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That technician from a camera shop in Portland changed my shutter repair approach
I was at a used camera store in Portland last year and watched a guy fix a jammed shutter on a Nikon F2 with just a toothpick and steady hands, no fancy tools. It made me realize I'd been overcomplicating things by buying expensive jigs for years, but he claimed cheap tools work fine if you know the mechanism. Do you think using basic tools is smarter in the long run, or do they risk damaging the gear more than dedicated repair gear?
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kim69316d ago
That Portland guy sounds exactly like the kind of person who knows the gear inside out. Honestly, most camera repairs don't need a bench full of specialized tools unless you're dealing with something like a leaf shutter adjustment or cleaning a sensor. A lot of the expensive jigs are just overpriced versions of stuff you can find at a hardware store for a fraction of the cost. The risk with basic tools is mostly about user error, like using too much force or the wrong sized screwdriver, so you just have to go slow and pay attention. I've taken apart a few old Minoltas with just tweezers and a spudger, and nothing got wrecked as long as I was careful. It really comes down to understanding the mechanism more than the tool itself, and it saves a ton of money in the long run.
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fiona_young16d ago
Wait, have you actually ever tried adjusting a leaf shutter with just tweezers and a spudger? Because that stuff is a TOTAL nightmare without the right jig. I tried fixing a Calumet shutter last year and bent a tiny spring because I was using a paperclip instead of a proper spring hook. Just cost me twenty bucks and a whole afternoon of frustration. You're right that basic tools work for most stuff, but there's a line where cheaping out means you're basically gambling with a hundred dollar lens.
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