Broken Film SLR ? Need Help !?

Question

I have a problem with my film slr .

I have a Canon Eos1 film slr and suddenly when i look thought the viewfinder i can just see black and a hole in the middle where i can see whatever im pointing my camera at .

Has anyone got a clue what might be wrong ?

Answer 1

I'm just guessing, but it sounds like the depth of field preview is "on" all the time. In other words you are seeing through the lens stopped down to it's set aperture instead of wide open as is normally the case when viewing through the viewfinder. Why this would be happening I don't know. Check to see if the depth of field preview button is stuck in.

May not be the problem at all, just all I can think of. Probably going to have to get it to Canon service.

steve

Answer 2

put a new battery in it first, then try it.  

Answer 3

could be a jammed aperture, remove the lens and see if you can get the blades to retract, else open the back and make sure the shutter is fully open and not jammed,

else goto a camera store and have an assistant have a look for you, or goto a pro supplier

a

Answer 4

Antoni & Steve are both on the right track.  I agree it's probably that the aperture is stuck, a possibly because the  DOF preview button is stuck.

Do this first:  Change the aperture to something like f 5.6 or 3.5, then advance the film and click the shutter.

Or ... remove the lens and look through it while holding it up to the light.  You should be seeing that it's wide open.  If not, it's definitely a stuck aperture.