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Can it be repaired?

Transcript

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to repair an old film camera? Maybe you picked up one on eBay and you’re having issues with it.

Michael Scott, Scottyman photo.

Like dismantling a watch

I think fixing old SLR cameras it’s the equivalent of dismantling the tiny components of an analog watch and then just trying to put them all back together again. These old cameras have many minuscule and intricate parts that require more than just having a bit of dexterity with your hands; in fact, some repairs they’re just better left to the experts.

Buying off eBay

But in the past, I’ve certainly purchased my fair share of old camera gear from eBay and other sources and honestly, I’m a big proponent of buying gear from eBay and with a little attention to detail I think it’s possible to get an incredible deal on some of these old forgotten treasures.

However, when buying your gear from eBay you may be taking the opinion of someone that might not have a great deal of knowledge or experience in the gear they’re actually selling. In fact, it may be a family member selling an old 35-millimeter camera that once belonged to grandpa and they may know nothing, or just maybe a little bit about it but still that doesn’t mean you should just close up shop and close your eBay account and give it up. But I am saying that if you find your camera and need a service and you’re unable to handle the repairs yourself. There are options out there still available for getting these old film cameras and even the lenses repaired.

Sticky shutter on my F2A

In fact, I was having an issue with a sticky shutter on my F2A and I realized that yeah, I’m just not qualified to make these repairs but despite watching a number of YouTube videos on fixing cameras I just felt like it wasn’t the repair for me. I mean the amount of complexity involved in these cameras is just quite impressive to say the least. I mean even though they’re not super electronic like they are now, they ‘re still a lot to these cameras.

Tiny little components and strings that can just fly off and go everywhere. Just wasn’t a repair that I was willing to take on with no experience. So, I began researching on how others had solved similar issues and came across a website called Fog Dog Photography. After reading a bit of the blog I was reading about Jim Holman’s camera service and International Camera Technicians, otherwise known as ICT.

What is ICT?

Well, it’s a full-service camera and lens repair facility and Jim also has a shop on eBay and that’s called Holman ICT. Who is Jim? Jim’s a repair technician. He’s been doing this for over 35 years. He specializes in camera and lens repair, specifically these old film cameras that we love so much in fact he’s particularly skilled at repairing older lenses that don’t even have parts anymore.

I mean and that’s pretty impressive when you think about it he’s also been an authorized Nikon, Canon, and Sigma technician and he does have a few videos out there on YouTube, which shows some of his repairs and really after watching that, that’s how I really got the idea that this was the guy to work on my Nikon because this is the equipment that he has in his shop. The way he handled the camera that was the one I wanted to send my camera to so.

I did speak with Jim and I did encourage him to make more of those videos. I think they’re fantastic but anyways the process for getting your camera repaired is straightforward. Basically, you have two options. One, you can set up the repair through eBay or two, you can do it directly through the website at ICTcamera.com.

What does an evaluation cost?

Depending on the equipment you’re sending, the evaluation cost may vary. It’s better to speak directly to Jim about the evaluation cost. Based on ICT’s website it’s $50 per item, but the prices vary on eBay and they can be as low as $20 dollars.

Basically, you go on eBay, you can select the kind of camera repair and you’ll pay the initial evaluation fee and then send the camera. But the evaluation costs go toward testing and checking everything out in the camera. The evaluation as advertised takes 3-5 days.

Great communication throughout the process

Throughout the process you’ll have great communication with Jim. I called him on the phone, but he also has a portal that you can communicate through once you start the process. But in my experience the response was only about one day, so I think about a day I was in touch with Jim. Once you’ve paid for the evaluation, you’ll fill out a service agreement and that’s where you’re going to put your camera, serial number, and those kind of the details for the repair.

The service portal and shipping

Also, you can send pictures and ask further questions through the portal, which is really nice. Then you’ll pack up the camera and you’ll basically whatever shipping method that you can choose at your cost, and you’ll ship the camera out. Of course, you’re going to want to package things up nicely, so you are sending a camera and maybe a lens. Jim recommends about three inches of bubble wrap. Then you simply wait for Jim to receive the package.

Following the evaluation, he’ll send you an estimate for the repairs. ICT’s website states that if you choose to decline the estimate, he’ll ship it back to you at economy [rates] at no charge, however if you authorize the work, he’ll get started on it pretty quickly.

Get a CLA — clean, lubricate, and adjust

Jim also performs a CLA — that’s clean, lubricate, and adjust. The CLA also includes replacement of the light seals as well as minor parts like missing screws and cosmetic cleaning. Now one of the best things about this process is that Jim warranties his work for six months but in order to get that six-month warranty.

You have to do the CLA so you can’t forgo that which includes the light seals. So if you’ve already done light seals, you’re going to get new light seals again, but honestly if you’re buying an older camera from eBay or somewhere else you may want to just send it in for the benefits of the CLA alone and new light seals.

Have Jim do the light seals, too

Although I think replacing light seals are pretty simple and pretty straightforward for most people anyway but you may prefer to let Jim do this as well, so I can tell you that his light seal replacement that I’ve seen on my camera was just spectacular, so he really does a good job, a lot of attention to detail and I’m pretty detail-oriented when I do these light seals and I want them perfect so Jim’s light seals didn’t disappoint.

Once the repairs are complete, you’ll be notified that the camera is ready and it’ll be shipped back to you based on a shipping method that you selected you filled out the paperwork.

My experience

So as for my experience, I paid $260 dollars for the repair and the entire process took 21 days from the date I shipped the camera to the day it was actually back in the house. And this price included the CLA, the return shipping ,and all the parts which included a broken battery box I didn’t even know anything about.

So that’s something to think about. It also included the shutter service that I needed for my sticky shutter, the light seals, and there was also a check of my light meter to make sure it was functioning properly.

The camera was packaged very well and included a thumb drive which had detailed pictures of the entire process. And as you can see, this was no small undertaking. You may think this is a lot of money for an old camera repair and maybe it is, but it depends on what it’s worth to you.

I should get years of service from my camera now

As for myself, I hope this repair provides me with many years of service and I realized that some of us may be capable of doing these repairs ourselves, but honestly, I would dare to say that there’s not many out there that could do this. Personally speaking as an electrician by trade I’ll leave you with this thought, Jim’s not merely being paid for performing tasks that you see in these pictures but rather his 35 years of experience and doing exactly what we’re paying him to do. And that’s what you’re paying for, you’re paying for his knowledge and experience.

Anyway, I hope you found this useful and if you did hit that like button and consider subscribing to the channel and leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts and as always if I don’t see you down the road, maybe I’ll see you on the trail.