Broken Canon A-1

OK my father in lay dropped his A-1 and cracked the upper plastic, OK
electrical taped the crack (maybee it will be OK - maybe not) Dont know yet
because........

Shutter release will not depress and film advance lever will not move unless
multiple exposure lever is over red dot.

Battery IS good but battery test failes - no red LED indication. The
viewfinder displays for speed and apature work OK.

And now for my question.

Is this worth repairing? My hope is that someone out there has had this
problem and it turned out to be something trivial.

The guy in the local 'Ritz' Camera said it was not worth fixing because a
new body could be bought at any pawn shop for $20.00 - I thinkm this is not
true.

Any advice?

Steve

 

The guy in the local 'Ritz' Camera said it was not worth fixing because a

I dont think you will find an a-1 for $20. Is the battery new? I know mine did
the same when the battery got worn down. For a replacement body, check ebay, I
got my body and a tamron 80-200 zoom for $80 so deals are out there. Lots of
people dumping older heavy stuff for lighter or digital.( This thing is an
anchor compared to my rebel). It would definately cost more to fix than replace
but if its got sentimental value then all bets are off. Good luck.

George

 

I'd like to know what pawn shop has $20.00 A-1 bodies! Even in
"Bargain" or"Ugly" condition, they're usually over $100.00. You MIGHT
find an A-1 at a pawn shop where they didn't know exactly what they
had, for 20 dollars, but I doubt it...more likely, you'd find the body
with lens (or lenses) and so forth, for considerably more than 20.00.

 

You're right about batteries in A1's. In mine, when it drops to about
5volts, it becomes functionless. Nothing works. You have to maintain
a good hot battery in those cameras.