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Where to Get a Camera Fixed
In the Boise area:
Photek (3075 N. Cole, Boise, ID 83704, (208) 323- 7568) is a really great place. Their
repairs are reasonably priced, and they seem to have a nice supply of used parts. They
also have a nice selection of used lenses and bodies in good to excellent condition.
-- Stephen C. Murphy, July 1, 1998
This is a confirmation of the recommendation of Photek in Boise, Idaho. They can be
depended on for superior quality and a reasonable price, in my experience. They've also
more than once had in stock what I just couldn't find elsewhere.
http://www.allworld.net/photek/index.html is their website.
-- Dave Miller, February 5, 1999
Why don't try to repair your stuff yourself? Many camera repairs turn out to be just
cleaning, replacing light seals, or replacing broken levers. These jobs can be done by
anyone who has reasonably good fine motricity, some patience, and a set of small
screwdrivers, ring openers and a few other tools. The time invested is often less than
what you would take to find out a service shop, pack the camera, ship it, etc. Living in
one of those "strange third world countries" mentioned by Phil, I have no real option
other than doing my own repairs. Shipping a broken camera to the USA would involve a
very complicated and quite expensive "export and re-import" procedure. I have repaired
a few dozen cameras and accesories over the years, both my own and those of friends,
and found that in almost all cases the problem is something mechanical, often quite
obvious. Electronic problems are much less common. It can be necessary to machine
some part (this can get difficult!), but more often than not the sick camera can be healed
without any special medicine!
If you have a quite new $2000 camera that broke, and a nearby highly recommended
service shop, and your hands are hardly able to handle any tool more delicate than a
chainsaw, then by all means get it fixed professionally. But if the camera is 30 years old,
worth $200, you have reasonable skills, and the nearest service shop that may accept it is
a continent away, it would be a good idea to fix it yourself! If you mess up, at least you
had the opportunity to see how cameras look inside! :-)
Keep a tube of cyanoacrilate glue at hand. A lot of failures in autofocus mechanisms go
back to cheap plastic gears sliding on the shafts!
And a small anecdote: Once a friend asked me to repair his Canon (I think it was a T50
or so). It looked like an electronic problem. He had replaced the battery without results
(first things first!). Being an electronic engineer, I dived into the camera's circuitry,
http://www.photo.net/learn/camera-repair (4 of 8) [5/15/2002 7:15:58 PM]