What was your last piece of equipment that died and how did it die?

Cholentpot · Jul 9, 2025

I'm sitting here holding my seemingly dead EF 35mm 2.0, I think it's just gone. Short of sending it out for a costly repair I think It's time to admit that it's dead. Autofocus doesn't work and it's causing my cameras to throw errors. I'm not sure how it died but it was gradual.

Everyone has something that goes kaput and either it dies in a way where it's obvious that it's not coming back, like when my Lubtiel II threw its entire lens mechanism out into a bunch of pieces. It's just not worth fixing at that point.

What was your last piece of gear that gave up?

retina_restoration · Jul 9, 2025

My FM2 with the “honeycomb” titanium shutter. One day I fired the shutter and the shutter blades just mangled themselves. I didn’t know until fairly recently that this was a problem with this shutter design.

Donald Qualls · Jul 9, 2025

Several of my older (1950s-1960s) cameras, like my Bantam RF, and Olympus Pen EE-S2 have sticky shutters. Some of those I've previously cleaned, but apparently I didn't get all the residue off the shutter blades -- and I don't have a work space where I can disassemble a shutter at present.

koraks · Jul 9, 2025

Nothing comes to mind...don't jinx it!!

Cholentpot said:
Short of sending it out for a costly repair I think It's time to admit that it's dead.

Don't throw it out just yet. It may very well be reparable. If it were my lens, I'd start digging, but I'm not afraid of microelectronics. These lenses are generally pretty rugged.

Cholentpot · Jul 9, 2025

retina_restoration said:
My FM2 with the “honeycomb” titanium shutter. One day I fired the shutter and the shutter blades just mangled themselves. I didn’t know until fairly recently that this was a problem with this shutter design.

Oof. That sounds sad.

koraks said:
Nothing comes to mind...don't jinx it!!

Don't throw it out just yet. It may very well be reparable. If it were my lens, I'd start digging, but I'm not afraid of microelectronics. These lenses are generally pretty rugged.

I don't have a good repairs track record. But I'll google the issue and give it yet another go.

Rick A · Jul 9, 2025

A Nikon F4S that didn't want to behave. I sat it on a quarter pound jar of Tannerite and blew it into itty-bitty pieces. Boy did that feel good!

warden · Jul 9, 2025

My beloved Contax G2 (years ago). It developed brain rot, resulting in the occasional silence when I pushed the shutter button. Nobody could fix it.

abruzzi · Jul 9, 2025

My Konica Pearl III. Its not totally dead, but it has a light leak I haven't been able to chase down. Aside from the "light tight box" issue it actually works great.

Cholentpot · Jul 9, 2025

abruzzi said:
My Konica Pearl III. Its not totally dead, but it has a light leak I haven't been able to chase down. Aside from the "light tight box" issue it actually works great.

MY AE-1 has a leak I can't track down. I just tape up the back when I shoot and it seems to work.

abruzzi · Jul 9, 2025

Cholentpot said:
MY AE-1 has a leak I can't track down. I just tape up the back when I shoot and it seems to work.

The bellows on the Konca has bookbinders tape on pretty much all the exposed folds of the bellows, so, right now I think it is an issue somewhere on the door on the back. The bellows problem is I haven't found anyone selling replacement bellows or doing repair on these cameras. I'm not sure why, when on eBay I can find brand new bellows for a lot different MF folders.

Alan9940 · Jul 9, 2025

Not a camera, but my beloved Aristo VCL4500 system for my Beseler 4x5 enlarger started acting wonky recently. No way that I'm aware of to get it fixed, either.

eli griggs · Jul 9, 2025

My much loved Canon F-1 AE N(ew) has a frozen shutter returned, a result of too rapid firing/recocking fooling around.

Along with my 500CM and Leica analog CL, it's my prime shooter, top of the heap, and I'm not able to have it repaired.

I still have my older F-1 n cameras, and am glad for that, but I really love the later F for it's feel and meter, especially for photographing action or life in general.

Chan Tran · Jul 9, 2025

I don't know as recently too many of my gear went dead.

Pioneer · Jul 9, 2025

Most of my gear is chugging along pretty well. I had my Leica III repaired at the end of last year for a burn hole in the shutter but unfortunately I don't think that is all that unusual.

I inherited a Pentax MZ-S which is being looked at right now to see if the shutter can be revived. I have my fingers crossed since it is a perfect match for my Limited lenses.

Paul Howell · Jul 9, 2025

Sigma 17 to 50 2.8 in Sigma mount lost AF. Called Sigma repair center, no longer repairing this lens.

Donald Qualls · Jul 9, 2025

abruzzi said:
The bellows on the Konca has bookbinders tape on pretty much all the exposed folds of the bellows, so, right now I think it is an issue somewhere on the door on the back. The bellows problem is I haven't found anyone selling replacement bellows or doing repair on these cameras. I'm not sure why, when on eBay I can find brand new bellows for a lot different MF folders.

That might be a regional limitation. Steve O'Nions (YouTube photographer) apparently had no trouble getting his Pearl III repaired in Liverpool as of about five years ago.

I'm also pretty sure there are some out there offering custom made bellows -- not cheap, but if you *want* or need a new bellows for a camera that suits you well, it's something to consider.

Arthurwg · Jul 9, 2025

Most recent was my Nikon F6, which went haywire and had to be sent to Nikon USA for repair. Among other things, it received a new circuit board and now works as new, at a reasonable cost. Still, it's a fully electronic camera, a long way from a Nikon F so it probably won't last forever.

Cholentpot · Jul 9, 2025

Pioneer said:
Most of my gear is chugging along pretty well. I had my Leica III repaired at the end of last year for a burn hole in the shutter but unfortunately I don't think that is all that unusual.

I inherited a Pentax MZ-S which is being looked at right now to see if the shutter can be revived. I have my fingers crossed since it is a perfect match for my Limited lenses.

I just got one of those a rebuilt and customized MZ-3 a little while ago, found a guy who puts in new gears and stuff. The Pentax Autofocus later stuff is overlooked, probably due to internals crumbling but when you have a working one they're wonderful cameras. I'm using a 40mm flatcake lens on mine.

eli griggs said:
My much loved Canon F-1 AE N(ew) has a frozen shutter returned, a result of too rapid firing/recocking fooling around.

Along with my 500CM and Leica analog CL, it's my prime shooter, top of the heap, and I'm not able to have it repaired.

I still have my older F-1 n cameras, and am glad for that, but I really love the later F for it's feel and meter, especially for photographing action or life in general.

My F1 (New) is a bit finicky at times. Really could use a tune-up but it'll have to get in line. I'm looking for a motordrive/assist for mine to unlock the functions that come along with it.

Chan Tran said:
I don't know as recently too many of my gear went dead.

I started this thread because I figured so many cameras and older gear have to be going, might as well commiserate together when one goes.

Europan · Jul 9, 2025

A client came by today to fetch a lens I had tried to salvage in vain. Kaputt, to be more precisely, the rear group of the RX Switar 10-1.6 is corroded firm to the focusing back. There is lacquer over the threaded rings which brought me to assume the lens once (or repeatedly) was brought from cold into the warmth where air humidity condensed to water that would be sucked up by the porous lacquer. Brass, nickel, lacquer, brass, a perfect electric element for cold soldering named intercrystalline corrosion.

He put down a Bolex H-16 SBM that wouldn’t budge. Mainspring completely wound up. Not even spring disengaged and release freed I was able to turn with a crank. So with his consent I removed the finder tube, then the front. Gave oil on various gears and began to help them in both directions. A little movement was there but all of a sudden life came back to the zombie. The speed dial was at 64, it didn’t want to turn, too. More trying and aiding until the governor must have come free. The spring could run down over a number of halts and jumps, already quite fast naturally.

I measured the flange focal distance. 0,05 mm too long. Finally I attempted to clean the double prism which went rather well. There are still some traces of fungus but I promised him to be able to remove them all during an overhaul. So half enchanted, half deceived he said he wanted to think things over calmly. Of course, I responded, take your time. The poor thing is worth 400 Euro, if you want to sell the body. At the most. I suspect he payed about 2000 for it together with a 16-100 zoom, an Yvar 150 and the 10 mm. What died here is a lot of money.

4season · Jul 9, 2025

Cholentpot said:
I'm sitting here holding my seemingly dead EF 35mm 2.0, I think it's just gone. Short of sending it out for a costly repair I think It's time to admit that it's dead. Autofocus doesn't work and it's causing my cameras to throw errors. I'm not sure how it died but it was gradual.

Maybe a ribbon cable needs replacing, or something has become fouled with debris? It's likely failing some power-on self test routine.

I inherited some autofocus compact cameras with various problems. The best is a Canon which likely just needs a new plastic gear. The others (Olympus, Nikon) I'm not as sure about, but I think of the 1990s as plague years, not just for capacitors, but for certain plastics as well.

Cholentpot · Jul 9, 2025

4season said:
Maybe a ribbon cable needs replacing, or something has become fouled with debris? It's likely failing some power-on self test routine.

I inherited some autofocus compact cameras with various problems. The best is a Canon which likely just needs a new plastic gear. The others (Olympus, Nikon) I'm not as sure about, but I think of the 1990s as plague years, not just for capacitors, but for certain plastics as well.

Welp, I took off the mounting ring (again) and fiddled around poking here and there and put back together. And now it works.

I can't even.

This lens is giving me trust issues. I'd almost rather if it just out and out died.

Kino · Jul 9, 2025

Not photographic, but a very expensive Netgate router got zapped last night by a lightning strike, taking out my WAN port but not my modem.

Today was occupied with trying to reinstall my old modem/router to get back some service and had fight the AI interface on Xfinity which as replaced humans as support.

I am fit to be tied...

mcfitz · Jul 9, 2025

Six weeks ago. My Minolta X-300, given to me by a friend many years ago when she was disposing of her late father's photography gear.

The film advance lever moves freely but does not advance the film. I suspect a small bit of broken plastic is likely the cause, given the age of the camera and use it has had.

It was very reliable for a long time, I'm not surprised at this, but sorry it's reached the end.

wiltw · Jul 9, 2025

A number of years ago, after Canon announced discontinuance of service support of the 5D (classic), in the middle of a shoot it failed to wake up after going to sleep. It was brain dead, and I sent it in for repair at an independent camera repair. They put in a new brain (motherboard) and sent it back to me fully functional.

abruzzi · Jul 9, 2025

Pioneer said:
Most of my gear is chugging along pretty well. I had my Leica III repaired at the end of last year for a burn hole in the shutter but unfortunately I don't think that is all that unusual.

I inherited a Pentax MZ-S which is being looked at right now to see if the shutter can be revived. I have my fingers crossed since it is a perfect match for my Limited lenses.

Is it the shutter or the infamous mirror gear? There is some discussion of the plastic mirror gear on all the MZ cameras over on Pentax Forums. I have an MZ-S that still works (though I rarely use 35mm at the point.) It is probably the only AF camera I have liked using. Most of them are too big. The MZ-S fits in my hand perfectly, and the way it handles auto metering (the UX for it) is perfect

What was your last piece of equipment that died and how did it die?

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