The reason why I'm (trying to) doing some camera repair projects

[Laurent]

I think this has already been discussed but anyway, I just wanted to share some thoughts about camera maintenance as a hobby.

I started by a simple project: replacing covers for a F1 that fell on the concrete. At the end, I've got my F1 repaired and a spare camera that was (and still is for the moment) not working properly so I tried to do something for it. Since I'm currently reovering from a burnout, that gave me a nice derivative.

So I bought some more cameras for fun, and I had some fun as well as some less fun when things do not go right. Most of these cameras came and went, as I sold them to reduce the herd and get some of my money back. I do not want to do the maths as it would be depressing if I wanted to make money based on the time I spent.

But it dawned on me this week, as I'm in a Yashica mat 124 restoration project, that the real interest for me is empowerment. The simple feeling that I can dismantle the camera to the last piece if I want, and getting it back to work afterwards is really the motivation behind this. Realizing I was able to properly fix a Copal SV shutter by removing all the parts so that I could remove the ton of oil someone had put in there (almost litteraly, there was oil every-bloody-where) and have it back to work (with a very satisfying "snap" when it opens and close) is absolute delight.

Next step, I guess, will be when I'm able to remake a broken part (my son already wants me to use the milling machine to rebuild one of the plates that hold the back and the strap eyelet... Afterwards I guess he can teach me how to make a new gear)...

I hope the Yashica will be back to work soon, and will try to publish the project here.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Burnout is no joke—please be careful. I’ve experienced it myself, and it was a harsh lesson. I’ve learned from it, but I’m still way too active.

That said, fixing SLRs is a wonderful pastime that can really consume you. Have fun with it, and take care of yourself! I’d love to hear your stories

 

[Tel]

Laurent--well done! I have been tinkering with simple camera repairs for a decade or more, so when covid came and I was housebound for weeks I decided to take a dive into that to occupy my mind. Thanks to a great post here from Robin Guymer in Australia, I figured out how to open up a Nikon F2 and make some serious repairs. I bought several broken ones on ebay and spent many satisfying days making them work again. As you say, some are bound to be failures (like one I bought that had fallen into salt water) but the satisfaction from the ones that actually worked properly when I was done with them was very therapeutic indeed. I've since gotten pretty good with Autocords and several of the 4x4 TLRs and even a couple of Nikon S2 cameras.

There is nothing more satisfying than the snap you describe when a shutter you've rescued behaves properly or the smooth advance of a camera whose gears don't jam anymore.

 

[mshchem]

Well done! Just remember that in most cases cameras are tools, sometimes they wear out and need to be shelved for parts.
I like the empowerment factor! Give it a try. I recently tried to fix an old Hasselblad, it required more than I could handle. I was so pleased that I could recase the body, didn't harm anything and sent it to KEH who had it good as new in about 2 weeks time.

Meanwhile I was able to get both of the accompanying A12 backs functioning properly by myself. That was rewarding and saved me a couple hundred bucks,