I was digging through a beat-up electronics store in Portland and grabbed a box of selenium photocells for $5. They were from a 1960s light meter batch, still in their original wrappers. I tested a few and almost all of them were still responsive within 10% of their rated sensitivity. That's wild considering how many modern meters I've trashed from dead cells. I cleaned up the contacts and swapped one into a battered Nikon F meter head. It worked perfectly on the first try. Has anyone else had luck reviving old selenium gear or is this just a fluke?
Used to clean lenses with just a microfiber cloth and some breath fog. Did that for like 6 years. Last month a client brought in a Leica with haze on the rear element, and my usual method just smeared it worse. Switched to using proper lens cleaning fluid and pec pads after that, and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Anyone else have a 'that's how I've always done it' habit that backfired on a repair?
For like 10 years I would just breathe on a lens and wipe it with whatever shirt I had on. I thought that was normal, everyone I knew did it. Then about 6 months ago I got a job at a repair shop in Portland, and the owner caught me doing it on a 50mm f1.4. He just stared at me and said 'you're gonna ruin that coating in a year.' Now I keep a pack of microfiber cloths and sensor swabs in every bag I own. I even bought a rocket blower for my home desk. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from back when you didn't know any better?
An old timer at a camera swap in Portland showed me this trick with a bulb blower and a static brush. He said 'stop poking at it, just move the dust with air.' Now I use that method on every cloth curtain repair, it saves me from leaving smudge marks.
I was digging through a thrift shop on South Congress last weekend and spotted a beat up Nikon F2 body for $40. Got it home and started cleaning it up, and I noticed the shutter sounded weird at 1/1000. Pulled the mirror box and found one of the titanium blades had a hairline crack right near the pivot point. Never seen that before on a F2, usually it's the foam or the mirror dampener that goes first. Has anyone else run into cracked blades on these older mechanical shutters? I'm debating if I should try to source a replacement curtain or just part the whole thing out.
I was working on an old 50mm from the 70s last night and the focus ring was crusted with that black grime you can never quite get off. I took a fine brass brush to it and realized the plating was already peeling, so I just went for it and stripped the whole thing. Underneath was this gorgeous patina'd copper that looked way better than the original chrome. I learned that sometimes the ugly finish is hiding something worth showing off, but now I'm wondering if I ruined the value. Has anyone else stripped a lens down to bare metal and regretted it later?
For years I thought a good microfiber cloth was all you needed for lens cleaning. Two years ago a customer brought in a vintage Nikon 50mm f/1.4 with haze and I thought I'd just wipe it down fast. Turns out I dragged a tiny grain of sand across the front element and left a scratch that killed the value. Now I always use a rocket blower first to get big particles off, then a lens brush, then a microfiber with a drop of solution. The extra 30 seconds saves hours of regret. Anyone else learned this the hard way with an expensive piece of glass?
I was at the local flea market near Austin poking around old cameras when a guy selling vintage Rolleiflexes mentioned he uses a drop of lighter fluid on stuck blades. I always thought it was too harsh but he showed me his method. He let the fluid sit for exactly 2 minutes before blowing it out with compressed air. I tried it on a junker shutter I've had sitting for 6 months and it worked first try. Has anyone else had good luck with lighter fluid or do you stick to Ronsonol specifically?
I was fixing a Pentax K1000 last week and the shutter was sticking at slow speeds. Customer said another shop already looked at it and they used some kind of silicone spray. That stuff gums up after a few months and makes things worse. I use a tiny drop of naptha-based lighter fluid on a q-tip to clean old residue off first, then I use a specific dry film lubricant made for clock movements. It's super thin and doesn't attract dust. I've seen at least three cameras this year where someone used the wrong oil and ruined the shutter timing. Has anyone else run into shops just using WD-40 or something random on shutters?
Blew a set of Copal shutter blades clean out of alignment on a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor last Tuesday. Has anyone else wrecked a part ignoring advice that sounded too cautious?
I was digging through a box at a flea market in Portland last week and found a Kodak service guide from 1972. It had a tip about using a specific grease on Copal shutter blades that I'd never seen anywhere online. Has anyone else run into old manuals that had tricks you couldn't find in modern forums?
I was super skeptical about those $60 ultrasonic cleaners on Amazon but grabbed one after a buddy in Portland swore by his. Ran a sticky shutter blade from a Pentax K1000 through it with some general cleaning solution and it freed right up after 10 minutes. Has anyone else had luck with these budget cleaners or did I just get lucky?
Was fixing a Canon AE-1 last month. Used isopropyl alcohol on the shutter blades like I always did. After the third clean, they started sticking. Buddy told me it was dissolving the coating. Now I use dry Q-tips and an air bulb only. Anyone else screw up their early repairs this way?
I keep seeing folks online say you should send every vintage lens you pick up for a full CLA. But I've been comparing shots from a 1970s Nikkor 50mm f1.4 I found at a thrift store in Pittsburgh. I used it for six months without any service, then paid Bob at Bob's Camera Repair $85 for a clean and lube. The before and after photos look identical to me - sharpness didn't improve, haze didn't clear up. Has anyone else noticed CLA only matters if there's actually sticky aperture blades or oil on the glass?
I wanted to fix a stuck retaining ring on a 50mm f1.4 I got off eBay. So I bought that high end Japanese spanner set with all the tips. $400 later I realized my cheap old screwdriver and a little patience would have worked just fine. The ring came loose after some heat from a hair dryer and light tapping. Anyone else regret going overboard on a specialized tool instead of trying the simple stuff first?
I spent about 8 years doing all my focus tuning by eye on vintage Nikon F bodies. Thought the whole idea of a microchip telling you when something's sharp was just gimmicky. Then I picked up a $40 adapter for my Canon 5D that added focus confirmation chips to manual lenses. After 3 rolls of film where every single shot came back tack sharp at f/2, I had to admit I was wrong. The chip reads the sensor contrast way faster than my eyes can catch micro-focus shifts. Has anyone else gone from hating these things to using them full time?
I was replacing the shutter curtain on a Nikon F2 and that tiny little spring took off like a rocket when I slipped with my tweezers. Ended up finding it stuck to the side of a magnet I use for holding screws, after I'd already ordered a replacement set online. Anybody got a trick for keeping those springs from launching in the first place?
I was at a camera swap meet in Denver last month and an old repair guy told me the original Spotmatic used a cloth shutter that gets stiff with age. He said at 1/500th second it might actually fire closer to 1/200th. Checked my own Spotmatic with a shutter tester and he was dead on. Anyone else find old cameras have wildly inaccurate speeds that cleaning the mechanism can fix?
I was repairing a beat-up K1000 for a client out near Point Reyes last summer. I had it on a folding table right by the pier to test the shutter speeds in natural light. A sudden gust of wind flipped the whole table and the camera went sliding toward the water. I dove and caught it by the strap just before it went over the edge. The lens cap popped off and hit the water but the camera was fine, just needed a good cleaning. Has anyone else had a close call like this while working outdoors?
I used to obsess over shutter counts when buying used cameras. But this older repair guy in Portland was talking to someone about a Nikon D7000 with 150k clicks that still worked perfectly. He said most shutters die from sitting around, not from use. Made me realize I was being dumb about it. Anyone else stopped caring about shutter count after a certain point?
I needed to clean some haze off a vintage 50mm f/1.4 I was repairing. Saw this kit online with swabs, fluid, and a blower for $80. Figured it was pricey but maybe the fluid was special. Got it in the mail and it was just repackaged stuff I could have bought at a drugstore for $15. The swabs left lint on the glass and the fluid smeared worse than before. I had to spend another hour cleaning off the residue with proper gear from a real supply house. Total waste of cash and time. Has anyone else fallen for those overpriced repair kits from third parties?
Been using a white lithium spray on a Pentax Spotmatic last month and it gummed up the curtain timing, so now I’m sticking with synthetic clock oil even if it costs twice as much-has anyone else had trouble with lithium grease in vintage leaf shutters?
Last Saturday I was finishing up a CLA on a Nikon FM2 and put the shutter button assembly back together with the wrong grease. Three test shots worked fine, then the button stuck halfway on the fourth. Had to disassemble the whole top plate again, clean every bit of that lithium grease off, and switch to a tiny dab of Super Lube 21030. Anyone else had grease creep into places it should not go?
I was fighting with a Canon AE-1 shutter magnet for like 3 hours yesterday and couldn't get the joint to flow right. Then I remembered reading on a forum that a crusty tip can add 50 degrees to your working temp... checked mine and it was totally pitted. Anyone else ever waste a whole afternoon on a bad tip before figuring it out?