Keeping spare bodies for parts

Carlb · May 28, 2008

Does anybody keep spare non-working bodies of their favourite cameras for spare parts? Obviously, as our 35mm cameras get older, parts availability might be a problem, so I'm wondering whether it's worthwhile picking up some cheap, non-working (Pentax, in my case) bodies to be cannibalised for spares if the need ever arises.

Or are the parts that are likely to wear out, get damaged, or just die (eg circuit boards) just as likely to be unserviceable in a non-working spare?

I do try and treat my cameras carefully, but you never know what might happen on a shoot

frdrx · May 28, 2008

Exactly. I think keeping a body or two for spare parts is a very good idea. I have one Contax RTS II for spares, from which I've already had one part transplanted into my working body. And I've put its winding lever onto my Yashica FX3, which transformed the whole camera incredibly.

removed account4 · May 28, 2008

i have a graflex 4x5 series d (rb) i use as a parts camera
and 1 +1/2 mamiya 6 ivs as parts cameras
and a sears delmar box ( camera ) as a box camera

and for years we had a 67 vw type 1 (bug) "deluxe" as a parts ...
(olde habits die hard )

Mike Wilde · May 28, 2008

Yep, minoltas here

my trusty 24 years of service x-700 that I inadvertently took swimming as I dumped the canoe is still kept around for parts.

The x-570 with the intermittent shutter jamb that replaced it is kept as well. The current 'more automated' x-570 I currently use can draw on the tow noted non functional cameras for a lot of parts.

Then there is the srt101 that I use, which I doubt will ever break down .

Steve Roberts · May 28, 2008

Carlb said:
Does anybody keep spare non-working bodies of their favourite cameras for spare parts? Obviously, as our 35mm cameras get older, parts availability might be a problem, so I'm wondering whether it's worthwhile picking up some cheap, non-working (Pentax, in my case) bodies to be cannibalised for spares if the need ever arises.

I never pass up a cheap Pentax for parts, and have used bits on many occasions. Unfortunately though, I can't resist trying to resurrect dead cameras and all to often an intended parts donor becomes a time-consuming project! On one occasion I paid a fiver for the most bashed about Spotmatic you ever saw purely because the f1.4 lens still looked to have some life left in it. I was staggered to find that with all its rounded corners, exposed brass and alloy and peeling leatherette, the camera still worked perfectly and so gets used along with all the others.

Steve

Barry S · May 28, 2008

I've found that parts can sometimes be difficult to find or really expensive, so it's not a bad idea keeping a non-working spare around. Of course, these days, 35mm film cameras are so inexpensive that you might as well keep a couple fully functioning backup cameras around. However, since non-working cameras can be usually had for free or less than the cost of a single part, it doesn't hurt to keep a few around. I also kept my X-570 going for a long time on swapped parts.

Jersey Vic · May 28, 2008

Definitely worth doing but pay for them accordingly. Many of the repair places I know will/would work on cameras, lenses, enlargers, etc they have the expertise for if they have/had the parts. Ultimately it seems the earliest cameras will be around the longest.

I'm doing this for my '79 beemer as well after being quoted 3K for some minor New Old Stock parts for a $2500 bike.

MattKing · May 28, 2008

I hope anyone seeing the title to this thread realizes we are talking about cameras .

I don't keep parts bodies per se, but I try to always have at least one usable backup body for each camera I use regularly.

Matt

Dinesh · May 28, 2008

It puts the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again!

Larry Bullis · May 28, 2008

jnanian said:
i have a graflex 4x5 series d (rb) i use as a parts camera
and 1 +1/2 mamiya 6 ivs as parts cameras
and a sears delmar box ( camera ) as a box camera

and for years we had a 67 vw type 1 (bug) "deluxe" as a parts ...
(olde habits die hard )

I have 3 Graflex XL RF bodies, and one SW XL. One of the RF bodies has a damaged helicoil cam, so it is the spare. It is good to have spares, I think, on larger cameras. I don't know that I'd be as concerned with 35mm for spares. I probably wouldn't fix them myself anyway, and repair people have better sources for parts (usually) than I'm likely to have, and used parts on broken bodies may or may not be in good enough condition. I'm thinking of the lever on my Leica M2 that sets the framelines; it is so worn, it doesn't work right.

Now, if you are addicted to something like, say, Mirandas, you better have spares! I had a student once named Miranda, and no other camera would do for her.

For awhile, I had a 1960 Volkswagen bus, a 1959 beetle, and a complete spare engine sitting on my studio floor. At the time, it seemed ideal. Now I wouldn't have room for that. It is a problem with camera spares, too. I'd sure like to get rid of more junk.

ehparis · May 28, 2008

I use Nikon pro line 35mm cameras. There were more than one million each of the F, F2, and F3 made and parts are, and should remain so, in good supply with these numbers. I have no "parts" cameras.

dynachrome · May 30, 2008

When I started to use and collect Nikkormats I wasn't planning to get so many. I must have 19 or 20. Three have been overhauled and I enjoy using them. Most of the rest work after a fashion. I think I'll always have some Nikkormat parts with all these bodies. When I got my first Canon F-1 I knew I would always want to have at least one. I bought a second body with an off brand zoom lens for about $50 and eventually had that body overhauled too. Now with all of my focusing screens and finders I should always have at least one working F-1 to use.

Vonder · May 31, 2008

I tried that once, sort of. I bought a nonworking Ricoh body intending to use its self-timer arm on another Ricoh body, but it didn't fit. So I tinkered with this non-working body - the meter is toast and the film wind lever was shot. I discovered though, that you could wind the film by removing the lever and turning the shaft with a pair of pliers. Viola! I had another working camera, though without a meter. I later added a film wind lever from a defunct Pentax. I lovingly refer to this thing as Frankencamera, and have taken a lot of nice pictures with it.

elekm · Jun 1, 2008

On some occasions, the "parts" camera that I bought turned out to be better than the one that I was fixing. And so the original became the donor body, while the new purchase became the user.

Nicholas Lindan · Jul 10, 2008

bowzart said:
Now, if you are addicted to something like, say, Mirandas...

Her name's Miranda
She's a Rudolph Valentino fan
And she doesn't claim to understand
She bakes brownies for the boys in the band
...
In the bar we're gin and scotching
While the FBI is watching
They are tape recording every other word
The bartender is bleeding
Pardon me, I just was leaving
as another clever voice repeats absurd
But not Miranda
She's a Rudolph Valentino fan
And she doesn't claim to understand
She bakes brownies for the boys in the band

Phil Ochs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEshZvwomA8

I used to use Mirandas, the song somehow goes with the camera...

nsurit · Jul 10, 2008

I have a supply of Olympus OM single digit series cameras that should last me more than a lifetime. They all work and I really don't keep any non-working ones around. I've sent a few parts cameras off to my repair guy because I know he will use them to breath new life into other cameras. Bill Barber

removed account4 · Jul 10, 2008

bowzart said:
For awhile, I had a 1960 Volkswagen bus, a 1959 beetle, and a complete spare engine sitting on my studio floor. At the time, it seemed ideal. Now I wouldn't have room for that. It is a problem with camera spares, too. I'd sure like to get rid of more junk.

aside from the beater on blocks,
i had a top end kit ready to strap on
the engine of another type 1 if got one ...
but the bug never came, the 2 73s burned-up on
the side of the road ( nothing like a vw at a viking funeral ! )
and eventually i realized i wasn't gonna buy another

i unloaded the top end to a guy who repaired bugs.
even though i lost my shirt, at least i was able to get rid of it!

mgb74 · Jul 10, 2008

bowzart said:
I have 3 Graflex XL RF bodies, and one SW XL. One of the RF bodies has a damaged helicoil cam, so it is the spare. It is good to have spares, I think, on larger cameras.

I think it's a good idea. The problem is when a particular camera has a particular weakspot (like the cam on the Graflex XL). It can be hard to find a spare that doesn't exhibit that defect.

Rob Vinnedge · Jul 11, 2008

I had a beautiful late model 5X7 Technika V that I restored to near perfection. Then later I purchased a second one, thinking that I would also restore it as a back up. It now sits carefully wrapped up in a box completely disassembled. I sold the original model and now have no need for an extra pile of parts - or incentive to tackle a "project". What was I thinking?

Keeping spare bodies for parts

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Dinesh

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removed account4

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Keeping spare bodies for parts

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