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Best books on camera repair for a beginner?

MrBrowning

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I recently bought a Zeiss 517/2 from an "antique" shop for $20.00. The lens is nice and clean and the bellows look good but the shutter sticks once in a while. I was thinking of trying to fix it myself. What are the best books on camera repair? I don't plan on working on any of the cameras that I care about but I thought it would be fun to see what i could do with this one.

Thanks.
 
There aren't any. Well, not ones that are any good. The two I have are more like a bunch of random tips a guy put together on a few popular or semi-popular cameras. The diagrams he used are so over-photocopied they are barely legible, and his directions leave out huge swaths of relevant detail. What little camera repair I've done has been from using helpful internet guides.

I think there used to be a camera repair course listed in the back of Pop Photo. Maybe some of the educational material it used is still out there.
 
Search around for Ed Romney camera repair manual. It was somewhere on the internet a while ago; maybe on Scribed.
 
Camera Technology by Goldberg is an interesting start for a beginner. It isn't really a repair guide but it does explain some of the systems in the camera and how they work. From there you can try and pick up books on the shutter or camera you are interested in. Lots of times you will find good guidance on the internet but it can sometimes take a bit of searching to find it.
 
Tomas Tomosoy had a series of them. They're published by Amherst media.

Camera maintenance & Repair vol l &ll
Restoring Classic & collectible Cameras
" the Great Collectible Cameras
Leica Repair Handbook.

None are especially technical but introduction type guides.

National Camera Repair School also had a series. If you go that route the one on leaf shutters may be the best OR overkill. It'll have a lot you won't need.

If you want to try quick & dirty, remove the front group and flush clean it.. Some folks feel it's heresy though.
Doing the Q&D you're putting a drop of lighter fluid onto the shutter blades and cycling the shutter. Ya gotta do this until all the fluid has evaporated
or the blades will stick together. Don't go nuts with the fluid, small drops and you may have to repeat a couple of times.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jnanian said:
joe lippencott wrote a book
... he's a very nice guy, and his book is pretty good too
http://www.amazon.com/Repair-Classic-Cameras-Photographers-Collectors/dp/0967207908
Click to expand...

I was going to buy that book at Photographica on the 18th but my daughter was getting restless and we had to leave before I could get it. I think I'll get a copy from your link. I should have bought it at the show when I saw it. I'm kicking myself for not taking the 2 minutes to purchase it then. Thank you.


Thanks I'll take a look at Camera Technology and probably pick up a copy.


I"ll try the Q&D you suggest and see if it works while I wait on the books. Thanks.
 
Tomosoy was also on the web at one time. Posted by someone to Scribed, I believe.
 
I once downloaded 3 of the Tomosy's books. Very good books for beginners. Once you gat some experience you start looking for repair manuals for particular model, but for the general tips they are great.

Some are also on google books - here's one with preview available http://books.google.sk/books?id=IHHVlwkTE8sC
 
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