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Posted by Frank on July 24, 2001 at 19:56:28:
In Reply to: Help on Canon AE-1 Program posted by John Park on July 24, 2001 at 18:28:28:
: I have a Canon AE-1 Program camera that was made in 1981(?). I have a difficult time loading the camera. I recently put a Fuji 400 speed film in and when I want to feed the next picture the handle is difficult to press.
: I don't know if I'm doing this right... can somebody tell me how to load this film???
Hi John,
First things first .. don't force anything, ever. The wind lever
should not be hard to rotate at all. I assume that this is the
"handle" you're talking about.
Lets start at the beginning. This roll of film will be dificult for you to re-use because the leader (the end of the film that you start with) will have a nice curl to it making it hard to start for you.
1. Take the roll out and throw it
2. With the camera film door still open, rotate (wind) the film
wind lever and make sure everything moves easily, wind and fire
the shutter several times to confirm that the problem was in the
film loading
3. Jump into the Eclipse and buy a fresh roll of film. The film
speed has no bearing on wind lever resistance
4. Set the camera in your lap with the lens between your legs and
the open film door facing to the right
5. Lift up the rewind knob and drop the film cartridge in place
easily and push the rewind knob back down, rotate it a half turn
clockwise to seat it.
6. The film leader goes into one of the slots that is in the
spool farthest to the right. The spool rotates to the left on an
AE-1 so the trick here is to put the leader into a slot (any
slot) (move the wind lever a tad if you have to line one up) and
then, making sure that there is no slack, hold the film against
the cogs on the next spool over with the first two fingers on
your left hand as you wind the film with your right.
7. Don't be concerned about using an extra shot or two up before
you close the back at this stage. It's more important that you
get a feel for what you are doing first. Watch as the film is
drawn onto the spool on the right to confirm that it is straight
and that the cog wheel has engaged the sprockets in the film.
8. if the film wind lever is moving freely and you're convinced
it's right then close the film door and bring the camera up to #
1. As you are doing this confirm that the lever is moving freely.
Never force anything.
good luck, Frank
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