About Camera Repair Manuals

Q1 - Do you have a web site or a printed catalog?

A I am working to develop a web site, as time permits. Hopefully the site will be operational by the end of August or September at the latest.

The not-yet-completed catalog (the biggest part of the web site) is now about 115 pages in Microsoft Word format. (If you would like to receive a digital copy of the current draft of it by e-mail, just ask.)

The url of my website will be http://www.manualsdotcom.com. As required by eBay rules, my eBay prices will be slightly lower than the prices on my web site

My printed catalog is currently out of print and, hopefully, will become unnecessary when the web site is operational.

Q2 - Do you accept credit cards?

A For now, I am set up to accept credit cards through PayPal and eBay's BillPoint service.

At present PayPal (a free service, by the way) is available for use only with credit cards from U.S. issuers.Payment by BillPoint is available to any eBay auction winner.

Once the web site is operational, I will be able to accept credit cards directly. A special type of credit card merchant account is required for automated processing of credit card purchases via the Internet (i.e., a shopping cart). The same type of account can be used to process transactions by other means. I will obtain that type of account once the web site is completed.

Q3 - What do camera repair manuals include?

A - The manuals include all the information that was in the original manuals, as issued by the manufacturer. Factory manuals include the information needed to make all repairs to the camera made by the manufacturer at the factory. The content of the manuals is listed in each auction listing. (Please refer to Questions 4 and 5 for additional information.)

As a general rule, the following are not included in the factory repair manual for a camera:

An owner's or user's manual, or information regarding use of the camera or other piece of equipment.

Repair information for anything on the camera that bears the name of a manufacturer other than the maker of the camera - (Kalart rangefinders, Copal or Compur shutters, etc.).

Repair information for lenses (unless the lens is integral to the camera and is not interchangeable).

Repair information for film magazines, accessory finders and other accessories, particularly if used with other camera models.

Exceptions to these generalizations are noted in the auction listings. In many cases, manuals for lenses and accessories are available.

Please refer to Question 4 for related information.

Q4 - Why does it sometimes take more than one manual to fix a camera?

A - One reason is that, for many years, it was common practice for manufacturers to issue separate service and parts manuals for a camera. (Several companies still issue separate manuals today.) However, when possible, I include both the service manual and the parts manual in a reprint.

Another reason is the practice of some manufacturers of issuing a basic manual for a series of cameras, then issuing supplemental manuals for subsequently issued models in that series.

For example, Minolta issued a basic repair manual for its XG series of cameras, then later issued nine supplements for later models in the series. One reason they did this is to avoid having to issue a new edition of the basic manual each time a new model was issued.

Also, most manufacturers sell repair manuals only to qualified repair shops that have established open credit accounts with their parts departments. Most repair shops purchase repair manuals on tanding order,and thus they already have the manuals for earlier models. If a complete new manual were issued for each model, the repair shop would have to pay for (and store) the same information many times.

Q5 - What is the difference in a service manual and a parts manual?

A - Different manufacturers follow different practices and formats regarding their repair manuals. Different manufacturers use different terms in the titles of their manuals. Most manufacturers have changed practices and formats over the years, so that what applied to one manufacturer manuals from the 1960 or 1970 may not apply today.

Generally, a parts manual includes at least two things: exploded views and a complete list of all parts (parts list) that are used in the camera, Many also include wiring diagrams and schematics. Occasionally, a parts manual includes very limited repair instructions. Parts manuals have also been called parts lists, parts catalogs, echnical illustration and parts listand other things by various manufacturers. Mamiya titled some of their earliest parts manuals ervice Manualand called the corresponding service manual ervice Instructions.p>

Given a choice of using only one manual (either the parts manual or the service manual) in repairing a camera, many professional repair technicians would choose the parts manual. In fact, many shops purchased only the parts manual for many cameras. This is because the exploded views give them a detailed road map for disassembling (and especially reassembling) the camera, and the problem often becomes evident once the camera is disassembled.

A service manual is where the service and repair instructions are found. They may include troubleshooting charts, test information, lubrication charts and other information. Some include detailed sections on both disassembly and reassembly (in addition to the exploded views issued in the service manual). These manuals may be titled Service Manual, Service Instructions, Repair Manual or even Service Information.

Instead of issuing separate service and parts manuals, some manufacturers issue a single manual that provides all information needed to repair or service a camera. This practice is becoming more common in the era of electronic cameras, since a parts manual is not adequate to service these more complex cameras. These all-in-one manuals may also be called "service manuals," "repair manuals" or something else.

Q6 - What about quality?

A - The main factor in the quality of a particular reprint is the quality of the original manual. Some people assume that repair manuals were printed with the same care and quality as coffee table books. This is not the case.

The quality of printing of original repair manuals varies considerably. Among the ig five35mm single-lens reflex manufacturers since the mid-1960 (the "post-Canonflex era, Canon has produced the highest quality manuals, for the most part. The exceptions to this include manuals for some Canon T-series cameras and equipment, which are not as well printed as those before and after.

Olympus has generally produced the lowest printing quality. One problem with some Olympus manuals is the use of hairlines that are too fine for the paper and press on which the manuals were printed, resulting in occasional reaksin the hairlines.

I have never seen a factory repair manual for a camera (or anything else, for that matter) that was printed in color. In very rare instances, a manual may have the wiring diagrams in color.

As late as the early to mid-1970, some manufacturers printed repair manuals that looked like blueprints. This applies to some early manuals from Kowa, Mamiya, Miranda and Tokyo Optical (Topcon). Although they were printed in blue ink, they were printed on paper with a high wood pulp content (but less than news print) that tends to discolor over time. While these reprints are perfectly legible (and with the help of a little digital magic, better than the originals) the pages of these manuals tend to have light gray backgrounds instead of white, because of the discoloration of the paper. (On the other hand, ordinary photocopies of these manuals -- even from the originals -- can be downright awful.)

The same is true of parts of 1970s Bolex manuals. Although Paillard Inc. produced exquisitely printed exploded views, service instructions and modification notices appear to have been mimeographed on colored paper, so that the background reproduced as light gray.

A few more examples: Any paper (as opposed to microfiche, etc.) manual purchased from Nikon today will be a photocopy, while the vast majority of manuals obtained from Minolta will be either photocopied or quick printed (it is difficult to tell the difference). Most manuals supplied by Mamiya today are quick printed.

My manuals are reprinted on a high-speed Konica digital scanner/copier/printer that is less than four months old. As a reference point, office copiers have a resolution of 200 dots per inch (dpi), or 40,000 dots per square inch (dpsi). The 600-dpi Konica printer provides 9X the resolution of an office copier, or 360,000 dpsi. Many reprints being sold by others are third-generation to sixth-generation photocopies.

I have seen factory "photocopied original" manuals of such low quality that they are useless for reprinting and border on being illegible in some places. I have also seen reprints purchased from others on eBay that appear to be several generations removed from the original.

Q7 - I don need the complete manual just a few pages of it. Will you sell them to me?

A - I am asked to do this almost every week, and sometimes more than once a week. I sorry, but I cannot do this.

I actually did this two or three times. Considering the time required to read the manual, select the pages needed, disassemble the manual, copy the pages, reassemble the manual and mail the pages, I found that it would have been cheaper for me to just give away the manual. And in each instance, the buyer discovered that he had not correctly identified the problem, or had not completely described the problem, or found additional problems, and additional pages were required.

Q8 - How do you determine the prices of your manuals?

A - The main factor in the price of a repair manual is the number of pages, since that is the main factor in my production costs.

Some manuals contain many oversized (typically 11x17 inch pages) that must be manually Z-folded and collated. Since this can take as long as half an hour in some cases (Eiki projector manuals come to mind), this is also a factor in the pricing of some manuals. In a few manuals, the pricing is affected by the scarcity or and demand for the original manual, since this determines what I had to pay for the original manual.

Prices range from $10 for some simple parts manuals having only a few pages to $100 for the complete repair manual for a Noritsu one-hour lab. (Noritsu price for the original manual is $350.) My average price for a complete manual (or a combined parts and service manual) is about $35.

My prices are comparable to (and in most cases, lower than) today prices for comparable manuals (photocopies or printed originals) obtained from the manufacturer.

Just as an example, why pay $75 for the parts and service manuals for a Pentax medium format camera when you can buy manuals of the same or better quality for $40?

Unfortunately, my cost has nothing to do with the current value of a particular used camera. There are some instances in which the reprint costs more than the value of the camera. I generally avoid listing these manuals for auction, although I will offer them occasionally for the collector who wants to learn how to repair his camera, as well as for the person who owns more than one camera of that model. Also, these tend to be simple cameras that are excellent cameras on which to learn camera repair.

The price of a manual is almost always less than the cost of professional repair. Because of the difficulty of finding spare parts for most older and classic cameras, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find shops that will work on them. While the odds in most cases are that parts will not be required, a shop technician doesn want to disassemble a camera, only to have to tell the owner that he can repair it because he can't order parts for it.

The short answer is that my prices are determined by my costs. Since this is my full-time occupation, my costs are not just for the reprints themselves, but the cost of acquiring additional original manuals, my eBay bill (currently $1,000 to $1,300 a month), the house payment and utilities and college tuition for my two kids.

Q9 - What if you don have the manual I need?

A - I maintain a database of repair manuals that my customers are looking for, and I am buying manuals all the time. I would be happy to add your request to my database and let you know when and if I find the manual.

Q10 - What if I need parts? Where can I find repair tools?

A - I have seen estimates published in camera repair publications, etc., to the effect that 90% of repairs to manual (non-electronic) cameras can be made without spare parts. I believe it would be more accurate to say that 80% to 90% of repairs to these cameras do not require parts. In some cases, it will be obvious before beginning the repair that parts will be needed.

Finding parts for older cameras is hit-and-miss. Even if the manufacturer stocks parts for your camera, the vast majority of manufacturers sell parts only to qualified repair shops.

One option that is sometimes feasible is to buy a non-working camera of the same model, use the parts you need and sell the parts camera on eBay (or keep it for future repairs). By far the best source, to my knowledge, of replacement parts for discontinued cameras and other photographic equipment is Curt Fargo in Vacaville, CA - Here is the URL of his web site:

http://www.fargo-ent.com/index.html

Either Fargo Enterprises or Cam-Comp (formerly part of the old National Camera repair school) is a good source for "traditional" repair tools. Fargo Enterprises would be a better source of electronic test and diagnostic equipment. I believe Fargo Enterprises purchased Cam-Comp's inventory of spare parts several years ago. Here is Cam Comp URL:

http://cam-comp.com

Q11 - Do you repair cameras or stock tools or spare parts?

A - No.

Q12- How did you get into this business?

A - I became interested in repairing my own cameras (mostly manual Nikon single-lens reflex cameras and Leica and Canon screw-mount rangefinder cameras) in the late 1970. I found a classified ad from a camera shop selling its repair manuals in the old Camera Craftsman magazine, and I bought the manuals.

I also discovered, a few years later, that camera repair shops had difficulty finding out-of-print repair manuals, so I began selling reprints as well as duplicate original manuals, mostly to repair shops. In the early 1990, my public relations job required so much travel that I was unable to do this. However, after my corporate job was downsized in 1994, I began selling reprints as a full-time business. Since that time, the number of reprints I offer has grown from about 300 to more than 1,500.

Q13 - Why do you use reserve price auctions instead of simply listing your price as the minimum bid?

A - I would much prefer to avoid using reserve price auctions, since nearly half of my eBay bill is their eserve price auction surcharge.However, I have tested o reserveauctions, as well as various minimum bids, from time to time. For whatever reasons, I have found that my sales are such lower when I use o reserveauctions.

Q14 Would a repair manual be of any use to me as a substitute for an owner or user manual??

A No. Repair manuals do not include this type of information and would be useless as an owner or user manual.

Q15 Do you sell owner or user manuals?

A While I have a few owner or user manuals, most are for equipment that I have owned or now own. The number is quite small in comparison to the number of repair manuals in my catalog.

Favorite Links
Graflex & Graphic Info & History
John Waller's Rollei 35 Site
Bolex Information & History