c/camera-repairers

My mentor in '98 insisted I buy a $50 ultrasonic cleaner for lens elements, and it's still running today.

He said 'you'll save a fortune on solvent and cotton swabs over the years,' and after cleaning a hundred sticky aperture blades last month, I finally understood what he meant.

A customer's simple comment about my workbench changed my whole flow

I was fixing a Canon AE-1 last week and the guy watched me hunt for a tiny screw for a full minute. He just said, 'You need a magnetic tray, man, it's a lifesaver.' I felt silly because I have one, but it was buried under junk. Now I keep it clean and right in front, and I haven't lost a part since. How do you guys keep your bench from eating small parts?

Can we talk about the actual failure rate of ribbon cables in old point-and-shoots?

I was reading a repair manual for a late 90s Olympus and it said over 60% of the 'lens error' faults were just a single ribbon cable needing re-seating. Anyone else find that one part causes most of a model's problems?

My friend who fixes watches said our jobs are basically the same, but I'm not so sure.

He argued that the patience and tiny tools for watch gears directly translate to fixing aperture blades in an old Nikon lens, but I think camera electronics and sensor calibration make it a totally different ballgame, so what do you all think?

Just had a vintage shutter curtain tear on me mid-repair

I was working on a 1960s SLR last week, trying to clean the mirror box. The second curtain fabric just gave way when I touched it with a cotton swab, a clean rip about an inch long. I had to stop everything, order a donor body for parts from an online auction, and wait three days for it to arrive. Has anyone found a good source for new old stock curtain material, or is it all cannibalized parts now?

Warning: that old Kodak Retina shutter spring just snapped on me

I was working on a Retina IIc last week, just doing a basic clean and lube. I had the front element off and was about to adjust the slow speeds when I heard a sharp ping... the main tension spring for the shutter curtain just gave out. It's a tiny, coiled thing, maybe 2mm wide, and it shot right across my bench. I spent three hours yesterday trying to source a replacement from my usual parts guys with no luck. Has anyone found a good workaround for this, or know a supplier who might still have these old Kodak bits?

Changed my mind about using canned air on old camera shutters

My friend Carlos at the shop in Tucson kept telling me to only use a manual blower on shutters from the 70s... said the propellant in canned air can leave a film. I blew out a Pentax MX last month with canned air and the shutter started sticking after a few days. Had to take it apart again and clean it with isopropyl. Anyone else run into this with specific older models?

Just lost $150 on a 'universal' shutter tester that fried a board

I bought a cheap shutter tester online that claimed it worked with any 35mm SLR, but when I hooked it up to a Nikon F3, it sent a weird voltage spike and cooked the main circuit. The repair ended up costing more than the tester was worth. Has anyone found a truly safe and reliable tester for older electronic cameras?

Appreciation post: I was cleaning shutter blades with a solvent for years before a guy in Portland showed me a dry brush method

He said the solvent was leaving a tiny film that caused drag, and after switching, my repair time on a basic SLR dropped from 45 minutes to 20. Anyone else have a 'why didn't I know this sooner' trick for mechanical parts?

Tried using a plastic spudger on a Canon FD mount and it went really wrong

Everyone says to use those nylon tools to avoid scratches, so I tried one on a stuck lens release lever. The tip snapped off inside the mechanism after about 15 minutes of gentle pressure... had to take the whole top plate off to fish it out. I learned that sometimes a thin, polished metal pick is actually safer because it won't break and leave junk behind. It just needs a very light touch. Has anyone else had a plastic tool fail on them during a simple job?

Found a box of old Kodak Retina parts at a flea market in St. Louis

I was digging through a stall and spotted a dusty case full of shutter blades, aperture rings, and even a few rangefinder prisms. The guy sold me the whole lot for 15 bucks, which felt like a steal for some hard-to-find bits. What's the best way to clean and sort a random parts haul like this?

Bought a cheap lens spanner off a site for $25 and it bent on the first job

Tried to open a stuck filter ring on an old Canon FD lens and the tips just folded over. Had to order a proper one from a tool supplier for three times the price. Anyone have a go-to brand for small tools that actually hold up?

I was reading an old repair manual for a 1970s Nikon F2 and found out they used a specific type of asbestos in the mirror damper foam. Found it in a PDF from a camera museum archive.

Pro tip: I just learned from a 1978 service manual that some old Polaroids used actual fish oil in a gear lubricant.

Found this gem while fixing a SX-70 for a customer who collects weird trivia. Anyone ever run into other bizarre factory specs like that?

Warning: a customer in Phoenix swore their lens was 'haunted' by a grinding sound.

Turns out it was just a single grain of sand from a beach trip stuck in the zoom helix. Has anyone else found weird debris causing major issues?

PSA: A customer told me my bench was too cluttered and it made them nervous

I cleared off all the extra screws and tools into labeled bins, and now my repair speed actually went up by about 15%. Anyone else find a cleaner workspace helps you focus?

The week a $2000 Leica M3 came in with a shutter problem and turned into a full CLA for a dozen cameras

Had a weird shutter curtain jam on a Pentax K1000 last Friday

It was a camera I got from a yard sale in Tucson, looked clean but the second curtain just stuck halfway. I spent like two hours trying to see if it was a gear or just old grease. Ended up being a tiny piece of foam seal that had turned to goo and glued itself to the rail. Anyone know a good solvent for that old black foam that won't hurt the metal?

Fixed a Pentax 67 mirror lock-up that had me stuck for a week

This old Pentax 67 came in with the mirror stuck up, and the owner said two other shops gave up on it. I spent maybe six hours total over three days just staring at the mechanism, cleaning old grease. The win was finding a tiny, bent spring in the mirror box linkage that a previous repair had put in wrong. Straightened it with tweezers, re-lubed the tracks, and it snapped back like new. The look on the guy's face when he picked it up was worth the headache. Has anyone else had a 'simple' mirror issue turn into a deep dive on a 6x7?

Warning: A simple Canon AE-1 shutter curtain replacement took me almost 8 hours

The replacement curtain itself was fine, but the old adhesive from the original curtain left a gummy residue all over the shutter box frame. I had to carefully clean every single millimeter with isopropyl and a plastic scraper for hours before the new one would seat properly. Has anyone else found a faster way to deal with that old adhesive mess?

Hot take: I just found out how many parts are in a basic 35mm SLR shutter and my mind is blown

I was reading a repair manual for a Nikon FM2 from the 80s, and it said the focal plane shutter assembly alone has over 50 separate pieces (springs, blades, gears, the works). I always thought it was maybe 20 parts max, just a simple curtain. It really makes you respect the engineering in these old mechanical cameras. Anyone else had a moment like this with a specific camera model?

A customer's comment about my lens cleaning made me rethink my whole process

A regular brought in a vintage 50mm f/1.4 last week and pointed out a faint haze I'd missed, saying 'you're just moving the dust around if you don't change the cloth more.' I switched to using a fresh microfiber square for each element and the difference is huge. How often do you guys actually swap out your cleaning cloths?

Showerthought: I think using a full can of air on a mirror box sensor is a bad move

I was cleaning a Nikon F3's mirror box in my shop yesterday and a guy next to me blasted the whole area with compressed air, which just pushed the grit deeper into the foam. I had to take the whole top plate off to properly clean it out with a swab and fluid. Does anyone have a better method for this that doesn't make a bigger mess?

Pro tip: check the mirror box foam on old film bodies before you sell them

Last month, I sold a Nikon FM2 that I'd cleaned up, but the buyer said the mirror was sticking on slow shutter speeds. Turns out the foam around the mirror box had turned to goo, which I missed. Anyone know a good source for pre-cut foam kits for 80s SLRs?

Had a shutter curtain ribbon cable tear on a Leica M6 while the customer was watching

I was in my shop in Portland, the owner right there, when the tiny ribbon for the second curtain just gave out during a test fire. I had to tell him straight up that his classic camera needed a part I didn't have on hand. Ended up ordering the ribbon set from a supplier in Germany, which took two weeks and cost him about $150 extra. Has anyone else had to manage that kind of pressure and delay with a client looking over your shoulder?