On behalf of Camera-wiki : Thanks for publishing your video ! A link to this video was added to the "Topcon IC-1 Auto" page on the Camera-wiki Please note that no direct links could be given as that is against the RUclips rules.
Hi Martin, there are probably a few different battery options, obviously if you could travel back in time and get the correct Mercury batteries, those would be the best. My 675 (Blue Tab) hearing aid batteries give about the correct voltage once they're under load in the camera, but they probably only last about a month or two in the camera, so if you're slow to use up your films like I am, then you'll be replacing the batteries a few times. I'm sure some people will get away with using a pair of LR44's or better still SR44s (because the voltage is more stable with the silver oxide batteries) but I haven't tried that myself. The meter on my camera isn't that accurate anyway, I think the CDS cell (or it might be a pair of CDS cells, I can't remember) is tired, so I mostly use a hand held light meter. I'm less of a fan of inserting a diode into the camera to reduce the voltage from the new 1.5 volt batteries - to get that right you really need to measure the load drawn by the light meter at the correct voltage in order to select the correct diode, and then you ideally need to use only Silver Oxide batteries because that have a better discharge curve than Alkaline batteries. I am quite strict with myself and I remove batteries from any camera that's not in use because it's so easy for them to leak, causing much more hassle.
Cheers ohjajohh, the outdated film worked well on this occasion - instant vintage look, no additional tweaking required!!! I'd like to stumble across a bulk pack of old film for no money, then I could use the first roll to dial in the best settings before happily shooting the rest - ebay isn't the place to buy outdate film, some of it seems to sell for crazy prices.
Cheers Ben, I do a few repairs for other people - not sure yet if I want to offer it as a service, there could be many complications - I'd certainly want to talk to anyone before embarking on work, because there's always a chance it might all go wrong.....
Greetings! Do you know how one could go about recalibrating the internal lightmeter so it that the camera would meter accurately using modern LR44 batteries?
Hi Bruno, if I remember correctly, there aren't any pots (potentiometers / variable resistors) to mess with on the IC-1 - I think the only pots on the circuit board are to do with shutter timing and so on, so they're best left alone. There are some fixed resistors on a separate board that deal with the light meter, and I think you'd need to substitute different values until the meter read correctly - I might have a look at mine one day, but it's still got film in it at the moment. In theory the LR44 isn't quite as good for things like old style light meters, because it's voltage tends to start an about 1.6 volts and then gradually fade throughout it's life, whereas the old mercury cells tended to be fairly stable in voltage. However, the CDS cells used in the light meters often become less sensitive over the years, so the additional voltage when an LR44 is new might even help it to read correctly. I would be inclined to try the camera with a pair of LR44s and compare it's readings to a trusted source (either a light meter that you know is good, or use a DSLR or mirrorless). If you take readings off a blank subject such as a wall with your DSLR set to the same ISO as your IC-1 and see how they compare. Then try readings from a clear bit of sky (not pointing anywhere near the sun, because that can skew the results). And finally try some readings in lower light such as a shaded wall - if the IC-1 is consistently over or under reading, you could simply adjust the ISO on that camera until the readings were about right, and make a note so you know to compensate every time you change the film speed. The light meters in old cameras like the IC-1 aren't much good in low light such as dim indoor scenes, so I wouldn't get too worried if it doesn't read those correctly. Finally, the CDS cells are located at the back of the prism, and often the prism, focusing screen, mirror and so on get dirty over time, and this will reduce the amount of light that gets to the CDS cell, again skewing the results. If you do ever clean these, be very careful cleaning them, particularly the mirror and focusing screen - most focusing screens are plastic and if you start cleaning them with something like alcohol, you can actually damage them, making focusing difficult. The mirrors are silvered on the top surface rather than on the bottom like a normal mirror, so they can easily be scratched.
On behalf of Camera-wiki :
Thanks for publishing your video !
A link to this video was added to the "Topcon IC-1 Auto" page on the Camera-wiki
Please note that no direct links could be given as that is against the RUclips rules.
That's awesome, cheers.
Thanks for sharing. I need to get batteries and tweak them to work in my old IC-1auto
Hi Martin, there are probably a few different battery options, obviously if you could travel back in time and get the correct Mercury batteries, those would be the best. My 675 (Blue Tab) hearing aid batteries give about the correct voltage once they're under load in the camera, but they probably only last about a month or two in the camera, so if you're slow to use up your films like I am, then you'll be replacing the batteries a few times. I'm sure some people will get away with using a pair of LR44's or better still SR44s (because the voltage is more stable with the silver oxide batteries) but I haven't tried that myself. The meter on my camera isn't that accurate anyway, I think the CDS cell (or it might be a pair of CDS cells, I can't remember) is tired, so I mostly use a hand held light meter. I'm less of a fan of inserting a diode into the camera to reduce the voltage from the new 1.5 volt batteries - to get that right you really need to measure the load drawn by the light meter at the correct voltage in order to select the correct diode, and then you ideally need to use only Silver Oxide batteries because that have a better discharge curve than Alkaline batteries.
I am quite strict with myself and I remove batteries from any camera that's not in use because it's so easy for them to leak, causing much more hassle.
Great video, the outdated film goes well with the older cars!
Cheers ohjajohh, the outdated film worked well on this occasion - instant vintage look, no additional tweaking required!!! I'd like to stumble across a bulk pack of old film for no money, then I could use the first roll to dial in the best settings before happily shooting the rest - ebay isn't the place to buy outdate film, some of it seems to sell for crazy prices.
Well done! Another camera fixed! Perhaps you ought to offer a camera servicing service for people with sentimentally important cameras.
Cheers Ben, I do a few repairs for other people - not sure yet if I want to offer it as a service, there could be many complications - I'd certainly want to talk to anyone before embarking on work, because there's always a chance it might all go wrong.....
@@GrumpyTim Certainly true.
Greetings! Do you know how one could go about recalibrating the internal lightmeter so it that the camera would meter accurately using modern LR44 batteries?
Hi Bruno, if I remember correctly, there aren't any pots (potentiometers / variable resistors) to mess with on the IC-1 - I think the only pots on the circuit board are to do with shutter timing and so on, so they're best left alone. There are some fixed resistors on a separate board that deal with the light meter, and I think you'd need to substitute different values until the meter read correctly - I might have a look at mine one day, but it's still got film in it at the moment.
In theory the LR44 isn't quite as good for things like old style light meters, because it's voltage tends to start an about 1.6 volts and then gradually fade throughout it's life, whereas the old mercury cells tended to be fairly stable in voltage. However, the CDS cells used in the light meters often become less sensitive over the years, so the additional voltage when an LR44 is new might even help it to read correctly.
I would be inclined to try the camera with a pair of LR44s and compare it's readings to a trusted source (either a light meter that you know is good, or use a DSLR or mirrorless). If you take readings off a blank subject such as a wall with your DSLR set to the same ISO as your IC-1 and see how they compare. Then try readings from a clear bit of sky (not pointing anywhere near the sun, because that can skew the results). And finally try some readings in lower light such as a shaded wall - if the IC-1 is consistently over or under reading, you could simply adjust the ISO on that camera until the readings were about right, and make a note so you know to compensate every time you change the film speed. The light meters in old cameras like the IC-1 aren't much good in low light such as dim indoor scenes, so I wouldn't get too worried if it doesn't read those correctly.
Finally, the CDS cells are located at the back of the prism, and often the prism, focusing screen, mirror and so on get dirty over time, and this will reduce the amount of light that gets to the CDS cell, again skewing the results. If you do ever clean these, be very careful cleaning them, particularly the mirror and focusing screen - most focusing screens are plastic and if you start cleaning them with something like alcohol, you can actually damage them, making focusing difficult. The mirrors are silvered on the top surface rather than on the bottom like a normal mirror, so they can easily be scratched.