Camera Repair Resource Guide
R. Lee Hawkins
Begun by Michael Covington, mcov...@ai.uga.edu,
semi-amateur photographer and writer
Contributions by Paul Archer, par...@phoenix.phoenix.net,
camera repair technician
Maintained and posted by R. Lee Hawkins, lhaw...@annie.wellesley.edu
Contents:
(1) Should I try to fix my own camera?
(2) How much will it cost to have my camera repaired professionally?
(3) Where are some good repair shops?
(4) My camera is jammed (I can neither release the shutter nor advance
the film). What can I do?
(5) What should I *NEVER* do when trying to fix a camera?
(6) How can I learn how to repair cameras?
(7) How can I get a service manual for my camera?
(8) What tools will I need to fix cameras?
(9) Where can I get camera parts?
(10) What are some common camera problems and how easy are they to fix?
(11) How do I get my camera open?
(12) How can I modify my camera to use 1.55-volt silver oxide
batteries instead of 1.35-volt mercury batteries?
----
(1) Should I try to fix my own camera?
Presuming you have never repaired cameras before, the answer is:
NO if the camera is expensive and you need 100% reliability;
MAYBE if the camera is not worth sending to a shop.
The rest of this file will address both situations.
Cameras that have been salt-water damaged are automatically BER
(repair term: Beyond Economical Repair). You may find that you can
get a shop to work on one IF you waive the warranty.
(2) How much will it cost to have my camera repaired professionally?
About $50 to $100 in most cases, if no major parts are needed.
It's worth it; camera repair is delicate, labor-intensive work.
To save money, contact a repair shop yourself rather than having
your local camera store act as agent (and take their mark up).
Be aware that there are three kinds of repairs:
- Repair by the manufacturer, with the manufacturer's warranty.
Generally expensive, and available only for cameras that are
still in production or were discontinued less than 10 years ago.
- Full repair by a repair shop: they fix and adjust everything
to bring the camera up to full factory specifications, and then
give you six months' warranty. This is what most professional
photographers want. (The warranty of course does not cover abuse
or damage, such as dropping the camera or getting sand in it.)
- Limited repair: They fix only the problem you have pointed out.
This is cheaper. Bear in mind, however, that most cameras
over 10 years old _need_ a full cleaning, lubrication, and
adjustment in order to keep the shutter accurate. You may be
getting inaccurate and irreproducible shutter speeds without
knowing it.
(3) Where are some good repair shops?
Ask around locally. Ask local camera dealers whom they recommend.
You will get better turnaround because you will not have to deal
with shipping.
(Even if you use a local shop, your camera should arrive accompanied
by a *written* description of the problem. One of us [MC] had a lot
of time wasted when a clerk at a repair shop failed to write down a
full description of what needed to be fixed.)
The following shops get consistently good reviews from many
sources:
Professional Camera Repair
37 W. 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
(Repairs Nikon and other brands; custom-builds and modifies
equipment. Trusted by professional photographers nationwide.)
Essex Camera Service
100 Amor Avenue
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
(Handles all kinds of cameras, including obsolete ones.
Well recommended. Ad says "Most cameras $35-$75.")
Photography on Bald Mountain
113 Bald Mountain
Davenport, CA 95017
(Repairs obsolete cameras no matter how old; can make parts.)
(4) My camera is jammed (I can neither release the shutter nor advance
the film). What can I do?
Several things:
- If the camera is electronic, check the battery contacts and the
batteries. If silver oxide batteries are specified, USE THEM, not
alkaline and definitely not lithium (which gives lower voltages).
- Try resetting the camera by taking the batteries out for several
minutes or more and putting them back in.
- Verify that you aren't at the end of a roll of film.
- Press the rewind button and rewind the film into the cartridge.
That way, you will at least be able to develop your film, and
the camera _may_ unjam.
With mechanical jams, the following techniques may work:
- Slam the camera down moderately hard onto the palm of your
hand. (This is said to work particularly well for Pentaxes.)
- With some cameras, you may be able to accomplish something by
very gently pulling slightly on the mirror (to move it toward
the "up" position) and/or by setting off the self-timer.
- If all else fails, remove the bottom plate of the camera and
see if you can trip the shutter or unlock the film advance.
Don't force anything; you're looking for a latch that is just
on the verge of tripping.
(5) What should I *NEVER* do when trying to fix a camera?
- Never force anything; parts are easy to break. If something
looks like it should unscrew, but won't come off, it's
probably left-hand threaded.
- Never use tools (screwdrivers especially) that are not suited
to the job. (You will often have to re-grind cheap jewelers'
screwdrivers in order to get a good fit.)
If you use unsuitable tools, you will leave tool marks on the
camera, which will alarm the professional technician even more
than they alarm you. If a camera looks like it has suffered an
amateur repair, many technicians will insist on sending it to the
manufacturer ($$$) because they fear parts may be missing,
misplaced, or damaged.
And if you strip the head of a Phillips screw, you will NEVER
get it out! Use a screwdriver that fits WELL, or make one by
re-grinding as needed.
- Never spray or squirt lubricants or cleaning solutions into
a camera. Use liquids only when you can completely control
where they are going. The correct way to apply oil is with
a toothpick.
- Never disassemble a mechanism if you're not sure you can get it
back together. Most shops are VERY UNWILLING to work on a camera
that arrives in several zip-lock bags and will charge a lot of
money to do so!
(6) How can I learn how to repair cameras?
A good general book is:
Tomosy, Thomas
CAMERA MAINTENANCE & REPAIR
(1993)
$24.95
ISBN 0-936262-09-5
Amherst Media, Inc.
418 Homecrest Drive
Amherst, NY 14226
Many books (including "Basic Training" and guides to specific
cameras) are published and sold by:
Ed Romney
Box 96
Emlenton, PA 16373
(I [MC] have not seen them.)
Reprints of manufacturers' service manuals (many on microfiche
at $4 each), reprints from "Camera Craftsman" magazine (now defunct),
and other useful materials are sold by:
Infotech
PO Box 370884
Denver, CO 80237-0884
Their catalog is well worth writing for.
Other materials, tools, and junked cameras (for parts) are advertised
in SHUTTERBUG magazine.
(7) How can I get a service manual for my camera?
From INFOTECH or Romney (see above) or from the manufacturer.
As an example, Olympus manuals cost about $40 each.
Factory service manuals are a crap shoot, at best. Some are fairly
informative, and some are so poorly written (actually poorly
translated from Japanese) that they are virtually worthless. Most
Olympus manuals fall into the former category, while most Canon fall
into the latter. (But the Minolta SRT-101 manual has nice cartoons!)
The best manuals are by SPT (Society for Photo-Technologists).
Unfortunately, you have to be a member to order them. (Minimum
membership is around $120/year.)
Exploded views of a number of popular cameras were published in
Modern Photography, mainly during 1974. They do not contain dis-
assembly or repair instructions, but they may be of some use.
(8) What tools will I need to fix cameras?
I suggest as a minimum toolkit a good Phillips screwdriver, a cheap
($3 or so) set of flat blade screwdrivers, a good pair of tweezers
-- Dumont #7's, at about $14, are practically the industry
standard, a small pair of pliers, and a small wire-cutter. In
addition, a box of Kim-wipes and some cotton-tipped swabs (wooden,
not paper or plastic shafts), and a container each of denatured
alcohol and Windex are invaluable. Oh, and a magnet to magnetize
the screwdriver will make a big difference. These tools can be
found in most good hobby/craft shops, although a good screwdriver
is hard to come by. Most tech buy theirs through Cam-Comp, the
retail part of SPT. [-- PA]
(9) Where can I get camera parts?
From the manufacturer's parts department; from a few suppliers
listed in Tomosy's book; and from junked cameras. By far the
cheapest way to get common parts such as screws is to collect
junked cameras (which people will sometimes give you for free).
(10) What are some common camera problems and how easy are they to fix?
* Electronic problems: Sometimes all that's wrong is that one wire
is broken, a printed circuit board is cracked, or the edge connector
that joins two printed circuit boards is making poor contact. The edge
connector is the easiest to fix: just undo it, clean the contacts, and
reassemble.
If you are good at miniature soldering, cracked boards and broken
wires are easy to fix using standard techniques. Everything is
_small_ and I [MC] find that wire-wrap wire and #28 enameled magnet
wire are useful.
* Corroded battery: If you're lucky, the damage is confined to
the battery compartment and all you'll have to do is clean contacts.
Use a liquid contact cleaner if possible, applying it with a cotton
swab, foam pad, or eye dropper, and then wiping it off. Abrasive
cleaning methods (wire brush, sandpaper, etc.) work, but the surface
is likely to tarnish again soon.
Do NOT let liquids or dust get into unknown parts of the camera.
* Dust on upper side of non-removable focusing screen: Remove the
top cover and see if you can use compressed air to blow it away.
* Foam rot: The foam mirror pads in cameras from the 1970s are now
turning to dust or goo. You can replace them with authentic black
foam (can someone recommend where to buy this???). Or you can
improvise. I [MC] made a nice mirror pad for a Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL
out of some brown foam furniture pads from the hardware department
of a Wal-Mart. Another possible substitute is the pads sold for
use on eyeglass frames; they are cream-colored rather than black,
but this should not be a problem since the mirror pads are not in
the light path when taking a picture.
* Jammed camera: (See above.) Sometimes, the jam is a one-of-a-kind
event and all you need to do is unjam the camera once. Unfortunately,
it's more common for the jam to recur.
* Sticky lens diaphragm: If you're patient, you can disassemble a
lens, clean all the diaphragm leaves, and put them back in place.
The leaves should have _no_ lubricant on them when you're done.
Paul Archer's recommended technique is to use a small spanner
to remove the rear element, put some denatured alcohol on the
blades, and work them in and out till the alcohol evaporates. This
usually does the trick. BTW, I [PA] would not recommend attempting
any repairs on zoom lenses. They are notoriously hard to work on,
and most shops will only have one person who is competent with
zooms, even though they might have 6 or 7 techs.
Keep compressed air handy for getting rid of dust. Resign yourself
to getting some dust into the first lens you work on, unavoidably.
It will not affect picture quality.
* As noted above, cameras that have been in salt water are considered
beyond economic repair.
(11) How do I get my camera open?
(CAUTION: Any camera that has built-in flash will contain voltages
as high as 330V. I [PA] have personally seen a technician shocked
so badly by one of these that he (involuntarily) threw the camera
across the room. If you're going to open one of these up, be VERY
careful, and use a 100-ohm, 1/2 watt (or larger) resistor, suitably
insulated, to short across the flash capacitor. Discharge it for 5
seconds, then use a voltmeter to check the voltage of the
capacitor, and, if necessary, discharge it some more. And always
do this with the batteries out. If the batteries are still in the
camera when you discharge the capacitor, you will run the risk of
at the least having the capacitor charge up on you again, and at
the worst, burning out the flash board.)
If at all possible, you should obtain specific instructions before
trying to remove the top cover of a 35mm camera. There are lots
of tricks, including the Mamiya-Sekor ungrippable button (that you
have to thread fishing line under and pull on) and the Olympus
door spring that jumps across the room.
Many specific models are discussed in Tomosy's book (see above).
For the curious, here is ONE example (which is not in Tomosy),
the Olympus OM-F (here described by Michael Covington):
1. Open back of camera (by pulling up on rewind knob) and attach
a piece of tape to ensure that the back does not get latched shut
again.
2. Unfold handle of rewind knob and remove Phillips screw. (To
do this, you will have to keep the shaft from rotating.)
(Note: If the camera back gets closed while the rewind knob is
off, here's what to do: Push the shaft into the camera, where it
will fall free. Then use a long pan-head machine screw as a tool
to reach in and pull up on the latch.)
3. Remove black retaining ring under where rewind knob was. (Use
spanner.)
4. Lift out switch, taking care not to lose the click-stop ball.
5. You have now exposed enough of the camera to repair electrical
problems caused by dirty contacts. Clean the contacts ad libitum.
(DO NOT USE SPRAY.) I have even found and repaired a
circuit-board crack with no more disassembly than this.
To proceed further:
6. Note the spring at the extreme left front of the camera,
visible through the round opening you have just exposed. It is
the door latch tension spring. When you remove the top, the
spring will probably jump across the room. Be prepared to catch
it, or carefully work it loose and pull it out now, with tweezers.
7. Remove the obvious six screws that hold the top cover in
place. (The smallest two go in front.)
8. Remove the screw on the underside of the film advance lever.
Plastic part of advance lever comes off.
9. Remove the screw on the axis of the (metal) film advance lever.
10. Note setting of ASA dial and exposure compensation.
11. Using a sewing needle, lift the central part of the ASA dial
and pop it out.
12. Remove the Phillips screw and spring revealed by step 11.
13. Lift top cover off, taking care not to break the wires to the
beeper (which is attached to the top cover).
To reassemble, reverse this process; order of steps is not critical.
CAUTION: Screws and other loose parts are easy to lose! Put the
camera in a clean 8x10 developing tray, or similar, before you
start disassembling it. The tray will catch the parts.
(12) How can I modify my camera to use 1.55-volt silver oxide
batteries instead of 1.35-volt mercury batteries?
Several different options are possible:
- If the meter consumes the same amount of current whenever the needle is
centered, regardless of light level, all you have to do is add some
extra resistance in series with the battery. Try 2000 ohms as a start.
- Add a Schottky diode in series with the battery. That will subtract
a constant 0.15 or 0.25 volts from the battery voltage (depending on
whether you use a low-barrier or medium-barrier diode). Either way,
you're much closer to 1.35V than you would have been without it, and
the voltage drop is relatively constant regardless of current.
- A circuit using a National Semiconductor voltage-reference chip is given
in the Jan./Feb. 1995 issue of Darkroom and Creative Camera Techniques.
This is a shunt regulator and consumes extra current, so it has to be
placed after the switch in the circuit.
-end-