Camera Repair as a Hobby: Generalist vs. Specialist

[lumoStoria]

Dear fellow camera repairers,

When it comes to camera repair as a hobby, not everyone can be an expert for a broad range of cameras like @Andreas Thaler is. What's your take on choosing the appropriate field of work?

1. Do you want to be able to repair a broad range of cameras, sacrificing the chance to become an expert for one specific camera model? We could call this "Generalist / broad area".
2. Do you want to gain knowledge and experience on only a few specific camera models, sacrificing the chance to have a versatile and ever-changing list of repair projects? We could call this "Specialist / narrow area".

(I know that this is not just "black and white" but maybe you have a certain tendency.)

As for myself: I'm the "Specialist / narrow area" type of guy. Currently, I'm mainly repairing Canon A series cameras (majority: A-1) and Carl Zeiss and Helios lenses. In the future, I want to expand a bit into Topcon and Exakta cameras. These are just the few models I use and collect myself. I like to understand not just the general principle of the cameras I repair but as much of their mechanical and electronic functionalities as possible and how to fix them. The main advantages I see (for me) are:

• I only need a limited amount of information sources (service manuals, SPT Journal articles, etc.).
• Procurement of spare parts is easier since I mainly need 1-2 "for parts" cameras per model.
• I get better at repairing the same camera model (only killing the first few ones ).
• It is worth to deep-dive into more "esoteric" topics like how to use an oscilloscope for error analysis of a specific camera model.

What do you think?

Regards, Sven

 

[Andreas Thaler]

If you run a service or repair business, specialization definitely makes sense. The more reliably and quickly you can complete a repair job, the more profitable it is.

If I’m doing this privately for fun, specializing might get boring, and then I’d lose the motivation to go through all that trouble. Or you could try to really understand every aspect of an SLR.

 

[lumoStoria]

If you run a service or repair business, specialization definitely makes sense. The more reliably and quickly you can complete a repair job, the more profitable it is.

If I’m doing this privately for fun, specializing might get boring, and then I’d lose the motivation to go through all that trouble. Or you could try to really understand every aspect of an SLR.

What "profitability" is to the professional, "available spare time" is to the hobbyist .

I completely understand your point regarding boredom/motivation. For me, it helps to have several hobbies that are not or only slightly related to each other. While it may be boring to repair the nth copy of the same camera model in a row, it helps me a lot to do projects within other hobbies in between. Also, sometimes I feel like just wanting to repair a camera (means, the actual execution) but not to do all the "theoretical" preparation needed to tackle a camera model new to me.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

What "profitability" is to the professional, "available spare time" is to the hobbyist .

I completely understand your point regarding boredom/motivation. For me, it helps to have several hobbies that are not or only slightly related to each other. While it may be boring to repair the nth copy of the same camera model in a row, it helps me a lot to do projects within other hobbies in between. Also, sometimes I feel like just wanting to repair a camera (means, the actual execution) but not to do all the "theoretical" preparation needed to tackle a camera model new to me.

I think there’s a need for research into the electronic circuits of SLR cameras, just as you’ve so impressively demonstrated with the Canon A-1:

Canon A-1: Troubleshooting with an Oscilloscope (Fehlersuche mit dem Oszilloskop), by IumoStoria

A colleague of mine published an excellent post in the German APHOG forum on the Canon A-1's electronics and troubleshooting with an oscilloscope. I'm not aware of anything comparable. The post is in German and can be translated into English using DeepL or Google Translate, for example: Canon...

www.photrio.com

And these findings need to be presented in a way that makes them accessible to anyone interested. This is a vast, largely unexplored field where no one else is currently working as I suspected.

Circuit descriptions and troubleshooting instructions can be found in the standard technical documentation. However, a broader understanding of how the circuits are structured and—in general terms—how they function is rarely provided. A better understanding of this would also be beneficial for repair efforts.

 

[lumoStoria]

I think there’s a need for research into the electronic circuits of SLR cameras, just as you’ve so impressively demonstrated with the Canon A-1:

Canon A-1: Troubleshooting with an Oscilloscope (Fehlersuche mit dem Oszilloskop), by IumoStoria

A colleague of mine published an excellent post in the German APHOG forum on the Canon A-1's electronics and troubleshooting with an oscilloscope. I'm not aware of anything comparable. The post is in German and can be translated into English using DeepL or Google Translate, for example: Canon...

www.photrio.com

And these findings need to be presented in a way that makes them accessible to anyone interested. This is a vast, largely unexplored field where no one else is currently working as I suspected.

I'm working on it . Just started a second exploration run with another A-1 to confirm my previous results.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I'm working on it . Just started a second exploration run with another A-1 to confirm my previous results.

Great!

I asked the AI about SLR circuits:

The use of AI in the repair and study of SLRs

Better late than never, I’ve started looking into AI. Specifically, how it can help me with servicing and repairing SLRs, with technical understanding, and with researching repair manuals. To do this, I used the AI feature on Google Search, which is publicly accessible via a web browser. I...

www.photrio.com

Our electronics experts didn't find any major inconsistencies. But a well-founded technical paper explaining how it works in general would be very useful. And then adapted to the various SLRs.

There's nothing out there on the subject—at least, I haven't found anything.

Sorry, OT OVER

 

[Tel]

I would add another level of motivation: therapy. I really got into fixing cameras during covid (which coincided with my retirement) but I'd actually started with small repair or maintenance tasks before that, to provide relief from a job I had grown to detest. In retirement, I find I'm never bored: I always enjoyed photography and never stopped doing it, so I can repair a camera, then take it out and shoot with it. So, in my case, the two activities are closely related and that increases the satisfaction. (In fairness I have a third avocation, sketching, which exercises the same parts of the brain as photography but requires less equipment!)

 

[Tel]

But to answer Sven's question, I find there are some cameras whose designs (mechanical not cosmetic) appeal to me and I gravitate toward those. Nikon cameras up to and including the F2, Minolta autocords, C-Series Mamiya TLRs and most of the 4x4 TLRs (Yashica 44, Primo Jr, Kino 44, Tower 44, Minolta Miniflex, Walz Automat, etc.). I've tried and succeeded with the Rollei Baby but it was intensely frustrating and I'll never do that again! Also done a lot of LF cameras, especially the older wood-frame ones, like Gundlach Koronas, Rochester Optical cameras, Tachihara, Zone VI, Nagaoka, etc. (I like working with wood too.)

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I would add another level of motivation: therapy. I really got into fixing cameras during covid (which coincided with my retirement) but I'd actually started with small repair or maintenance tasks before that, to provide relief from a job I had grown to detest. In retirement, I find I'm never bored: I always enjoyed photography and never stopped doing it, so I can repair a camera, then take it out and shoot with it. So, in my case, the two activities are closely related and that increases the satisfaction. (In fairness I have a third avocation, sketching, which exercises the same parts of the brain as photography but requires less equipment!)

I can confirm that.

I was in a terrible state due to burnout, and once I was able to function somewhat again, I got into electronics—I didn’t know anything about it. And I needed something to keep me busy. Then I took two correspondence courses in analog and digital electronics, and at the same time, I started working with cameras. All of that was a heavy burden with limited resources, but it motivated me and gave me something to hold onto. I’ve had the days to myself ever since, because my job in communications was over.

When I used to sit in my office, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to repair cameras. But I never would have thought that it would actually become a reality.

Maybe we should both offer camera therapy courses

 

[Paul Howell]

Not an expert by any means, but seems to me that if you are good with Canon A 1, then Pentax ME, MX, Minolta X700 have a lot in common. Well the MX is all mechanical. But depending on the time you have available, space for spears, and a budget expanding your range is possible. What do with when you repair a camera, sell it or collect it?

 

[Dan Daniel]

I knew someone who worked for 40 years in camera repair. He was the only repairman in a large area. He knew so much about most any camera of the last 90 years, it was scary. Models, variations, etc. And this was across the board, 35mm, 120, digital, film, etc. A generalist par excellence.

This was a combination of knowing general principles and mechanisms, skill and intelligence, and manuals and such out the kazoo. And needing to eat, so needing to figure out what came through the door. Fortunately he had digital copies of most manuals.

Over time you learn general principles just by repetition. Most cameras are not invented out of thin air. Either manufacturers study each other. Or they drop existing mechanisms into new cameras, etc.

I work on cameras I like and want to use. That's about it. I see general principles showing up again and again across different cameras. I kept away from just the kind of cameras Andreas is working on because of the high number of variations and one-off construction in electronics, etc. But I bet by now he can figure out a large number of new-to-him designs based on his experience.

At this point in time, I would suggest that people start as a specialist in cameras that that they like.

 

[lumoStoria]

What do with when you repair a camera, sell it or collect it?

It's a combination of both. I started with camera repair for the cameras I collect and (sometimes) use. All began with the purchase of a Canon A-1 with some lenses at an estate sale. I put it aside for a couple of months and when I was ready to use it, the shutter jammed . So I got the manuals, disassembled the camera (including the shutter mechanism), found the error, repaired it, put everything back together, and it worked . Buoyed by success, I started buying broken A-1s and tried to repair them, too. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. Since there is no use for me to have more than, say, two working copies of the same camera model, I sell the repaired ones. But only if I have tested them thorougly and I am sure that they work. If in doubt, I keep them to not disappoint buyers. My goal is not to make an extra profit but only enough to finance my tools and materials. Unfortunately, the price difference between Grandpa's untested but "definitely working" camera and one CLAed by a hobbyist is often not that big. Especially considering the labor put into the repair. Fortunately, my working time is free and, as a hobbyist, I can pause/postpone any repair as long as I want . Hobbies shouldn't become jobs.

 

[Paul Howell]

It's a combination of both. I started with camera repair for the cameras I collect and (sometimes) use. All began with the purchase of a Canon A-1 with some lenses at an estate sale. I put it aside for a couple of months and when I was ready to use it, the shutter jammed . So I got the manuals, disassembled the camera (including the shutter mechanism), found the error, repaired it, put everything back together, and it worked . Buoyed by success, I started buying broken A-1s and tried to repair them, too. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. Since there is no use for me to have more than, say, two working copies of the same camera model, I sell the repaired ones. But only if I have tested them thorougly and I am sure that they work. If in doubt, I keep them to not disappoint buyers. My goal is not to make an extra profit but only enough to finance my tools and materials. Unfortunately, the price difference between Grandpa's untested but "definitely working" camera and one CLAed by a hobbyist is often not that big. Especially considering the labor put into the repair. Fortunately, my working time is free and, as a hobbyist, I can pause/postpone any repair as long as I want . Hobbies shouldn't become jobs.

I would keep doing what you are doing. You find it enjoyable, not too expensive, and you make some of the money back. Do not take on projects that are time sensitive such as repairing others cameras. If you add another camera to your collection then you can dig up the manuals and tools so you don't get boarded. Topcon and Exacta are interesting. As you likely already know the Super RE labled the Super DM on side the the ocean was selected by the U.S Navy over the Nikon F.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I kept away from just the kind of cameras Andreas is working on because of the high number of variations and one-off construction in electronics, etc. But I bet by now he can figure out a large number of new-to-him designs based on his experience.

Nikon FG: Mirror box, top. Wind side HIC, rewind side I2L IC.

Circuit boards, ICs, discrete electronic components, small circuit boards with sub circuits like DC/DC converters, cables, motors …

Nikon FG: Mirror box, wind side with mirror mechanism, release-plate assembly and self-timer mechanism.

… sturdy mirror box mechanisms, shafts and gears.

Nikon MD-4 Motor Drive for Nikon F3: shutter release mechanism combined with mode dial.

And incredibly intricate assemblies like the shutter release mechanism combined with mode dial in the Nikon MD-4 Motor Drive, which consists of numerous individual parts that you have to assemble using two springs, much like a jigsaw puzzle.

Sometimes I think the designers were in a race to see who could build the most complex and sophisticated circuits and mechanisms.

The electronics usually remain a mystery, but at least the technical documentation reveals the functions of the individual assemblies.

Every SLR is a journey into adventure. Without Master Larry Lyells‘ work, these journeys would quickly come to nothing.

 

[lumoStoria]

I kept away from just the kind of cameras Andreas is working on because of the high number of variations and one-off construction in electronics, etc.

I know it's definitely not Andreas' intention but some of his articles have the potential to prevent me from trying to repair certain cameras (looking at you, T90) . Just by showing how complex they are and how many parts have to be removed/desoldered just to get to the place where something is broken. By this, Andreas may have already saved a lot of cameras from unqualified repairers (OK, probably only from those that know that they are unqualified) .

 

[lumoStoria]

Topcon and Exacta are interesting. As you likely already know the Super RE labled the Super DM on side the the ocean was selected by the U.S Navy over the Nikon F.

I know. Topcon was at the top of their game in the 1960s, both regarding cameras and lenses. Unfortunately, they made some severe mistakes, like choosing (and sticking to) the Exakta mount. The Exakta mount was not future-proof, especially when it comes to any form of automated functionalities. However, the Super RE and its siblings were capable cameras in their time. I have several Super REs, RE-1s and also some of their UV-mount cousins.

 

[Gregory_Nolan]

My approach has been to specialize in a few specific camera systems rather than trying to cover everything. I started with the Nikon F2 under the guidance of Sover Wong, and over the past seven years I’ve gained substantial hands-on experience with this model. It remains a camera I genuinely enjoy working on.

I’ve also worked on the Nikon F on several occasions. While it shares some similarities with the F2, there are also significant differences, and I still have more to learn with this system.

The third camera I’ve focused on is the Canon A-1. I’ve serviced three of them so far, all successfully—thanks in large part to @lumoStoria. Working on these cameras introduced me to soldering very small contacts, which was entirely new territory for me. I’m also grateful to @Andreas Thaler for his helpful advice in that area.

In addition, I’ve had some success with Minolta XD bodies. I was fortunate to come across several cameras that appeared non-functional at first but turned out to have only minor issues, such as dirty battery contacts.

Overall, working on these different models has significantly increased my confidence in approaching new camera types. Over time, I’ve also built up the necessary tools for camera servicing. At the moment, I’m going through a bit of a strategic shift—streamlining my collection by letting go of systems I don’t regularly use (such as Minolta and Canon) and focusing more on Nikon, Hasselblad, and Olympus.

 

[Tel]

What do with when you repair a camera, sell it or collect it?

After a suitable spell on the shelf, I know which cameras I like well enough to shoot, and which I don't. The ones that have sat a while untouched typically get donated. I've given some LF gear to a local university, and some MF and 35mm stuff to the VCP for their thrift shop.

 

[Tel]

Hobbies shouldn't become jobs.

+1!

 

[Paul Howell]

I know. Topcon was at the top of their game in the 1960s, both regarding cameras and lenses. Unfortunately, they made some severe mistakes, like choosing (and sticking to) the Exakta mount. The Exakta mount was not future-proof, especially when it comes to any form of automated functionalities. However, the Super RE and its siblings were capable cameras in their time. I have several Super REs, RE-1s and also some of their UV-mount cousins.

The last Topcon was an RE in Pentax K mount. Topcon left the camera market in 1977 as did Kowa, Petri, Miranda and Swiss Alpa, the last Alpa branded camera were made in Japan by Chinon in M42 and K mount. Always wondered what Topcon Super DM in K mount would have been like. I have a Topcon Uni in UV mount along with a Auto 100 IC with a focal plane shutter rather than the earlier leaf shutter.

 

[Tel]

camera therapy

I like that term!

 

[campy51]

I fixed photocopiers and printers for over 50 years but specialized in Canon. You get to a point where you realize that they all do the same thing to produce a copy, they just might do it a little differently. You still use troubleshooting techniques to find the problem no matter the model.

 

[lumoStoria]

I fixed photocopiers and printers for over 50 years but specialized in Canon. You get to a point where you realize that they all do the same thing to produce a copy, they just might do it a little differently. You still use troubleshooting techniques to find the problem no matter the model.

That's definitely true. Cameras of the same category (like full-mechanical SLRs) with similar functionalities from the same age often use similar ways to realize these functionalities. Based on the experiences you already gathered with other models, working on a (to you) new model is easier than completely starting from scratch. So you could start as a "Specialist" and grow into a "Generalist".

However, when you repair cameras as a hobby you are your own boss and in control of your own time. You can decide whether you rather want to be a specialist for a few models or a generalist for a broad range of models. In this context, "specialist" does not mean that you are unable to repair other cameras but that you made a deliberate decison to mainly stick to a small set of models (probably your favorite cameras). I'm interested if there are others that prefer to be specialists in this sense or if the majority wants to repair a lot of different cameras to keep the hobby interesting. I know that camera repair as a profession is a different cup of tea that might also be influenced by economic necessities.

 

[Tel]

However, when you repair cameras as a hobby you are your own boss and in control of your own time.

True. One reason I don't work on other people's cameras is that I work very slowly. Sometimes, if a camera is perplexing me, I'll put it aside for a few weeks or a month and come back to it with a fresh approach when I feel like it. (This is supposed to be therapy, after all!)

 

[campy51]

That's definitely true. Cameras of the same category (like full-mechanical SLRs) with similar functionalities from the same age often use similar ways to realize these functionalities. Based on the experiences you already gathered with other models, working on a (to you) new model is easier than completely starting from scratch. So you could start as a "Specialist" and grow into a "Generalist".

However, when you repair cameras as a hobby you are your own boss and in control of your own time. You can decide whether you rather want to be a specialist for a few models or a generalist for a broad range of models. In this context, "specialist" does not mean that you are unable to repair other cameras but that you made a deliberate decison to mainly stick to a small set of models (probably your favorite cameras). I'm interested if there are others that prefer to be specialists in this sense or if the majority wants to repair a lot of different cameras to keep the hobby interesting. I know that camera repair as a profession is a different cup of tea that might also be influenced by economic necessities.

I totally agree, which is why I generally stick to twin lens cameras. I would never attempt a 35mm camera unless it's a rangefinder.