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.

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.

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!