Film camera repair

[PedroOrange]

Hello all!

I have an old Nikon F camera that needs a service, and I'm struggling to find a repairer in the UK who is well recommended and not too expensive. Ideally in London or East Anglia.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Many thanks!

 

[table1349]

Not to expensive? It takes special skills to repair old film cameras that usually means older experienced people. Parts are also hard to come by. Cheap is usually not going to be in that equation.

 

[PedroOrange]

Not to expensive? It takes special skills to repair old film cameras that usually means older experienced people. Parts are also hard to come by. Cheap is usually not going to be in that equation.

Hi there, thanks very much for the response. Sorry if my post came across like I was asking for a cheap repair, I literally meant the words I used: not *too* expensive.

 

[table1349]

A few years ago I sent a couple of F2's to Japan for repair. One was a shutter repair the other was a complete clean and adjustment. With shipping it came to $932.00. The repairman was a gentleman that worked in the Nikon Camera factory for nearly 40 years. When he retired he bought up all of the old Nikon parts he could. After retirement he made a business for himself of repairing old Nikon film cameras. Unfortunately he passed away at 94 a couple years ago. He was an absolute wizard at Nikon film camera repair.

 

[goodguy]

A few years ago I sent a couple of F2's to Japan for repair. One was a shutter repair the other was a complete clean and adjustment. With shipping it came to $932.00. The repairman was a gentleman that worked in the Nikon Camera factory for nearly 40 years. When he retired he bought up all of the old Nikon parts he could. After retirement he made a business for himself of repairing old Nikon film cameras. Unfortunately he passed away at 94 a couple years ago. He was an absolute wizard at Nikon film camera repair.

This reminds me of old wrist watches.
I am (beyond photography) also into fountain pens and wrist watches.
I love old watches but sadly cant find a good watch repair man.
You would think in a city like Toronto there will be good repair man but no, none that I could find.
Lots of watch repair people but the ones I tried all couldn't fix well old watches.
Hope its different with film cameras.
I gave up on old watches, just go for modern ones.

 

[fmw]

Given the price of used film cameras these days, I would think it would be cheaper to replace it rather than to repair it.

 

[table1349]

In the throw away world that might be the way it is done. One of the F2's is a titanium edition. 10fps that I picked up used in absolutely outstanding shape. (This was the one I had completely cleaned and adjusted) Don't see them in photography stores or flE-bay too often and not in the condition mine is in. The other F2 was my original SLR and had the shutter curtain repaired.

Neither of them would I get rid of, nor would I get rid of my Pentax 6X7 and lenses. It was a gift from the family of the man I worked for and was mentored by. I used it for many a shoot while working for him, and his family gave me one of the 6X7 systems after he had passed. They are not what I call throw away cameras.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Good repair people are getting hard to find, not just for cameras but as mentioned for watches, fountain pens, and any matter of old gadget. That being said there are still people out there, I dont know any Nikon people in the UK but a drop into your local camera shop may help. I have had a variety of the older Nikon F era stuff come across my bench (FE, EM, FT, F3). With the low prices of bodies these days I don't mind working on them my self as I can generally just chuck it (into my parts pile) if I really really mess something up.

If you elaborate a bit more on what is wrong we may be able to point you to some DIY or home fix soltuions. If its just the light seals you can do that at home pretty easily and you can get the seals on Ebay for under $10. It takes about 30 minutes and you will need a pair of tweezers as well as some naphthalene to get the old glue/seals out there.

If its something mechanical there are lots of "for parts" bodies on ebay that you can scrap for the parts you need. Generally a decent set of watch screwdrivers and some tweezers are all you need to get these cameras apart. Broken gears/cogs/levers are usually fairly obvious.

If its just a matter of old oil clogging things up you can tear down the body fairly easily and use naphthalene to thin the old oil out and replace any missing oil with watch part oil. I would advise applying the naptha with a syringe delicately, use a microfiber to keep it where it needs to be and a watch oil tool (really just a needle) to get any new oil on. >$20 worth of tools and solvents and some time.

But as many mention, there are lots of really good examples floating on the used market and it may just be in your best interest to replace it. If the camera has some kind of sentimental value or personal meaning then by all means fix it!

Regards
Dave