Vintage camera servicing / CLA in the UK?

ProggyMat

ProggyMat

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I have a couple of film cameras that I'm considering having CLA'd - a Canon Demi, with a "graunchy" exposure ring and dirty viewfinder, and a truly mint 2nd-gen Minolta A5 with stuck shutter blades, slow timer, and stiff focusing. I realise the cost of the work will be way more than the cameras are worth once serviced - but I'm willing to accept that, as I intend to use them for years to come.

The only vintage camera repair work I've had done in the past was by Asahi Photo in London, and they were pretty decent - but obviously they deal only with Pentax gear.

I've found a couple of possible servicing contacts - (1) Dan Ho in Edinburgh (courtesy of Analogue Wonderland), and (2) Simon Whitehead in Hampton Hill. I'm wondering if anyone here has had any work done by either of them, and if so, how that went. I'd also be extremelty grateful for any recommendations on other UK service facilities.

Many thanks in advance!
 
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Repairers I've used in the past for film cameras & lenses & had great service from have often been one-man bands, working from home, who tended to retire / die off over time. But more recently I got PJ Camera Repairs (in Newcastle-under-Lyme) to service a Summicron lens that was acting up, and they did a fine job in a decent time-scale at a very fair price. They work from a small industrial unit.

That's just one small sample transaction, but I was entirely happy, & would trust them again ...
 
Thanks, all - greatly appreciated. I'll look into each of these before making a decision.

I'm a member on one other forum, where I asked the same question. A few additional possibilities were offered in response, and I'm listing them here in case any of you good folks might find them useful:

- PPP in Birmingham (has a glowing write-up on 35mmc and was the resident expert on TV's "The Repair Shop")
- Skears in Northampton
- Soper Photographic in Plymouth
- Sendean Cameras in London

Thanks again :)
 
Soper send their cameras to Dave Cole (I sent a camera to Soper for repair or trade-in, and ended up chatting to Dave about it).
 
I have had a few repairs don by Dan Ho. Very good work if you are prepared for a few weeks' turnaround, he is deservedly very busy.
 
PeterSpencer said:
I have had a few repairs don by Dan Ho. Very good work if you are prepared for a few weeks' turnaround, he is deservedly very busy.
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Thanks, Peter - that confirms what I'd hoped, given his background.

I already have a quote from him for a full CLA of the Canon Demi. Not cheap... but then again, for the amount of work involved, not expensive either (I don't think I'd want to do it for that kind of money). Added to the reasonable price I paid for the camera, the total invested would be less than half the cost of a brand new Pentax 17. Well worth it, I think, considering the overall-excellent condition of the camera, 1960s all-metal build quality, and expectation that I'd use it frequently.

Turnaround time isn't an issue for me... I'm so busy with other things that I can afford to wait weeks or even months, if necessary. Having my cameras ready for next Spring, as the weather improves, would be good enough for me - and anything earlier, a bonus. I'm not short of other gear to shoot in the mean-time :giggle:
 
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Sometimes you might think that it would be cheaper to buy a replacement second hand camera but there is no guarantee that the replacement would work or continue working. If you have a camera you like I think it's better to bite the bullet and get it fixed properly, hang the expense. As you pointed out, you will end up with something better than anything you can buy today, even if you make a loss on the resale value.
 
ProggyMat said:
Thanks, Peter - that confirms what I'd hoped, given his background.
Turnaround time isn't an issue for me... I'm so busy with other things that I can afford to wait weeks or even months, if necessary. Having my cameras ready for next Spring, as the weather improves, would be good enough for me - and anything earlier, a bonus. I'm not short of other gear to shoot in the mean-time :giggle:
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After restoring one camera, and have two more on the bench, I can understand why a CLA isn't cheap, and can take time, but given the correct maintenance, these old cameras can go on for ever, the weakness is the electronics, most that do repairs have spare parts cameras to find the necessary parts.
 
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Nikon photographer said:
After restoring one camera, and have two more on the bench, I can understand why a CLA isn't cheap, and can take time, but given the correct maintenance, these old cameras can ho on for ever, the weakness is the electronics, most that do repairs have spare parts cameras to find the necessary parts.
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I've done a fair amount of vintage lens servicing (cleaning glass and aperture blades, re-lubricating focusing helicoids), and a few minor camera servicing tasks (cleaning lens glass and viewfinders, cutting and fitting new seals) - and even relatively simple stuff like that takes a good deal of time and effort to do it properly. So, like you, I can absolutely understand why a camera CLA ain't cheap... but for cameras that are going to be used rather than sitting on a shelf, I think it's a worthwhile investment.

Once I've had some quotes for the work, I'll let you good folks know who I choose :)
 
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ProggyMat said:
Once I've had some quotes for the work, I'll let you good folks know who I choose :)
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Might be a little while before I go ahead with any work, as I just got my car back from service and MOT, nearly £2K lighter because of essential repair work - about half of which was labour :(. Makes a camera CLA look like incredible value for money...
 
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So... I've been in touch with Pierro Pozella, aka PPP Cameras in Birmingham...

He no longer does individual repairs, but focuses on complete service of each camera, to include any and all necessary repairs (subject to parts) - which is fine with me. His estimate for my Minolta A5 rangefinder is £140 - £180, which I think is reasonable for the work involved, and a little better than I was expecting. The only downside is that the next slot he has available for the work is July 2026... a tad frustrating, and longer than even I had hoped for (it would have been nice to use the camera in Spring / Summer '26); but it's also somewhat reassuring that he's so busy.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, as I'd like to get costs and turn-around times from a couple of other places, but I'm tempted to bite the bullet and go with Pierro. His reputation precedes him, as they say :)
 
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ProggyMat said:
So... I've been in touch with Pierro Pozella, aka PPP Cameras in Birmingham...

He no longer does individual repairs, but focuses on complete service of each camera, to include any and all necessary repairs (subject to parts) - which is fine with me. His estimate for my Minolta A5 rangefinder is £140 - £180, which I think is reasonable for the work involved, and a little better than I was expecting. The only downside is that the next slot he has available for the work is July 2026... a tad frustrating, and longer than even I had hoped for (it would have been nice to use the camera in Spring / Summer '26); but it's also somewhat reassuring that he's so busy.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, as I'd like to get costs and turn-around times from a couple of other places, but I'm tempted to bite the bullet and go with Pierro. His reputation precedes him, as they say :)
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Well, I gave it some thought and decided to entrust my Minolta A5 to PPP Cameras. It's booked in for July 2026, which sounds a long way off - but time seems to pass so quickly for me these days, and I really can afford to wait :)

I'm tempted to try somewhere else for the Canon Demi, just to gain some experience with different repairers...
 
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ProggyMat said:
Thanks, all - greatly appreciated. I'll look into each of these before making a decision.

I'm a member on one other forum, where I asked the same question. A few additional possibilities were offered in response, and I'm listing them here in case any of you good folks might find them useful:

- PPP in Birmingham (has a glowing write-up on 35mmc and was the resident expert on TV's "The Repair Shop")
- Skears in Northampton
- Soper Photographic in Plymouth
- Sendean Cameras in London

Thanks again :)
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PPP are quoting July at the earliest for repairs at the moment. I've got a secondhand Minolta lens and the blades are sticky and I'm in a quandary about whether to have a go at it myself.
 
MartinJvilla said:
PPP are quoting July at the earliest for repairs at the moment. I've got a secondhand Minolta lens and the blades are sticky and I'm in a quandary about whether to have a go at it myself.
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What lens is it and how disappointed would you be if it was ruined?
Depending on the lens it can be pretty easy if you have the tools, patience and a steady hand. With some optical blocks can be removed as whole groups from the front and back giving quick access to aperture blades.

Others can be down right diabolical to take apart if they use adhesives and lacquers to secure screws and elements or have complicated internal layouts.
Primes are a lot easier to disassemble than zooms in general but it will depend on the lens.
Another thing to think about is the correct tools might cost more than a fully working version of the lens is worth. Unless its sentimental or you plan on making a hobby out of lens repair it might not be worth it.

I'm about to attempt a fungal cleaning on a MD 35-135mm later this week which looks like it will be one of the complicated ones. Its also fairly rare so I'm a bit apprehensive and I've cleaned/ repaired a good few vintage lenses in the past.
 
MartinJvilla said:
PPP are quoting July at the earliest for repairs at the moment. I've got a secondhand Minolta lens and the blades are sticky and I'm in a quandary about whether to have a go at it myself.
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I had a job booked in with PPP for August but last week got an email to say he was cancelling all jobs due to failing health.
 
Kalsarikännit said:
I had a job booked in with PPP for August but last week got an email to say he was cancelling all jobs due to failing health.
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Oh dear. Sorry to hear that. He's only a youngish lad. It just says on the website they're not taking on any new repairs for a while. I spoke to him about two weeks back re a lens and he said July at the earliest.
 
RyanB said:
What lens is it and how disappointed would you be if it was ruined?
Depending on the lens it can be pretty easy if you have the tools, patience and a steady hand. With some optical blocks can be removed as whole groups from the front and back giving quick access to aperture blades.

Others can be down right diabolical to take apart if they use adhesives and lacquers to secure screws and elements or have complicated internal layouts.
Primes are a lot easier to disassemble than zooms in general but it will depend on the lens.
Another thing to think about is the correct tools might cost more than a fully working version of the lens is worth. Unless its sentimental or you plan on making a hobby out of lens repair it might not be worth it.

I'm about to attempt a fungal cleaning on a MD 35-135mm later this week which looks like it will be one of the complicated ones. Its also fairly rare so I'm a bit apprehensive and I've cleaned/ repaired a good few vintage lenses in the past.
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Thanks Ryan. There is a fairly comprehensive tutorial related to this specific lens on YouTube but I don't have the tools so it's a bit of judgment call as to whether I buy them and give it a go.
 
Whilst in theory, he's retired, I did email him last week, and he's still taking work..

camerarepairworkshop.co.uk

Camera Repair Workshop | All 35mm film cameras repaired

Milton Keynes based camera workshop. We specialise in repairing 35mm film cameras and lenses
camerarepairworkshop.co.uk camerarepairworkshop.co.uk

I also popped into my local camera shop in the week to ask about SLR servicing, and whilst they would not say where they send them, they can arrange the service of old film cameras

www.imagex.co.uk

imagex

Oxfordshire's No1 full-service photo print shop & image restoration studio. In-store canvas printing, enlargements, posters, photo books, personalised photos and more!
www.imagex.co.uk www.imagex.co.uk
 
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