Why we repair camera equipment

[Andreas Thaler]

Sometimes, I swear I can hear the camera exhale and relax; happy to be back from the dead...

What did the camera see in the afterlife? Did she say anything about it?

 

[Chan Tran]

Most repair/service technicians charge $200-$300 to fully service a mechanical camera (my price is typically $200 plus parts, if required). Some who work on things like Rolleiflexes or Hasselblads may charge $400 or more. I’d like to say that I make a living wage doing this, but I don’t: this pays slightly more than $15 an hour. Only those who charge significantly more than I do are “making a living” doing it.

A small percentage (less than 5%) of my clients decide that it’s “not worth it” to get their camera serviced/repaired, and that’s entirely a personal choice. If a client has a personal connection to the camera (many do), then cost isn’t as much of an issue, since they plan on keeping and using the camera. But some people pick up a camera for $25 at a thrift store on a whim and they have far less interest in spending $200 or more to get it back into good condition. I don’t blame them for feeling that way - they’re not particularly invested in the device. Maybe they figured they would get it serviced and then flip it to make some money, but realize the odds of recouping the money is slim once they’ve paid to service it. I can understand not wanting to go that route either.

It will almost always be true that the cost of properly, completely servicing a camera will be close to, or greater than the value of the camera. But the vast majority of people who invest in servicing a camera are not doing it with reselling it for profit in mind.

I totally agree with you and thus if I have a camera that is still working fine (checking the shutter speeds, the exposure meter) I would not send it to someone for a CLA. Because if you do a proper job it would cost way too much compared to the value of the camera. Many said they can have it done for something less than $100 then I am very suspicion of what the repair person actually does. So if I have a broken camera I would try to fix it and in the process I may totally destroy it but that's fine because to me for the most part having someone repair it simply not economically sounds.

 

[VinceInMT]

A lucky man!

As far as I know, training to become a camera technician no longer exists, only training courses from manufacturers for current devices.

This is not surprising. One of my sons went through a 2-year automotive technician training that led to a very good job and career path for him however, they never saw a carburetor.

 

[kl122002]

What did the camera see in the afterlife? Did she say anything about it?

Speaking of these kind of camera... I actually have a set of Mamiya C330 that was from a local estate auction.

I was young , stupid and bravely got this in unlimitedly low price (5000 yen!) with 3 lenses and accessories. I wasn't aware that people were avoiding to bid at that time.

So far there is nothing real bad has happened to me, but everytime when I am using it I feel being watched and stalked for sure. Now the camera is at the box, sealed, and I just don't want to take it out .

 

[guangong]

After reading contributions to this thread, those who do their own camera repairs get a kick out of it. There needs to be any other reason.

 

[VinceInMT]

After reading contributions to this thread, those who do their own camera repairs get a kick out of it. There needs to be any other reason.

Why?