Relativeley cheap repairs for relatively cheap cameras?

[cmo]

Did you ever have a lucky garage sale day? Yesterday was a good day: 16 cameras and ten lenses... four of them are Leicas, seven are old Nikons including a super-rare "Nikkor F", chrome version, with the TN finder and a 1.4/50mm, another F, an F2 Photomic, four Nikkormats and many more. The better cameras will get a professional CLA, I will use some of them and sell the others. I always wanted a Nikon F and a Leica M3 DS with the collapsible 50mm/f3.5 :wub:

Some of these cameras need a repair but do not have much value: Nikkormats are pretty cheap these days, just like the Leica R4 bodies and this tiny Olympus 35 RD. So, buying full CLAs for all of them is not very wise from an economic point of view. I can't repair cameras myself, not even the sticky shutter in the Olympus, a repair described as a good first job for a beginner. One of the Nikkormats and a Leica R4 body share the same problem: mirror is up, shutter can't be fired though the camera seems to be cocked. I did not check half of the cameras yet, due to a lack of mercury batteries (speak: battery adapters), but I expect some of them to have some problems.

I don't want to give them away as defective, but I don't want to spend 150 bucks on a CLA for a camera that is worth 100 bucks. What would you do with these relatively cheap cameras? Are there any reliable repairmen for such cameras in Europe that can work 'housewifely' and only repair what needs to be repaired?

 

[waileong]

There is a difference between price and value.

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

how much did you pay for the lot?!

 

[paul ron]

Your cameras are worth noting if they don't work. Having em overhauled for $150/ea is well worth the money if you are planing to use em. Perhaps selling cheap to people that are willing to overhaul em n own a beautiful camera that will last another 30 years is your best bet, your buyers can take advantge of your great find n you will be contributing to our global effort, keeping film alive.

.

 

[guitstik]

I would take the R4 off your hands as it is similar to my XD-11. I have a good idea as to what the problem may be. Leica changed the electronics from what Minolta had and experienced some problems.

 

[himself]

16 cameras and ten lenses... QUOTE]

that's quite a haul. lucky you.

not sure there's much worth in CLAing them, the value of most of them will be about the same "working" or "mostly working", right?

with the cost of fixing them I think the best you could hope for is selling as is + p+p and hoping it covers what you paid for it all

all that is assuming you don't want to keep them

 

[benjiboy]

I would have the ones you want to use serviced and put the rest that are uneconomical to fix sell on ebay as parts cameras, or failing that put them in the trash bin, because it's skilled work there no such thing as cheap camera repairs these days the labour cast the same if they are Holgas or Leicas.

 

[wblynch]

Or you could give them away as defective...

 

[Sethasaurus]

They're worthless. Send them to me

 

[brucemuir]

I sometimes get myself in trouble this way also.

I see these older mechanical cameras and cant pass them by.
The Nikons are right on the edge as far as being worth fixing.