This has been a difficult camera to track down - The silver Chinon CE-5…

Black versions are ten a penny, whereas the silver version is incredibly rare, only coming up occasionally on Buyee. The only other place I have seen one is a very expensive one on Etsy. In two years of searching, I have only seen two or three on Buyee, but they have not been in the best physical condition, and command a higher price than the black one.

Mine has just arrived, in very good condition, and fitted with a Cosina 28mm f2.8 which will be swapped for a Chinon 50mm f1.7, a Power Winder PW-530 and Date Back AD-510.

The listings says ‘defective item’ and ‘junk’, but I am hoping that is just to cover themselves against any possible faults… Time to stick some batteries in then!

…. well, that didn’t go to plan!

The 2x LR44’s made the meter work and shutter fire once, then the winder locked up! The 4x AA batteries in the Power Winder have been in there for many years and have leaked! On a positive though the Date Back works when 2x LR44’s are inserted.

Removing the bottom plate revealed the issue with the winding mechanism - it will wind, but the return is stiff. I can move it manually, but it looks like it needs taking apart and cleaning, then re-greasing.

I have cleaned the battery connections in the Power Winder battery tray, but cannot reach the one deep inside the chamber which has green battery deposit on. I have dismantled one before, so should be straight forward to get to it to clean this one.

This camera is looking like it is going to need to have surgery to rectify the issues, so I will leave it there for now. Hopefully it is not too serious, but if I can’t fix it, I will just put the silver panels on to a spare black body. I seem to have acquired eight black ones in various states so there should be a donor there.

Finally, after two years hunting…

5 cameras to try before you die!

Cosina CX7…