I created this site with the intent and hope to help others who have experienced the infamous control dial failure problem with their Canon EOS A2, A2E, and 5 cameras.

I got into this repair situation when, during a Spring 2002 trip to Yellowstone National Park my A2E’s control dial failed. When turned, the dial no longer gave a positive “click”. It spun more-or-less freely, made a crunching noise, and could not be moved into the L position. I had read about the tendency of this camera to exhibit the problem, so I had some idea of what had happened. I removed the battery from the camera, and packed up for the return trip home to northeast Ohio.

I have worked for many years in the electronics industry. Much of my career has been spent as a Manufacturing Engineer, designing assembly processes and for a while entire manufacturing facilities. Since 1992 I’ve worked extensively with computers and software, designing, building, maintaining, and troubleshooting systems ranging from simple to complex. Through formal education and my work experience I’ve become quite comfortable taking apart and “figuring out” the machinery and test equipment required to manufacture electronic systems. I’ve also built several PCs and various peripheral systems.

With this background, I felt confident I could open my A2E and at least understand the nature of the failure, and at best repair it myself. I had the necessary tools, and probably the necessary experience to handle the job, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to find or fabricate whatever parts might be needed. A little luck never hurts, and finding Horizon Electronics, via some postings on the ‘Net, indeed proved fortunate.

10 June 2003: I received an email from a reader in which she said Horizon Electronics no longer supplies these parts. I emailed Horizon for confirmation and received no reply. Their Web site indicates they still repair the A2/A2E/5, so your best bet may be to call and ask for help. You can probably still send them your camera for repair at far lower cost than Canon's charge.

3 January 2006: I received the information below via email from JM. I've no direct experience with this company, but you may wish to check with them. The price given seems reasonable if your camera is in good condition, especially considering it includes cleaning. I found plenty of good reviews of their work in various forums on the Web.

"Yes, the repair of the mode dial on the Canon A2 camera that I perform is a better fix than Canons. I charge $85.00 plus $10.00 return shipping. I give a six month warranty with my work and can turn the repair around in a couple of days. This repair includes cleaning the camera. Let me know if interested. I am now located at:

  Camera Clinic
  50 Freeport Blvd #24
  Sparks, NV 89431
  775-829-2244
  At your service,
   Steve"

October 2009: I'm very late in posting this, but it should be obvious by now these pages are receiving no further updates. I stopped shooting film in early 2007. Although it still functioned perfectly, the EOS A2e described in these pages was retired to its original carton and has not been used since. If you're interested in owning it as-is, please contact me (link at the bottom of this page). These pages continue to receive a high volume of visitor traffic. Although they won't be updated again, these pages remain relevant to anyone whose camera has developed the problem, and I'm happy people have found them helpful.

This Web site is an adjunct to my main site of nature and wildlife photography. Lumen-Perfectus.com is a non-commercial site created and maintained as an outlet for the display of my photographs and my thoughts on environmental and wildlife protection and conservation. Prints of our work are for sale there, but no banner ads, and no hooks attempting to get your money. Please have a look.

Best of luck with your EOS A2/A2E/5! If you have any comments about the content of this site, please email.

Thanks very much for visiting.

Jay L. Cross
Lumen Perfectus

All text and photographs on these pages, unless otherwise indicated, are ©  2002, 2003 by Jay Cross. All rights reserved. They may not be used or reproduced without permission.

Disclaimers:

I have no connection whatever with Camera Clinic or Horizon Electronics.

I have no connection whatever to Canon, either. Despite having experienced this failure of my A2E, I am still quite happy with my EOS equipment and will continue to add Canon gear to my photographic kit as needed.

This site describes my own experience doing things to my EOS A2E you should not attempt to do to your camera. The copy has been carefully worded to indicate I did these things, but not what you should or should not do. Neither Jay Cross nor Lumen-Perfectus.com accept any liability if you attempt anything described in these pages and have any difficulties or achieve an unsatisfactory result.