Garry's Camera Repair Nikon FA CLA

I always like to let everybody know when I have a good experience with a business.

I just got my Nikon FA back from Gary's Camera Repair in Illinois. I was having some issues with short focus, and it was filthy inside from disintegrated light seals. It also didn't sound right, with a sort of "ka-blub" with shutter actuations, which I suspect had something to do with the sticky mirror light seals.

The camera absolutely sparkles. He was able to get all of the light seal goo off of the mirror and viewfinder prism. It now makes a quiet and precise "click" and viewfinder blackout is barely perceptible. Infinity focus is better in the split prism.

I'm also OCD about shipping and don't really trust the post office for valuable items. I dropped in a UPS return label and he made a special trip for UPS return shipping and tracking.

It was back and forth from Denver via UPS ground in 14 days. Only three day turnaround in the shop.

Best $50 spent on camera gear in a while.

Guess who who is getting my beat up FM when it needs new seals and a cleaning?

-J.

I'm glad you had a good experience. Garry's is capable of doing good CLA type work, with emphasis on the C, maybe even the L, and not sure about the A. You sent him an electronic camera and he cleaned it up. That's far different from repair and adjustment.

I sent him an OM body a while back, he returned it clean, but "fixed" a problem with the mirror lockup by gluing a piece of covering over the hole so it can no longer be seen or accessed. I knew he likely couldn't fix it, so I gave him a pass. I also reported another issue (the hot shoe only works with high voltage flashes) and that was beyond his ken. He didn't seem to even understand the problem, reported it working fine.

I sent the same guy a Canon A1 and a Canon F1 to be CLA'd.He fixed the slow mirror and made the A1 look pretty new with seals,viewfinder etc,the F1 was a different story-he fixed the shutter curtain on the fast speeds but couldn't fix the 1/8 second from thinking and behaving like it was 1/60.I made sure to tell him about this before I sent it in 2 emails and a handwritten note with the camera,it looked good other than that,but that was my main reason for sending the camera to him.He never even mentioned that he didn't fix the problem-he just sent the cameras back.One outta two.Now I just skip the 1/8 sec setting.

That's all it really needed though, so I'm happy.

I didn't want want to get involved in tying to de-goo the mirror and prism. My time is worth enough that having somebody else quickly deal with this issue was awesome. I could see it wasting an afternoon and then not being happy with the DIY result with a smudgy scratched mirror.

I was thinking that my new-to-me F100 is probably going in for a factory CLA before Nikon stops supporting it. Broken gear I would do local in case return trips are needed. The quotes I got local for similar service were around twice Garry's with three week turnaround and two drives back and forth across town for pick up and drop off.

I like tinkering as much as anybody, but time=$$, even more so for tedious tasks.

-J.

My experience is a few years old, but he took care of a Nikon FM2 with meter issue and a Minolta SRT101 with a shutter issue. I was pleased.

I was very happy with his CLAs on a few Minolta bodies I had done from 2009-2012 even though there were no problems with the cameras (X700, XD11, SRT201). The viewfinders were clearer and the shutters sounded smoother.

An Olympus OM-1 didn't fare as well; again, a body with no problems but the meter needle was stuck when it was returned. He reluctantly took it back and mostly fixed it (but still need to occasionally unstick the needle by tapping the body) but after getting it back the second time, the flash circuit (PC port and hotshoe) did not work. These were not problems originally. He did not respond to my inquiry on the flash circuit. I would have been better off just using the OM-1 and not sending it to him.

There seems to be a pattern here, with Gary not doing so well with mechanical repairs. I sent him and SRT-101 a while back with shutter issues. I got it back with shutter issues. Sent it back to him again and got it back with a new set of shutter issues. I decided not to give him a third shot at it. I can replace seals myself (thanks to Jon Goodman's excellent kits) and do some minor cleaning and adjustments. Anything beyond that, I'll send it to someone other than Gary. I'll pay more, but it's worth it to get the repair done properly.

I've had several cameras repaired/cleaned by Garry. F3, FM, FM2n, and FE. Everything from film transport problem to corroded battery compartment to non-functioning light meter. All camera are fully functional now, and look great. The corroded battery compartment did require a bit of a "jury-rig", but it works and is not detectable without opening the compartment. Very happy with turn-around, quality of work, and definitely the price.