Overheard someone say patience is overrated in camera repair

I was at a camera swap meet in Denver last Saturday and heard this older guy telling his friend that being slow and careful is just a waste of time. He said if you know what you're doing you can fix a shutter in 20 minutes flat. That got me thinking because I've been repairing cameras out of my garage for about 3 years now and I always take my sweet time on every job. Last month I had a Minolta SRT-101 with a sticky mirror that took me nearly 2 hours because I kept second guessing myself. Maybe he has a point about overthinking things but I've also seen rushed repairs come back with screws stripped or gears misaligned. Do you guys find that going faster actually works out in the long run or is being thorough always the safer bet

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angelab623mo ago

You ever end up reworking one of those fast jobs later down the line?

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luna_jackson283mo ago

Angela asking about reworking fast jobs hits the nail on the head. I've taken apart cameras where some "expert" stripped a tiny screw and it took me two hours just to drill it out. That 20 minute shutter fix might work for him, but I'd rather spend an hour being careful than spend three hours fixing someone else's hurry.

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