So much for mechanical cameras

[RalphLambrecht]

Well, this 'resurgance' still makes for a rather tiny market if you extrapolate it to the demand for camera repairs. Not exactly an ecosystem that's going to keep a repairman in every modest city in employment. So you end up with only a handful qualified repairmen in a country - or a continent. It's kind of a logical consequence.



Good illustration. A repair needs to run around $300 or so a piece, on average, for it to constitute a reasonable income in a developed, Western nation. This is assuming that the costs of parts and materials are nearly negligible, as are investments in tools and training etc.

I would have gladly paid $300!

 

[Mackinaw]

I was driving on one of the busiest highways in the country yesterday and mentioned to my son that it's amazing what the car industry has managed to do. You look around now at any of the 100s of cars that are driving around you and almost none of them are more than 10 years old......

The average age of a vehicle in the U.S. is now 12.5 years.

My daily driver, in the summer, is a 29 year old F-150.

Jim B.

 

[Arthurwg]

not using mechanical cameras does them the most harm!

After discussing this with top Hasselblad repair people, I've ben told this is not at all true.

 

[retina_restoration]

I would have gladly paid $300!

Clearly, I need to raise my prices!

 

[toadhall]

There are still manufactures of tubes in China and Russia, theres also plenty of good old tubes still out there. Modern circuit boards will fail and not be repairable, but its still viable to make a solid state or tube amp. Ive made several.

Don't forget about JJ Tubes from the Slovak Republic. The invasion of the Ukraine put a stop to the Russian manufactured, American distributed tubes, but somehow they're now allowed back into the west.

 

[Lee Rust]

There’s no question that electronic cameras, either film or digital, can do an excellent job of taking pictures, but I’m interested in how things work. You can open up a mechanical camera and eventually figure out which part does what, then push the button and enjoy all the whizzing and spinning. Take apart an electronic camera and all you see is little black squares and some wires. Nothing much moves besides the shutter, so they’re really kind of boring inside. Isn’t photography supposed to be fun?

 

[albireo]

There’s no question that electronic cameras, either film or digital, can do an excellent job of taking pictures, but I’m interested in how things work. You can open up a mechanical camera and eventually figure out which part does what, then push the button and enjoy all the whizzing and spinning. Take apart an electronic camera and all you see is little black squares and some wires. Nothing much moves besides the shutter, so they’re really kind of boring inside. Isn’t photography supposed to be fun?

Undoubtedly, but I think different people have different types of fun. Personally I already look inside things, disassemble them and see what they're made of for my work, so I'm absolutely not interested in doing the same with my cameras and for my hobbies. Same for my hifi equipment. I don't want to tinker with it, it just needs to make the music come alive - I just want it to do its job with the least amount of intervention possible.

The fun in photography for some is to decide what should go in and what should be left out when staring at that 24x36 or 6x6 or whatever frame in the viewfinder fractions of seconds before pressing the shutter. That decision is fun!

 

[koraks]

Take apart an electronic camera and all you see is little black squares and some wires.

That's from your perspective. It depends on your background knowledge. To me, the black squares generally mean something. Their whizzing and spinning happens to be mute, but it's still there.

 

[Don_ih]

The average age of a vehicle in the U.S. is now 12.5 years

Already established quite a way back.
I get the feeling that, here, where I was talking about, the older cars are more or less kept at home in the driveway. Or they only go short distances. You just don't see them on the highways (the real highways, the ones with 4-6 lanes on either side). You used to, though - probably when it was more reasonable for lower-income people to actually be able to drive to work (hardly reasonable now, since it costs about $300 a week for gas).

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

It is theoretically possible to keep a mechanical camera going indefinitely. I think that is the appeal. The practicality of the matter is something else entirely.

You can get a 97 year old Leica put back in working order. Helps if the camera is uber valuable enough for someone to machine replacement parts as needed. And if the camera has cloth shutter curtains.

A camera with a custom IC, without a donor camera, is theoretically irreparable.

With time, all the FMx are going to be display-only - not just electronics but Copal shutters and such. Not to mention EOS & Co.. For solace, the FMx's will more than likely outlast the digicams.

 

[Sirius Glass]

After discussing this with top Hasselblad repair people, I've ben told this is not at all true.

My Hasselblad repairman has told me that the lenses should be fired 10 to 15 times at 1 second every three months. Also he and Hasselblads and lenses should be stored cocked; the springs were designed to be stored cocked.

 

[Arthurwg]

I've only had one camera become totally useless, a point-and-shoot Contax TVS. Loved that camera. But now, as I understand it, some repro parts are available that can fix it if I could find it somewhere in the house.

 

[BMbikerider]

We heard it over and over again:'keep your mechanical cameras; at least they can be still repaired if something goes wrong. My experience, including a recent Nikon FM failure, is quite different:It is actually very hard to find a repair service for old mechanical cameras. And if you should be lucky enough to find one, hope not to need spare parts, because there are none. Furthermore, The whole deal will cost you more than a new camera!

Without really looking into it, I can think of at least 3 or 4 repairers in UK who will work on mechanical cameras and a couple who will not touch electronic ones and not even AF lenses - the spares are just not available. If you are ever stuck for a repairer get in touch I will send their names.

 

[koraks]

It is theoretically possible to keep a mechanical camera going indefinitely.

The same is true for an electronic one.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Don't forget about JJ Tubes from the Slovak Republic. The invasion of the Ukraine put a stop to the Russian manufactured, American distributed tubes, but somehow they're now allowed back into the west.

At least now in mid-2023 in USA, you can buy all types of audio vacuum tubes (valves). A genius electronics fellow in Michigan overhauled my Scott 299 integrated amplifier for me. We ordered most of the tubes, specifying matched ones where needed. Some were Sovtek tubes.

 

[Sirius Glass]

It is theoretically possible to keep a mechanical camera going indefinitely. I think that is the appeal. The practicality of the matter is something else entirely.

The same is true for an electronic one.

However reality takes over hence components, cables, sockets and board go bad.

 

[CMoore]

Don't forget about JJ Tubes from the Slovak Republic. The invasion of the Ukraine put a stop to the Russian manufactured, American distributed tubes, but somehow they're now allowed back into the west.

Stuff is manufactured all over the world.
Do you not like Mike Matthews or EH for some reason.?

 

[toadhall]

Stuff is manufactured all over the world.
Do you not like Mike Matthews or EH for some reason.?

I don't like Russia for a very specifc reason.

 

[Frank53]

We heard it over and over again:'keep your mechanical cameras; at least they can be still repaired if something goes wrong. My experience, including a recent Nikon FM failure, is quite different:It is actually very hard to find a repair service for old mechanical cameras. And if you should be lucky enough to find one, hope not to need spare parts, because there are none. Furthermore, The whole deal will cost you more than a new camera!

OM-Doktor in Hamburg is still repairing Olympus camera’s and seems to have enough parts to keep on doing so. He has cla’d and repaired several camera’s for me over the years and recently cla’d my 1974 OM-1 and replaced the non-functioning lightmeter, all at very reasonable prices. He must be 80 now, but I read in an interview that he is educating a younger person now.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

After discussing this with top Hasselblad repair people, I've ben told this is not at all true.

The, what about the shutter?

 

[koraks]

However reality takes over hence components, cables, sockets and board go bad.

Only for the irreplaceable ones. And "in theory" those IC's don't break. Just like "in theory" the mechanical camera keeps running forever.

What I'm saying is that the preference that shines through the statement I responded to is entirely arbitrary.

It's a matter of taste, ultimately. And people will go through great lengths to justify their taste, even though it isn't necessary at all.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

About 15 years ago, when analogue photography was nearly dead and every body got rid of their 'old stuff' and jumped on the digital train, I bought a second used Hasselblad 500C/M, a Planar 80mm and a Distagon 60mm for less than twice as nothing, and an A12 for free.
Then I got these CLA'd and keep them now as a spare set, and have it 'working' once a month to keep it in good shape.
My more extensive and initial set is used regularly...
Anyway, when eventually all spare parts are gone, I can take the most worn for cannibalizing (which would be sad but inevitable)...

BTW, this is what a friend, living in France, does: he has 6 Citroën traction avant but only one is in full working order, 4 are donors and one is waiting for a spare part to be found...

This makes total sense to me and gives me a good excuse to explain to my wife why I need to keep all those non-working cameras.

 

[jeffreyg]

About thirty years ago I ran across the set of 1953 baseball cards and some other memorabilia that I collected as a kid. They had not cost me anything because I would return soda bottles for neighbors who didn’t want to bother. The local market would exchange packs of bubble gum with the cards for the deposit money. I sold them and bought a Hasselblad with the 80mm, 150mm and 45degree prism. Out of curiosity I checked the value of the cards that are now worth over $27,000.

I have added another body and several lenses and other accessories to the kit since and enjoy using the equipment

Whatever the value of my equipment is it hasn’t appreciated as much as the cards. Check your attic you never know what might be in it.

 

[eli griggs]

I was driving on one of the busiest highways in the country yesterday and mentioned to my son that it's amazing what the car industry has managed to do. You look around now at any of the 100s of cars that are driving around you and almost none of them are more than 10 years old. But 30 years ago, you would normally see over half of them were over 10 years old and a large portion of them were over 20 years old. They've becomes so reliable. ... Are "reliable" and "disposable" synonyms?

The Auto standard of the then, "rare" 100,000 mile car was destroyed by Reliable Japanese autos, that got 200,000 - 300,000 miles, or more, routinely, in the 1980's on to today.

Remember the Mercedes Grill Badges from 50,000 miles on up, so long ago?

Japanese and Swedish Quality controls did a lot to push others to meet their minimum standards, in both autos and cameras.

IMO.

 

[Chan Tran]

I don't like Russia for a very specifc reason.

You can buy Golden Dragon tubes from China. They are regarded as the best.