foster.jordan•29d agoProlific Poster

Rant: I bought a cheap lens spanner on a deal site and it cost me a $200 repair

I needed to open a stuck filter ring on a client's lens and grabbed a no-name spanner I got online for maybe $12. The tips were soft and slipped, gouging the filter threads. I had to replace the entire front element assembly, which ran the client $200. I thought I was saving money, but I just made a bigger problem. Now I only use my old, trusted Wiha tool. What's your go-to brand for delicate jobs like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

hollyprice29d ago

Wait you gouged the actual filter threads on the lens itself? That's brutal. I've had cheap spinners slip and scratch a filter, but wrecking the lens barrel is a whole new level of ouch. That's not just a stripped screw, that's permanent body damage. No wonder the fix was so crazy expensive.

irisowens29d ago

My old man gave me a Wiha set when I started fixing cameras. Those things are solid. I learned the hard way too, a cheap tool just feels wrong in your hand, like it's gonna give. Now I won't touch anything important without it. That grip and the steel tips make all the difference.

sean5129d ago

Ever think about how a good tool like @irisowns mentioned actually makes you work slower? Not in a bad way, but it forces you to be more careful because you trust it. With a cheap screwdriver you rush, strip the head, and ruin the part. That Wiha set makes you respect the work itself, not just get it done fast. It turns a job into something you actually want to do right.

sean_green445d agoTop Commenter

Yeah, that's the real cost of a cheap tool right there.