Film Camera Repair

Film cameras are the vintage speciality of the workshop: 35mm SLRs and rangefinders, medium format bodies and TLRs, folders, and fixed-lens compacts. Vintech is an independent service centre and we repair all brands, makes and models — which matters more here than anywhere else, because factory support for most of these cameras ended decades ago.

Servicing and repair

CLA — clean, lubricate, adjust

The standard service for a mechanical camera, and usually the right starting point for one that has spent years in a cupboard. The mechanism is stripped, hardened old lubricant and dirt are removed, fresh lubricant is applied to the surfaces that need it, and the camera is reassembled, adjusted and tested. Most of what makes an old camera feel sluggish or sound wrong is addressed by a CLA rather than by replacing parts.

Shutter speed testing and calibration

Mechanical shutters drift as they age, generally running slow, and the slowest speeds are usually the first to stick. At the fast end, a focal plane shutter can cap — the second curtain catches the first and part of the frame goes unexposed. Speeds are measured on a shutter tester and brought back into tolerance.

Light seals and mirror bumpers

The foam seals around a film door perish into a sticky black residue, and the result is light leaks: streaks or bands along the edge of the frame. The foam bumper the mirror strikes on the way up degrades in the same way, which makes the mirror slap louder and drops crumbs onto the mirror and focusing screen. Both are replaced with fresh material.

Rangefinder alignment

A focus patch that is out vertically or horizontally, a patch that has gone dim or lost contrast, or focus that no longer agrees with the distance scale on the lens. The rangefinder optics are cleaned and realigned against a known distance.

Meters

Selenium cell meters fade with age and light exposure, and a cell that has died cannot be revived — it is assessed and reported on rather than assumed repairable. CdS and other battery-powered meters more often suffer from corroded battery compartments, broken wiring, or the fact that the mercury cell they were designed around is no longer sold, so the voltage the meter sees is wrong.

Film transport and wind-on

Wind-on levers that jam or spin freely without advancing, frame counters that do not reset or step on, sprocket and take-up spool faults, overlapping or unevenly spaced frames, and rewind mechanisms that slip.

Bellows

Pinholes and split corners in the bellows of folders and large format cameras, which show as light leaks on the film. Bellows are repaired or replaced depending on the condition of the material.

Leaf shutters

Leaf shutters built into the lens, as found on folders, TLRs and large format lenses. Blades slow or stuck from oil migration, self-timers that jam mid-cycle and lock the shutter completely, and speed rings that no longer select cleanly.

Parts availability on older bodies

Some parts for discontinued cameras are simply no longer manufactured. Where a part cannot be obtained, we will tell you at the quote stage and set out what the realistic options are. Because parts are the main variable on vintage work, timeframes for older bodies can differ from a current digital repair — see warranty and turnaround for how quotes and service timeframes work.

What to bring

Bring the camera with its lens, and mention anything you already know about its history — how long it has been stored, whether it has been serviced before, and whether it has been opened by anyone else. If you have a roll of film that shows the fault, bring the scans or negatives; light leaks and transport problems are much easier to diagnose from the film than from the camera alone.

To book a camera in, see the contact page.