The Evolution of Cameras

Photo by Johnny Briggs on Unsplash

Oh how this picture (wonderfully taken by the way) creates such discussions.  The repurposing of old things for new applications is seldom without controversy, but few have seen such emotional reactions.  I myself, hate to see wonderful old cameras to be converted in such a way. As a collector of sorts, I would rather see this camera being used for its intended purpose.  On the other hand, I have cameras who are beyond repair and will never see film through them again.  Is it not ok to alter these to find a second life? Or would this create increased desire and a threat to other, functioning cameras.

​I tripped into one such discussion yesterday.  I will not name names, to protect the guilty, hey I might even be one of the guilty parties!  Here is the story within a story.

Here is my wonderful Nikon F.  She is an amazing beast of a camera that is much loved part of my useable collection of cameras.  I decided to take it out of a spin the other day and loaded batteries in it.  I al always keep my cameras without batteries to protect them.  When I loaded the batteries in it, I began to try to remember if it had been converted to the 1.5v battery standard of today (as compared to the 1.3v of the no discontinued mercury based batteries).  I tested it, and indeed found that it had not been converted.  Not only was it giving me odd readings, the needle was jumping all over the place.

So a quick search on YouTube and I. found one of my favorite repair channels had a video dedicated to this upgrade.  You can find it HERE. It seemed like something I could try, so I. ordered the diode and waited.  A week later the diode shows up and an empty Saturday comes along.

I followed the instructions, using some carefully bought camera CLA tools (what I mean to say I did not go in with a hammer and some dull screwdrivers).  I  encountered an unexpected set back when one of the terminals was very poorly soldered (I believe this is where the jumpy needle came from) but was fixed after a few minutes planning.

End result was a diode properly put in, heat shrink wrapped, the resistor cleaned and everything put back in order.  I took the camera out and it tested PERFECTLY to my hand held light meter.  It stopped dancing around and I have a consistent, accurate reading and the camera looks perfect.

So far, so good.  Then I post my "success story" on Facebook and got a VERY different perspective of what I have done.  A fellow Nikon F appreciator took issue with what I did. Now I want to be clear here, his position is a valid one, which is what I want to discuss, not really his tone or method to convey his thoughts which I found a bit heavy handed.  But here is is for you to judge.

"I would never modify internally a vintage camera. WeinCells work well.  You aren't using your F for business and yes, WeinCells are more expensive on the long run. But philological integrity is priceless."

So far so good.  A different view.  No harm, no foul. The same person then takes another issue with my photo...

"Sad to say your Apollo also sports a fancy shutter release, apart from the exposure meter power supply disaster."

"And no, you are not going to sell her at a premium on eBay"

Then another writes:

"Annnnnnd collectors value on that item is now ZERO."

So, I appreciate those who wish to collect cameras in pristine condition.  And if someone wants to pay a premium for this go for it.  I myself believe that cameras should be used and shot not kept as perfect replicas.  

Most seemed to agree with my view.  I was not very nice in my reply...I regret that.  Should not reply back to posts I disagree with until 24 hours pass.