Best Camera to learn repair from

micromontenegro said:
Same here. I started with Rolleiflexesand don't regret it. They are great teachers!
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Well, if you're going to start wtih TLRs, I think I'd say Ciroflexes. They'll teach you how to deal with rust, repainting, screwed-up home repairs (they all have them) and locked-solid bolts too. All this for 1/10 the price of a Rollei.
 
the TX is like the FTb but lamer- all the things I like about the FTb are not present. no DoF preview, no MLU, no grey box for metering...

I'm stuck on my spotty, the wind is a grind, I can't seem to make the speed selector stuff go back on... grr...
 
climbing_vine said:
The Brick is good for seeing what the very basics are, but realistically it isn't going to teach you much. If you want to work on something that has all the "modern" essentials of the last 70 years (shutter cocking on film advance, frame counter, auto-aperture) without a lot of other confusing extras, I'd suggest a Pentax K-1000. I found it a very good introduction. And they can be a satisfying one too, since you can pick up ones with a jammed shutter for free or peanuts and they're almost always easily fixable.
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You have to bear in mind that you are almost certainly going to screw up your first repair if it is anything BUT the very most basic camera. and you also need to remember that if you are buying one to learn how to repair cameras and not just to repair a broken camera and sell it, you are going to be taking it apart. You crawl before you walk. The thing about a C3 is that if you screw up, as you probably will, you probably won't break anything and can just start over. An SLR is not a good camera to learn repair with because
1. They are a lot easier to break. Take your finger and poke your shutter curtain with it a couple of times if you don't believe me.
2. They are complex enough that the beginner can easily get intimidated or bogged down and then give up. If a beginner does anything but the very most basic and obvious repairs to them, he will almost certainly ruin the camera, and that will probably be his last repair attempt.
3. They require complex tools, such as a shutter timer (needed for retensioning the shutter curtains) and a volt-ohm meter (for testing circuits).
 
dmr said:
LOL, if you want a baptism by fire in camera repair, try a Canon QL17 GIII. :)

I speak from experience. :)
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Agreed, and mine's not a parts camera after that first repair experience. It wouldn't have been possible without a bit of help from the users on this site, though.
 
FallisPhoto said:
You have to bear in mind that you are almost certainly going to screw up your first repair if it is anything BUT the very most basic camera. and you also need to remember that if you are buying one to learn how to repair cameras and not just to repair a broken camera and sell it, you are going to be taking it apart. You crawl before you walk. The thing about a C3 is that if you screw up, as you probably will, you probably won't break anything and can just start over. An SLR is not a good camera to learn repair with because
1. They are a lot easier to break. Take your finger and poke your shutter curtain with it a couple of times if you don't believe me.
2. They are complex enough that the beginner can easily get intimidated or bogged down and then give up. If a beginner does anything but the very most basic and obvious repairs to them, he will almost certainly ruin the camera, and that will probably be his last repair attempt.
3. They require complex tools, such as a shutter timer (needed for retensioning the shutter curtains) and a volt-ohm meter (for testing circuits).
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This is all true. I still think that starting with a Brick might be a nice way to build confidence, but not much else. The works really don't resemble anything built after it. It was for all intents and purposes the last of its kind, and (this is just my personal opinion) it doesn't teach you much of anything that you'll need for the SLRs and rangefinders of the last half-century-plus. Those latter cameras have a lot in common, and I think a basic, minimum-electronics one like the K1000 (or maybe something truly all manual like a pre-Spotmatic Asahi Pentax or equiv. from other manufacturer) are a great intro.

But, yes, the Brick may be a good way to build confidence and get familiar with the very basic concepts of what a camera body does (if you don't already know). I'd suspect though that even after a few successful Brick rehabs, a person either will or won't have the patience for the next, much different step and that C3 experience won't be a significant factor.

But I might be full of it. :)
 
climbing_vine said:
But I might be full of it. :)
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Dear Brian,

THIS IS NOT AN INSULT. Rather, the exact opposite.

Never trust anyone whose vocabulary does not include the words, "I could be wrong."

I've just been repairing a Contessa Nettel Deckrullo from the 1920s. If you don't repair cameras often -- and I've been doing it on and off for 35+ years -- then REALLY BASIC cameras are a periodical useful reminder, not least for 'Why the hell did they do it that way?"

Cheers,

R.
 
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