c/camera-repairers

I had an old guy in a fedora teach me about shutter springs at a yard sale last month

He said he used to work for a repair shop in the 70s and showed me how to reset a sticky leaf shutter with just a toothpick and some lighter fluid. Has anyone else had random run-ins with retired repair folks who drop knowledge like that?

Tried using isopropyl alcohol on a shutter curtain and learned my lesson the hard way

I had a Pentax Spotmatic with some sticky shutter blades, so I dabbed a little 91% alcohol on a Q-tip and gently wiped the curtain. Next thing I know, the whole curtain shriveled up like bacon in a pan. Has anyone else had that happen or did I just pick the wrong solvent?

Finally got the hang of cleaning those old Zeiss lenses without scratching them

For years I used to just wipe them with a standard microfiber cloth (like the ones for sunglasses) and ended up with micro-scratches on a few customer lenses. Then about 6 months ago I switched to using a lens cleaning solution from Photographic Solutions and a Pec Pad method I learned from a forum post. Now I can clean a 50 year old lens from a Rolleiflex in under 10 minutes with zero damage. Anyone else have a go-to technique for stubborn fungus or haze?

Got a vintage lens CLA that I thought was a waste of money

I bought a 50mm f1.4 from a thrift store for $30 last year and the aperture blades were sticky. A buddy told me to send it to a guy he knew in Portland for a clean and lube. The quote was $85 and I almost said no because I figured I could just work around the sticky blades. But after 6 months of frustration with inconsistent shots I finally sent it in last week. The CLA came back and the difference is night and day. The focus ring is smooth as butter and the aperture snaps clean now at every stop. Has anyone else been burned by trying to cheap out on proper repairs?

Old timer called me out for cleaning sensor with wrong swab size

I was using APS-C swabs on my full frame sensor for years until a retired Nikon tech watched me do it and said I was just smearing grease around. He showed me how the extra millimeter actually pushes dust into the corners instead of picking it up. Has anyone else had to unlearn a shortcut they thought worked fine?

Rant: That seized Pentax lens I almost threw in the trash

I was about to toss a stuck 50mm f1.4 after soaking it in solvent for three days with zero luck, then a guy at the shop said try heat and a rubber strap. Five minutes with a hair dryer and it broke loose, now I feel like an idiot for almost giving up on it. Anyone else have a lens they nearly trashed that came back to life with the right trick?

I watched a shop in Portland rebuild a Pentax 6x7 mirror box in under an hour and it completely changed how I work on these things.

Before I saw them do it I was taking like 3 hours on each one and still ending up with mirror alignment issues, but after watching their jig setup and the order they tightened those screws I cut my own time down to 45 minutes flat last week... has anyone else found a local shop that actually shows you their shortcuts or do they all guard that stuff like trade secrets?

Shoutout to the old school repair guy I met at a camera show

Honestly I was at the Photorama swap meet in Chicago last month and this guy named Dave who's been fixing cameras since the 70s told me I was using too much lubricant on shutter blades. He said less is more and most problems come from overdoing it. It hit different because I've been stripping and cleaning leaf shutters for years thinking more oil meant smoother operation. Has anyone else had a pro tell them something that completely flipped their repair routine?

Hit 200 shutter repairs last Tuesday without realizing it

I was just counting through my logbook to update my website and saw I crossed 200 shutter repairs last week. That number surprised me because I started doing this from my kitchen table two years ago, and now I have a whole bench setup in the garage. Anyone else keep a running count or just me?

Debate: Is it worth fixing a shutter with a broken magnet or just replacing the whole module? I'm stuck on a Canon 5D Mark II job

Ngl I'm kinda torn on this one after a job last week. I had a Canon 5D Mark II come in with a shutter that was sticking halfway through the cycle. Took off the front plate and found one of the little electromagnets had snapped right off its mount. I did some digging and you can buy just the magnet for like $12 plus shipping, but it's a real pain to properly glue and realign it without throwing off the timing. On the other hand, a whole shutter module is around $90 and drops in way faster, but you're trashing a perfectly good curtain and frame. The customer is a wedding photographer based out of Austin who's on a tight budget after off-season work. I can't decide which way to push them. Has anyone else dealt with this particular magnet repair on the 5D2 and actually had it hold up over time?

Hot take: should we be using sensor swaps to fix cameras or is that a trap? I hit 50 dead pixels on a single job and it changed my mind

Spent a whole Saturday fixing a stuck shutter on a Pentax K1000 and it was oddly satisfying

I was about to give up on this old Pentax, but after 6 hours of careful cleaning and a few choice curse words, I got the shutter firing perfectly at all speeds. Has anyone else had one of those days where a stubborn repair just clicks and reminds you why you do this?

Rant: Took me a year to admit I was using the wrong cleaning solvent

I was set on using denatured alcohol for everything. Sensors, lenses, the works. Then I helped a guy in Toledo fix a sticky aperture on a Pentax. He pulled out a bottle of isopropyl 99%. Showed me the before and after on his test shots. One pass with his method and the haze was gone. Made me try it on my own gear. Now I'm converted. Anyone else stick with a bad habit too long?

Replaced the shutter on a Canon AE-1 and hit my 100th repair milestone

Last weekend I finished replacing the shutter curtain on a Canon AE-1 that had that classic horizontal slit issue. When I was packing up my tools I realized that was my 100th camera repair since I started tracking them back in 2021. I keep a little notebook with each job written down, model, what I fixed, how long it took, and any weird surprises. That 100 number hit me harder than I expected because I started this as a side thing just to fix my own gear. Now I have regular customers who drop off cameras from thrift stores and even a couple local shops that send me their overflow work. It made me wonder how many repairs other people here have done and if anyone else keeps a log like I do. What was your milestone repair that made you stop and think about how far you've come?

Spent years cleaning lens elements with isopropyl alcohol until a Leica tech told me to stop

Had a customer bring in a 50mm summicron with haze last month. I grabbed the 99% IPA like always. He about lost it. Said I was stripping the coating over time, especially on older glass. Wouldn't have believed him but he showed me his own work and a comparison under bright light. Sure enough the coatings on his older lenses had this faint rainbow damage. Switched to using distilled water and a tiny bit of dish soap now. Feels weird not using alcohol but the results look the same. Anyone else made this switch or still using IPA?

TIL a stained glass shop in Portland has the best magnifier lamps for us

I stopped by a place called Northwest Stained Glass last week looking for a gift. They had these big articulating magnifier lamps with built-in LEDs that are perfect for circuit board work on vintage cameras. Has anyone else found good repair tools in weird places?

Tried JIS screwdrivers after stripping one too many screws with a standard Phillips

I was out in the field last Thursday working on a old Pentax K1000 and hit a screw that just would not bite. Ended up stripping the head after fighting it for 20 minutes. Got home and did some digging, found out JIS is not the same as Phillips. Ordered a set for $25 off Amazon. Used one on the same model camera today and it fit like a glove, no slipping at all. Made me wonder how many screws I've ruined over the years. Anyone else made this switch and noticed a difference on Japanese gear?

Had a shutter curtain freeze mid roll on a vintage Nikon F2 last night

I was testing a client's F2 from 1973 and the titanium curtain just locked up solid at 1/1000th. First thing I checked was the gear train - looked clean but the curtain brake seemed gummed up with some old oil. I hit it with a tiny dab of lighter fluid on a q-tip and worked the mechanism by hand about 20 times. Got it moving again but I can't trust it until I strip it down fully. Anyone else run into curtain drag on these old Nikons after they sat for years?

I finally figured out a trick for stuck lens helicoid threads

Was working on a 50mm f1.4 lens from the 1970s last month and the helicoid was completely frozen. Tried heat, tried freezer, nothing budged for 3 days. Then this old timer named Frank at the camera swap meet in Portland told me to try a mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid. He said let it sit for exactly 24 hours and then tap the barrel with a plastic hammer. I was skeptical but it worked like magic... threads came loose with just finger pressure. Has anyone else tried this weird combo or do you have a go-to method for stuck helicoids?

That $40 lens spanner wrench that stripped my first helicoid repair vs the $120 one that saved my next three jobs

The cheap one from Amazon left brass shavings everywhere on my Minolta 50mm, but the expensive stainless one from Japan dug right into the grooves on a Nikkor 28mm without slipping, so is it worth paying triple for a tool you might only use a handful of times or do you just budget for the good stuff and hope it lasts?

I finally figured out why my lens wrenches kept slipping

Went to a camera swap meet in Portland last Saturday and saw this old timer using a jeweler's screwdriver to tighten the set screw on his spanner. Lightbulb moment. I've been fighting with loose wrenches for like 2 years thinking they were just cheap tools. Took 30 seconds with a 1.5mm hex to fix mine when I got home. Anyone else ever miss something this obvious?

Found a broken leaf shutter on a Mamiya RB67 at a shop in Portland

Was at Pro Photo Supply last week and saw a customer bring in an RB67 with a stuck leaf shutter on the 127mm lens. Turns out the blades had oil residue from a previous lube job. I told them to hit it with a drop of naphtha and work the blades open with a toothpick. Took about 20 minutes. Anyone else dealt with oily shutter blades causing stickiness?

That guy who said never use lighter fluid on a sticky shutter was right

Last month an old repairman at a shop in Portland told me to stop using lighter fluid to clean sticky shutter blades on a Canon AE-1. I thought he was being old fashioned because that trick has been around forever. After I ignored him and did it anyway the residue gummed up the blades even worse within two days. I had to take the whole shutter assembly apart and clean it with proper contact cleaner which took me about 4 hours. Has anyone else had lighter fluid backfire on them like this?

Realized I was using the wrong type of lubricant on shutter mechanisms for years

Honestly, I thought I was doing everything right with my shutter repairs. I used a standard synthetic oil on all the pivot points and called it good. But last month I was working on an old Nikon F2 from the 70s, and a customer brought in a Leica M3 they said was 'gummy.' Tbh, the Leica felt way smoother than my own work. So I decided to check online forums and found a ton of talk about using a lighter, clock-grade oil on precision shutter parts. That specific moment when I took apart an old Canon AE-1 and compared the drag with the light oil versus my usual stuff was a wake-up call. The difference in how freely the blades moved was huge. Now I use a micro syringe and a tiny drop of Nye lubricant, and my repairs feel so much better. Has anyone else had a moment where you realized a basic habit was holding back your work?

Stripped a heli-coil trying to fix a 1970s Mamiya - old school vs new inserts

I was working on a Mamiya RB67 body last week where the tripod mount threads were totally gone. I was about to tap it for a standard heli-coil like I usually do, but then a buddy who does a lot of vintage stuff told me to try a time-sert instead. Man, what a difference. The time-sert went in way smoother, held tighter, and I didn't have to worry about the threads pulling out under heavy lens weight. The heli-coil I tried on another body last month spun out after a few test fits - total headache. Anyone else swear by one insert type over the other for softer aluminum bodies?