Unpopular opinion: I think the vintage camera repair scene is overhyped

I went to that big camera swap meet in Portland last weekend and every booth was full of old Rolleiflexes and beat-up Leicas selling for $500+ when half of them have sticky shutters or hazy lenses. Meanwhile, nobody even looked at the newer gear that actually works fine and just needs a simple cleaning or a new battery. Am I the only one who thinks we should spend more time fixing practical everyday cameras instead of chasing this nostalgia train?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannahm3921d ago

Wait, is it really true that the newer stuff is harder to fix or do we just not have people who know how to work on it yet? Like @webb.ben makes a good point about plastic cameras not aging well, but I’ve got a Nikon N80 that just needed a new battery door and now it shoots perfect. The real hassle with newer gear isn’t that it can’t be fixed, it’s that parts are already discontinued and nobody wants to stock them. Meanwhile, you can still find a guy with a basement full of old Rolleiflex parts because those cameras have been around forever.

webb.ben23d ago

People forget that those older cameras were built to be repaired, which is part of why they command those prices. A $500 Rolleiflex might need a CLA but will still be running smooth for another 50 years after that. Most of the newer plastic fantastic stuff from the 90s and 2000s just crumbles when you look at it wrong, and parts are already scarce. Plenty of us do fix everyday cameras too, but the vintage stuff gets talked about more because it actually lasts long enough to be worth the investment.

sarah_hart23d ago

built to be repaired" is a bit of a stretch for all vintage stuff. my old folder from the 50s has bellows that rot and shutters that seize up just as bad as anything from the 90s. its more like the stuff worth fixing survives cause people actually put the work into it, not cause they were designed any better.