Stuck on a sticky shutter for 3 days over a tiny spring

I spent 72 hours trying to fix a jammed shutter on a Canon AE-1, only to find a tiny spring had popped out of its slot and was hiding under the mirror box. Took me two extra days of tearing it apart and putting it back together before I spotted it with a flashlight. Anyone else spend way too long on a simple part that was right under your nose?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.noah13d ago

@the_nina I read a repair blog that said those Canon springs are basically designed to vanish into thin air.

the_nina13d agoOG Member

Honestly that sounds like a nightmare, I read a repair blog a while back that warned about these tiny springs in old Canons. They said it's almost always the dumbest little part that causes the biggest headache. I bet you could put that camera back together blindfolded now after all that practice.