Great suggestion above...learn/teach yourself how to fix/field-strip your gear - skills which can make the difference between coming home with actual results...or not! More than once I've needed to fix my gear on-site. Even pulled a Hasselblad apart once - great cameras...but kinda reminded me of the insides of a toaster!
Do you have a source you can buy the parts from? Maybe you should compare the cost of you buying the parts and doing the repairs vs. the repair quote you received.
I have bought plenty of junk, even from sellers on this forum, those guys are long gone, my mistakes...
I never complained, it's educational about people and gear
My first 4X5 was a Press Camera, is was not as advertised on eBay, but seller was local
I bitched, he sent me to a good local camera repair shop. It was fixed, he paid
Ever take apart a Mamiya C3? My copy still had beer can printing on the sheet metal inside
I now prefer the C3 over the other in the line
Tin Can
Appears the transaction was made off eBay which absolutely limits any kind of recourse or intervention eBay and Pay Pal could have offered.
The DIY fix it yourself, while on the surface is appealing in many ways, it holds LOTs of chances for making this bad situation FAR worst. Unless the skills, tools, replacement parts and experience of having done a near identical repair preciously, the risk of making this awful situation FAR worst is very, very real.
Rational choices would be:
~Send this MT into a properly qualified service facility for proper repair as they will have the correct parts, experienced individuals, speciality tools and resources to properly repair this MT back to what it once was. DIY repairs with anything lesser often results in a wonky camera that sorta-kinda works at best.
~Find a buyer for this broken MT with full disclosure of what the problems are and the buyer fully aware of what they are taking ownership of.
~The alternatives to this are not good at all.~
What happened is likely based on many emotions and less than rational desire for a camera fantasy that is the mystical means to the idealized image.
Linhof being a brand with a reputation for high quality cameras are one of the factors that was a driving force behind the desire for a MT. As with many things in life, the fantasy -vs- reality are often very different from each other. Fact is, the Linhof MT has a number of very serious limitations that makes it far less than ideal for some view camera based images. Within it's limitations, the MT is a GOOD view camera in many ways. This assertion is based on owning and using a number of Linhof MTs over the decades of both 4x5 and 5x7.. Never going back to that camera again. Much the same applies to the VH series of Hasselblad, Leica M and a number of "highly" desirable cameras.
Then comes the bait based on perceived bargain. The desire emotion for a Linhof MT over rides the reality this is one expensive camera to fix. The belief-fantasy of getting that highly desired fantasy camera at a bargain becomes the driving emotion to make this transaction happen. Once the reality of what occurred, the emotional and economic fleecing is awful in so many ways.
Bernice
Last edited by Bernice Loui; 7-Sep-2021 at 11:50.
WHAT!!! The one camera that might get me to part with my all-time favourite, a 1956 M3 double stroke, is an M4Originally Posted by Bernice Loui
Heh... Leica M got replaced by Contax G _!_
Oh, what the
Bernice
WHAT!!! The one camera that might get me to part with my all-time favourite, a 1956 M3 double stroke, is an M4
And, just a comment, my favorite 4x5 is a Tech III bought off the list a decade or so ago for $200. As soon as I fell in love with it, I decided I needed a spare so that I would not ever be without one. I found another one on the list for, you guessed it, $200. Its kit bag has all Tessar lenses. My first one has the newer stuff. The only thing I had to do with them was make a very simple mod to the back so they would use Grafmatic holders. They were OK with Kinematics without the mod. I got real value that far, far exceeded the cost.
For the difficult repairs, I will save it for someone like Austin at LAFLEX, who specializes in these cameras. In the meantime, however, I think I can repair the very simple stuff like cleaning and lubricating.
That said, can anyone please recommend me a set of camera tools and camera lubricants? That would be much appreciated.
While I feel that was happened to me was horrible, I will try to make the most of it. Like I said, I'll try to fix the very easy things first and let an experienced professional deal with the rest.
Anyway, please let me know if you guys have any suggestions for a good camera tool set and camera lubrication.
Thank you guys all so much again. I really appreciate the thoughtful and constructive comments. (They make me feel much better than feeling stuck in embarassing and hopeless despondancy.)
Again, please check the website I linked in an earlier post. You'll find all the info you need, including tools.
https://learncamerarepair.com/index.php
https://learncamerarepair.com/tools.php
I dunno, these cameras are tough and hard to screw-up, so it must have had a hard life, with maybe other hidden damages... (Or poor repair attempts...) BIG red flag!!! And newer models have specific repair parts maybe not available outside of in-house pro repairs...
To retain resale value, a pro repair is helpful... Add camera cost to repair bill to see how it compares to nice used one... Maybe seller can refund difference if you show him the repair bill... Unlikely you will get RF and camera alignments correct without special tools & skills...
My Tek III was cheap, but was "vandalized" before I got it (like thrown around a room), but was worked on by a tech before I purchased, I used it pro for many years, but I restored it fully several years ago, and use it weekly... Camera seems happy now... But I heard later ones had nylon parts here and there that crumble over time, so a Linhof service tech would replace them automatically (and have them), so that's who should be doing the work...
Steve K
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