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The Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast is back with a show about an important part of film photography. We may not want to think about it, and we certainly do not like spending the money for it, but the fact of the matter is that our cameras have to be serviced if we want them to keep on making the photographs we love.
A recent check of my collection of cameras reveals a sobering fact: They all are vintage, which is a nice way of saying "old." Not a single one of my film cameras are less than twenty-five years old. My Rolleicord Va was made the year I was born (believe me, it's old!) And my newly-acquired Leica iiia, the oldest camera I own, is seventy-five years old. Should I really be surprised that the first roll I shot with it was mostly ruined by shutter problems?
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| Ugh! Shutter cupping. Time for a CLA (Clean-Lubricate-Adjuct) |
Fortunately, most of the problems our vintage cameras have can be corrected with servicing by a qualified professional camera technician. We may be reluctant to spend $100 on a camera we bought for $50, and someone will always say, "you can just replace it instead of getting it fixed." However, with a finite inventory of film cameras in the world, and a growing number of film photographers, we will need every film camera we can get to meet the demand. Since we paid a fraction of the original price for our film cameras (in most cases), why not spend some cash on getting?keeping them in top condition, so that we can obtain the best results from them that they are capable of. I think it's worth the money, and the more we can do to keep our limited number of qualified camera technicians in business, the better.
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| One of the few good frame from the first roll from my Leica iiia. This camera, like most of my cameras, is definitely worth repairing. |
I found out (in a bad way) that there are some camera repairs that are best left to a professional. Nevertheless, I have been successful in replacing seals and mirror bumpers in several of my SLRs. Additionally, I have used specialized tools to repair bent filter rings and clean haze and fungus in lenses. Fortunately, YouTube is an indispensable help in "amateur" camera repair. One of the best of these the Fix Old Cameras channel, which has been very helpful to me. I highly recommend it.
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| With my limited repair skills (and the right tools,) I was able to clean my Industar 22 50mm f3.5 lens . . . |
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| . . . and get some very nice results from it! |
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| My bent filter ring repair tool . . . |
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| . . . and a scanner wrench like this is essential for repairing most old cameras. |
We here at Uncle Jonesy's Cameras love to hear from our listeners, so in our last segment, I read some very nice emails from three of our listeners. You, too can email us at unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com (you can even send us a voice memo to play on the air. You also can find us on Facebook and Instagram (@ujcpodcast).
Thanks for listening, and Happy Shooting!
Here is a list of camera technicians with whom I have had positive experiences. Due to a brain freeze while recording the podcast, I forgot to mention Oleg Khalyavin, who performed an amazing job putting my Zorki 4 back into top condition. I put Youxin Ye on the list, because that is where my Leica iiia is headed for repair. I will report back on my experience.
Garry's Camera Repair: http://www.garryscamera.com
Chicago Camera Specialists: https://www.chicagocameraspecialists.com
YYeCamera (Youxin Ye): http://www.yyecamera.com
Mark Hama: http://www.markhama.com
Oleg Khalyavin Photocameras (all things Russian cameras): http://okvintagecamera.com
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