Probably not a good business venture in today's technology and markets.

The old-time camera repair shop is becoming a thing of the past. The business potential has diminished along with the demise of the fully mechanical camera.

The old-timers knew how to disassemble, clean, lubricate, and repair a wide variety of cameras and lenses. Parts were made available to most shops. Many repair technicians could even make their own parts in-house and or had a fairly large accumulation of discarded cameras to use for parts.

Many amateurs and professional photographers kept their cameras for a very long time and had them professionally and regularly maintained and repaired as needed. Nowadays, there is too much built-in obsolescence and folks are always upgrading to more advanced and full-featured systems.

If you scan through the forum, you will find many posts about the major camera manufacturers maintaining exclusivity over parts and repairs. I somehow doubt if they will sell parts for current cameras and they may not even continue to make parts for older meodls.

It used to be that the repair technicians' skills were somewhat like those of a watchmaker- older mechanical shutters have a similar mechanism to analog watches. Believe me- that is a special talent that requires patience and dexterity with tiny workings. My grandfather was a watch and clockmaker and repairman- I admit that I missed out on that part of the gene pool- I'm better with heavy machinery!

There the is the electronics- it's an entirely different ballgame. A customer of mine works for a major camera company's repair depot. He intimated to me that most of the techs there are not traditional repair folks but "parts changers". It seems the components on the circuit boards are so small and oftentimes sealed in such a manner that individual components, chips and another semiconductor can not be traced, tested, un-soldered and replaced. They simply replace the entire board. When the board goes out of production, the camer becomes unrepairable. Someof the chips and microcircuits are unmarked and not available at electronics supply outlets.

Your investment- Some of this requires specialized proprietary tools, jigs, and test gear that is not widely available. You need access to the service manual and schematic diagrams that might not be released by the manufacturer. Even a full complement of regular precision tools, lubricants, and test gear, all require big bucks!

There is probably a niche market for the restoration and repair of vintage and older gear. Shops like Precision Camera Repair in New York City used to specialize in custom conversions and adaptation and were internationally known for top-quality service. I am not sure they are still in business.

In my own situation as a studio operator, I always send warranty repairs to the official manufacturer's source. If the gear is out of warranty- I just bite the bullet and pay the bill. Attached is a shot of my own "repair department". I try not to beat up the gear, tighten loose screws, clean and lubricate EXTERNAL functions only, keep the battery compartments and contacts clean and I do repair all my own flash gear- but I know how to do that!

I don't mean to discourage you. I used to see ads in the photo magazines for camera repair schools and courses. I don't see them anymore. If you are still interested in pursuing this, you should do the research as to where you can get the training or experience and who and is in the business and where, and what kind of money is to be made.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

I repaired cameras from the early 80's to 2001. At that time it was a good business to be in. Around 2000 the price of parts became so expensive we could not afford to continue repairing cameras. A lot of our business was in the point and shoot type. The manufacturers quit furnishing individual parts and went to only selling sub- assemblies. A assembly shutter for a point and shoot was over $200. After you added labor costs you were well over half the cost of a new camera. Another point to consider is cost of tools. We had thousands of dollars in electronic equipment just to verify the camera was working correctly, not to mention cost of repair manuals. The only way I would repair a camera now would be older film cameras which did not need all the electronic test equipment. However you wold still need equipment to make sure the shutter speeds and exposure was correct.

I used to farm and there was a joke then about a farmer who was asked what he would do if he won a million dollars. The farmer replied that he would probably just keep farming until it was all gone.

I see a camera repair business as being very similar. First, your competition, the big guys. Warranties are going to cover all the most expensive gear. Many people are not going to let a local, small guy touch their multiple thousand dollar cameras. Owners are going to want the camera company refurb and warranty their repairs.

Second parts - are you going to be able to get them? Like someone said, the only source of parts may be older or unserviceable cameras. Are photographers willing to spend hundreds of dollars to have used parts put into their expensive gear?

Third - Test equipment and tools - some of these cameras will require expensive tools and test equipment. Many of the cameras built in the last 10-15 years are basically computers that take photos. Will you be able to upgrade or handle the software side of this business?

Finally, can you make a living at it? Will you need to charge so much that people just cannot justify fixing the item. Many good business people wind up making less than $10-15 an hour after they pay their costs.

Like it or not cameras are fast becoming disposable commodities. Somewhere there is a price point that the broken camera is just disposable. There is a good reason there are no VCR, CD player, and toaster repair shops.

Spot on!!!

I shot weddings for around 20 years, and the prime requirement by the customers was the desire to have well-lit, posed, and sharply-focused photos. Yes, the bride is the centerpiece of the wedding, but she also has to understand the limits of what photography can accomplish. Yes, I could have blemishes retouched, eyes opened, and other improvements. However, I always did my reconnoitering of the church and reception locations before I had a final sit down with the bride and groom so they absolutely understood my capabilities. They also saw a fairly broad portfolio so they could make a relatively sound judgement of my talents.

The prime "weapon" in my arsenal was artificial light provided by electronic flash. My favorites in the 70's were the Honeywell Strobonars starting with the 700, right on up through the 880 class. I also used a small studio set up on location to get more artistic shots of the bride. The sanctuary and reception photos were always well-lit, and I never shot wide open apertures. I had been taught by a pro to use the old Weegee maxim of "f/11 and be there!" Shallow D-O-F also increases the chance of focus errors. A bit off at f/8 or f/11 can be salvaged. There were also available light opportunities, and I always used them when possible.

Yes, I had my share of "Bridezilla", but I was far more likely to deal with brides who were happy to have great photos of a one-time event. I did turn down business from Bridezillas, because I frankly didn't want the grief. And written into the contract, was a statement in which I retained all images shot by me, including the negatives. When I retired, I offered those negatives to clients, but never had a bite.

Over the years, I probably spent more on lighting than cameras. The folks at Speedotron, Lumedyne, and Quantum were lifesavers.

The misconception continues Gottalaugh or I'm gonn cry!

Let's say for argument sake that the BRIDE is the star of the show. Well- all the marketing in the wedding industry is directed at the bride- ever see a Modern Groom Magazine" or a Groomal fair? they only have Bridal fairs! The groom is important as well and although parts and elders are not as involved in wedding planning as they used to be, they are all potential clients to satisfy and stimulate sales.

Regardless of that, most brides and grooms are not interested in the technicalities of photograhy, unless that is if they are enthusiasts or professional photographers themselves. They couldn't usually care less about flas usage, how bokeh is formed, or what make and type of equipment you use. If you rrepreset yourself as a professional, most folks will assume you have and use the right gear and you know how to use it. Folk respond to the way they appear in the images and the emotional content of those pictures.

I love available and existing light when it is available and when it exists. Otherwise, it's FLASH to the rescue. I lean to use multiple flashes at the wedding as a teenager- that was my first job as an assistant- manning the off-camera flash at the end of a monopod and I had to learn exactly where to place it while working on the fly. My mobile light could be the main light, a kicker, a light to extend the range of the on-camera flash to defeat the inverse square law. I was taught all the classic lighting forms at the studio- butterfly, loop, Rembrandt. split. kicker, background and hair lighting and learned to replicate all of these quickly by watching the photographer's movements, anticipating his actions and estimating the distance and placement in seconds- and all that with no modelling lights!. That how I learned how to shoot!

In a dark church or reception venue, I can't shoot everything at wide-open apertures and have little or no depth of field or run up the ISO to extremely nosy levels so I employ flash and these flash shots are no flat washed-out images with overexposed foregrounds and black-hole backgrounds. Some exposures are entirely flash dependent and others are blended perfectly with natural light and none of them have the telltale earmarks of poorly applied flash photography. If false is prohibited during the ceremony, I make do with available light and fine that a bit of "grain" or noise has an ethereal effect. At least, I can usually use my flash for the procession and the recessional!

Common sense check: If, If, may the Universe forbid, if you have to do a wedding re-shoot, you can just redo the formal portraits if the original set was unsatisfactory.

Quickie weddings? Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick! Sorry about that but you know what just burns my backside? A 3-foot candle AND hastily planned weddings. Those can be a nightmare and a minefield to cover. If you only have a very short window of opportunity to shoot, you better be nimble and quick and have all your ducks in line. Even if the entire ceremony and reception take only one hour, why not tell the folks to spend another hour with you so, at least they will have a lifelong remembrance of the day regardless of the brevity of the event.

Peace to all. Stay safe, mask up, wash your hands, avoid riots and come out at the other end of Covid in good health and ready to resume life!

When I studied music my teacher told me that if I want to make my living as musician I must devote as least twice as much time and effort to study my audience as the time and effort to study my music. While I never had intention to be a professional musician but his advice led me to abandon my intention to do photography for a living.

I like the content of your post. Food for thought.
I don't like blurry things either. But that's mine and I don't show my pics to anyone either. They are strictly for me and I can do that. If I get paid by someone I must deliver what they want or I don't take the job.