Had a real wake-up call at a camera show in Chicago last month

A guy brought me a Leica M3 with a sticky shutter, said he'd 'fixed' it himself with some household oil. The whole curtain assembly was a gummy mess. I spent 6 hours cleaning it, replacing two ribbons, and had to charge him way less than the job was worth just to save the camera. Now I always ask point-blank if a camera's had any DIY 'repairs' before I even open it up. Anyone else get burned by a well-meaning but clueless owner?

4 comments

4 Comments

beth_baker6928d ago

I mean, this didn't happen to me exactly, but a buddy of mine runs a repair shop out in Portland and he got a Nikon F2 that the owner had tried to "fix" the light meter by jamming a toothpick in there to hold the needle. The whole prism was cracked and there was wood splinters everywhere inside the viewfinder. He told me it took him like three hours with tweezers and a vacuum just to get all the little bits out, and the owner was all proud of his "innovation" when he dropped it off.

green.victor2mo ago

That Leica M3 story is brutal. What's the worst DIY "fix" you've actually been able to salvage, or was that one the total low point?

henry1012mo ago

You think that Leica story is bad? Honestly, sometimes a DIY fix is the only way to keep a classic camera alive. What if the owner couldn't afford a pro repair and just wanted to shoot with their grandad's old camera? A botched job that gets it working, even poorly, beats it sitting dead in a drawer forever. The real low point is letting gear become useless art on a shelf because you're scared to touch it. Trying and failing is still better than not trying at all.

flores.tessa28d ago

Henrys point about keeping stuff alive is fair, even if it hurts to see the aftermath. Seen a guy once put lithium grease on a shutter curtain because he thought it was just like a door hinge. That was a real mess too.