Camera Repair

Repair process of hasselblad system

The Case for Patience – Film Photography and Camera Repair – By Ryan Jones

By / April 20, 2022 / Philosophy & Reflections / 46 Comments

The moment digital photography became accessible to the greater population without significant barriers to entry, film became a luxury good.

I do not mean that film photography entered the same plane of inaccessibility as the Rollex or the Bentley (although there are film camera makers in those echelons to be sure). I simply mean that, for the vast majority of working professionals, photographing on film was no longer a requirement to put food on the table.

I underline this transition chiefly for this reason: once film became a choice, and not an absolute necessity, it entered the economics of emotion. This applies both to the hobbyist and the professional. We see this in the wedding industry with “hybrid” shooters offering medium format film in their wedding packages. Are they offering film alongside digital because it has higher resolution? Because it is a cheaper, easier workflow? Of course not. They are offering it chiefly because it differentiates their brand in an over saturated wedding market, because it has that “look” and because their clients have the desire to say that their wedding was shot on film.

Fixing Vertical Rangefinder Misalignment in Compact Rangefinder Cameras – By Bob Janes

By / March 22, 2021 / Repairs & Cleaning / 12 Comments

Those who shoot rangefinder cameras on a regular basis are probably aware of (they may even feel plagued by) vertical rangefinder misalignment.

A camera rangefinder works by superimposing a (generally central) patch reflected from a position slightly to the side of the viewfinder into the direct vision viewfinder. When the calibrated rangefinder shows that both images coincide horizontally, we know the object in the patch is in focus. All quite practical, but there can be issues.

A Couple of Bodged Fixes for a Pentax PC35AF – By Seb Copley

By / July 12, 2020 / Repairs & Cleaning / 4 Comments

After returning to analogue photography a few years ago with a Minolta Hi-Matic 7 rangefinder, I began looking for a second film camera. I was looking for something totally different, in particular something smaller and lighter. I soon discovered I have missed the boat by a few years to get a reasonably priced premium contact, with prices for the likes of Contax T2, Olympus Mju-ii, Yashica T5 etc. reaching higher and higher prices. My experience in buying a rangefinder showed me not to be disheartened and there are lots of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

DIY-Minolta-SRT-007

A slightly troubled tale of replacing vintage camera leather – by Christopher James

By / May 20, 2020 / Repairs & Cleaning / 33 Comments

I’ve started seeing more photos of vintage cameras with their leather covers replaced, and to me they often look great. Other than a few useful flickr posts and some short videos, there aren’t many articles that cover the how and the why, and fewer still that discuss the troubles and the costs of doing this …

A slightly troubled tale of replacing vintage camera leather – by Christopher James Read More

(Mis)adventures with a Minolta Himatic 7s – By Matt Evans

By / May 20, 2020 / Repairs & Cleaning / 17 Comments

I had been trawling the online market places and managed to snag a Minolta Hi-matic 7s on trademe (the NZ version of ebay). It was advertised as being in excellent condition with everything working as it should and clear glass, Sounds great I thought! so I chucked a bid on in the dying minutes to win the auction. After a few days of anticipation and excitement it finally arrived encased like a giant egg in about 3m of bubble wrap,  it even came with a musty smelling leather case – no chance of being damaged in transit. Or so I thought. After unwrapping it was immediately obvious there was damage to the lens:

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