending $6 on a sheet of foam might be worth it because it'll last you the rest of your life.

Also, another thought on the OP - some older cameras were designed to take now-extinct (in the US) mercury batteries. Not always a problem, but something to be aware of.
>> Anonymous
>>156410
Don't worry about the batteries too much, many of them were replaced with alkaline or lithium equivalents. Same voltage and stuff but with a shorter lifespan.
>> Anonymous
>>156624
actually, a lot of them wound up being different voltages. fortunately, with a lot of older cameras all you need do is adjust the ISO setting a bit and the meter will still work OK
>> Anonymous
You can get sticky foam or sticky felt from craft shops for about $1 per sheet, no need to go to micro-tools for that stuff.

>>156624
>>156710
Just test your meter, if it reads consistently high or low then adjust the ISO accordingly. You can also have the meter itself adjusted if you don't want to bother with it.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>156624
Mercury batteries were 1.3V. Alkalines are 1.5V, kinda.

I.e., Alkalines slowly lose voltage over time. Mercurys, on the other hand, keep a constant 1.3V pretty much up until the day they die, when they drop suddenly and sharply down to zero.

For this reason, most camera makers who made cameras to take mercury cells didn't put any voltage regulation hardware in there, so an alkaline's gradual decline into senility will mean inconsistent metering even if you get it adjusted for the 1.5V. I.e., you can't just set an EV comp because the compensation needed will vary with time.

C41 film generally has enough latitude that it's not a big deal, but it can screw you over with a less forgiving film.

The best option is to get a CRIS Camera MR9 adapter, which lets you use a silver-oxide cell. Silver-oxide batteries have the same straight voltage curve as mercuries, and the MR9 adapts 'em to fit and give that voltage curve at the actual correct voltage.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>156716
(Another option is the Wein zinc-air cell, which gives the same voltage and voltage curve, but has the annoying issue that it dies pretty quickly even if you're not actually using it. But they are easier to find)