Had a customer bring in a Canon AE-1 that was totally locked up in Spokane last Saturday. I was about to tear the whole mirror box apart when an old timer I know from the camera club said 'just clean the shutter blades with lighter fluid first, that's always it.' I thought he was nuts but I tried it and sure enough, it freed right up after three swipes. Has anyone else had that one simple fix save them hours of work?
Was going through a box of old stuff from a retired repair guy in Chicago last month. Found a Nikon F3 service manual from 1982 with handwritten notes in the margins. One note said to use a tiny dab of isopropyl alcohol on a Q-tip for oily aperture blades instead of the usual lighter fluid. I tried it on a stubborn Pentax lens that had that slow sticky aperture issue. Cleaned right up in about 10 minutes with no residue. Has anyone else come across old repair manuals with tricks that beat the modern methods?
I hit 120 shutters repaired in a single month last month and at first I thought I was on fire. But then I noticed a pattern - I was rushing through the simple stuff like leaf shutter cleaning on old Rolleis and skipping my usual step of checking the tension with a gauge. Three of those cameras came back within a week with sticky blades acting up again. That never happened to me before when I was doing maybe 80 a month and taking my time. It made me realize I was trading quality for quantity without even noticing. Has anyone else seen a jump in return rate after pushing too many repairs out the door?
I was just tallying up my month and realized I had done 500 total lens regrease jobs since I started tracking back in 2021. That number surprised me because I thought I was still under 300. Most of those were old Canon FD and Nikon AI-S lenses where the grease had turned to glue after 40 years. The trick I found is using a dab of PTFE lube on the helicoid threads before reassembly, it smooths out the focus feel without bleeding everywhere. Has anyone else kept a running count of a specific repair they do a lot of?
I used to swear by canned air for blowing dust off sensors, but last month I blew a jet of propellant right onto a mirrorless sensor in my shop and left a nasty residue. Took me 45 minutes with a wet swab to fix my own mistake. Anyone else switch to bulb blowers only after a similar disaster?
Last Tuesday a retired repair guy named Joe came into my shop in Portland with a beat-up Mamiya RB67 back. He watched me struggle with a bellows pinhole for 20 minutes before finally pointing out I could use a wooden chopstick and a dab of liquid tape to patch it from inside. I had been about to spend $80 on a replacement bellows kit from the internet. Has anyone else found weird household stuff that works better than the actual repair tools?
Was fighting with a Yashica Mat 124G for 3 weeks, shutter blades kept sticking at slow speeds. Finally tried his tip of using a drop of Ronsonol lighter fluid on a q-tip and swabbing the edges, burnished it dry with a lens cloth, and the thing has been running smooth for 6 months now. Anyone else got a weird fluid trick that actually works for old leaf shutters?
I was at a camera swap meet in Portland last month and this old guy watched me wipe a lens with my shirt. He pulled out a little bottle of Eclipse fluid and some Pec Pads and showed me how to do a proper swirl from the center out. Turns out I was just smearing grease around the whole time. I never even knew lens cleaning fluid was a thing. Anyone else get taught something basic way later than they should have?
I swapped the light seals on a Pentax 6x7 last week and the prism kept wobbling no matter what I did. After tearing it apart three times I finally noticed the old foam under the top plate had turned to dust. Anybody else waste a whole afternoon hunting a simple fix like that?
Had a Pentax Spotmatic come in last week with a stripped wind gear. I replaced it with a brass one from a donor body instead of the original plastic, cost me about 15 bucks for the donor camera. That plastic one was just begging to fail again after 50 years. Has anyone else found brass parts hold up way better in these older SLRs?
Last Tuesday I got a Canon AE-1 with a stuck mirror that I was sure would need parts I didn't have. I opened it up, cleaned the foam residue off the bumper, and bam it snapped right back. Then on Thursday a customer brought in a Yashica that wouldn't wind film, turned out to be a tiny gear just slipped on its post. After five days of nothing but wins I'm just waiting for the next disaster to balance things out. Has anyone else had a run like that where everything just clicked?
Honestly, I still can't believe I fell for it. Saw this fancy ultrasonic cleaner on a photography forum, said it was safe for all coatings and stuff. Bought it off eBay from some seller in Brooklyn, cost me like $300 total with shipping. Cleaned a few old Nikon lenses and a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 with it last Tuesday. The next day I noticed hazy spots on the rear elements that wouldn't wipe off. Looked closer and the ultrasonic vibrations had actually loosened the coating in patches. Took the Canon to a local repair guy in Austin and he said those kits are garbage for vintage glass because the frequencies can damage the cement between elements. Lost a $150 lens and wasted $300 on that machine. Has anyone else tried those ultrasonic cleaners or found a better way to clean old coatings without ruining them?
I was working on a Minolta from the 70s in my garage last night, and one of the shutter blades just seized up completely after 3 hours of cleaning. Tried a tiny bit of lighter fluid on the pivot and a gentle nudge with a wooden toothpick, and it popped loose after 20 seconds. Anyone else have a weird trick that saved a repair you thought was totally dead?
I've been repairing cameras for about 8 years now, mostly shop work. I always thought a full CLA on a common SLR like a Pentax K1000 was overkill. Just replace the light seals and move on, right? But last month I did a complete tear down on one for a customer in Portland who insisted. The difference in shutter accuracy and smoothness after cleaning the old grease was night and day. Has anyone else found that a full service is actually worth it on common bodies you normally just patch up?
I tried cleaning a 1960s leaf shutter on a Nikon F in Phoenix last week and the cloth literally crumbled under my finger. Has anyone else had curtains disintegrate like that or did I get unlucky with storage conditions?
So about 2 years back I got this beat-up Canonet QL17 from a thrift store for $20. The shutter was stuck and I was ready to toss it. I ended up using a paperclip to gently trip the shutter mechanism from the inside, and it somehow started working again lol. Has anyone else used random household stuff to salvage a camera in a pinch?
Found a crusty Nikon F2 at a pawn shop in Phoenix for $40 last month. After 3 days of cleaning gunk off the shutter and replacing light seals, the difference is night and day - the mirror snaps up crisp and the meter actually works now. Any of you guys ever pull a real beat up body back from near-death like that?
I used to go through a can of compressed air every few weeks cleaning sensors, but the cost added up fast. About six months ago I picked up a Giottos rocket blower for like $8 and it does the job just as well without the waste. Has anyone else made the switch from canned air to something reusable?
I was working on a Mamiya RB67 last month and the shutter release button was completely seized. A guy named Bill at the Detroit camera swap meet told me to stop using penetrating oil and just heat the barrel with a soldering iron for 30 seconds. It loosened right up and saved me from having to drill it out. Has anyone else tried heat on stuck mechanical parts instead of chemicals?
I had a Pentax K1000 with sticky blades last week and tried using lighter fluid first, like some old guides say. It just left a film and the problem came back in two days. Then I switched to pure isopropyl alcohol and a tiny brush, cleaning each blade one by one. The shutter has been firing clean for over a week now. What do you all use for really gunked up leaf shutters?
I spent over two hours just trying to get a clean bite with a left-hand drill bit before the tiny thing finally gave up in my Milwaukee workshop last Tuesday... what's your go-to method for dealing with seized fasteners on old film bodies?
I was testing a Canon AE-1 I fixed last week, and the counter hit 1000. It hit me that this camera is older than I am, and I just gave it another thousand pictures. The gears felt smooth, the mirror slap was perfect. I guess I never really thought about how many times these things can click back to life. Anyone else get a little moment like that with an old piece of gear?
Picked one up and the shutter curtain was totally out of sync, felt like a crime. Has anyone else run into these 'restorations' that are just cosmetic?