c/camera-repairers

Cheap ultrasonic cleaner ate my shutter blades, $85 gone

Picked up a no-name ultrasonic cleaner off Amazon for $85 to strip old grease off a shutter assembly. Ran it for 10 minutes in the included solution, which I now think was way too aggressive for brass blades. When I pulled the shutter out, the blades had pitting and a hazy film that no amount of swabbing would fix. Had to source a donor shutter from a parts body for $40. Anyone else had a cleaner damage delicate parts, or is there a safe solution ratio for this kind of job?

A customer's sharp quote about my CLA pricing made me rethink everything

I had a guy bring in a beat-up Canon AE-1 last month, and after I quoted him $180 for a full clean and lube, he just laughed and said 'for that money I could buy two of these on eBay.' It stung because he was right, the camera was only worth like $120. Since then I've been offering a basic $95 service for older mechanical bodies that skips the shutter speed calibration, and honestly it's brought in way more volume. Has anyone else had to adjust their rates just to compete with the used market?

Tried the ultrasonic cleaner on a stuck shutter, turns out it was the wrong move

Got a beat up Canon A-1 in from a client last Tuesday in Portland. Shutter was sticking at slow speeds, so I figured I'd run the whole body through my ultrasonic tank like some guys do. Big mistake. The solution got into the meter cell and now the light meter reads like a broken clock. I spent 4 hours carefully cleaning out every nook with isopropyl and a soft brush, and it's still wonky. Meanwhile, I remember an old timer told me to just exercise the shutter mechanism with a blower and some lighter fluid on the escapement, takes 20 minutes. Did that on a second identical body and it worked perfect. So yeah, ultrasonic is great for lenses, but for shutter assemblies, keep it dry and mechanical. Anyone else blow up a meter doing the tank method or am I the only one who learned that the hard way?

The $15 lens spanner that beat my $120 set, still confused about it

Picked up a cheap spanner from a local shop near Portland last month just for a quick helicoid job, figured it would flex and strip like every other budget tool I've tried. Instead it gripped the retaining ring clean on the first pass, no slipping at all, while my expensive set kept sliding on the same ring. Anyone else found that the cheaper knockoffs sometimes have better hardened tips than the name brand ones?

The ultrasonic tank that ate my shutter blades, switch to manual cleaning

For 7 years I trusted my ultrasonic cleaner for every part, until last spring in Portland when it wrecked a set of Copal blades on a Nikon FM2. The cavitation was vibrating the tiny screws loose and flecks of dried lubricant landed right on the shutter curtain. Now I only use the tank for lens groups and do all mechanical parts by hand with a fine brush and lighter fluid. It takes twice as long but I've had zero comebacks since April. Has anyone else seen ultrasonic damage on older focal plane shutters, or is my unit just too aggressive?

The retired Canon tech who told me I fix cameras the wrong way

Last week a guy dropped off a beat-up AE-1 for a CLA and stayed to chat. He spent 40 years at a Canon service center in Chicago, and when I mentioned I clean shutters with lighter fluid, he went quiet. He said I was making work for myself and handed me a jar of naphtha, told me to soak the whole assembly for 20 minutes instead. I did it on the next body and it took half the time, but part of me feels like I'm skipping the craft. Anyone else get a gut check from an old-timer and switch methods, or do you stick with what works?

Old timer said a shim stock shimmy was lazy work, he was right

Guy who's been repairing for 40 years watched me shim a lens mount at his bench, said I was making it worse. I got annoyed, but after 3 months the customer came back with a soft focus issue on that exact lens. Turns out his way, filing the mount face flat first, actually solves the root problem instead of just filling gaps. Has anyone else had a senior tech call them out and end up being correct, even when it felt like they were just hating on your method?

My brass brush wore down after 200 cleanings, that math hit me hard

I keep a log of every lens I service and just counted, that little $6 brush did over 200 jobs before it got soft. Found the number when I was tallying my year end parts costs in my shop in Portland. Anyone else track tool lifespan like that or am I just weird about my bench gear?

Hit 1,000 shutter repairs this week, but the numbers feel off

I passed 1,000 shutter repairs on Tuesday, but that count includes 214 from the last 6 months. Do you count the quick clean-and-lube jobs as real repairs, or just the ones where you tore the whole thing down? I'm starting to think my milestone is inflated, but maybe that's the point of tracking at all. What's your cutoff for a legit repair?

Three days on a stuck shutter magnet in an old Nikon F2

Picked up a beat up Nikon F2 from a flea market in Des Moines for 40 bucks. Shutter was firing but the mirror was locking up every few frames. I figured it was the usual foam or a busted spring, so I tore it down twice. Third time I finally took the magnet assembly apart and found a tiny film chip wedged under the contact plate. Took me three full afternoons, about 15 actual bench hours, to find a piece of trash the size of a flea. The worst part is I had the same issue on a Nikkormat back in 2009 and it took me two days then. You would think I would learn to check the magnet first. Anyone else got a recurring repair that humbles you every single time?

That $120 ultrasonic cleaner turned out to be a dust collector until I tried it on a sticky shutter

Three dead K1000s in one week got me questioning my bench setup

Had a brutal stretch starting last Tuesday where I pulled three Pentax K1000s with the same exact stuck mirror issue. Each one needed new foam and a CLA, but the second body had a mangled screw that ate 45 minutes of my afternoon. Got so frustrated I rechecked my workspace lighting and realized my bench lamp was casting a shadow right over the advance mechanism. Has anyone else had a run of identical failures like that, or did I just hit a bad batch from one estate sale?

Tried to fix a stuck shutter on a vintage Minolta and lost $80 on parts

A few months back I picked up a beat up Minolta SRT-101 at a garage sale and figured I could bring it back to life. I ordered a shutter curtain kit online for $60 plus $20 shipping, thinking I'd just swap it in over a weekend. Turns out the repair was way more finicky than any YouTube video showed, and I ended up bending a tiny gear in the process. Now the camera is basically a paperweight and I'm out the money plus a bunch of time. Anybody have tips for matching shutter speeds without dropping a ton on a specialized tester?

Spent $150 on a digital microscope and it paid for itself in one week

Bought a $400 lens cleaning kit that ruined my sensor

Thought I was being smart getting a professional grade cleaning kit online, but the swabs left residue all over my Nikon D750 sensor. Had to send it to a shop for a $150 deep clean anyway. Anyone else get burned by those expensive kits?

Just crossed 500 shutter repairs in 15 years, never expected it

I was going through my old logbook last night and added up all the shutter jobs I've done since 2010. Hit 503 total and it honestly made me stop and think about how many cameras have passed through my hands. Anyone else keep tally on their work or just me?

I finally stopped stripping wires with my teeth like a barbarian

Used to do it for years until I nicked a live wire on a Rolleiflex flash circuit and got zapped good. Now I just use a proper Klein stripper, has anyone else had a wake-up call like that on a simple habit?

Hot take: Isopropyl alcohol for sensor cleaning or just asking for trouble?

Last Tuesday I had a client's Sony A7III come in with a nasty oil spot on the sensor. I used a 99% isopropyl wipe like I always do and it worked fine, no streaks. But then a guy from a shop in Chicago commented on my Instagram that pure alcohol can damage the sensor coatings over time. He swears by those expensive sensor swabs with a special fluid. I've been doing it this way for 3 years without a problem. So which is it - am I being lazy or is he just falling for marketing hype? Anyone here had a sensor actually get wrecked from alcohol?

Debate: should you stick with factory calibration or trust your own eyes on a CLA?

I spent 6 hours chasing a focus ring issue on a vintage Canon that turned out to be minor grease hardening, not misalignment. How much time do you guys sink into old gear before calling it a lost cause?

Shoutout to all the people warning about cheap sensor cleaning swabs

I bought a 20-pack of those no-name swabs off Amazon for $12 and ended up with a greasy smear across my D750 sensor that took 3 tries to fix. Total waste of time and money. Has anyone else had bad luck with the generic brands?

Genuine parts vs generic: which way do you go on older cameras?

I had a Nikon FM2 come in last week with a broken shutter curtain. Genuine replacement was $85 and a week wait, generic was $20 and in stock. I went generic and the curtain hangs a half millimeter off, needs readjustment. Has anyone else had better luck with one or the other?

That $15 spanner wrench from Amazon was a total gamble

Bought it to fix a stuck retaining ring on a vintage Minolta lens and it snapped on the second use. Had to borrow a proper one from a buddy that cost like $40 and it worked perfect. Anyone else had bad luck with those cheap repair kits?

Had to choose between helicoil and epoxy for a stripped M42 mount screw on a Nikon F2

I went with the helicoil because I figured it would hold up better over time, but I was sweating the whole time drilling into that old brass plate and it came out perfect.

I tracked my repair success rate for 2024 and the numbers shook me

I keep a log of every camera that comes through my shop in Portland. I found out last week after tallying up the year that my success rate on shutter curtain repairs is only 68 percent. Turns out old cloth curtains on 1950s folders are way trickier than I thought. I was sure I was doing better than that. Has anyone else tried logging their numbers and found a surprise like this?

Pro tip: That $80 spanner wrench from Japan saved my rear shutter curtain repair

Honestly, I went back and forth for weeks on buying a proper spanner wrench for adjusting old leaf shutters. I almost got a cheap $15 set from Amazon but decided to drop $80 on a Japanese made set with adjustable tips. Ngl, it either saved me a ton of headache or it was a total waste depending on how you look at it. The cheap one I tried from a buddy would slip and scratch the brass adjustment rings every time. But with the good one, I dialed in a Wollensak Raptar in about 20 minutes flat without any damage. The thing is, a lot of guys online say you can just use a sharpened screwdriver or a bent paperclip for this kind of work. Has anyone else tried the cheap route and regretted it or are you still using homemade tools for shutter work?