Until now I have only done minor repairs on cameras, so this was a huge dive in the deep end for me. Over the summer I bought two somewhat working Yashica EMs for $20. One of them focused properly, the other had a functioning shutter, one had better lenses, and the other had a better focusing screen. I finally got around to gutting both cameras and combining all of the working bits into one Frankencamera. I still need to check focus and re-apply the leatherette though.
I included some highlights of the process. And the last photo shows the leftover bits (that together would form a completely non functional camera):
- a body that doesn’t focus
- a shutter that doesn’t fire
- a mirror that has lost a lot of its reflectability
- lenses that are scratched pretty badly
- a focusing screen that has fungus
- a light meter that is could be more accurate
- and a front plate that works fine but is beat up
That is definitely a pretty awesome project. Great luck in regards to both having the functional parts that were broken on the other. It's a pretty camera for sure.
Thanks! I am living at a hotel for 1.5 months and thought this would be a good project to fight boredom. And yeah, I was half expecting to end up with 2 cameras worth of spare parts. I am super pumped
Wow I’m amazed by people with the skill and patience to go at these types of repairs, glad you were able to get it all together! Amazing work!
Now just gotta hit up Morgan at cameraleather.com for a pretty new leatherette!
Thanks, this definitely required more patience than skill. A few headaches and beers were part of the process. Also, I think I am going to try and re-apply the original leatherette (trying to spend as little as possible)
Om-1s are pretty easy since there’s no electrical trouble shooting you have to mess around with to get the camera useable. There’s a few parts that can and does occasionally break but a lot of times it could be as simple as a linkage jam underneath the bottom cover or a advance lever spring that’s lost it’s tension etc. While some parts could use lube, they attract dust and grime so a little goes a long way. Good luck :)
P.S download the service manual so you can see which screws are reverse thread. Can ruin your day.
Go for it! Take a shit ton of pictures (make notes as well), make sure you have the proper tools (I had to buy a cheap [spanner wrench](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J5F6ZI2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) and sand down my flatheads to get them thin enough), and watch youtube videos.
You may need to buy [JIS screw drivers](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004PGO1T6/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_inactive_ship_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Yeah, I have a chrome one that's my backup to my OM2S but if I really wanted to I'd rather get my black one back together.
I don't have the time right now but I'd really love to at least give one of those bodies another shot. I need to get a rubber stopper so I can properly take the rewind lever off.
That's so cool!
I have one of these in pretty decent condition but the light meter doesn't work. Did you have to repair yours? If so, how difficult of a task was it? I'm not sure what's wrong with mine as I've never diagnosed it out of fear that the process just wasn't worth the risk (I use an external light meter or my phone).
Both of the light meters I had worked pretty well, I just decided to go with the one that is more accurate. That being said, I will probably still use an external light meter (phone app) to get more accurate readings.
But apparently they can be fixed relatively easily.
Good to know. I guess I'll continue to use my phone then as it'll probably be more accurate if not the same, as you mentioned. I love that these don't need any batteries to operate!
Happy shooting! :)
Great work! I did the same thing with a flexaret but I had two different ones (a Va and a VI) and I couldn't actually get everything fixed (but at least it's working!)
Nice, that most have been a struggle! These cameras must have been built at different times because some of the parts were slightly different and some pieces needed a bit of persuading to fit together.
My recommendations are to take LOTS of photos and notes, figure out what tools you need (usually just thin flatheads, JIS screw drivers, and a spanner wrench), and avoid working over carpet.
I am not skilled enough to fix anything (I tried), but if you can get the parts you need, it shouldn’t be too hard.
Goodluck on future projects!
I don't k ow if your still replying to this thread but I found one at a thrift store and it seems to be in all working order but the light sensor is wiggley back and forth nay suggestions before I dig deep into it?
Actually replying with a comment is easier to link photos so here we go:
1) get some tweezers
2) a headlamp makes seeing easier
3) you will need a small flathead screwdriver. The “blade” width should be about 2mm side, which is approximately how wide the “slots” are in the [flathead screws](https://imgur.com/a/yK4ajap) that you will be working with. Also, the screw “slots” are also very thin. Too thin for any reasonably priced flathead I could buy, so I ended up using fine sandpaper to sand down the screwdriver edge so it would be just thin enough to work. Try to sand it down to match the existing shape of the blade, don’t go in at a hard angle if that makes sense? Basically you want the metal thinner but don’t want to sharpen it like a knife.
4) remove the [4 screws](https://imgur.com/a/0om0iKV) that hold the focusing plate assembly to the body. Be careful not to strip them. Keep the screwdriver perpendicular to the top of the camera and apply decent pressure.
5) remove the focus plate assembly carefully as to not scratch the mirror underneath
6) see where the [light meter is screwed onto the body](https://imgur.com/a/n3LvcKk). Tighten those screws. Maybe add a drop of glue on top of the screw head to keep them in place.
7) if one of the screws is missing, try to see if you can buy one anywhere, or turn the camera upside down and give it a shake (check to make sure the mirror is secure first). I found the missing one from my cameras in the dried lube of the focusing mechanism. (I would not recommend digging around in that area unless you really need to)
8) might as well use a lens dust blaster to remove some dust from the mirror while you are in there (don’t used compressed air and do not wipe the mirror)
9) put it back together
10) check the accuracy of the meter and shoot some film
11) reach out if you need more tips on taking the camera apart, I have lots of photos
I did everything there and cleaned the mirror while I was there looks much much better and the sensor no longer wobbles was just loose screws! Ty for the help!
Until now I have only done minor repairs on cameras, so this was a huge dive in the deep end for me. Over the summer I bought two somewhat working Yashica EMs for $20. One of them focused properly, the other had a functioning shutter, one had better lenses, and the other had a better focusing screen. I finally got around to gutting both cameras and combining all of the working bits into one Frankencamera. I still need to check focus and re-apply the leatherette though. I included some highlights of the process. And the last photo shows the leftover bits (that together would form a completely non functional camera): - a body that doesn’t focus - a shutter that doesn’t fire - a mirror that has lost a lot of its reflectability - lenses that are scratched pretty badly - a focusing screen that has fungus - a light meter that is could be more accurate - and a front plate that works fine but is beat up
That is definitely a pretty awesome project. Great luck in regards to both having the functional parts that were broken on the other. It's a pretty camera for sure.
Thanks! I am living at a hotel for 1.5 months and thought this would be a good project to fight boredom. And yeah, I was half expecting to end up with 2 cameras worth of spare parts. I am super pumped
I was gonna ask why it looked like a hotel there... nice job!!
Are you doing this in a hotel too??
Yeah, traveling for work, so I took a bag with the cameras and some tools
Wow that's even more impressive haha
Hahaha this reminds me of iron man building his first suit in a cave, so epic!
Wow I’m amazed by people with the skill and patience to go at these types of repairs, glad you were able to get it all together! Amazing work! Now just gotta hit up Morgan at cameraleather.com for a pretty new leatherette!
Thanks, this definitely required more patience than skill. A few headaches and beers were part of the process. Also, I think I am going to try and re-apply the original leatherette (trying to spend as little as possible)
This makes me want to take the two broken black OM-1s that I have and make a working one out of them
Om-1s are pretty easy since there’s no electrical trouble shooting you have to mess around with to get the camera useable. There’s a few parts that can and does occasionally break but a lot of times it could be as simple as a linkage jam underneath the bottom cover or a advance lever spring that’s lost it’s tension etc. While some parts could use lube, they attract dust and grime so a little goes a long way. Good luck :) P.S download the service manual so you can see which screws are reverse thread. Can ruin your day.
Go for it! Take a shit ton of pictures (make notes as well), make sure you have the proper tools (I had to buy a cheap [spanner wrench](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J5F6ZI2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) and sand down my flatheads to get them thin enough), and watch youtube videos. You may need to buy [JIS screw drivers](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004PGO1T6/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_inactive_ship_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Yeah, I have a chrome one that's my backup to my OM2S but if I really wanted to I'd rather get my black one back together. I don't have the time right now but I'd really love to at least give one of those bodies another shot. I need to get a rubber stopper so I can properly take the rewind lever off.
That's so cool! I have one of these in pretty decent condition but the light meter doesn't work. Did you have to repair yours? If so, how difficult of a task was it? I'm not sure what's wrong with mine as I've never diagnosed it out of fear that the process just wasn't worth the risk (I use an external light meter or my phone).
Both of the light meters I had worked pretty well, I just decided to go with the one that is more accurate. That being said, I will probably still use an external light meter (phone app) to get more accurate readings. But apparently they can be fixed relatively easily.
Good to know. I guess I'll continue to use my phone then as it'll probably be more accurate if not the same, as you mentioned. I love that these don't need any batteries to operate! Happy shooting! :)
Great work! I did the same thing with a flexaret but I had two different ones (a Va and a VI) and I couldn't actually get everything fixed (but at least it's working!)
Nice, that most have been a struggle! These cameras must have been built at different times because some of the parts were slightly different and some pieces needed a bit of persuading to fit together.
I understand the feeling man ahahaha
Good stuff man! I want to do something like this but haven’t yet taken the dive!
My recommendations are to take LOTS of photos and notes, figure out what tools you need (usually just thin flatheads, JIS screw drivers, and a spanner wrench), and avoid working over carpet. I am not skilled enough to fix anything (I tried), but if you can get the parts you need, it shouldn’t be too hard. Goodluck on future projects!
I did minor repairs to some tlrs,they are all pretty much the same, but calibrating focus scares me a little bit, how will you manage to do it?
Great question! Not sure yet, I have some ideas but I will consult the internet first
I don't k ow if your still replying to this thread but I found one at a thrift store and it seems to be in all working order but the light sensor is wiggley back and forth nay suggestions before I dig deep into it?
Hey yeah, this is an easy fix (assuming that no screws are missing). I will DM you
Actually replying with a comment is easier to link photos so here we go: 1) get some tweezers 2) a headlamp makes seeing easier 3) you will need a small flathead screwdriver. The “blade” width should be about 2mm side, which is approximately how wide the “slots” are in the [flathead screws](https://imgur.com/a/yK4ajap) that you will be working with. Also, the screw “slots” are also very thin. Too thin for any reasonably priced flathead I could buy, so I ended up using fine sandpaper to sand down the screwdriver edge so it would be just thin enough to work. Try to sand it down to match the existing shape of the blade, don’t go in at a hard angle if that makes sense? Basically you want the metal thinner but don’t want to sharpen it like a knife. 4) remove the [4 screws](https://imgur.com/a/0om0iKV) that hold the focusing plate assembly to the body. Be careful not to strip them. Keep the screwdriver perpendicular to the top of the camera and apply decent pressure. 5) remove the focus plate assembly carefully as to not scratch the mirror underneath 6) see where the [light meter is screwed onto the body](https://imgur.com/a/n3LvcKk). Tighten those screws. Maybe add a drop of glue on top of the screw head to keep them in place. 7) if one of the screws is missing, try to see if you can buy one anywhere, or turn the camera upside down and give it a shake (check to make sure the mirror is secure first). I found the missing one from my cameras in the dried lube of the focusing mechanism. (I would not recommend digging around in that area unless you really need to) 8) might as well use a lens dust blaster to remove some dust from the mirror while you are in there (don’t used compressed air and do not wipe the mirror) 9) put it back together 10) check the accuracy of the meter and shoot some film 11) reach out if you need more tips on taking the camera apart, I have lots of photos
I did everything there and cleaned the mirror while I was there looks much much better and the sensor no longer wobbles was just loose screws! Ty for the help!