Clemente Colayco wrote:
>
> Does anyone know about this camera? Is this based on the more popular 35 DC,
> RD, SP series?
> Is it a manual or auto exposure camera? What battery does it use?
>
> What is interesting about this?
>
The 35 EC is mechanically/electrically unlike any of these models -- it
is an Auto- (actually Programmed-) exposure only shutter (no manual
function at all), with a "flash-matic" setting to couple the aperture
with the zone-focus setting distance ring for flash photos.
It used two type 640 batteries (originally mercury, now alkaline), which
were prone to leakage (check the battery terminals before buying). A
related problem occured when battery leakage would invade the battery
cover, shorting the contacts in it to the body. If battery drain is a
problem, careful disassembly and cleaning of the battery cover's
insulated contacts will usually correct the problem.
There was no release lock, though -- without batteries, with dead
batteries, or with corroded battery terminals, it would wind and fire
without opening the shutter. The only indication that it wasn't
operating properly was that the yellow lamp seen though the finder and a
window on the top cover didn't glow when the release button was pressed
-- that led to many missed shots. A subsequent model, the EC-2,
incorporated a locking arm that would keep the shutter release from
operating if there wasn't power to the circuit. There was one other
model in this series, the ECR, that incorporated a rangefinder mechanism
for more accurate focusing.
One interesting feature of these cameras is that with a flash attached,
it would not fire the flash in bright light -- only in low light
situations would it trigger the flash.
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