Shutter curtain check at a garage sale in Akron changed my routine

I used to skip the cloth curtain test on old folders unless the owner mentioned a problem. Last month I picked up a Kodak Retina at a garage sale for $12, just to flip it. The curtain looked fine but had a tiny pinhole I only caught by shining a pen light through it. Now I do that light test on every fixed-lens camera before I even touch the shutter speeds. Anyone else do a quick curtain check on cameras brought in for CLA work, or am I the only one being paranoid?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa97626d ago

Pen light test on every fixed-lens camera? That's not paranoid, that's just learning the hard way like the rest of us. Next you'll be bringing a jeweler's loupe to check for fungus in the lens coating.

william_taylor25d ago

Bringing a jeweler's loupe to check for fungus" - that's the next step honestly. I mean, once you get burned on a $12 flip you start looking everywhere. I do a quick light test on everything now too, not just for CLA jobs. It takes like thirty seconds and saves you from that awkward moment where you hand the camera back and say "uh, there's a hole in your curtain." Idk, maybe it's overkill but my shelf has enough pinhole cameras already, I don't need more.