c/camera-repairers

Tried cleaning a 70s lens haze with a homemade mix and it went sideways

Got this old Pentax 50mm in last week with that classic yellowed haze from age. Instead of my usual pro cleaner, I thought I'd try a trick I read about online, a mix of white vinegar and distilled water. Figured it was gentle, right? Well, after letting it sit for a few minutes, the haze didn't budge, but the vinegar seemed to react with something in the cement. It left these faint, cloudy rings between the elements that I couldn't polish out no matter what I tried. The lens is basically a paperweight now. I guess the lesson is that old glues and coatings can be a real wild card, and sometimes the old school methods are too simple for a complex problem. Ever had a 'gentle' fix totally backfire on vintage glass?

Just fixed a stuck shutter on a 1972 Pentax Spotmatic that sat in a closet for 20 years

The owner brought it in last week saying it was a lost cause, totally frozen. I spent a few evenings carefully cleaning the old, gummy grease off the slow speed escapement with a tiny brush and some lighter fluid. After the third cleaning pass, the whole timing train just started moving again, and now the shutter fires perfectly at all speeds. It's a small thing, but seeing that old mechanism come back to life after two decades feels really good. Anyone else get a kick out of reviving these old mechanical timers?

Overheard a guy at the parts counter say 'just glue the mirror box, it'll hold' and I had to walk away

Pro tip: I was cleaning shutter blades wrong for years

I was working on a Pentax K1000 last week, the kind with the vertical metal shutter. I always used a cotton swab with a bit of lighter fluid, wiping each blade individually. A guy at the camera swap meet in Portland saw my kit and said, 'You know, you're just pushing the gunk into the pivot points.' He was right. I switched to using a soft brush to lift the crumbly old grease off first, then a clean swab. The shutter speeds are way more consistent now. Has anyone else had a basic cleaning habit they had to unlearn?

Just found out how many shutter parts are in a basic 35mm SLR

I was cleaning an old Minolta X-700 for a friend and got curious. I looked up the service manual online and counted every single piece in the shutter assembly. There are 47 separate parts. Forty seven. Just for the shutter. I always knew it was complex, but seeing the exploded diagram with all those tiny springs, gears, and levers laid out was something else. It made me respect the design a lot more, even on these common cameras. I found the manual on a site called Learn Camera Repair. Has anyone else ever taken the time to count the parts in a common repair job? It kind of changes how you see the whole machine.

Had a vintage Nikon F shutter spring snap right in my hands

I was working on a clean F body from 1971, trying to adjust the slow speed escapement. The tiny mainspring for the second curtain just gave out with a sharp ping. I had to order a custom replacement from a guy in Germany who still makes them, cost me 80 euros and took three weeks. Anyone know a better source for old F series springs in the US?

Had a shutter curtain jam on a Leica M3 in the middle of a job

Was working on it at my bench in Tacoma. The second curtain just stopped dead. Took me an hour to see a tiny spring had slipped off its post inside the drum. Had to make a special hook tool from a paperclip to get it back on track without taking the whole top plate off. Anyone else have a trick for those tiny M3 curtain springs?

Serious question, I used to clean shutter blades with a tiny brush and lighter fluid, now I use a $40 ultrasonic cleaner. When did you switch?

Just heard a customer at the counter say 'it's just a loose screw, how hard can it be' about their F3's mirror box

That attitude is why I end up with a box of parts and a $300 repair bill when they bring it in after trying to fix it themselves.

I mean, I dropped $80 on a 'professional' lens spanner wrench set and the tips bent on the first stiff filter ring.

Hot take: I thought ultrasonic cleaners were a gimmick for camera parts until this old Leica

A customer brought in a Leica M3 last month that had shutter capping so bad you couldn't see through the viewfinder. The usual cleaning methods with rodico and lighter fluid did nothing. My boss, who's been fixing cameras in Chicago for 40 years, told me to run the whole curtain assembly through the ultrasonic tank with his special solution. I was sure it would wreck the delicate silk, but after a 10 minute cycle at 40 kHz and a careful dry, the curtains looked brand new and the timing was perfect. It completely changed my mind on using tech I didn't fully understand. What's one tool or method you guys were wrong about at first?

A young guy brought in a broken Polaroid SX-70 and asked me to teach him how to fix it.

He was maybe 20, found the camera at a yard sale in Portland. Said he wanted to learn, not just pay for the fix. I showed him the basics, how to open the shell and check the motor gear. He watched everything, asked about the tools. Then he said, 'I want to know how things work, not just use them until they break.' That stuck with me. We spent an hour going over the simple stuff. He left with his camera working and a list of parts suppliers. It was a good change from the usual drop-off jobs. Anyone else had a client who actually wanted to learn the repair?

A stripped screw on a Leica M3 taught me to check my tools first

Last month in my shop, I was working on a customer's Leica M3 and a tiny screw on the film advance stripped out. I realized my go-to JIS driver was worn down from years of use. I ordered a new set from a supplier in Chicago and the next job went smooth. How often do you all check your screwdrivers for wear?

Shoutout to the old school repair manual for a Pentax K1000

I followed its guide to clean the mirror box with lighter fluid, a method from the 80s. The fluid ate right through a plastic gear inside, something the manual never mentioned. Anyone know a safe modern cleaner for that job?

Unpopular opinion: My $15 Harbor Freight spudger versus the 'proper' nylon ones

I fought with a stuck Nikon F3 film door for an hour with the fancy tool, then popped it in two seconds with the cheap metal one. The extra stiffness made all the difference. Anyone got a better tool for old, stubborn plastic catches?

A customer tried to fix his lens with a glue stick

He brought in a 50mm f/1.8 with the focus ring completely stuck. When I opened it up, I found bits of a purple glue stick jammed in the helicoid. He admitted he saw a 'hack' online about using it for a loose part. It took me two hours with isopropyl and a plastic pick to clean it all out without damaging the threads. Has anyone else had a DIY fix go this wrong walk into your shop?

TIL a vintage Polaroid SX-70 can survive a full week in a car trunk in Phoenix heat

A customer brought one in, said it was left in their trunk for a week in 110 degree weather. The leather was warped and the battery pack was toast, but the actual film mechanism and shutter still worked after I cleaned it. Has anyone else seen a camera take that kind of abuse and still function?

That time at the Midwest Photo Expo changed my mind on using canned air

I was at a repair booth in Columbus last year and watched a tech blast a vintage Nikon F2 mirror box with canned air, sending a tiny spring flying into the abyss. Everyone acts like it's the safe go-to for dust, but that moment proved it's a gamble with old, complex mechanisms. Now I only use a hand blower for initial cleaning on anything pre-1990. Anyone else have a hard rule against canned air for specific gear?

Just realized that ultrasonic cleaner I got for $80 actually works on sticky shutter blades

I thought it was just a gimmick for jewelry, but it freed up a stuck blade on a Minolta X-700 in under 10 minutes. Anyone have a go-to cleaning solution mix they prefer for these?

A customer in Seattle told me his camera was haunted by a ghost

He brought in an old SLR that would randomly fire the shutter, and swore it only happened when he was alone in his darkroom. I opened it up and found a tiny piece of brass flake from the shutter mechanism bouncing around and shorting the contacts. It took me an hour to find it, but the look on his face when I showed him the 'ghost' was priceless. What's the weirdest 'supernatural' camera problem you've ever solved?

I finally gave up on my old method for cleaning shutter blades after a $200 mistake last month...

Shoutout to the old timer who told me to use a toothpick for that tiny screw

He said 'trust me' when a lens mount screw on a vintage Nikon stripped, and it actually worked to get enough grip. What's the weirdest tool trick you've ever been given that actually saved a repair?

I always thought lens fungus was a death sentence until this old Canon FD

Had a guy bring in a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 last month, front element looked like a spiderweb. Usually I'd just say it's toast. But he really wanted it saved, so I spent an hour with a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and household ammonia on a cotton swab. Cleared about 90% of it off, no etching on the glass. The coating was fine. Now I keep a bottle of the mix in my kit. Anyone else find a good way to tackle bad fungus without wrecking the coating?

I was fixing a Leica M3 in a tiny shop in Portland and a customer's story made me rethink everything

This guy brought in his granddad's M3, said it was used to take photos during a protest in the 60s. He didn't want it cleaned up to look new, he wanted it to just work again, keeping every scratch and dent. I mean, I'm used to making things perfect, you know? Getting all the brassing polished out. But he said the marks were the story. So I did the full CLA, replaced the shutter curtains, but I left the body alone. It changed how I see my job. Now I ask people what the camera's history is before I even open it up. It's not just about making it factory fresh, sometimes it's about keeping the story alive. Has anyone else had a client change their whole approach to a repair like that?

The mirror box on this old Nikon F2 was a total mess when it came in...

Customer brought it in saying the viewfinder was dark and the shutter sounded wrong. Opened it up and the foam around the mirror box had completely turned to sticky black goo, all over the mirror and the focusing screen. That was two days ago. Cleaned it all out with isopropyl and a wooden pick, then replaced the foam with fresh stuff from a kit. The difference is night and day... viewfinder is bright and clear, shutter sounds crisp. How do you all deal with that old, degraded foam? It seems like every camera from the 70s has this problem now.