Unrepairable camera :(

Well, it looks like I have my first broken camera that's unrepairable. I've reached out to all of the Nikon repair folks that I can find and almost all of them have said that the stuck shutter in my Nikkormat FT-3 cannot be repaired because there are no parts available.

APS had the camera for a while but couldn't track down the parts. Midwest, Zack's and Nippon PhotoClinic all said they don't work on the camera because no parts are available. Dave Easterwood said he might be able to repair it but I've been reading some less-than-encouraging reviews of his service (cameras not being returned, etc.) so I'm reluctant to send the camera to him. I reached out to Blue Moon and haven't heard back yet, but I'm guessing it will be much the same story. I thought about reaching out to KEH but haven't heard much about their camera repairs, and I'm not sure it's worth anymore time trying to get this camera fixed.

Despite it being pretty mint cosmetically, it looks like this Nikkormat might now be a parts camera. Bummer. I'm wondering how many more time bombs I have sitting on my shelf. Frankly, it's making me reluctant to buy more vintage film cameras - except, possibly, Leicas for which (most) parts are still available, despite the lengthy repair times currently being cited.

Maybe it's just my current downer mood talking, but I don't think lack of film is going to be the downfall of analog photography, I think that lack of parts for repairs might eventually do it in instead.

Have you tried Steve's in L.A.?

Sorry. It is a fact of life for a number of cameras nowadays. The Pentax LX is another fine camera being hobbled by lack of parts. The last LX repair I had done was only possible because I had a parts camera for the tech to use.

AnselMortensen said:

Have you tried Steve's in L.A.?

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.... or Dean's in Torrance, CA

logan2z said:

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Maybe it's just my current downer mood talking, but I don't think lack of film is going to be the downfall of analog photography, I think that lack of parts for repairs might eventually do it in instead.

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There are plenty of Nikkormat FT-3's in the world. If this one isn't fixable, there will be another that is...

The FT-3 was one of the first cameras made by Nikon with an electronic shutter. It wasn’t in production for very long before the FM arrived. It’s not too surprising that after forty years parts for it have become scarce.

madNbad said:

The FT-3 was one of the first cameras made by Nikon with an electronic shutter. ...

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You may be thinking of the Nikkormat EL ?
The Nikkormat FT-3 is essentially an AI'd Nikkormat FT-2. Both have a mechanical shutter.

It's always a good idea to buy a parts body in the present repair situation,. I have one for both my Canon F1n's and New F1's, although I haven't needed to use them yet it gives me some piece of mind.

BradS said:

You may be thinking of the Nikkormat EL ?
The Nikkormat FT-3 is essentially an AI'd Nikkormat FT-2. Both have a mechanical shutter.

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Yup, all mechanical.

BrianShaw said:

.... or Dean's in Torrance, CA

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I've tried so many I've started to lose track. But I don't think I've tried Steve's or Dean's yet. I'll give them a call, thanks for the suggestions.

Any camera now going on 50 to 60 years at some point will need a part. If an mechanical shutters fails due to broken part it can be fixed if the owner is willing to hunt down a small parts machining firm that is willing to make a one off part and the owner is willing to spend the money. In the case of a Nikkormat FT-3, what is the cost of repair vs. cost of replacement? In the past I paid for repairs that exceeded the cost of replacement, in addition to the repairIi had the camera CLA and others issues taken care of. Last was a Chinon CE3, and tech had a rather new parts cameras in a bin for close to 20 years. The pervious owner dropped it and badly dented the top of prism. As the years go by I am more willing to replace. Rather than an Nikkormat FT-3 how about a F with working meter, or FM, FM2?

Paul Howell said:

In the case of a Nikkormat FT-3, what is the cost of repair vs. cost of replacement? In the past I paid for repairs that exceeded the cost of replacement, in addition to the repairIi had the camera CLA and others issues taken care of.

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The estimate I received from APS was quite a bit more than the replacement cost of the camera. But I gave them the green light to perform the repair anyway as the camera is in great cosmetic condition and buying an equally old replacement with an unknown history wouldn't necessarily avoid an equally costly repair down the road.

Paul Howell said:

Rather than an Nikkormat FT-3 how about a F with working meter, or FM, FM2?

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I already have a plain prism Nikon F as well as an FM, so I'm not really wanting for Nikon SLRs. Just bummed that the FT-3 is broken and may be destined for doorstop status.

If the FT-3 is very similar to the FT-2, I might have one or more partial parts cameras that would help you out. I got a box-o-parts a while back that included two working FTn and an FT-2, plus multiple parts bodies (I think at least a couple of each model). What I'm unsure of is whether I can reliably identify which parts bodies are which, but PM me if you're interested.

We like to believe that mechanical cameras can be repaired infinitum - that replacement parts can be easily (and inexpensively) "machined". We even pretend (and preach) that mechanical cameras are some how more repairable than electronic. but, as the experience here demonstrates, parts is parts. It doesn't really matter if mechanical or electronic, if the the parts needed to effect a repair or not available, then the repair is generally not economically feasible.

"Economically feasible" is the real issue in most of these cases. Metal (or even plastic) mechanical parts can be fabricated, but it's so expensive to do so that it's not worth the effort.

BradS said:

We like to believe that mechanical cameras can be repaired infinitum - that replacement parts can be easily (and inexpensively) "machined". We even pretend (and preach) that mechanical cameras are some how more repairable than electronic. but, as the experience here demonstrates, parts is parts. It doesn't really matter if mechanical or electronic, if the the parts needed to effect a repair or not available, then the repair is generally not economically feasible.

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Very true. And the term 'bulletproof' is often bandied about when talking about Nikons and other all-mechanical SLRs - maybe due to the story of Don McCullin's bullet-stopping Nikon F But they do break and, in some cases, can be difficult to repair.

I guess I was naive/hopeful thinking that nearly any problem with a mechanical camera could be dealt with in one way or another. One thing that kind of surprised me is that nobody said they'd be willing to repair the camera if I could find the necessary parts. Maybe that went without saying and, quite honestly, I didn't suggest that route to them, but most repairers I have spoken with have flat-out refused to take the camera in.

Donald Qualls said:

If the FT-3 is very similar to the FT-2, I might have one or more partial parts cameras that would help you out. I got a box-o-parts a while back that included two working FTn and an FT-2, plus multiple parts bodies (I think at least a couple of each model). What I'm unsure of is whether I can reliably identify which parts bodies are which, but PM me if you're interested.

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Thanks for the kind offer Donald. I'm reaching out to a couple of other repair shops today, but if that doesn't prove fruitful then I may contact you about your parts cameras.

Yeah, I was thinking of the EL. I owned a ;ot of Nikkormats but never had a FT-3. I thought the only difference was the change to enable Ai mounting.

madNbad said:

Yeah, I was thinking of the EL. I owned a ;ot of Nikkormats but never had a FT-3. I thought the only difference was the change to enable Ai mounting.

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The change from the Ft2 to Ft3 includes AI coupling and Silver Oxide battery instead of Mercury. So if you have the Ft3 you don't have to worry about getting the right batteries. My bad the Ft2 already run on Silver Oxide batteries.

Donald Qualls said:

"Economically feasible" is the real issue in most of these cases. Metal (or even plastic) mechanical parts can be fabricated, but it's so expensive to do so that it's not worth the effort.

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Exactly the same is often true for electronic parts of course. The function could be duplicated in modern parts, sometimes quite easily, but it is very much not economically feasible.

There are a lot of Nikkormats, they are not very expensive, and most of them have working shutters. I would say the meter is more likely to go than the shutter; the shutter seems very reliable compared to many cameras of similar age.

Sometimes fixing a camera could mean reforming a bent or jammed part rather than full replacement, but from a repair person's point of view, it's not worth the time to open up the camera if you don't have a fairly good chance of success. So they are likely to decline the repair. When cameras like this were new, the repair manual advice for fixing a shutter was to replace the entire shutter unit. You can't do that any more, and (unlike some other cameras) a Nikkormat isn't so expensive that many people would be willing to tear it down to repair individual parts.

I think a lot of people on this forum might own more cameras than they do rolls of film at any single time (except for those with dedicated freezers). That may put some context on the idea that we're in danger of soon running out of film cameras.

Quick update: I just received the camera back from APS. Strangely, the shutter no longer seems stuck and the film advance lever is no longer jammed and does re-cock the shutter. However, something is still clearly wrong as the shutter seems to only fire on a very slow speed, no matter what the shutter speed ring is set to. Not sure if that means that the camera might be salvageable. At this point I may just chalk it up to experience and sell the camera for parts.

Did APS declare it beyond reasonable economic repair or unrepairable?

That’s too bad because it’s a nice camera. I used one for work in underground mines back in the 1980s. Reliable and bulletproof, so to speak.

Regarding the OP's reference to Blue Moon, I noticed yesterday that repairs are no longer on their website menu (except for a "Repair FAQ" at the bottom of the homepage, which appears to be a relic). Disappointing as I have a Nikon F2 that needs a little work (and the best-known repair person is not taking new repairs until next June).

An Ebay Nikon FT3 will set you back as little as $75.....all the way to $199 for a clean boxed one. Likely less than any complex service on a broken one....