repair

Pentax K1000 Overhaul Video Reveals the SLR’s Mechanical Beauty

Here's a video by the Camera Repair Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that shows an overhaul they did recently of a Pentax K1000 film SLR -- the "dirtiest Pentax [they've] seen in a very long time." The 3 to 4 hour examination and cleaning is condensed down to 2.5 minutes, and shows the beautiful mechanical inner workings of the K1000.

This is What the Nikon D810 Looks Like After Burning Man

Nikon claims its pro-grade D810 DSLR has "superior" and extensive weather sealing that helps keep moisture and dust out, but that doesn't mean you should treat it as being dust-proof. The camera above shows why. It's a Nikon D810 that was taken to Burning Man.

Canon Said My Lens Was Dead… So I Fixed It Myself for $140

A little while ago, I was shooting the icebergs on the black sand beach by the Jokulsarlon Glaicer Lagoon, Iceland with a rental EF 24-70mm F2.8L II. Iceland is notorious for being windy, and while I was shooting there was blowing winds carrying ocean spray and water splashes all over me and my camera + lens.

An Interview with One of Australia’s Best Camera Technicians

There comes a moment in time when every photographer or film maker has to reach out to the expert who knows every part of their camera or lens. Whether their gear needs to be revitalized, repaired, restored, reinvented or simply serviced it is these expert technicians that work behind tools to keep you doing what you love to do.

Shooting Junk with Junk, or: How I Repaired a Vintage Lens Myself

Three weeks ago, I purchased off of eBay a “junk” Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 58mm f/1.2 lens. I had read so many good things about this particular lens in Minolta’s history that I really wanted to get one for my ever-growing collection. A fully-functioning, good condition one will run anywhere between $450-$700. The listing for the one that I bid on stated, “For parts.”

Reading the description a little further revealed that the glass had a lot of fungus, the aperture assembly was tanked and the focusing helicoid was seized. Call me a fool, but I bid and won it for $142 on the chance that I might be able to repair it.

Here’s How a Photographer Saved $750+ by Repairing a Broken GH4 Himself

Shane Reetz is a photographer whose Panasonic GH4 developed an issue recently: the lens mount began to wobble in and out. After sending the camera to Panasonic’s repair service and finding out a fix would cost $762, Reetz decided he would try performing surgery on his camera himself. The total cost for fixing the camera turned out to be only $5, and Reetz learned quite a bit along the way.

Apple: Free Repairs for Blurry iPhone 6 Plus Cameras

If you purchased an iPhone 6 Plus around the end of 2014 and have noticed that your photos are coming out all blurry, don't worry: it's not just you. Apple has announced that some of the phones sold between September 2014 and January 2015 have a flaw with the rear camera. If that's you, Apple is promising a free camera replacement to help make your photos sharp again.

Timelapse: Restoring an Old, Ripped-Up Photo

Here's a great look at how far Photoshop can go in restoring a heavily damaged photo print. Argentinian photo restorer Hernan Folmer made the time-lapse above showing how he reconstructed an old photo last year using Photoshop CC. The video shows 2 hours of work in Photoshop CC condensed into 2 minutes.

Timelapse: Restoring and Colorizing an Old Damaged Photo

Argentinian professional photographer and retoucher Joaquin Villaverde has a knack for restoring and colorizing old photographs. The video above is a time-lapse he made showing how he recently breathed new life into a vintage portrait that had a good amount of damage. It's 2 hours of work in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 condensed into 3 minutes.

Canon Warns the Original 5D May Suffer From Mirror Separation

When the original Canon 5D (Mark I) was announced back in 2005, it was notable for being the first full-frame DSLR with its standard body size and at its low retail price of $3,299. The camera is a decade old now, which is very old as far as camera life cycles go.

As the cameras are getting more advanced in years, some of their components may not hold up as well as others. Canon has just released a product advisory warning 5D owners of a mirror detachment issue that has been discovered.

Nikon to Offer Free Repairs for D750 Flare Issue

If you're a Nikon D750 owner experiencing the camera's dark band/flare issue, help is on the way. Less than two weeks after announcing that it is investigating the issue, the company is now saying that it will be offering free repairs to customers affected by the problem.

How I Replaced the Shutter in My Canon 5D Mark II By Myself and Saved $400

The shutter on my old Canon 5D Mark II died while on a trip to Fiji earlier this year. It happened quickly; I was shooting a panorama when horizontal black bars started appearing in some of the shots. After about 10 more photos in between turning the camera off and on again, it was dead. The shutter was stuck closed and powering the camera on yielded a helpless sounding soft ‘clunk’ and an “Error 20″ message.

I was quoted around $500 to get this fixed at a repair shop. But.. an OEM replacement shutter is only $90 on eBay. So, after about 6 months of putting it off I finally built up enough #YOLO fever to have a crack at fixing it myself, saving $400 and learning a few things along the way.

Canon 1D X and 1D C May Have Autofocus Issues… When Shooting Below 0° C

A report on Canon Rumors is pointing out an issue with Canon's flagship full-frame DSLR and its Cinema counterpart: the 1D X and 1D C. Apparently users have been reporting problems with the 1D X's AF when shooting in less than 0° C, and if an anonymous report sent to CR is accurate, Canon knows about the problem.

Nikon’s Service Center Can “Change” the Green Tint on Your D800

Back in April, there was a small hoopla amongst Nikonians who purchased the Nikon D4 or D800 and discovered that the LCD screen had a greenish tint when compared to the D3s and D700. Nikon denied that anything was wrong with the new cameras, and stated that it was actually the older models that were too cool. A couple of months later, it was rumored that a soon-to-arrive firmware update would address the issue. That update has yet to arrive.

There's now some good news for those of you looking for a fix "change". Photographer Noah Bershatsky is reporting that Nikon's service center will actually do the correction "change".

DSLR Acting Strange? Try Changing the Internal Clock Battery

If your DSLR ever dies in your arms or starts acting funny, here's a simple thing to check before shelling out money to have it examined by professionals: the camera's internal clock battery. Redditor Aero93 writes,

So my camera died out of nowhere. No matter what I did and tested, it wouldn't turn on. Canon quoted $400 to check the cam + labor parts. Independent repair guy was around $250. It was too much for me. I decided to tackle the problem on my own. I got the manual online. Started taking the camera apart. I got stuck on one thing.

After that, I started asking around on a forum. Somebody suggested I check the internal clock battery, I didn't even now it existed and its right next to the regular battery. I went out and bought a new one. Boom, camera fired right up.

The internal clock battery is the one that keeps the clock in your camera running even when the main battery is removed. They usually cost about a buck each.

An Unexpected ‘Kiss’ in Canon Rebel T4i EXIF Data

If you've noticed an unexpected "Kiss" in your Canon Rebel T4i EXIF data, there's no need to panic (or blush!).

In certain applications that show EXIF data, the camera name may show up as the EOS Kiss X6i -- the Japanese market name of the same camera model. Additionally the Camera Settings / Remote Shooting screens of EOS Utility (EU) also shows “EOS Kiss X6i," according to a Canon product advisory.

The Care and Feeding of Your Tripod

Being a good photographer, you have a tripod. Maybe two tripods. Maybe even a big, heavy duty one for your big lenses, a standard one for everyday use, and one of those small, cool ones that folds up like a roadmap and you can carry it in your back pocket.

Retiree Raises Nearly $200,000 for Charity by Repairing Old Cameras

Photography enthusiast and retired physicist Milo Shott of Oxford, England has found a way use his love for cameras to raise boatloads of money for the poverty-fighting charity Oxfam: camera repair. 11 years ago, Shott noticed some workers at an Oxfam store throwing out an old piece of camera equipment. After saving it from the trash, he fixed it up and helped the store sell it for £270.

76-year-old Photoshop Master in China Restores Old Photos for Free

Having old photographs restored is a service that many residents in China can't afford, but a 76-year-old man named Baojun Yuan is doing his part to help his fellow citizens by offering his astonishing Photoshop talents free of charge. After learning how to use the program when he was 60 years old, Yuan purchased a computer and scanner, and has fixed more than 2,000 photographs. He says, "my teacher just taught me how to repair the photos, but he forgot to tell me how to charge."

How to Fix Simple Cosmetic Issues on Old Lenses

I really love using old lenses on modern digital cameras, but many old lenses have cosmetic issues that make them a little less pleasant to use. Here are a few very cheap and easy things you can do to make these old lenses a little nicer to look at and to use. I don't advocate doing this to rare collectible lenses; this is for "user" lenses.

Note that these things have nothing to do with internal functionality of the focus or aperture, nor the condition of the glass. That should all be good before even thinking about this. No sense making lens ergonomics better if the lens isn't known to be worth using!