Learning DIY good idea ?

[srtiwari]

Even tho' film cameras and lenses are losing value, I hope to continue to use the equipment as long as film remains available. (As I am in my mid-50s, this shouldn't be too unlikely !) Since the cost of repairs will also rise (smaller market), and may quickly be higher than the value of the equipment, it will feel foolish to send in for repair/CLA etc. (I imagine that fully functioning equipment as well as parts will also be scarce). So I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to buy some tools, accumulate some extra parts, and try and learn to fix these babies oneself. I am not too "mechanically-challenged", can invest in some tools at this time, and have always wanted to tinker with cameras. Also, I am referring mainly to Rangefinders, and I own Rollei 35s, Leica Ms, Canon RFs, Konica s2s and Hexar AFs.
So, I am interested in knowing whether most people on this forum would consider this a reasonable plan with hopes of becoming somewhat skilled at taking care of a majority of common equipment problems and CLA, or is this a foolish notion ? Is there anyone who does repair their own stuff ( not counting commercial repair shops, of course) ?

Subhash

 

[PaulDalex]

Hello Subhash
this has been my own concern too in the last few years. I keep accumulating tools, planning to buy service manuals, backup bodies, in the sense of for parts, and I did so far some very minimal repairing (fortunately sometimes it is the case: e.g. a blocked camera because the electrical contacts do not work anymore). But looking forward to more serious work is a big headache. It is scaring too. At least for me. On the other hand there will be soon no other alternative. There is also another factor. I would trust e.g. Mark Hama for its fame, but I never trusted to send a camera to the local branch of the manufactured. Fortunately in the very few cases that I needed it, I ended trading the camera. Also because I have very little free time the very few shoots I can afford are divided in many bodies, whose mileage is necessarily low.
Regards
Pistach

 

[lmd91343]

Subhash,


I have learned some DIY stuff. But I've only done it on FEDs and old ZI lenses. You need the tools, materials, and a camera or two to take apart and put back together. I'd be afraid to try anything more expensive. However I've done a good job on a handful of FEDs. I would never touch a more expensive camera! I am taking the back-up route, getting multiple of each of the things I like.

I live in L.A. Even though I expect the camera repair people to leave the business, I think there will always be some in town for the rest of my life.

-Lance

 

[StuartR]

If you want to do it for fun, I would say go ahead and enjoy it, but if you are doing it out of a perceived necessity, I don't think it is a good idea. There is always going to be someone out there who can fix them, you might just have to send them out somewhere. Parts are another story, but I imagine that it is not a huge problem. Leica has guarateed parts for the MP for 30 years, so that should mean that most of the parts for all M cameras should be available for a long time to come.

 

[srtiwari]

I think of it a bit like the car repair business. Most people (me included) don't even change the oil myself, though there are many people who do some maintenance and report it being "not all that difficult". Interestingly, both you gentleman have done some repairs without any real horror stories. Maybe its worth trying to overcome the fear, and carefully doing more. You can always put all the loose parts in a bag and send it for repairs, since its not likely you would attempt this on something that didn't require some work anyway. 😀

 

[pvdhaar]

I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is obtaining the right parts. You may even need to canibalize cameras to re-build others. That would be okay if there's a supply of broken cameras that all have different defects, but that's not really probable. Most cameras of a particular brand/make fail at the same weak point. So the first thing to check out would be to verify that the cameras that you're going to repair have primarily a common failure mode in generically available parts.