I haven’t been posting pics much since my camera broke. IT is a Fuji S1 SLR and what is wrong is that the mirror won’t retract all the way and blocks the image. I figure this is a minor repair, but so far, the best I’ve done is $283 from a big online repair shop who has one price for any repair done on an S1–Crack the body, $283. Chip the paint, $283. You get the idea.
I don’t think there’s $283 in damages and the camera body has a resale value of $400-$450 on eBay. So I need a mom and pop camera shop that will work on it.
The problem does not sound big to you or me, but without the knowledge and tools and manuals for the fix, it probably will have to go in to a expensive shop…
I just sent in a Canon Rebel XT 350 back to Canon Factory repair today since it has never focused properly at least to my satisfaction. I have always used the factory repair shop for any repair and in this case, it will be looked at and they will give an estimate before any work is done.
Sometimes, it is less expensive to purchase a new camera body. I recently did just that from Broadway Photo in New York so I could send the Rebel camera back to Canon for possible repair.
I know I can fix the body for $283. I can buy a used one for $425 on eBay. What I want to do is see if I can find a place that will at least look at the problem instead of replacing the whole interior without looking at it.
All the camera shops around here are gone. Someone must know of a local camera genius in their home town. I’ll ship the sucker out.
I had a similar situation with a digital movie camera. I emailed Canon explaining the problem and asked where should I send it for repair. It was out of warranty.
Cannon replied to mail it to their repair facility on the east coast but that they would email me the estimate before beginning any work. I had told them if the cost was above a certain amount I would prefer to just buy a new one (terrible throw away economy we have).
Cannon emailed me the estimate and the option to exchange to the next higher model (a refurb) for x dollars which would have an original OEM warranty.
Spacemouse, funny you should bring this up. I have a Canon AE-1 that I’ve had for for close to 25 years now. I took it to a camera shop for repairs (the mount on top for a flash gun is loose, nothing else wrong with it). Close to $300 to tighten it up. Good luck!!! Ken
Good luck finding a place that will look at your camera, the film beasts are getting rare now as are the people who can service them properly. And remember, what appears simple to us may in fact be a complicated repair involving taking the camera apart. A good SLR is like a fine watch, lots of small components with tight tolerances, not easy to work on.
My original AE1 had a problem as well, took it to a local place that does repair in Kamloops. They looked at it and said not worth repairing (it was the circuit board on the bottom). I had a friend who also had an AE1 but hardly used it and wanted to get rid of it, so I bought his.
Don’t waste the money on a repair, thats only a 3.6 megapixal and even the point and shoots have a least 6 now and after doing a little looking I FOUND OUT THE PROS ARE MOVING INTO THE 160+ MEGAPIXALS. Now depending on the camera you sometimes need to devide by three to get a true mexapixal # but you get the point. Oh and by the way next years camera phones will hit over 10 megapixals. Now for some helpful hints, when you get ready to toss it try moving the mirror yourself, if it breaks what have you lost, pal fixed one 35 years ago that way as sometimes the mirror just get stuck, be very gental though and remember to try this only when you are ready to toss!!!
I understand what you are saying, but here’s the rub. What I really need is a camera called a tri-iriscope that uses a combinaton of microcsope technology and digital photography. It costs $10K. I have adapted this measley 4 mp to get good enough results to keep working while I develop the cash flow to purchase one. In the meantime I have rigged my old Fuji S1 with gizmos and gadgets to get almost good enough. I could buy a better camera but this one works and produces cash flow. And I can get some pretty good layout shots. If I get a new camera, then I have to then do all expense the rigging of the new camera to almost good enough specs.
Fixing the camera at even $283 is probably worth it. I just don’t think I need to spend that much for this problem. It is probably just something like a speck of dandruff on the mirror track. I think it would be worth my effort to make this determination before I fork out the money that could otherwise be spent on a couple 4-4-0’s with sound.
I was quite happy with a small shop in Sterling, Virginia while I was living in that neck of the woods. The name of the shop was Ace Photo. His web site is www.acephoto.net, and there is a site with comments about his shop (the second one may be of the most interest to you) at http://photo.net/neighbor/view-one-about?id=2&about=Ace+Photo%2C+Sterling%2C+VA. I never had cause to have anything repaired there, but they would have been the first on my list had the need arose while I was living there. His address and phone out of the online yellow pages is 703-430-3333 • 46950 Community Plz # 109, Sterling,VA.
The moral of the story is: Replace the unit with a new one if it is out of waranty. We have become a disposible society and getting anything fixed is not the norm. I still have one of the Canon A-1’s and an EOS 630 that work perfectly, but only on film. Sort of makes you wonder how long they would have worked if I had not retired them in 2003 when I purchased my first Digital Camera.
I sort of figured that. It sounded like something a bit more exacting than MRR photography. Not that there might not be somebody among us considering spending $10k on a camera for that purpose.
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The guy at Ace always treated me well, and it’s not like I was in there every week, or even month for that matter.
Best i can do for you then is there is a listing on ebay for a damaged one, but the damage is because of a battery leak and it works intermintently, have fixed this problem o
If they still worked, why retire them? I kept my old AE1, and then replaced it with a friends AE1 when my orginal died. I use both the film and digital cameras,they work well together.
