First of all go find a good mechanic and stick to him for regular service. I have been using the same mechanic for 35 years.
Thanks for this Folkloric analogy involving a notoriously known shady business (car repair); and mechanics, who are widely accepted as misleading, fraudulent and unscrupulous.
The car repair business has to be the #1 ranked shady business on the planet. And if you ask me, the camera repair business (especially involving Leica) is #2. As someone already said, the Leica pedantry and wannabeism is a very expensive hobby, and the involved repairmen are scrubbing their hands.
I was thinking about starting a thread like this a few days ago. I finally took the Leica plunge and purchased a silver Leica M5 from a Japanese Ebay seller. It only arrived last Saturday but it looks and performs nearly brand new. I have 30 days return policy but so far so good.
First of all go find a good mechanic and stick to him for regular service. I have been using the same mechanic for 35 years.
Stop it! Must resist. I have a Rolleiflex SL66 that Harry Fleenor is tweaking at the moment. I also just took delivery of an Intrepid 4X5 (blue bellows), and a Contax S2. I'm done! But a Hassie...hmmm.Good for you! Enjoy it for many many years. ... Now about buying your Hasselblad ... <<insert laugh here>>
DAG fixed everything. Mechanics are like barbers/dentists/masseuses.. Once you find a good one, stick with them.
I've always enjoyed Dante Stella's word on the subject: https://www.dantestella.com/technical/cla.html
...... a tripod drove it into the ground after a 10 ft. fall.
I'm told the EU's EPA banned the arsenic or whatever it was they used in making and grinding lenses so that today's glass is lesser quality even if the contemporary process is more refined and controlled and can compensate. I'm no expert... so I don't know whether that statement has as much legs as the fellow in California that I'm quoting. I was referred to him by Zeiss... so I presume he knew his business,
... a generation... formally defined as 20 years. If in southern US a generation could change and be as short as 15 years."My proposal would be that owners stop automatically servicing cameras and, more importantly, stop talking about it. Service carries risk, and if you make it sound like Leicas fall apart spontaneously, you are hurting both the resale value of your own equipment and damaging the brand. By my rough count, about 80% of Leica owners engage in this behavior. Leicas, if treated properly and used consistently, should need servicing about once a generation - not once a year."
Is your car 35 years old?
"My proposal would be that owners stop automatically servicing cameras and, more importantly, stop talking about it. Service carries risk, and if you make it sound like Leicas fall apart spontaneously, you are hurting both the resale value of your own equipment and damaging the brand. By my rough count, about 80% of Leica owners engage in this behavior. Leicas, if treated properly and used consistently, should need servicing about once a generation - not once a year."
You need to see Michael at Samys Fairfax, he only does work that is needed. You are close enough, get in your car and drive over.
golden-age Nikon with non-decaying synthetic lubes
I think it's also that they went overboard with hard metal gears and cams that don't wear as quickly as the guts on most cameras. And look, it's not as if an F2 stays perfect forever. Mine makes a zipping sound when it cocks sometimes and you have to turn the dial slightly past 2000 for it to fire at 2000 without capping. It has a dirty or broken contact somewhere so that X sync doesn't work, while FP does. Still, it's the best camera I own in terms of professional features and shooting convenience.What is not clear to me is - why not use synthetic lube on CLA, and then you are good for lifetime, as you are with Nikon F2? I know for example that some use Nikon titanium shutter curtain in Leica M3, and in that way you are free from potential sun burns, and they last longer.
I know you're joking but I've seen some K1000's with busted shutters and pristine exteriors, signifying mechanical failure from regular use... they're so common that one way I make extra money is finding them in working shape for cheap, replacing the light seals and selling them for a little over 100 USD.Don't kid yourselves, Nikon cameras fail just like every other camera.
Leica fans drink the Leica koolaid.
Nikon fans drink the Nikon koolaid.
But it is all just koolaid. Nothing made lasts forever no matter who put their brand on the front.
When SHTF the only camera left running will be a Pentax K1000...
I think they do, at least for the last 20 or more years. I've had old lenses and a few bodies CLA and a long time ago and they still seem to work perfect. Then again see my comment about my M7. So who knows. I think the best answer is you have a camera you really like and have no plans on selling it then get a CLA when you have a few extra bucks.What is not clear to me is - why not use synthetic lube on CLA, and then you are good for lifetime, as you are with Nikon F2? I know for example that some use Nikon titanium shutter curtain in Leica M3, and in that way you are free from potential sun burns, and they last longer.
I know you're joking but I've seen some K1000's with busted shutters and pristine exteriors, signifying mechanical failure from regular use... they're so common that one way I make extra money is finding them in working shape for cheap, replacing the light seals and selling them for a little over 100 USD.
In all seriousness, I'm well aware that anything with moving parts wears out. Nikon pro SLR's from the 60's and 70's just have a reputation for wearing out more slowly than some other cameras of about the same price point, absent CLA's of any kine.
Yes, the srT series is famously reliable. Sometimes the slow speed timer seizes up, but I rarely see an srT with a shutter that won't fire at all. I have a 200 in working condition and I want to upgrade to a 202.You are partially right about the joking. I find it amusing when I read all these wonder stories about specific camera brands and their alleged longevity. I couldn't resist so I made a joking reference to my K1000 which has been reliably capturing photos for me since 1984.
My Mom gave me her Minolta SRT101 two years ago because she knew I enjoy photography. She bought that camera brand new back when I was in Junior High School and when she gave it to me she told me it might need to be cleaned because it had not been serviced since she bought it. I have used it a couple of times recently and it is still working wonderfully. Knowing Mom I doubt it has seen a lot of film go past its shutter so, unless the shutter starts to get unreliable, I'll probably exercise it a bit every year to keep it running.
My point, if there is one, is that most cameras built during the metal, mechanical, manual camera era are perfectly capable of running reliably for very long periods without any attention and it really doesn't matter who built it. If it makes you feel better to send your camera to a reliable repair technician to have it checked out, cleaned and lubricated then by all means do it. If you want to wait until something starts to show problems then don't worry about it. Most of these cameras will be repairable for a very long time assuming that there are repair technicians around that are willing to work on them.
As has already been mentioned, bad light seals and hardening lubricant is probably the main enemy for most of these cameras because it is doubtful that any of them are being used anywhere near as foften as their manufacturer's anticipated.
It is a tiny slit moving at great speed. Probably one of the greatest engineering challenges of the F2.I had an F2, perfect external condition, that even Sover Wong could not get it to time correctly at 1/2000 sec.
I've never had that issue on ANY of my Leica Ms....
I would be angry if this were not so funny. Just remember that three or four of us down here do have internet... still dialup, of course, but we're on to you!... a generation... formally defined as 20 years. If in southern US a generation could change and be as short as 15 years.
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