Camera repair school

tjaded · Sep 8, 2007

Hi all--
In recent years I have found more and more cool older camera equipment out there at really cheap prices, often needing some repair. There is enough stuff out there that is working, but I am sort of a tinkerer and would like to learn more about repairing vintage camera equipment. Are there many or any camera repair schools out there? I'm in San Francisco, CA so closer to home would be dreamy, but at this point I'd love to know of any. The local repair people seem to have been doing it for many years and I always get a little freaked out that some of this knowledge is going to get lost in time. Unfortunately, not many people that do repair for a living want to show others how to do it (at least the ones I have encountered.)

Thanks,
Matt

Marc Akemann · Sep 8, 2007

Not aware of any schools, but, there is a nice set of books by Thomas Tomosy that could be of help in the field of camera repair. There are five Tomosy books that I know of and I find them quite useful. The titles are as follows: "Camera Maintenance & Repair - Book 1", "Camera Maintenance & Repair - Book 2", "Restoring Classic and Collectable Cameras", "Restoring the Great Collectible Cameras - 1945-70" and "Leica Camera Repair Handbook".

I have "Camera Maintenance & Repair - Book 1" and it alone has been a big help for me. Yesterday, I just received "Restoring Classic & Collectible Cameras" and I can already see that it has some of the information I've been looking for, like, how to replace the shutter curtain in my Exakta Varex VX.

I've seen these books on eBay occasionally and I've seen them on Border's website. I bought my latest book from a local book store because I try to support local business when I can.

Hope that helps!

Marc

Roger Hicks · Sep 8, 2007

A year or more ago I discussed this very idea with a camera repairer friend in England (Exeter). He would be interested. The question is, how many people could he get on a course, and what would they be willing to pay?

rmolson · Sep 9, 2007

camera repair

Years ago National Camera repair ran a school and eventually a correspondence course. Now the only one site remains and the man has the informtion and tools available but no grading or diplomas. Check out www.natcam.net

John Koehrer · Sep 10, 2007

The Natcam course was pretty OK. I attended the last residential courses they offered in Colorado(1972-73). After that I'm not sure what they did, but believe the manuals & other references were available for a while.
Cameras were even changing more heavily to electronics at that time and the odds of finding a school that would have coursework leaning to the older cameras isn't very good. You might be better of looking for a technician who would be willing to teach on an individual basis.. That is assuming he could work the training in between paying jobs.
Carol Floutot(sp) Sherry Krauter, Dave Goldberg, Paul Ebel are four people in the trade who may be able to direct you to someone.

Roger Hicks · Sep 10, 2007

John Koehrer said:
You might be better of looking for a technician who would be willing to teach on an individual basis.. That is assuming he could work the training in between paying jobs..

That's what my chum Kevin (ex Pelling and Cross, then self-employed) was talking about. He's doing less and less repairing because of eyesight strain.

DBP · Sep 10, 2007

For minor repairs I have found Rick Oleson's site http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/ and CDs quite helpful. He's also very responsive to questions.

DBP · Sep 10, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
A year or more ago I discussed this very idea with a camera repairer friend in England (Exeter). He would be interested. The question is, how many people could he get on a course, and what would they be willing to pay?

Maybe something in conjunction with FOTO3?

Roger Hicks · Sep 10, 2007

DBP said:
Maybe something in conjunction with FOTO3?

Sorry, what's FOTO3? (I seldom pay attention to things that don't affect me, or that I'm unlikely to be involved in).

DBP · Sep 10, 2007

(Silly man - you can miss lots of interesting things that way, such as the latest oddities in physics) You mean you are planning on skipping the conference next spring?
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Roger Hicks · Sep 10, 2007

DBP said:
(Silly man - you can miss lots of interesting things that way, such as the latest oddities in physics) You mean you are planning on skipping the conference next spring?
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ah... I'm allergic to alphabet soup.

Would anyone pay Kevin's air-fare?

Quite honestly, physics affects me more than anything I have to fly to any more. The terrorists have won, not by frightening me, but by persuading me that I can't be assed to do it.

Cheers (and thanks),

Roger

paul ron · Sep 10, 2007

With cameras so cheap these days, and the availability of repair manuals, why not just do some reapirs on your own?.. hands on learning. Buy some leaf shutter folders and start there learning how to DIY shutter repairs. What are you going to loose trying?... $5 on some junker? You just may wind up with a closet full of good working cameras like the rest of us camera addicts.

Start out by getting a good set of screwdrivers, a spanner, and clean up a spce in the house you feel comfortable to live in for the rest of your life. Check out MicroTools on the internet for tools n supplies. You'll be amazed at how easy it is and how much fun you will have with your new hobby.

Oh there are plenty of DIY sites for information. Once you get set up, just ask and everyone will tell you where to get free repair manuals and advice.

Start with htese sites...

http://kyphoto.com/cgi-bin/forum/search.cgi?method=last&number=7&units=1440&tree=ON&where=all
http://www.nelsonfoto.com/v/index.php

AgX · Sep 11, 2007

Can anyone comment on the Natcam scripts (in relation to Tomosy's books?).
On the site of Natcam one finds some content description but no sample facsimile. They seem to be decent though.

Steve Smith · Sep 11, 2007

paul ron said:
What are you going to loose trying?... $5 on some junker? You just may wind up with a closet full of good working cameras like the rest of us camera addicts.

Or a box full of spares!

I agree though, just have a go on something cheap which is already broken. Buy some old, non-working cameras specifically to try to repair them. I decided a long time ago that if someone else can do something, so can I.

Now the pedantic bit... It's lose, not loose. Possibly the most mis-spelled word on internet forums!

Steve.

paul ron · Sep 11, 2007

No you see whacha dun? I'm frum da bronks and here we say whadaya gunna loose!

I type faster than I can read and htis causes many many typos. I re-edit my posts several times but still niss things. I spell adn n teh and many more words wrong. I think uyo get the idea?

So whadaya gunna loose? fydallars?

Steve Roberts · Sep 17, 2007

Steve Smith said:
Now the pedantic bit... It's lose, not loose. Possibly the most mis-spelled word on internet forums!

Steve.

.... along with "gauge/guage" !!!!!

Steve R.

Mike Michaelski · Oct 5, 2007

AgX said:
Can anyone comment on the Natcam scripts (in relation to Tomosy's books?).
On the site of Natcam one finds some content description but no sample facsimile. They seem to be decent though.

I have the full set of 39 NatCam books. Of course several of them cover motion picture cameras, slide projectors and movie projectors. The one on the SLR is 168 pages and has detailed info on working on the original Nikon F, including step-by-step (screw by screw detail) instructions. Craig Camera has the individual books in the set, and you may be able to find the whole thing on e-bay if you are patient. I have the Tomosy books, as well as a number of original and reprint repair manuals for the cameras I dig into. Some are nothing more than glorified parts lists. There were also some specific texts that went with the NatCam course on very popular cameras (IE. Pentak K1000, Minolta STR101) that you should strive to get also.
If you are really serious, you will need to shop for some test equipment - at minimum getting a shutter speed tester with a calibrated light source - look for a Camline or Kyoritsu, and maybe an auto collimator to check lenses - there was a Gokosha recently for auction at $1200. And don't forget obtaining old issues of the "Camera Craftsman" (mid 1950's to early 1970's) and the SPT Journal (early 1970s' almost to date - but electronics had taken over by the mid 1990's). BTW, been there, done that!
Mike

Jim Jones · Oct 5, 2007

Instead of a shutter tester, consider an oscilloscope. You may have to improvise accessories, but the 'scope will tell you much more than a simple shutter tester.

spiralcity · Oct 31, 2007

This is the only camera repair school I know about.

http://www.spt.info/CandC/AboutCC

MarkS · Nov 2, 2007

There was a repairman named Ed Romney that used to have publications for sale. His site is interesting but I've never bought any of his materials.

John Koehrer · Nov 2, 2007

Crap!
I had forgotten about C&C I left the trade before they began the training but, they had some excellent troubleshooting guides available for the newer electronic cameras(late'70's)
The camera testing equipment mentioned earlier is nice but expensive for someone tinkering/learning how to do repair. An alternative would be the Calumet/ZTS tester for around $100.

Camera repair school

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