Pro tip: the 37th Canon AE-1 on my bench taught me more than the first 36

I keep a little tally on the wall of my shop in Boise. Hit 37 Canon AE-1s repaired this week, and that number finally made something click for me. The first 36 all got the same squeal fix, the mirror bumper swap, and a foam job. Number 37 came in with a shutter that would lock up past 1/250, turned out someone had pried the speed dial off and bent the contact plate under it. I probably would have missed that a couple years back and just re-foamed it and sent it home. Anybody else find that the weird ones only start showing up once you've seen the normal ones enough to spot the oddball?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

verar639d ago

The part about spotting the oddball only after seeing the normal ones enough times hits home. This is just how learning works anywhere, not just with cameras. A nurse who has taken ten thousand blood pressures instantly knows when something feels off, but a brand new one has no clue what normal even feels like yet. Same with a cook tasting soup, or a mechanic listening to an engine. You build up this mental picture of "fine" and then anything that doesn't match it kinda jumps out at you. That's why the 37th one teaches you more than the first 36, the first 36 were you building the picture. The weird ones are only weird compared to all the boring ones you already know by heart, so basically you have to earn the right to even notice them lol.

8