Resources For Camera Repair

Micro Tools

Micro Tools sells a large selection of specialized camera repair tools, cleaning supplies, lubricants, and some camera parts.

 

Replacement Bellows by Sandeha Lynch

Custom-made replacement bellows for folding cameras and large format cameras.

 

Tool Magnetizer/Demagnetizer

An extremely useful device, this will magnetize any steel tools, such as screwdrivers, so that you won't lose tiny screws when removing or replacing them while servicing a camera. It can also demagnetize the tool! This one is electric-powered, and works much better than the non-powered ones sold in hardware stores.

 

Minox Camera Replacement Parts

Replacement parts for Minox cameras, repair information, and links to other Minox repair sites.

 

DAG Camera Parts

Famed Leica repairman Don Goldberg sells parts for many classic cameras, not just Leicas.

 

Gres Camera Repair Tools

High quality, reasonably priced toolsfor the camera technician. Includes hard to find Japanese Cross Head screwdrivers, needed for servicing most Japanese cameras (Though Phillips screwdrivers look similar, they will damage Japanese Cross Headscrews used on cameras!).

 

Kodak Parts

Replacement parts and repair information for Kodak slide projectors and movie projectors.

 

Making Springs On A Small Lathe

Cameras use a lot of springs, and replacing a broken or worn spring can be difficult with old cameras. This tutorial shows how to manufacture new springs. Written by Dean Williams.

 

Hugo Studio

American supplier of replacement leather in many colors for a huge variety of classic cameras from the 1930s to the 1990s.

 

Aki Asahi

Japanese supplier of replacement leather for both classic cameras and modern digital cameras. Well known for his high-quality Leica coverings. Ships worldwide.

 

Society of Photo-Technologists

SPT is an organization for camera repair technicians. Membership includes access to an extensive library of technical information.

 

Lens Mount Register Distances List (PDF)

This is a list of mount register distances for most lens mounts that you will encounter. The register distance is the distance between the lens mount and the film plane in a camera. It is important to know the correct register distance for a camera because it is adjustable to correct for focusing accuracy problems.

 

Orphan Cameras

Mike Butkus's site offering hundreds of free downloads of camera and other photo equipment manuals. Mostly users manuals; but he has some repair manuals, too.

 

Sam's Strobe Repair FAQ

Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repair of Electronic Flash Units and Strobe Lights.

 

FotoFix

Camera repair videos by Richard Cross.

 

"Light Matters" Camera Repair Blog

Blog with camera repair tutorials by Iain Hart.

 

FixYourCamera.org

Videos of a tech disassembling many different modern digital cameras and lenses.

 

Fix Film Cameras

Camera repair articles and tutorials by Mark Overton. Also has instructions for building your own auto collimator for lens calibration!

 

Mick Feuerbacher's Camera Pages

Repair tutorials for several classic film cameras. Also has a lot of other great information on classic cameras, darkroom work, and other photography topics.

 

Kenneth Olsen's Camera Repair Videos

Danish photographer Kenneth Olsen's YouTube channel shows how to repair many types of cameras and lenses, from classic film cameras to modern digital SLRs.

 

Craig Camera

Sells reprints of instruction manuals and repair manuals for photographic equipment. If you cannot find a free service manual online, check here.

 

Fix Old Cameras

A YouTube channel with videos showing step-by-step how to repair old cameras.

 

Collecting and Fixing Old Cameras

A large number of camera repair tutorials by Dan Mitchell. Dan has also given us permission to share a PDF version of his excellent book on How To Make New Bellows for folding cameras.

 

Contax IIa shutter repair

Tutorial for repairing and calibrating the shutter on the Contax IIa rangefinder camera. The link above is a Google translation of the original Portuguese site into English.

 

Contax 139 Resource

Information on the Contax 139. Includes service manuals, instruction books, brochures, and repair tutorials.

 

Cosina Camera List

Cosina is a Japanese OEM manufacturer of mostly entry-level 35mm SLR cameras for many other companies, including major manufacturers like Canon, Olympus, and Nikon. This is a list of all the cameras made by Cosina, which is useful to the repair technician because most of them were built from the same basic design and share many of their internal parts.

 

Zeiss Ikon Rangefinder Adjustment

How to adjust the rangefinder on the Cosina-made Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder camera. Written by Peter Robinson.

 

Retina Rescue

Chris Sherlock is a camera repairman in New Zealand who specializes in the repair and restoration of Kodak Retina cameras. His site has a number of repair tutorials that Mr. Sherlock has made for those wishing to repair their own classic Kodak cameras.

 

Kodak Parts

Replacement parts and repair information for Kodak slide projectors and movie projectors.

 

Large Format Leaf Shutter Information

Technical information on leaf shutters used in large format lenses. Includes Compur, Copal, Prontor, Ilex, and Wollensak.

 

Graflex Parts

Parts and accessories for Graflex large format SLRs. Also offers repair and restoration services, new shutter curtains, and repair tutorials.

 

Make Your Own Ground Glass

How to make a ground glass focusing screen for large format cameras. Useful for antique cameras that take unusual size film or plates.

 

Graflex.org

Information on Graflex cameras, film holders, flashes, rangefinders, and lenses. The Technical Information page has some service manuals.

 

Graflex Manuals and More

Users manuals and service manuals for Graflex cameras and accessories. Of special interest is a FREE Windows software program to create focusing cams for the rangefinder in the Super Graphic camera!

 

My Take On Photography - Lens Tutorials

A number of repair tutorials, mostly for classic manual focus lenses from Canon, Minolta, and Nikon.

 

Lens Collimation Without A Collimator

A tutorial by Mike Elek showing how to collimate (calibrate focus accuracy) a lens using a 35mm SLR with a telephoto lens.

 

How To Test Lenses (PDF)

An article from the old Modern Photography magazine showing how to test your lenses for resolution.

 

Yukosteel's Lens Repair Blog

Disassembly and repair tutorials for many modern lenses for rangefinder and digital mirrorless cameras.

 

Know Your Lens Fungus

An article by Richard Kinch about lens fungus and how to prevent it.

 

The Rokkor Files

A huge archive of information on Minolta equipment, especially manual focus gear.

 

What Was Up With Minolta And Capacitors?

An explanation of why so many manual focus Minolta cameras die because of failing electronic capacitors.

 

Minolta CLE Rangefinder Adjustment

Step-by-step tutorial for adjusting the rangefinder on the Minolta CLE. This is a Google translation of the site, which was originally in French.

 

Minox Camera Replacement Parts

Replacement parts for Minox cameras, repair information, and links to other Minox repair sites.

 

Minox B Repair Page

A nice Repair tutorial for the Minox B subminiature camera.

 

Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Maintenance Site

Excellent tutorials on repairing Nikon film cameras. Also includes several "Camera Repair Fundamentals" tutorials that apply to any type of equipment.

 

Arctic Wolf's Nikon Resources

A treasure trove of service manuals, brochures, and historical information on Nikon equipment from classic film cameras to digital.

 

The Olympus Hardware Resource Page

A huge archive of Olympus service manuals, exploded parts diagrams, and repair articles. Includes several good OM-System repair tutorials.

 

Repairing The Selenium Light Meter On The Olympus Auto Eye II

How to repair the selenium cell light meter in the Olympus Auto Eye II camera. If the selenium cell is bad, this shows how to replace it with a modern silicon solor cell.

 

Pentax Auto 110

An extensive library of information on the Pentax Auto 110 system. Includes service manuals, repair tutorials, users manuals, brochures, and more.

 

Kowa SE and SER Repair Tutorial

Original is in Japanese; this is a link to a translation courtesy of Google.

 

Legacy Canon Manuals

Instruction manauls, some service manuals, and other info on Canon film cameras.

 

How the Leica IIIc was made

At the end of World War II, British Intelligence did a study of the Leitz factory in Wetzlar, Germany to see how the Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera was made. Their report and the technical drawings taken from Leitz were used to make the Reid III, a British-made Leica copy. The report makes fascinating reading for anyone curious about how these cameras were made and how they work.

 

Widelux Repair Tips

Information on repairing Widelux panoramic cameras, including a step-by-step CLA tutorial. Dutch language.

 

How To Fix Your Horizon's Stuck Shutter

Article on the Lomography website about repairing the shutter on the Russian-made Horizon panoramic camera.

 

Rollei 35 TE Repair Tutorial

A tutorial by Luis Esteves showing how to do several repairs on the Rollei 35 TE camera.

 

Rollei SL-35 Light Meter Repair

How to repair the light meter in the Rollei SL-35. Includes how to replace CdS cell, circuit diagrams, clear photos, and explanations.

 

Kiev 60 Repair Tutorial

Tutorial on repairing and calibrating the Kiev 60. Covers disassembly, shutter speed calibration, focus calibration, and exposure meter calibration.

 

Russian Copies of the Hasselblad

Information about how the Hasselblad 1600/1000 cameras and the Russian copies of them (Kiev 80, Kiev 88, Salyut) work and how the Russian cameras differ from the Hasselblads they were modeled after.

 

How To Fix Your Horizon's Stuck Shutter

Article on the Lomography website about repairing the shutter on the Russian-made Horizon panoramic camera.

 

Tiger's Lair

Repair tutorials for Zenit cameras.

 

Yashica Guy

Tutorials for repairing Yashica rangefinder cameras. Also sells adapters to allow use of modern batteries in cameras designed to use mercury batteries.

 

Contax 139 Resource

Information on the Contax 139. Includes service manuals, instruction books, brochures, and repair tutorials.

 

Yashica Electro 35 "Pad of Death"

A tutorial by Mike Elek on how to repair the Yashica Electro 35 "Pad of Death" problem.

 

Yashica 35 GSN Rangefinder Adjustment

A tutorial by Luis Esteves showing how replace and adjust the rangefinder on the Yashica 35 GSN.

 

Contax IIa shutter repair

Tutorial for repairing and calibrating the shutter on the Contax IIa rangefinder camera. The link above is a Google translation of the original Portuguese site into English.

 

Zeiss Ikon Rangefinder Adjustment

How to adjust the rangefinder on the Cosina-made Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder camera. Written by Peter Robinson.

 

Chris Crawford's Photography Tutorials

Tutorials on photography techniques, exposure metering, film processing, scanning, digital printing, and editing in Photoshop and Lightroom.