Having a camera repaired

Chunky Monkey

My dad gave me his old Olympus OM-20. He says the spool is broken in it so I'd like to get it repaired. I went in to Conns the other day and was quoted roughly €100 including a non refundable €50 deposit. It would be sent off to Olympus to be repaired or at least looked at. I was also told that when a camera hasn't been used in a long time (which it hasn't) the lens need to be repaired too, something to do with grease, which means the price will be even higher. Am I being ripped off or is this a reasonable quote?

pete4130

Up at Portobello Harbour there is a place that repairs cameras (you'll see DML there but it's not DML you need to go to) a few doors down on the same block as DML there is a place called The Camera Repair Centre. He'll probably have it done for you within a week or two and be a fraction of the cost of Conns.

I got a Nikon N70 repaired there a few years ago that I got from eBay, looked like somebody had spilled coke or something sugary on the lens mount area and it was extremely hard to put a lens on and off. He had it fixed as good as new within a week. The number is 01 4781638.

leohoju

Don't know about the price, but it seems a little high to me (the deposit thing is also a little iffy in my book). You could try The Camera Repair Centre up at Portobello Harbour, who might be able to give you a more reasonable quote than Conns.

Best of luck!

BeardyGit

That's a resonable price for the repair to be honest, but I don't believe it's worth the expense....

Sorry,

Gil

BeardyGit

leohoju wrote: »

Don't know about the price, but it seems a little high to me (the deposit thing is also a little iffy in my book). You could try The Camera Repair Centre up at Portobello Harbour, who might be able to give you a more reasonable quote than Conns.

Best of luck!

Unlikely - I had the spool and advance lever assembly replaced on a Nikon EM a few years ago and it cost €90 up there..... And I was working for a camera shop at the time, so that was discounted. It was more than a replacement working camera would have cost me from fleabay for example.

leohoju

Gil_Dub wrote: »

Unlikely - I had the spool and advance lever assembly replaced on a Nikon EM a few years ago and it cost €90 up there..... And I was working for a camera shop at the time, so that was discounted. It was more than a replacement working camera would have cost me from fleabay for example.

:eek: That's quite a hit to take!

You might be right about it not being worth getting repaired then.

Calina

Camera Care on Dame Street repaired an Olympus OM-10 and an AM100 for me a few years ago. I would trust them to fix any Olympus. I think they both cost in the region of 90E though. If you think that 100E is too expensive to repair it, then keep an eye on the second hand shops, they come up from time to time.

Chunky Monkey

Thanks for your replies Well there's no harm in asking for a price quote from those two places. The camera has sentimental value, that's the main reason why I want to get it fixed and I've heard some great things about the OM-20 so I wouldn't like to see it collecting dust anymore. I don't mind paying €100 for it I just wanted to know if I could get it cheaper.

magicbastarder

i've had stuff repaired in both camera care and portobello - re portobello, expect to have to hassle them to get it finished. it's all part of the fun.

Hugh_C

+ 1 for the people in Portobello - they reconditioned an old Yashica SLR I bought 25 years ago, did a fine job. No complaints.

Chunky Monkey

How much was it Hugh? My dads is 24 years old.

sunny2004

Calina wrote: »

Camera Care on Dame Street repaired an Olympus OM-10 and an AM100 for me a few years ago. I would trust them to fix any Olympus. I think they both cost in the region of 90E though. If you think that 100E is too expensive to repair it, then keep an eye on the second hand shops, they come up from time to time.

flip side, they destroyed a very good nikon on me by putting something through the shutter.
I had used them a lot before this for other peoples cameras... I was left with the idea that they can only handle compacts...

Sorry, but its true..

the_manchine

Do they do the repairs themselves (portobello) or act as agents and send things off?
My wifes Canon Ixus needs looking at after our 3 year old "had a go of it".

gas_ticket

Actually, the guys in Portobello have undergone a transformation in recent times.

I remember in the old days (actually just a few years ago) stuff used to take months, but now they turn stuff around in a week or so. I recently had a lens repair done in just a week. I was really impressed. I actually told them I expected it to take months, like it used to.

I think they have more than one technician nowadays. They also work late (like 7pm) so it is handy for me to get there after work.

They know a lot about the old cameras too (all mine are old) so you can deal with them confidently.

Regarding the OM20, they are great cameras. Getting one repaired locally is better than buying something sight-unseen on fleabay. Also, the sentimental value is not to be underestimated.

I'm lucky enough to have found a perfect shift lens for the OM series, and I love using it. Got it on fleabay, of course.

A bit of a thrill-seeker, so I am.

magicbastarder

gas_ticket wrote: »

I'm lucky enough to have found a perfect shift lens for the OM series, and I love using it. Got it on fleabay, of course.

a mate of mine had one for sale recently, maybe that was his.

am thinking of selling a few OM lenses, they take secondhand gear in portobello, don't they? these would be zooms, not mad expensive primes.