c/camera-repairers

Update: I switched from using a regular screwdriver to a JIS driver on a Pentax lens mount

I was fixing a sticky aperture on a Pentax ME Super last week and kept stripping the tiny screws. I was using my usual Phillips set. After three tries, I ordered a JIS #1 driver for $12. The difference was huge, it fit perfectly and didn't slip at all. Has anyone else found specific drivers that saved a repair?

Tried using a $30 ultrasonic cleaner on a sticky shutter and it made the whole thing seize up solid.

Shoutout to the cheap USB microscope I got last year

Honestly, I used to hate working on tiny ribbon cable connectors. I'd just use my old loupe and hope for the best, and I'd mess up the alignment maybe one out of every five tries. Ngl, after I got that $40 microscope from Amazon, it changed everything. I can actually see what I'm doing now, and I haven't ruined a single flex cable in six months. Anyone else have a cheap tool that made a huge difference for a specific job?

Just read that a huge number of vintage camera repairs are actually from user error, not age

I was looking at a repair shop's data from their last 500 jobs in Chicago. They found over 60% of the 'broken' film cameras they got were just loaded wrong or had a dead battery. I always blamed old gears and dried grease, but the sheet showed most issues were simple. It makes me wonder if we jump to the hard fix too fast. Do you guys check the basics first every single time?

Ngl, I was about to scrap a 70s SLR because of a stuck shutter.

Got this old Pentax K1000 in, shutter was totally frozen. Tried the usual gentle pressure with a spudger, nothing. On a whim, I put a single tiny drop of lighter fluid on a cotton swab and touched it to the pivot points, let it sit for maybe 20 minutes. Worked the mechanism back and forth gently, and it freed right up. Honestly thought it was a goner. Anyone got a better long-term fix for this, or is that fluid trick the go-to?

The week I had three different cameras with the same exact shutter ribbon cable tear

It started Monday with a Nikon F3, then a Canon AE-1 on Wednesday, and finally a Pentax K1000 came in Friday. All three had that fragile, flat ribbon cable from the shutter button to the mechanism completely torn at the hinge point. Each one took me over an hour just to get the top plate off and the old cable out before I could even start the real fix. I keep a small stock of those cables, but I burned through it and had to wait on a new order from my supplier in Chicago. Has anyone else seen a weird run of the same very specific failure like that, or was it just a strange coincidence?

Just realized my old way of cleaning aperture blades was making things worse

For years I'd use a cotton swab with a tiny bit of lighter fluid, but last week I tried a proper synthetic brush and a drop of naphtha instead. The blades moved smoother and left zero residue, which was a huge upgrade. Anyone got other tips for sticky aperture mechanisms on old SLRs?

Heard a guy at the shop today say he never cleans a mirror box without taping the shutter first.

He was working on an old Nikon F3 and said he's seen three shutters get nicked by a stray brush bristle. He uses a tiny piece of low-tack tape, the blue kind, to cover the shutter blades before he goes in. I tried it on a Pentax K1000 this afternoon and it felt way safer. That extra 30 seconds could save a huge headache. What's your go-to trick for keeping the shutter safe during a clean?

Just realized I was wrong about those cheap ultrasonic cleaners from the auto parts store for shutter assemblies.

I was convinced they'd leave a residue until I cleaned a sticky Minolta X-700 shutter with one and a 50/50 mix of distilled water and isopropyl, and it's been running smooth for 6 months now, so has anyone else found a surprising use for a tool from a different trade?

Had a chat with a retired repairer at the swap meet that made me question my cleaning habits.

He told me he stopped using compressed air on old shutters twenty years ago after it blew fine grit into the bearings of a Leica M3. I've been doing it for a decade without a second thought. What's your go-to method for cleaning delicate mechanisms without making things worse?

Just logged my 500th shutter replacement and realized something weird

I mean, it's not a huge number maybe, but I noticed over 300 of them were on cameras under five years old. That feels off. Anyone else seeing way more early failures on newer gear?

TIL my old way of cleaning shutter blades was causing more harm than good

I was cleaning a Nikon FM2's shutter and kept seeing tiny scratches under my loupe. A repairer from the Seattle shop told me to stop using the canned air first, as it can blow grit deeper into the pivot. Now I brush with a soft sable brush before any air, and the difference is huge. What's your go-to method for a sticky shutter that doesn't risk abrasion?

A chat with a local museum curator changed how I handle old camera leather

I was fixing a 1950s Leica IIIf for a client last week and met with the curator at our city's history museum about it. She told me, 'That adhesive isn't just failing, it's actively eating the leather over time.' She showed me a display case where a similar camera's covering had turned to powder from old glue. I've seen sticky backs before, but I never connected it to long-term damage. Now I'm stripping and re-adhering every piece, not just the loose ones. Has anyone else switched to a full removal process after seeing something like that?

Warning: I was reading a 1978 service manual and the shutter lag spec was way higher than I expected

It was for a popular SLR, and the listed spec was 85 milliseconds, which seems huge by today's standards. I found it in a PDF from a vintage camera archive site. Does anyone know if that was actually considered acceptable back then, or was it just a bad model?

Rant: I thought that old lens fungus cleaning trick was total nonsense

A buddy in Phoenix swore by using a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and household ammonia on a cotton swab for cleaning fungus off glass elements, which sounded like a great way to ruin a coating. I finally tried it on a junked 28mm f2.8 I got for five bucks, and after letting it sit for three minutes, the haze wiped right off without any etching. What's the most out-there cleaning method you've seen actually work?

Am I the only one who finally understood the point of a lens spanner wrench after a disaster in my garage?

Three years ago, I was fighting a stuck filter ring on a 50mm and mangled the front element trying to pry it with pliers... cost me $150 for the part. Has anyone else had a tool click for them after a costly mistake?

I used to avoid vintage lens fungus like the plague, now I see it as a fixable challenge.

For years, I'd tell customers a lens with any haze was a paperweight. Then a guy brought in a 1970s Nikkor with classic 'spiderweb' fungus. Took me three hours, but I got it crystal clear with a basic lens spanner and some isopropyl. Anyone else find themselves tackling jobs they used to write off?

Had a client bring in a Leica M3 last week that had been 'cleaned' with WD-40. The shutter was a sticky mess. What's the worst 'home repair' you've had to undo?

Hit 500 repaired shutters this year, mostly on old mechanical SLRs. Is that a lot for a one-person shop, or just normal?

Rant: I was cleaning shutter blades with a cotton swab for years

Last week I had a Nikon FM2 on the bench with a sticky shutter. My usual way was to dip a cotton swab in solvent and try to wipe each blade, which always left tiny fibers. I saw a video from a guy in Austin who uses a small piece of lint-free lens cloth wrapped around a flat pick. Tried it, and the difference was huge. No more stray bits stuck in the mechanism, and the cloth holds just the right amount of fluid. Has anyone else found a better tool for this job?

A vintage Polaroid repair turned into a glitter bomb in my shop

This Tuesday, a guy brought in a 1970s Polaroid SX-70 that wouldn't open. I got the case off and a spring-loaded tray inside shot out, spraying what felt like a full ounce of craft glitter all over my bench and my face. My coworker just stared and said, 'Well, that's a new kind of light leak.' I spent the next hour finding sparkles in my tools and even inside three other cameras on the bench. Has anyone else had a simple fix make a huge, ridiculous mess?

Rant: Everyone says to never touch the shutter curtain on a Leica M3, but I had to

I was in my shop in Denver last fall, and a customer's M3 had a shutter that was dragging at 1/1000th. The usual advice is to send it out, but I carefully used a tiny drop of naphtha on a cotton swab to clean the roller bearing track. It fixed the timing completely. Has anyone else had to go against the grain on a classic repair like that?

Had a customer in my shop try to fix a shutter with a toothpick and super glue

This was in my small shop in Tacoma last month, and the guy said he 'saw a video' and thought it would work. The repair bill ended up being over $400 to fix the mess he made of the curtain and the blade mechanism. Has anyone else had to deal with a DIY fix that went really wrong like that?

PSA: Watch out for old Canon AE-1 shutter curtains, they can turn to dust

I was working on a customer's AE-1 last week, a real clean-looking unit from 1980. The complaint was a shutter that sounded slow. I got the top cover off and was checking the mechanism when I gently brushed the rear curtain with a spudger. A whole section just flaked away into black powder, like charcoal. I froze. The curtain material had completely degraded from age. I had to call the owner and explain his shutter was now a goner. Finding a donor curtain is tough, and a full CLA with curtain replacement ran him about $180, which he okayed. It was a real lesson in how these old rubberized fabrics just don't last forever. Has anyone found a good source for these, or a decent repair method that doesn't need a whole donor body?

PSA: I cleaned a Pentax lens with rubbing alcohol and the coating came off

Had a Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 come in last week. Front element had some stubborn haze. I usually use lens cleaner, but I was out. Figured 70% isopropyl would be fine for a quick wipe. Big mistake. The coating started to haze up and smear immediately. It looked like a foggy mess. I stopped right away, but the damage was done. Now the element needs a full recoating job. I always thought alcohol was safe for glass. Learned it can wreck certain older coatings. Has anyone else run into this with vintage Pentax glass? What's your go-to for tough haze now?