Can we talk about that weird flea market in Portland that changed my mind on parts

I was there about a year ago, digging through a box of junk, and found a busted Nikon FM2. The guy wanted $20 for it. I bought it just for the screws and the advance lever. When I got it home, I realized the shutter curtain was actually fine, just jammed from old lube. Fixed it with a drop of naphtha and some gentle pressure. Now I never write off a 'parts' body without a real look first. Anyone else score a fixer from a place like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

dixon.james2mo ago

Man, that's the best kind of find. It's crazy how many cameras get tossed in the parts bin over a tiny fix. My own rule now is to check the basic stuff, like shutter and mirror action, right there in the stall. Saved a Spotmatic that way, it just had a stuck self timer. Feels good to bring one back from the dead.

west.casey2mo ago

My local thrift shop had a whole bin of "broken" VCRs last month. Most just needed the belts changed, which is a five dollar fix. It's wild how much gets thrown out over stuff that takes ten minutes to fix.

nathan1002mo ago

Totally get that feeling. My buddy found a Pentax K1000 at a yard sale, sold as broken for like ten bucks. The mirror was locked up, but it was just a dead battery in the light meter causing a weird short. Swapped it out and it ran perfectly. Makes you wonder how many "parts" cameras are just one simple fix away.

grant4781mo ago

Yeah @west.casey hit it, people throw out half their stuff over the smallest fixable things these days.