a nifty shutter tester once sold to members a quarter century ago
Toronto. Editor Bob Lansdale published a number of extra page journals to celebrate our 25th. In issue 25-4, Past President, the late Ron Anger, wrote an article titled, “The Shutter Tester” (back then, camera collectors and users often attempted to determine the speed and condition of a camera’s shutter).
Popular photography magazines of the time occasionally offered ways one could test a shutter. Mr Toding went even further, creating a device to test any camera shutter.
Ron begins his story thusly, “About five years ago [1995] an old fellow approached me at our PHSC camera fair and asked, ‘Could I sell a shutter tester?’. This is how I first met Mr. Toding. He left his phone number and an invitation to visit his workshop located in the attic of his bungalow home in the Bayview/Eglinton area.
“On my first visit I perused a miniature Unimat lathe from Austria which had been modified with a bigger motor from Active Surplus on Queen Street and a direct drive belt replacing the original elastic rubber one. ‘I sometimes repair the early Contaxes’, he declared.
“Getting around to the shutter tester, I could buy them at $50 each. This obviously meant he was manufacturing the units right here in the attic. The tester consisted of a grey metal box with a six figure digital readout and six solid state chips for the oscillator and counter. To operate it, you place the camera on a bracket that lines up with a light source.
“A cell is positioned behind the shutter to pick up the light coming through the lens. All the instructions were there along with a chart to correlate the counter reading in milliseconds to camera shutter. I took away three testers and sold hem at the next camera show.” …
You can read all of the illustrated ‘Shutter Tester’ article in the issue 25-4 pdf file on the free members’ only DVD/thumb drive. See above and at right to join (it’s easy and inexpensive). Questions on membership can be emailed directly to Lilianne at member@phsc.ca.
