Shoutout to that old repair guy at the 2019 Portland camera swap

I was at the Portland Camera Swap back in 2019, BS-ing with some folks, when this retired repair guy showed me how to fix a sticky shutter on a Spotmatic with just a drop of lighter fluid and a Q-tip. Changed my whole approach to cleaning shutters honestly. Anyone else pick up weird tricks from random old-timers at events like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_jenkins666d ago

My dad taught me the same trick back when I was a kid with a beat up Canon FTb. Lighter fluid on a Q-tip fixed a sticky Canonet shutter too, saved me probably fifty bucks at a shop. I swear those old repair guys are a dying breed, they know all the cheap hacks. I once watched a guy at a camera show in Spokane fix a bent shutter blade on a Nikon F with just a pair of tweezers and a steady hand. Stuff like that makes you realize how much good gear gets thrown out when it could be fixed in five minutes.

evan_davis6d ago

Man that's exactly it. Its wild how much stuff gets tossed when a steady hand and a little knowhow could save it.

shanec616d ago

Lighter fluid on a Q-tip"? That's wild, I've never heard that one before. You're not kidding about those old repair guys being a dying breed, the stuff they can do with basic tools is unreal.