The Dark
Established
My Hasselblad 500CM shutter malfunctioned recently and to make things worse, I have to drive 300km to get it repaired by the ONLY person able to repair Hassies in my country.
Going to be very, very careful next time
Going to be very, very careful next time
Bobbo
Well-known
For my own stuff, foam. For a "real" repair shop, impact damage (mostly from from drunk people dropping their cameras down a flight of stairs/out the car window/into the bar's toilet).
Vics
Veteran
You asked for "most frequent" I voted for transport, because my most frequent has been the film transport on my Rollei MX. Even Harry has his hands full keeping that wonderful camera running (knocking on wood here)!
ColSebastianMoran
( IRL Richard Karash )
For me:
Yashica RFs: POD on all the Electros.
All Japanese cameras: foam light seals decaying over time.
In general: things coming loose. Loose front element in a 135mm f/2.8, for example.
Leaf shutters and irises: slow, sticky, or a blade getting lost or out of position.
Stupid things I've done: dropped camera is #1. Left batteries to corrode has happened.
But, on the whole, my SLR and MF cameras have been remarkably trouble free. With a car, I'm seeing the shop more than once a year. With computers, maybe once a year. With my cameras, I'm seeing the shop maybe once a decade.
Yashica RFs: POD on all the Electros.
All Japanese cameras: foam light seals decaying over time.
In general: things coming loose. Loose front element in a 135mm f/2.8, for example.
Leaf shutters and irises: slow, sticky, or a blade getting lost or out of position.
Stupid things I've done: dropped camera is #1. Left batteries to corrode has happened.
But, on the whole, my SLR and MF cameras have been remarkably trouble free. With a car, I'm seeing the shop more than once a year. With computers, maybe once a year. With my cameras, I'm seeing the shop maybe once a decade.
Moriturii
Well-known
Shutter. Leica's shutters hold up to general standards for a long time but with very loose tolerances (1/5 shutter accuracy at best, 1/3 accuracy at high speeds, that means your exposure might be a third off). Prone to dragging, bouncing, burning holes in shutter etc. It's a dinosaur.
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
Definitely cleaning leaf shutters. And I need to learn how to do this, but they are intimidating. I hit my knees and offer thanks to the rangefinder gods when the camera in question provides access to adjust the RF without removing the top cover.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
and associated impact damage??
I've had more shutter repairs than anything- an F4 and an FE2 years ago and more recently a CL, an M7 and a G2. I've had two meters need help an M7 (a stop off) and an MP with some electrical problem. Had to get a repair on a Copal 3 once too.
I have a Mamiya TL1000 that my father used forever taking all our family snaps. I remember him getting it new in Puerto Rico in 1967 or 8. It's well brassed and has a few dents now. I've been using it for the last few years as a demo camera in my Photo 1 classes. It needs shutter work but my regular SLR guy won't touch these anymore.
Benjamin Marks
Veteran
I haven't voted, mostly because the way the question is posed, it is hard to know what the results mean. If you have a community of folks who are using 40 year-old cameras, what does it mean that a shutter needs a tune up?
For example, in general, all of my cameras are reliable. I have a shutter tester that lets me measure the accuracy and repeatability of most of the shutters in most of the cameras I own (the LTM Leicas being the the big exceptions). More useful information would be something like the mean time between failures of your cameras. With Leica M's it seems to run in decades (two shutter replacements and one circuit board out of 8 M's over 20 years, 6 of which I still own). With Nikons it is about the same (one shutter replacement (F4) between 1991 and 2010 out of 7 cameras, all but one of which I still own). One Rolleiflex with a jammed film transport out of 2 cameras owned for 15 years. One jammed Hassleblad lens out of three bodies and five lenses over 25 years. Oh and a Hassie wide with a slow 1 sec shutter. Cameras that have never broken: Two Pentax K1000s over five years; one Pentax LX over three years (although the rewind crank fell off once and got lost); Pentax 67: one body four lenses over 25 years, numerous LF cameras and lenses over 20 years (although I did have a sticky Linhoff/Compur shutter that was 35 years old cleaned) and a Wisner 5x7 that arrived new from Ron Wisner all fouled up; 6x7, 6x4.5 Fuji rangefinders, Olympus Pen, etc. etc. You see where I am going with this? Without plotting the failures on a time axis, or knowing how many cameras the responder has, what does it mean that foam seals are the most common complaint? If I own only 1 camera and the only thing that goes wrong with it in 40 years is that the foam seals need replacing once, it hardly means that the camera is unreliable or that the foam was defective. Similarly, if you have more cameras than sense (as I do) and you aren't using the gear enough to stress it, a lack of repairs doesn't necessarily mean that the gear is reliable, it just means that you aren't getting anywhere near the equipment's failure rate (and aren't likely to).
Ben Marks
For example, in general, all of my cameras are reliable. I have a shutter tester that lets me measure the accuracy and repeatability of most of the shutters in most of the cameras I own (the LTM Leicas being the the big exceptions). More useful information would be something like the mean time between failures of your cameras. With Leica M's it seems to run in decades (two shutter replacements and one circuit board out of 8 M's over 20 years, 6 of which I still own). With Nikons it is about the same (one shutter replacement (F4) between 1991 and 2010 out of 7 cameras, all but one of which I still own). One Rolleiflex with a jammed film transport out of 2 cameras owned for 15 years. One jammed Hassleblad lens out of three bodies and five lenses over 25 years. Oh and a Hassie wide with a slow 1 sec shutter. Cameras that have never broken: Two Pentax K1000s over five years; one Pentax LX over three years (although the rewind crank fell off once and got lost); Pentax 67: one body four lenses over 25 years, numerous LF cameras and lenses over 20 years (although I did have a sticky Linhoff/Compur shutter that was 35 years old cleaned) and a Wisner 5x7 that arrived new from Ron Wisner all fouled up; 6x7, 6x4.5 Fuji rangefinders, Olympus Pen, etc. etc. You see where I am going with this? Without plotting the failures on a time axis, or knowing how many cameras the responder has, what does it mean that foam seals are the most common complaint? If I own only 1 camera and the only thing that goes wrong with it in 40 years is that the foam seals need replacing once, it hardly means that the camera is unreliable or that the foam was defective. Similarly, if you have more cameras than sense (as I do) and you aren't using the gear enough to stress it, a lack of repairs doesn't necessarily mean that the gear is reliable, it just means that you aren't getting anywhere near the equipment's failure rate (and aren't likely to).
Ben Marks
Shutterspark
The perpetual new guy.
For me it would be rangefinder calibration, but I tend to do that myself.
Aside from physically damaged cameras, I've only ever sent off for shutter curtain replacement and the odd cleaning.
Aside from physically damaged cameras, I've only ever sent off for shutter curtain replacement and the odd cleaning.
mikemc_photo
Established
Other side of the Bench....
After 20 + yrs on the bench the number one (amateur) body repair was liquid damage followed closely by impact damage.
Pentax H series thru the K1000 would lose mirror tension , after a "bump" and then jam, pull 4 bottom cover screws, reset lever onto latch, release and go.
Keep good care of the tool, and they will last forever, if exercised and USED on a regular basis
After 20 + yrs on the bench the number one (amateur) body repair was liquid damage followed closely by impact damage.
Pentax H series thru the K1000 would lose mirror tension , after a "bump" and then jam, pull 4 bottom cover screws, reset lever onto latch, release and go.
Keep good care of the tool, and they will last forever, if exercised and USED on a regular basis
_goodtimez
Well-known
Most of the old cameras I purchased required a solution to a slow speeds problem. I have realized that this is in most cases due to improper storage conditions (too much humiditiy or inside the leather case).
Those identical cameras I had purchased a long time ago when they were almost new had never require any maintenance, some are more than 30 years old, a proof that the bad storage conditions are one important killing factor.
Those identical cameras I had purchased a long time ago when they were almost new had never require any maintenance, some are more than 30 years old, a proof that the bad storage conditions are one important killing factor.
farlymac
PF McFarland
I've worked on a lot of old leaf shutters, and besides a modicum of dirt from over the years that needed to be cleaned out of the gears, the other thing is someone "lubricating" the works.
DSCN2064_2c by br1078phot, on Flickr
PF
DSCN2064_2c by br1078phot, on Flickr
PF
Vintage35
Established
Sticky focus helical, leaf shutters stuck, filthy VF/RF is the norm for my leaf shutter RF's, focal plane usually needs curtain tension adjust. usually over-tensioned prior to me getting it, a good cleaning and I have to 'back-off' the tension.