DIY repairs: Isn't that pointless?

[Andreas Thaler]

Namely when a photo device can only be partially repaired but not fully restored.

Isn't it a shame to waste the many hours of concentrated work if the camera, lens or winder cannot be used because the shutter does not work, the lens remains cloudy and the motor stops working?

Even though the film transport, aperture and rewind were successfully repaired?

End of line reached: The shutter will not be repairable. Is it still worth continuing to work on the camera?


That is a legitimate question,

because the point of a repair is to get something working again.

If it didn't work before the repair and it didn't work afterward either, why go to all the trouble, even if two out of three problems could be solved?


New level

I think this topic takes DIY repairs to a new level.

It is then no longer just about restoring a device, but about solving sub-problems, which in themselves represent individual projects.


Example: Power supply

For example, it is possible to restore the power supply to a camera.

This time, however, not through trial and error, such as changing the batteries, cleaning contacts or redoing soldering points on suspicion.

Instead, it is possible to measure the power supply with a multimeter in a targeted and systematic manner and thus find and correct the error.

Targeted measurements with a multimeter lead directly to the problem.


This allows you to use your electronics knowledge, perhaps even expand it, learn about the topic and gain know-how for future repairs.

Even if in this case the camera does not work despite the power supply being repaired because the shutter blades are irreparably bent.


It is also about finding new goals in DIY

The camera does not work after the repair, but it was possible to find out how the double-switched shutter contact works. This may help with a future repair project.


To improve, to learn for future repair projects and thus to find new meaning that goes beyond restoring a photo device.

---

Thanks to my Nikon F-301, which got me thinking about this topic

Nikon F-301: Shutter replacement

The top cover could be easily removed after loosening seven screws? Apparently the sliding switch wasn't an issue for you. But getting the c-clamp back in could be do to lack of room to manipulate it. I noticed that you didn't remove the circuit board to reveal the prism as I must do to...

www.photrio.com

 

[88E30M50]

This is an interesting topic. Typically, I would think that once a camera becomes inop in a way that cannot be easily fixed, it may continue to serve as a parts source to keep other cameras working. But, can imagine treating each issue as a separate system to learn from, even if the ultimate goal is not becoming operational again. My first A-1 parts camera sort of served in that capacity. I disassembled it down to removing the mirror cage, then reassembled it back to the original state just to get comfortable working with flex circuits that needed soldered. I learned a lot from that camera.

 

[BobUK]

I'm glad Doctors and other medical staff do not think along the lines of the original poster.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

This one is done I'm afraid.
In general, we all need to realize that even a fully-mechanical camera has a finite life and most of the cameras, built in the last century are close to the end of it; heavily used or stored and only admired (which may be worse), there isn't much life left in them or they are simply obsolete. The future will tell if mechanical cameras really last longer than electronic cameras, but one thing is for certain: even if we don't want to accept it,nothing lasts forever and at one point it's simply: RIP!

 

[Chan Tran]

I'm glad Doctors and other medical staff do not think along the lines of the original poster.

A camera isn't a person. If it takes too much to repair you better off dump it. You don't dump a person regardless of the cost.

 

[cmacd123]

one thing is that Cameras were made is serial production, so if one can find several cameras of the same type but with DIFFERENT faults, one can contemplate the old two into one trick. the shutter curtains in the first picture are TOAST, but perhaps the shutter (or even just the blades) out of a unit with a toasted meter, or de-silvered prism can be grafted into a working Camera

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

A camera isn't a person. If it takes too much to repair you better off dump it. You don't dump a person regardless of the cost.

And I pray my God every morning it stays that way.

 

[benderscameracorner]

There's always something to learn, if that's how you want to spend your time.

I 'wasted' an hour last night pulling apart a crappy Fujica 110 camera. I have no desire to ever use the camera and only own it because it came as a bundle with another camera I actually wanted (purely for nostalgia) but was curious as to why the shutter wouldn't fire. Surprised I could actually disassemble it with screws etc. I was rather amazed to see quite an intricate mechanical design for charging the shutter and a spring which wasn't attached to the thingy it was supposed to be! Now the shutter fires! There's still some weirdness with the film gate 'finger' that most 110 cameras use to track the next frame, but that's for another night.

It's actually been quite a fun process.... practicing trusting your instincts without the fear of messing up or being unable to reassemble a valuable camera. L plates, baby.... ;-)

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I'm glad Doctors and other medical staff do not think along the lines of the original poster.

What do you mean by that?

 

[Andreas Thaler]

What do you mean by that?

To be clear: I am writing here about cameras - technology - and not about people.

I attach importance to this separation for ethical reasons and so that the topic does not degenerate into something grotesque.

 

[Paul Howell]

To start with, you may not know that a piratical camera cannot be fully restored until you have taken it apart. On the other hand you enjoy the work, so even if the camera is beyond repair, taking it apart and fixing what can be fixed is just fun. The question will become, after you taken apart say 6 F3s will you still enjoy the process in and off it self to make it worth your time.

 

[Petrochemist]

DIY repairs vary widely.
Just wiping muck of the outside of a lens is one of the simplest forms of DIY repair, which can often restore the subject to fully working condition.
I've managed a few that were significantly more complex, sometimes ending up repurposing part of the original item when the entire thing was too far gone - extracting lenses from fixed lens cameras is a common example here.
Some of my awaiting projects are in all honesty beyond me - but when the item has no remaining value (such as a cheap zoom lens where working copies are not selling at £10) my practicing on them is harmless enough. Wasting hours on such projects is a learning exercise sometimes just learning never attempt that again, but hopefully normally more constructive.

In many cases I'm happy if I can restore some use to the subject even if it's not fully restored - cosmetic restoration is generally very low on my priorities, a failed metering system doesn't stop me using most cameras...

 

[MattKing]

This is an interesting topic. Typically, I would think that once a camera becomes inop in a way that cannot be easily fixed, it may continue to serve as a parts source to keep other cameras working.

I'm glad Doctors and other medical staff do not think along the lines of the original poster.

What do you mean by that?

I think we can agree that it is probably best that Doctors and other medical staff don't look at people who aren't fully functional as sources for parts

 

[Sirius Glass]

DIY repairs depend on the problem, parts available, appropriate tools and your skills. I no longer do more than minor repairs and would rather keep the existing repair people in business.

 

[Petrochemist]

I think we can agree that it is probably best that Doctors and other medical staff don't look at people who aren't fully functional as sources for parts

Not such a bad thing in some situations.
They've taken blood from me on many occasions & a healthy person donating a kidney isn't unheard off...

Being given a replacement arm from a healthy individual does sound MUCH more dubious

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Maybe you should specialize and then perfect it.

With the Nikon F4 I can get the tired aperture lever back in shape. I just need to remove the mirror box one or two more times and I can do it without instructions.

Should I register a business for this? Aperture Clinic Vienna?

 

[MattKing]

They've taken blood from me on many occasions

I think of that as fluids, rather than parts .

 

[pentaxuser]

Not such a bad thing in some situations.
They've taken blood from me on many occasions & a healthy person donating a kidney isn't unheard off...

Being given a replacement arm from a healthy individual does sound MUCH more dubious

On the other hand it might have stopped Dr Strangelove from strangling himself

pentaxuser

 

[benderscameracorner]

With the Nikon F4 I can get the tired aperture lever back in shape. I just need to remove the mirror box one or two more times and I can do it without instructions.

Should I register a business for this? Aperture Clinic Vienna?

Any idea if this issue is related to an F4 mirror lockup that won't lock up? My F4s works fine including stopping down the lens when firing or manually pressing the DoF button, but the mirror doesn't shift when the surrounding collar is turned.

Sorry for the tangent, but it's better than discussion about doctors getting spare parts off people... :-/

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Any idea if this issue is related to an F4 mirror lockup that won't lock up? My F4s works fine including stopping down the lens when firing or manually pressing the DoF button, but the mirror doesn't shift when the surrounding collar is turned.

Unfortunately, I can't answer that.

I only know of a case where lubrication is missing from a certain gear that is part of the aperture control.

Perhaps my photos of the mirror box of the F4 will help you, see.

Nikon F4: Mission Aperture Lever - two ways to fix the aperture problem

{Moderator note 12 Jan 25: five threads on the F4/F4S aperture lever repair have been merged into the present thread. You may encounter one or two dead links to 'other' threads. The posts they pointed to, are now all part of this thread, which mostly still follows the journey in a logical and...

www.photrio.com

Sorry for the tangent, but it's better than discussion about doctors getting spare parts off people... :-/

Humans obviously need analogies, especially in abstract technology