most frequent camera repair

[laptoprob]

Inspired by another thread I realised what are the most frequent repairs our beloved cameras need?
Thinking mostly of technical repairs. Not reskinning, painting etcetera.

My M2 jammed recently because of a torn shutter. Torn off of the metal edge. This probably means curtain replacement.

[Steve Bellayr]

Foam deterioration is no. 1 for me with meters being second.

[kully]

Foam for me too. Not limited to old cameras either, had it go in my < 8 month old R2a.

[haagen_dazs]

frame patches misalignment

[PeterW]

Most of my leaf shutter RFs have needed a shutter CLA to get the slow speeds anywhere near accurate. So far, most with focal plane shutters have always worked OK. I have had foam seal problems but only, it seems, with Japanesae compact RFs. The foam on these often turns to sticky goo.

PeterW

[laptoprob]

So the - now - relatively big portion of shutter repair or adjust is mainly because of leaf shutters?
And foam is in the last category.

[nikon_sam]

I only have RF's with Leaf Shutters and all of them at one time needed to be cleaned (oily)...I learned with the first one how to do this and just did all the rest when I got them and when they needed it done...Image focus alignment and seals would be second...

[Wayne R. Scott]

Cleaning of leaf shutters is by far my most common repair. It is not limited to rangefinder cameras, also included are tlr's and large format leaf shutters.

Second most common repair would be foam replacement.

Third would be focal shutter speed adjustment.

This is just from my limited experience in having cameras repaired.


Wayne

[Bryce]

My repairman knows me by name, but that's just because he's good that way.
Seriously, my repair list in the last 5 years or so goes like this-

New foam- 2 very old Pentax slr's and my Mamiya c330 needed it. I did two myself, had the other done professionally.

Shutter repairs- Only one. Mamiya TLR lens was getting a little slow, repaired professionally.

Rangefinders- Mechanism became sticky in Fuji GS645s, repaired professionally.

Winding mechanism- Bessa L. Should have gone to the shop, but a new one only cost $99 at the time. I ruined it before finding a screw had come loose...

FP shutter, holes burned in- FED 2, liquid electrical tape failed to do the job. Lost interest.

[john neal]

Foam, possibly followed by Yashica G series Pad of Death replacement

[pvdhaar]

My Bessa-T had its shutter and advance mechanism broken, all in one go. The Bessa-T seems to be paricularly sensitive in this department given the number of times threads about it have popped up..

My Leica M4 is plagued by bits falling and breaking off.. nothing that I couldn't handle, though I've had to kitbash a lens release catch from scrap metal..

[mike goldberg]

I have two Fed-2's with moderately smooth film advance. Shutters fire with a definitive "thwack." Further, I wonder about accuracy of top speed of 1/500? Thus, shutter adjust gets my vote. Bessa R & M2 are, thankfully, OK.
mike

[oftheherd]

In my case of cameras bought new or that worked when I acquired them it would be foam replacement first. I think I've only had one shutter go bad; my 65mm for my Super Press 23. That will require a professional repair. I took a look and it is beyond me.

[FallisPhoto]

Light seals and dirty shutters (usually dried lubricant) hands down. One kind of goes with the other.

[maumau]

Hello! i stumbled upon this site because i currently have an open-case olympus cheap camera, but i want to know if there is somewhere on the web a photo manual as how/where to apply some silicone lubricant so the shutter runs smoothly again.

thank you!

[The Fondler]

For me it is replacing the leather.

[Mael]

As a camera repair, the main reason customers send me their RF cameras is for shutter curtains replacement, especially Leica screw mount, Canon RF and Zorki/Fed stuff.

[Dean C Williams]

Having done about a dozen curtain replacements on Canon rangefinders over the last year, along with a few for Exaktas, Leica, etc., that would be near the top of the list in my little shop. Leaf shutter cleaning takes the #1 spot, though. RF adjustment and cleaning runs around 3rd place. I don't really think of foam replacement as a repair. Just a messy job.

[Photon42]

Shutter problem on a F2. It released sometimes when I advanced the film. Was fixed but unfortunately shows now up again. Need to talk to the repairman.

LCD bleed on F4. Don't care yet.

Refoaming and adjustment on both of my F2 cameras by the time I bought them.

FM2 now works for 25 years almost. Looks really used but does not want to show any problem yet.

[DrLeoB]

Most of what I have seen in the last 2 years has been damage caused by film fragments or other foreign objects in the curtain path or mechanism.

There is also a fair number of knitting/crochet needle induced failures....:)

[JohnTF]

Usual CLA and RF mirrors on older Leicas, and I had three Nikon shutter failures, in one a leaf actually became detached and flopped around, two new SLR bodies, one fast the other slow. You can guess which got the slides and which got the C41.

Film chips in the shutter, a Canon needed a factory clean out.

Kievs, just keep the repair shop on speed dial, shutter and film advance, same for Pentacons.

Contax G2, manual focus did not function, and could not change the film speed back to DX. Factory took care of it.

And, Feds, several with holes in the shutters, I read someplace about a kind of paint you could dab on the holes, never found it.

Had a beautiful 28mm M mount Minolta, fungus looked like measles, I had bought it new.

Lots of old fixed lens RF's with sticky and slow shutters.

Murphy lives in my house.

That said, the Leica under my name was just tested and everyone seems to work.

[ZeissFan]

Replacement of foam applies almost entirely to Japanese cameras. It's very uncommon to find light-seal foam in a German camera.

Not to bash the Japanese, but they took shortcuts -- and continue to take shortcuts -- in designing the film backs. A proper design requires no foam and still blocks light.

I've had to replace the foam in every one of my Japanese cameras, no matter how inexpensive or costly the camera is. The foam in the small Konica 35 often has been the worst, turning into a mushy goo.

Other foam has dried and crumbled and made its way into the viewfinder.

Regarding leaf shutters, all of them (Japanese, German and American) have needed to be serviced.

Rangefinder adjustment is very common, and that generally is accompanied by a routine CLA that includes cleaning the viewing system. As always, watch out for the semi-gilded mirror.

Of my cameras, the Agfas have nearly always exhibited two problems, and most people here know what those are: Stuck helicals and pinholes in the plastic bellows. Agfa's choice of these materials leaves much to be desired.

I've been using a small Crayola fabric marker to fill pinholes in shutters. It works great, because the shutters are still pliable, and the holes are filled.

[newspaperguy]

Occupational hazard? My gear spends too much time banging around on the floor of my old truck. Loose screws are my most frequent repairs.

Only serious repairs - complete shutter replacement Canon 7, ditto Bessa R.

[micromontenegro]

I've spent many hours CPR-ing old selenium meters. Lotsa fun

[rxmd]

Foam for me too. Not limited to old cameras either, had it go in my < 8 month old R2a.
I'm surprised that there is a foam light seal in the R2a! I don't think there was one in my R - I'd assume that the Japanese should have the art of making light traps figured out by now...

Philipp

[JohnTF]

I've been using a small Crayola fabric marker to fill pinholes in shutters. It works great, because the shutters are still pliable, and the holes are filled.[/quote]


Sounds like the answer to my Fed/Zorki litany of "holy" shutters, though I am not familiar wit Crayola fabric markers, would one find them at an office supply?

Regards, John

[LADP]

The 1st M3 I bought needed a CLA overall, but it definitely had shutter speed problems. Don @ DAG made it as good as new.

I just received a new (to me) M3, that looks to need rangefinder focus patch adjustment. The images are not aligned vertically. I suspect the shutter speeds could use some adjusting too. Also, the rewind isn't as buttery smooth as the one that Don did the CLA on, so I imagine that will improve too. I've sent an email out to Don to see if he can take on my CLA at the moment.