# Film Advance Lever



## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

I don't know if I'm posting in the right area but here goes..

I'm a photography student new to film photography, I ordered myself a cheap Yashica FXD off eBay, it was listed as in full working condition and has had light seals, mirror cushions and batteries replaced.

It's a great little camera however the film advance lever isn't working, it's completely loose. I could send it back, however I like the camera, it's in great condition otherwise and came with a lot of accessories. 

Anyway, 

Do I need film in the camera for the lever to work? (I'm that much of a beginner, I don't even have film yet, haha) 

Or is there anything simple I could try to rectify this? If not, does anybody have any idea how much it would cost to be repaired?

Thanks, Dylan


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## MartinCrabtree (Apr 26, 2014)

Not familiar with Yashica SLRs but you usually need to release the shutter for each advance. Click here for a pdf copy of the owners manual.

Enjoy.


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## vimwiz (Apr 26, 2014)

How loose is loose? Like detatched? - Sounds broken.

Ive got an old Canon A1 which is a very similar design, its a bit stiff to take it to the "standoff" position (wont go past this unless you fire the shutter), and then you can can feel it catching when you begin actually winding  on (whether or not it has film in it)


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

MartinCrabtree said:


> Not familiar with Yashica SLRs but you usually need to release the shutter for each advance. Click here for a pdf copy of the owners manual.
> 
> Enjoy.



As soon as I opened it I tested the shutter which worked and then went to advance it and the advance wouldn't work, therefore as it won't advance I can't release the shutter, if that makes sense? Haha. It came with a manual however there is no mention of such issues. Thanks for your reply!


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

vimwiz said:


> How loose is loose? Like detatched? - Sounds broken.
> 
> Ive got an old Canon A1 which is a very similar design, its a bit stiff to take it to the "standoff" position (wont go past this unless you fire the shutter), and then you can can feel it catching when you begin actually winding  on (whether or not it has film in it)



It isn't detached, but if I turn the camera on its side the level turns with it. There's no resistance there at all..


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## SoulfulRecover (Apr 26, 2014)

toss a roll of (cheap) film in there


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## vintagesnaps (Apr 26, 2014)

I'm not that familiar with Yashica and thought too if it's loose, it might be broken. However, I looked at the manual on Butkus' website, and wondered - do you have batteries in the camera?? If not, obviously, do that. To me the camera looks like mechanical cameras of that era but the manual says it needs batteries to operate the shutter etc. 

If it isn't working with batteries, then you could try film in it but the beginning of the roll would be exposed to light (which is still usable) - leave the back of the camera open, try advancing it a couple of times - if it moves and advances, close the back and shoot the rest of the roll. If it doesn't move or advance, you can take the film out but when you put it in another camera you'd need to advance the film a few frames (so you won't get the full 24 or 36 images), then take off the lens cap and shoot the rest of the roll. (I probably would use that roll for fun and testing out the camera, not for anything important.) 

Unless the seller listed it as not working/for parts, I'd probably contact ebay if you think you received a broken camera. This one looks like it was recovered and has a new strap, so I'd be surprised that someone would have restored the body if the camera wasn't working (but with ebay you never know what someone might list). 

If there's a place that repairs cameras in your area it might be worth looking into how much it would cost to repair, but usually cameras like that aren't valuable enough to spend money on. If you're new to shooting film you could look up Films Not Dead, they're in the UK; or  Film Photography Project | An Internet Radio Show & On-Line Resource for Film Shooters Worldwide  and if you have questions try their forum or their Flickr discussion group.


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## vintagesnaps (Apr 26, 2014)

I see since I got back on and posted, there have been more comments! If the shutter releases but the lever won't advance and is loose that doesn't sound good...


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

vintagesnaps said:


> I'm not that familiar with Yashica and thought too if it's loose, it might be broken. However, I looked at the manual on Butkus' website, and wondered - do you have batteries in the camera?? If not, obviously, do that. To me the camera looks like mechanical cameras of that era but the manual says it needs batteries to operate the shutter etc.
> 
> If it isn't working with batteries, then you could try film in it but the beginning of the roll would be exposed to light (which is still usable) - leave the back of the camera open, try advancing it a couple of times - if it moves and advances, close the back and shoot the rest of the roll. If it doesn't move or advance, you can take the film out but when you put it in another camera you'd need to advance the film a few frames (so you won't get the full 24 or 36 images), then take off the lens cap and shoot the rest of the roll. (I probably would use that roll for fun and testing out the camera, not for anything important.)
> 
> ...



Thanks for the response. It came with new batteries and all the LED's are working so I can't really see it being that although the seller is sending me more batteries to try. I'm going to try putting a roll of film in as you suggested and see how that works out. If not, I'll return it


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

*Had a friend look at it, he took the top cap off and has managed to get it working with a small amount of super glue so now it's working. 

Thank you all for responses. 

Now, would anyone like to suggest some film I could use? haha*


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## SoulfulRecover (Apr 26, 2014)

Color Negative

Kodak Portra
Kodak Ektar 

Color Slide

Fuji Velvia 
Fuji Provia 

Black and White

Ilford Delta

Anything from 50 to 400 ISO


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## Dagwood56 (Apr 26, 2014)

As someone else suggested, but a cheap roll of film and then try it to see if it will work. I have a Yashica TL Electro X and you need to have film in the camera and click the shutter to be able to move the film advance lever.


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## compur (Apr 26, 2014)

dvpotter said:


> It isn't detached, but if I turn the camera on its side the level turns with it. There's no resistance there at all..



It's broken.

Toss it, keep the lens and find another working body.


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

SoulfulRecover said:


> Color Negative
> 
> Kodak Portra
> Kodak Ektar
> ...




thank you!


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## dvpotter (Apr 26, 2014)

managed to fix it with a bit of super glue, how long it'll hold for I don't know but it was pretty simple to do


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## Derrel (Apr 26, 2014)

compur said:


> dvpotter said:
> 
> 
> > It isn't detached, but if I turn the camera on its side the level turns with it. There's no resistance there at all..
> ...



Yeah, or just throw it in a box, or on a shelf, or in a cabinet. Rinse,repeat,rinse repeat. But yeah...you were almost certainly sold a non-functioning FX-D.


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## compur (Apr 26, 2014)

Fixed with super glue?


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## minicoop1985 (Apr 27, 2014)

Hey now, if it weren't for super glue, my Nikon F would be toast. Granted that's model glued together with a ferrule superglued to the shaft and the sprocket, but it's holding like a champ. It's not salable as is, but that's fine-it works and I'll keep it.  That being said, it didn't save my XG-SE yet, so there is that.

For film, it really depends on how much you want to shoot and on what kind of budget. If you're getting it developed, keep those costs in mind as you select film and get used to the camera. If you're developing yourself, well, hell, Tri-X 400 is where it's at in my opinion. If you want to shoot better color film, I absolutely worship Ektar 100 in my 120 cameras. If you need to save money and want to just goof off, Fujicolor/Fuji Superia is a good bet. Great color rendition, but the 400 speed has a bit more grain than I really want-YMMV.


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## compur (Apr 27, 2014)

Wanna buy my car with the wheels super glued to the axle? I'll give you a good deal on it.


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## dvpotter (Apr 27, 2014)

minicoop1985 said:


> Hey now, if it weren't for super glue, my Nikon F would be toast. Granted that's model glued together with a ferrule superglued to the shaft and the sprocket, but it's holding like a champ. It's not salable as is, but that's fine-it works and I'll keep it.  That being said, it didn't save my XG-SE yet, so there is that.
> 
> For film, it really depends on how much you want to shoot and on what kind of budget. If you're getting it developed, keep those costs in mind as you select film and get used to the camera. If you're developing yourself, well, hell, Tri-X 400 is where it's at in my opinion. If you want to shoot better color film, I absolutely worship Ektar 100 in my 120 cameras. If you need to save money and want to just goof off, Fujicolor/Fuji Superia is a good bet. Great color rendition, but the 400 speed has a bit more grain than I really want-YMMV.



I'm going to shoot colour to begin with, B&W developing is around £4/$6 extra at my local lab which isn't much but would be an extra roll of film. A lot of people have suggested the Ektar 100, I think I'm going to go with that and a roll of Superia for now. Thank you!


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## Derrel (Apr 27, 2014)

If you have the opportunity, the little Yashica FX-3 was a wonderful manual, match-diode 35mm SLR in the style of the Nikon FM and Pentax MX; a small body, with a simple "plus"/ON/minus diode system for adjusting exposure. It has n o depth of field preview button, b ut other than that, it's really a FUN camera to use. So, keep an eye out for that.

The Yashica ML 42-75mm zoom lens is an interesting lens...kind of an odd focal length range, yet, QUITE useful I would think; as an aside, I find that 43mm field of view on FF is, for me, a VERY useful lens length. Zeiss used to make cameras equipped with 45mm prime lenses, and I owned one of those, and on my Nikon FF, I often like the 43,44,45mm field of view, so I would think that the zoom lens you got with this would be a keeper as a walk-around lens. It's a nice small zoom lens, which is a major plus, the small physical size.


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## vimwiz (Apr 27, 2014)

dvpotter said:


> I'm going to shoot colour to begin with, B&W developing is around £4/$6 extra at my local lab which isn't much but would be an extra roll of film. A lot of people have suggested the Ektar 100, I think I'm going to go with that and a roll of Superia for now. Thank you!



I spent around £100 total on chemicals, kit , now I can process rolls of Ilford B&W for around £2 apiece at home. If you are shooting regularly its much better and cheaper than paying £10+ for a lab to do it (poorly!) - Ilford HP5+ B&W is about £5 a roll, and easy to develop at home.

Colourwise the cheap-ish (3 rolls for a fiver) Fuji stuff from Asda is very good, more economical than the Superia. There is Agfa for £1 a roll in poundland thats ok but has a slightly "retro" feel. Kodak ultraMAX is my fave though, about £6 in boots etc.


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## limr (Apr 27, 2014)

Those are all fine films, but for beginners, I think Kodak TriX for black and white and either Fuji Superia or Kodak Gold (probably 200 ISO) for color is better. Portra and Ektar are gorgeous films but they're less tolerant of exposure errors. And TriX is just awesome, beginner or no 

Edit: Didn't realize when I responded that there was a second page!

Anyway, I was referring to Kodak Portra and Ektar for color film. As I said, really great films, but Ektar is even less tolerant than Portra is. They're also pricier. I say if you're starting out, buy cheaper color film (that is still good) and shoot a LOT of it. My two cents


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## minicoop1985 (Apr 27, 2014)

compur said:


> Wanna buy my car with the wheels super glued to the axle? I'll give you a good deal on it.


Nah, superglue's not enough. That's a job for JB Weld. 

I forgot about Kodak Gold. I can't find it new around here anymore-just expired from time to time.


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## dvpotter (Apr 29, 2014)

limr said:


> Those are all fine films, but for beginners, I think Kodak TriX for black and white and either Fuji Superia or Kodak Gold (probably 200 ISO) for color is better. Portra and Ektar are gorgeous films but they're less tolerant of exposure errors. And TriX is just awesome, beginner or no
> 
> Edit: Didn't realize when I responded that there was a second page!
> 
> Anyway, I was referring to Kodak Portra and Ektar for color film. As I said, really great films, but Ektar is even less tolerant than Portra is. They're also pricier. I say if you're starting out, buy cheaper color film (that is still good) and shoot a LOT of it. My two cents



Thank you! I just picked up some cheap Tudor XLX up off eBay, it's less that $2 a roll so I thought it'd worth trying that before moving up to the more expensive films!


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