Charles GS

I have been shooting for 25 years, for the majority of that time I was a sports photographer as well as general photog. Most of my friends including myself sent our cameras out to be repaired. Most of us , invested several thousand bucks in a body. We did not look at our bodies as throwaways. There are basically two camps when it come to the pros. The guys who were portrait and general photographers usually kept the cameras for a long time. But a few of the sports guys did sell their expensive bodies whenever a better model came out, they felt like they needed every advantage possible to stay competitive in the competitive world of sports. But, many pros who made all of their income from photography and were counting pennies kept the same old bodies for years. Until they needed to upgrade not out of want but necessity! I am now in that camp, I have two pro bodies that are 14 years old. I need the upgrade for better ISO performance, because I am now shooting in a very dim environment where using a flash would be a distraction. My opinion is this if you are in the right market with a good business plan, you can be in a win win situation. In the last two years I have had two pro lenses repaired for a great price by a mom and pop camera repair shop. If you are familiar with business practices do a SWOT analysis from there make a decision to determine if such a business would work in your area.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

After going and reading all the comments I will change what I said about not going into the business. I now think if you like the idea of repairing cameras, go to the guy that repair camera and make YOUR HOBBY repaire cameras for him. He can teach you and mentor you. The repairing of cameras is a learning process. When he steps down buy him out. You will have the Knowledge, the inventory, the tools and customer base.

Ollieboy

With no experience in camera repair you are going to take someone's money and learn on their equipment. Would you bring your car in for servicing to someone who has never repaired a car? The proper and ethical way is to be an apprentice for a few years before you take someone's money.

GEngel-usmc Loc: Spencerport NY - I miss Lakeland, FL

Would you be willing to buy your customer a new replacement Camera if you screwed up your repair? Legally you might have no choice. Practically, your business name would suffer if you did not.
Speaking from experience, I had to replace a $900 circuit board when my micro-tip soldering iron overheated a board lead junction, and I had a college degree in Electronic Engineering! All profit from 10 previous repairs went out the window. Serious Electronic micro-circuitry courses are recommended for today’s cameras. Then there’s your electronic tools, and analyzers; not cheap.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Well after reading all of the post here are my thoughts:
I was a mechanic for over 60 years, now retired 5 yrs.
Last year a friend of my Son in laws needed an engine replaced in his 2000 something Chev Suburban and ask if I was interested, since the guy had let us use his Roll back flatbed truck to move a 20' container with all of my tool in it for at no charge, I felt I owed the guy something and he offered to pay me for the work. He supplied the replacement engine, so there was no problem there. Now the fun begins, a job with a book time of 18 hrs ended up taking me over 30 hrs, I had to remove the distributor to get clearance to raise the engine to clear the motor mounts, no problem yeah right!!upon removal of the dust. in the replacement engine I found the drive gear teeth to be very badly worn, another no problem use the Dist. from the junk engine, install new engine, connect 4k wires and small hoses (well that what it seemed like) fill cooling system, etc. and start yeah right check for proper placement of diet. X 6 can't even get a back fire , check all connections X2, call a couple of other mechanics no help, search on-line no real help, finally checked with a local shop Dale said bring it down so we load it up and the it to Dale 35 mins later he calls and say its ready, what did he do Well he connected to his Tech 2 scanner and reprogramed the list to the vehicle , now a Tech is for GM, only cost yrs age approx $2400. My older $3800 snap-on scanner won't do the job, in fact my older 10K snapon wouldn't do it. You must use a proprietary tool for this job now.
I have over 100K min tools and equip. and cannot finish a simple engine swap.
It is getting so bad now the little guy can't make an honest living as a mechanic .
Your asking about a very technical field with no experience !!!

MrPhotog

It depends on how much your class costs!

A little knowledge can be a good thing.

I’d start by learning to fix the brands and models of cameras I already own. That way I could save on future clean, lube and adjust costs forever. There are repair books on the market, and youtube videos, which can get you started for little cost: a good set of mini screwdrivers at least.

Would I suggest camera repair as a part-time, or full-time business? No ! Absolutely not !

While every camera repairman I’ve dealt with has had a backlog of work whenever I’ve dealt with them—those people have all gone out of business. Perhaps this was a result of their backlog. If they end up spending too long working on a tricky issue with a camera, it delays the repair on every camera after it.

Repairing electronics in a camera usually requires replacing a proprietary part. Older cameras just don’t have companies still making new parts. If you can’t get the part then what good are your skills?

Mechanical parts you may be able to fabricate with a mini lathe or mill. Learning to make castings and machine them is another basket of skills. These are not usually considered part of the curriculum of ‘camera repair’ courses. That is a shame, as there is an ongoing need for custom lens mounts and custom adapters, particularly when this involves vintage cameras and vintage lenses.

rfbeams Loc: Stanwood, Washington

I have my gear repaired at Northwest Camera Repair in Everett, WA. info@northwestcamerarepair.com is their email. The owner's name is Scott Crisman. He could be of help, providing he's willing.

User ID

Thaz a longtime model in the motor trade. Been on both ends. Good biz.

uhaas2009

Maybe for you but not for me.....😉....

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

I wonder if you have a knack for doing that sort of work. Is doing small detailed repair work something that you come by naturally? Are you good at diagnosing problems? There is a difference between having a bench in a repair shop where you are assigned particular projects and being the fellow who has to figure out just why this contraption isn't working. Some folks have a natural bent toward certain tasks. I could have gone to art school for decades, but doubt if I would ever have come close enough to rinse Robert Bateman's brushes (or add any other artist). Pavarotti, Sinatra, Elvis, George Jones; or any reasonably good singer in the local choir; give me years and years of training and still dogs would begin to howl and children would commence crying. This is something you will have a clear sense about as well as all the business and legal questions.

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

A few quick 'basic guidelines' (from new business startup pro)

1. What is the potential market?

2. What is the cost of entry? ( tools, training, materials/spare parts, cost to establish a viable business with enough customers and how to get them?) 2a.- How do you reach them and give them a reason to change from the "known" factory service reps or local ones to select you instead?

3. Who are your competitors? The camera company/factory service? Others? What can you do better than these competitors to give you a realistic advantage in winning over the competition?

4. Are spare parts, tech/diagnosis/analysis tools and spare parts available to 3rd parties? Or only the factory trained techs that work for the camera company?

5. How long do you estimate you need to accomplish a level of business volume to support you business "and show a profit"? Do you have this cash available to invest in starting up this new business?

I've mentored dozens of people who had an "idea" but could not answer these questions for their intended business/marketplace. If they have the determination and drive to succeed, they will have or strategize the 'will' to develop a plan the get the necessary parts of the puzzle and "succeed".

Myrooni Loc: NPR, Florida

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?
/quote
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.[/quote]

The above opinion is exactly the case. I do computer repair and cleanups. I make $140 my ceiling regardless of the extra time I have to put in, and parts aren't that expensive to add to that. If I charged beyond that it would be more price effective for the client to get another laptop/desktop. Sometimes that is the recommendation based on age and need of time. It keeps my base of "word-of-mouth". I see the same philosophy with cameras, and they are far more intricate and time-consuming. Granted, computers are less expensive than many cameras, and high-end gaming are never asked of my services.

gitano48 Loc: Houston

Don’t even think about it. You wanna do it as a hobby, fine; but as a business it’ll be no joy. Cameras are very delicate. I’ve tried my hand at repairing lenses and learned good lessons. For both, lenses and camera bodies it takes a very steady hand, some experience, and a good selection of special tools and calibration gear. That already means a significant investment before you even start. Also, as some readers have already mentioned, getting parts in a timely fashion might be difficult.
I’ve been fortunately able to find a local fellow with years of experience in lens/camera repair who also happens to have a thriving sales/exchange establishment. Works out of a large converted detached garage that could easily be the envy of any regular photo shop. Fun place to visit and browse (got a great deal on a like-new Canon 85mm/f1.8).
May not mean much but I just wanted to share my thoughts with you. I love this website.
Cheers!

fotoman150

No I plan on getting educated first of course.

fotoman150

Thanks for your input.