ABC (Australia) news segment about film camera repair

[Freakscene]

Simplistic, but nice to see the issue being covered.

Marty

 

[Richard G]

Very interesting. Thanks. Fascinating that it’s Perth. That museum and the enthusiasts do resonate with my two trips to Perth where I found the best source of fountain pens and vintage model cars.

I’ve just had my IIIf serviced to work like new. My M2 was never as good as when it was serviced in 2007. My M6 had one minor frame counter problem and will likely avoid the need of a service a few dacdes or more yet.

I agree the problem for that service company will be the volume of new customers. Springs seem to be the part that can sink a repair, the right size and tension. A Rolleicord was mentioned. Otherwise the classic faux probity of the ABC, not stooping to advertising, meant we did not learn which camera will last for decades more or what camera the music photographer uses. Not to worry: the young man at the end assures us it’s all going to be fine.

 

[Duofold RF]

Due to the declining volume of film camera repairs and the shrinking number of service providers, fewer and fewer newly trained technicians are entering the field. Film camera repair now faces not only a shortage of parts but also a severe lack of well-trained specialists—an issue particularly acute with models like Contax rangefinder cameras.

 

[phofseth]

For cameras and lenses from the former DDR one does at least have Andrea Schønfelder at Photo Olbrich who can managw even early "vwat pocket" Exaktas and their early Zeiss Jena lenses as well as somewhat more recent Meyer Optik and "VEB" stuff plus some western products. The issue of missing parts (and nothing lying around in the old part bin) is of ourse still a problem.

The west German Leitz (where once i had my IIIc treated by the trainees in the HauserTorwerk )sold most of their parts to the Paepke repairers and only does work on their newest products. So just like veteran cars and everything else from the past, skills and parts disappear unless enthsuiasts continue to foot the necessary bills.

p.

 

[Dralowid]

It would seem that the classic car world has the money and has the scale to support the business of re-manufactured car parts though some may be substandard.

I suspect the same does not apply to cameras.

 

[Coldkennels]

That's going to depend a bit on the nature of the part and the desirability of the camera, @Dralowid.

Making parts for a Leica III - well documented, relatively simple construction, fairly desirable camera? Easy with the right tools and know-how, makes sense economically.
Making parts for a Leica M3 - well documented, more complex construction, very desirable camera? Not too much harder or more unlikely if it comes down to it.

Making parts for an Anscoflex? Yeah, not happening. Not desirable enough, not documented enough.
Making parts for a Contax G1? Also not happening. Desirable enough, but too complicated and too many microelectronics.

I was watching a fantastic video about a guy rebuilding his dad's old motorcycle completely from scratch last night. In it he said the biggest thing he learned from his dad was that if someone built it, he should be able to take it apart, fix it, and put it back together. Same thing applies here: as long as the original parts were made by a machinist and not a robot, it wouldn't be too hard to recreate them if you have the tools, the drawings (or reverse-engineered ones), and the know-how. Once you get into the era CAD/CAM and automated production and assembly, you're pretty screwed.

 

[phofseth]

I might add that Novoflex still makes parts available to connect equipment they made in the 1960es to recent cameras. Som time ago I bought a Nikon Z adapter for my Pigiff C and today I got a rapid response for assistance and bought a cable to connect with the Z remote release contact (so that I can use it with the lenshead (from Leitz))

Conclusion: Novoflex will supply ancient pieces adapted to current conditions.

p.

 

[Duofold RF]

Many Leica M3 parts are shared with the current production of M.

 

[justins7]

What's crazy to me is that camera repair is not only a lucrative field but there are plenty of young people who would be good at it. What other fields are there that are relatively AI-proof, hands-on and consistent? This is similar to the watch industry; they have now expanded training programs in Switzerland for this reason, although obviously there's way more money in watches.

I'm in New York City and one of the only repair places left that I know of in Manhattan (Nippon) is expensive and always busy. I've had to send my cameras instead to California. Last year I also found a repair shop in York, PA and he was stacked to the ceiling in repair jobs stretching into months and years.

You would think they could figure out a training program for young people, especially since all the other jobs out there are rapidly disappearing or stink.

 

[Duofold RF]

The camera repair job market is highly uncertain. It’s extremely difficult to succeed as a general practitioner—repairing cameras from every brand—because there simply isn’t enough workload to sustain a living in today’s high-cost society.
I sincerely hope someone could be trained to take over CONTAX rangefinder repairs while Henry was still with us.

 

[armadsen]

The camera repair job market is highly uncertain. It’s extremely difficult to succeed as a general practitioner—repairing cameras from every brand—because there simply isn’t enough workload to sustain a living in today’s high-cost society.
I sincerely hope someone can be trained to take over CONTAX rangefinder repairs while Henry is still with us.

Unfortunately, Henry Scherer is not still with us. He passed away about a year ago.

There are other people that can still repair Contax rangefinders, though.