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Camera Maintenance & Repair, Book 1: Fundamental Techniques: A Comprehensive, Fully Illustrated Guide
Guiding both novice and professional photographers through every phase of camera repair and maintenance for both electronic and mechanical model, this manual features basics such as how to get started, camera repair shortcuts, important do's and don'ts, cleaning techniques, general disassembly, and repair methods. Also explained are specialized repair techniques for hundreds of cameras and accessories, how to build test instruments, where to find parts and supplies, and much more.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 31, 2025
4*
I find it difficult, if not a bit strange, to review a book like this, especially when I just wrote something about The Lord of the Rings, which I somehow feel compelled to rate similarly. This is based purely on what this book sets out to do: provide a comprehensive guide to the fundamental techniques of camera maintenance and repair. And in that goal, it succeeds perfectly.
I’ve wrenched on cars and done plenty of DIY work around the house, but camera and lens repair feels like a different world. There’s far less reliable information out there, and compared to car repair, there’s a lot of misinformation online from people doing whatever, without much expertise. Sadly, there are only a few sources of trustworthy information (like this book).
It’s often discouraged to work on your own cameras and lenses, and while that’s partly fair (these are precision mechanisms, closer to clockworks than cars), it also feels a bit gatekept. For many cheap lenses and older cameras, professional repair just isn’t economically viable, so learning to do it yourself becomes the only realistic option, especially when you enjoy figuring out how things work.
I read through the main chapters to get a sense of the book’s structure and understand the basics, but ultimately I’ll keep returning to this book as a reference when I’m actually working on the projects it describes. What I particularly appreciated was how the author begins with a clear overview of tools, many of which you can make yourself or modify from existing ones, and then moves on to explain, in detail, how various camera types work. This combination of practical guidance and technical background makes it an outstanding introduction to the fundamentals of camera repair.
I only read a scanned PDF version, but I’ll definitely be trying to get a printed copy. In my opinion, it’s the kind of book you want on your table with notes, not just on your screen.
I find it difficult, if not a bit strange, to review a book like this, especially when I just wrote something about The Lord of the Rings, which I somehow feel compelled to rate similarly. This is based purely on what this book sets out to do: provide a comprehensive guide to the fundamental techniques of camera maintenance and repair. And in that goal, it succeeds perfectly.
I’ve wrenched on cars and done plenty of DIY work around the house, but camera and lens repair feels like a different world. There’s far less reliable information out there, and compared to car repair, there’s a lot of misinformation online from people doing whatever, without much expertise. Sadly, there are only a few sources of trustworthy information (like this book).
It’s often discouraged to work on your own cameras and lenses, and while that’s partly fair (these are precision mechanisms, closer to clockworks than cars), it also feels a bit gatekept. For many cheap lenses and older cameras, professional repair just isn’t economically viable, so learning to do it yourself becomes the only realistic option, especially when you enjoy figuring out how things work.
I read through the main chapters to get a sense of the book’s structure and understand the basics, but ultimately I’ll keep returning to this book as a reference when I’m actually working on the projects it describes. What I particularly appreciated was how the author begins with a clear overview of tools, many of which you can make yourself or modify from existing ones, and then moves on to explain, in detail, how various camera types work. This combination of practical guidance and technical background makes it an outstanding introduction to the fundamentals of camera repair.
I only read a scanned PDF version, but I’ll definitely be trying to get a printed copy. In my opinion, it’s the kind of book you want on your table with notes, not just on your screen.
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September 22, 2015ffsdfds
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews