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That time I fixed a 1970s rangefinder with a paperclip
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?
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gibson.sarah29d agoProlific Poster
Paperclip repairs are basically a rite of passage for anyone who buys broken gear. My finest moment was fixing a stuck aperture on a Zenit with a toothpick.
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grantp2829d ago
You mentioned the stuck aperture on a Zenit. I gotta say, toothpicks are a classic fix for that. But what you described isn't really an aperture issue - it's probably the shutter blades getting stuck or the lens diaphragm hanging up. The Zenit's aperture is controlled by that little lever on the lens, and a toothpick wouldn't usually help there. Maybe you were working on the shutter curtain instead? Those old cloth shutters are a whole different beast, and a toothpick would be way too thick for that delicate work.
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