Fuji Fujica ST801 repair & common faults
Excellent coverageThe Fujica ST801 is a manual-exposure 35mm SLR from Fuji's early 1970s M42 lineup, notable for swapping the usual match-needle meter for a column of LEDs in the viewfinder, one of the first cameras to do so. Exposure is set by hand against a CdS-cell reading, and the shutter itself is a mechanical cloth-curtain unit, so faults tend to split cleanly between the metering circuit and the shutter mechanics.
Manual exposure with CdS TTL metering · LED viewfinder readout · Mechanical cloth focal-plane shutter · M42 screw mount · Mercury cell metering battery
Common Fuji Fujica ST801 faults
Fuji Fujica ST801 viewfinder LEDs won't light
No LEDs at all on a half-press usually means the metering circuit isn't getting power or isn't being switched on, most often a flat or corroded battery, dirty contacts, or a failing shutter-button switch, rather than the CdS cell itself. Check with a genuinely fresh cell seated the right way round before assuming the metering circuit has failed.
Fuji Fujica ST801 meter reads exposures wrong
This camera's metering was calibrated around a mercury cell's steady voltage, and a modern equivalent often sits at a different voltage, so exposures can read consistently over or under even with a fresh battery and a healthy CdS cell. A worn or dirty aperture coupling can throw the reading off too. Confirm which battery type is fitted before assuming the metering itself is faulty.
Fuji Fujica ST801 shutter uneven at fast speeds
Bands of light or dark across a frame, worse at the higher shutter speeds, point to the cloth curtains no longer travelling evenly, usually from aged, slackened tapes rather than anything electrical. Slower speeds and the meter can carry on working normally while this happens. It generally needs the shutter mechanism opened and its timing put right.
Fuji Fujica ST801 mirror stuck up or slow to return
A mirror that hangs up after firing, or drops back slowly with a soft thud instead of a clean snap, is the foam damping strip behind it turning gummy with age, a near-universal fault on cameras of this vintage. It doesn't affect the meter or shutter timing directly but makes the camera unusable until the foam is dealt with.
Fuji Fujica ST801 light leaks on film
Fogged edges or odd streaks on developed frames, especially near the film's edges, point to the foam light seals around the back door and mirror box having perished, letting light creep in during handling or long exposures. It's a condition-of-age fault rather than a mechanical one, and doesn't reflect on the shutter or meter.
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Try it now ›Scatto is a reference tool for people who service film cameras. It explains mechanisms and quotes service data, but it cannot see your camera at the bench, so verify anything load-bearing before you act on it.