VINTAGE CAMERA EDUCATION

Be Aware of Cheap Auctions Offering 30+ Yrs. Old Yashica, Rollei or other TLR Cameras that are Poorly Described, Untested, Not Completely CLA Serviced by a Professional and with a long Warranty!

Here Are Some Important "Must Know" Facts:

1-  Various TLR Cameras such as (Yashica, Rollei, Minolta and others) that are being offered for sale on ebay are all over 30 to 50 years old.

2- 99.9% of these very old cameras have never been opened or professionally CLA Serviced (Clean, Lube, Adjust) ever since they were first made.

3- These old cameras may all look great on the out-side, but these vintage manual cameras all have congealed, expired greases & lubes inside the shutter, focus and film advance mechanisms, brittle and nonworking light seals, many soft-metal parts and springs inside various mechanisms that need an adjustment (tune-up) or even replacement, rusty or corroded internal electrical wiring or contacts, grimy or de-silvered internal focusing reflex mirrors, dirty 4-element taking and focusing lenses, all as a result of time and having been stored away for many years where often they are exposed to either humidity, too much cold or heat.  As a technician, I see the above conditions in cameras that look brand new on the outside- but many of these conditions will happen to cameras that have either been lightly used or never used from 30+ years ago.  None of these issue are visible from the outside and most sellers on eBay do not know how to recognize, describe or test for these conditions before listing a vintage camera!

"You would not expect to store-away an automobile for 30+ years and then have it start right-up and continue to run smoothly without first being professionally serviced~ Vintage mechanical cameras work the same way and have perishable lubes, seals and parts that need to be professionally changed, cleaned and adjusted after many years of being stored-away, unused and often never serviced from the date when first manufactured!"

4- The great majority of vintage camera sellers on eBay do not really know what they have and they do not know the "internal conditions" of the camera/equipment they are selling! Therefore they usually misrepresent the outside conditions of the camera for the true "working condition" of the camera equipment by using misleading words like "Seems or looks to be working" or " Looks or Appears to be in great condition" or "A friend or family member said it worked" and other similar uncertain language.  Unfortunately, when dealing with mechanical items like Cameras and Watches, there is No such a thing as "Seems to" or "Appears to" or "Looks Like" to be working- These are misleading words used by some to fool you into buying something in an unknown condition.

Detailed List Of Most Common Issues With 30+ Yrs. Old Vintage TLR Cameras 

Offered on eBay Without a Complete Professional CLA Overhaul:

A- Internal light shields in the film bay and around the light metering system, which are made from high-density foam are All dried-up and compressed, no longer protecting against unwanted light exposure to film and light meter.

B- The rear 3rd taking lens element hidden behind the shutter blades are Not Crystal Clear and almost always spotted or fogged or hazed with dried oily film (looks like fine dust or moisture) from the shutter blades, and which often permanently etches/damages the surface of the 3rd lens element beyond repair or cleaning.  In addition, many of these rear lens elements can sometimes also show a form of lens fungus due to prolonged storage in hot and cold areas (basements & attics) where condensation and moisture create fungus and mold over the years.  Haze, Fog, Spots, fungus cannot be seen or recognized from the outside of the camera! There is an internal test that involves several steps in order to verify true condition of the lens elements that are behind the shutter blades.

C- Sticky shutters, locked-up aperture or shutter blades or Stiff shutter speed/aperture adjuster knobs- In many cases the shutter does not fire correctly each time or at the right selected speed, or certain shutter speeds or aperture openings will not be selectable and locked-up. 

D- Locked-up, sticky or Broken-off Shutter self-timer levers (below the Bottom lens) because someone, at some point operated the timer lever before making sure that the "Flash Sync lever" (left side of the lenses) was set correctly and in Yashica TLR's that will break the shutter and the shutter timer lever function!

E- Corroded or rusted battery terminal wiring or contact (for light meter), where someone left an old battery inside the camera and in most cases not only the metal terminal corrodes but in many cases, invisible to the eye, the corrosion travels up the terminal wires inside the camera body to the light meter contact points near the view finder and beyond- This is costly to fix and reason why many TLR sellers on ebay have cameras with nonworking light meters.

F- Gritty and stiff focusing knob and film advance lever because old internal lubricants become dry and gunky after 40+ years. These parts should move as smooth as “butter” and the camera needs a professional overhaul and CLA to remove and replace old lubricants. Operating the camera with old lubricants will wear the camera parts instead of protecting them.

WARRANTY INFORMATION   The purpose of this warranty is to provide my buyers with a quality assurance and to protect the buyer's investment against unknown issues or defects at the time of the sale or initial delivery. This Warranty is Not for new damages (cosmetic or otherwise) that may occur after a safe delivery of the equipment has been made.   This Limited  and conditional seller Mechanical Warranty provides the Winner/Buyer of the Yashica Mat-124 G Camera, Serial# 7103791 to a Six (6) Months of seller repair or replacement Warranty from the date of sale at the professional discretion of the seller and upon examination and determination of the eligibility for warranty service claim based on the following conditions:   The terms of this warranty are an incorporated part of the seller item description, terms and conditions. The Seller is a professional restoration technician and the sole entity reserving the rights and discretions in determining cause of damage and eligibility of Buyer for return and warranty service claims. An advance written seller return authorization will be required for any returns within the initial 14-day return period or for any subsequent eligible warranty service claims. For this Warranty to be valid the buyer must have followed the return and damage reporting policies stated in the Seller’s eBay listing page. The Buyer must take digitally time/date stamped photos of the damaged or defective item and it’s packaging within 24 hours of the tracked date and time of delivery. The photos along with detailed explanation of defects or damages must then be forwarded to the seller within 24 hours of delivery by using eBay's messaging system. Any pre-authorized returns under the initial 14-day return policy period must be shipped back to the seller via trackable couriers within the 14-day period following the date/time of initial delivery. This Warranty protects against mechanical defects or damages present at the time of delivery and those which are determined by professional examination of the item or of the photos of the item by the seller to have not resulted from buyer's neglect, abuse, misuse, mishandling, forced trauma, or accidental damages including but not limited to forced trauma to gears, adjustment levers, inner mechanisms, impacts, drops or scratches of the camera components, body frame/parts and interior/exterior finishes. This warranty does not extend to or cover new damages to any lenses, viewfinder glass components, loop magnifier or to reflex focus mirror under any circumstances. The cost of shipping, handling and insurance to return the item to the seller will be the sole responsibility of the buyer. If it is determined that the cause for the return is not due to any damage after the initial safe delivery of the camera equipment, then the cost of return shipping and insurance back to the Buyer will be paid by the Seller for eligible returns or warranty Services- Otherwise, the Buyer will be required to remit advance payment for the costs of return shipping and insurance back to the Buyer. This Warranty becomes void and no reimbursements shall be made to the Buyer in the event the item is altered, mechanically opened, worked-on or repaired by anyone other than the seller and/or without the seller's prior knowledge and written authorization.  Required Feedback/Warranty Activation and Terms This warranty activation requirement and related terms are similar to that of warranty & product registration requirement with most any retail consumer products. Unless the item is returned by the buyer within the first 14 days from the initial date of delivery, then a product registration by the way of a positive buyer feedback and rating for the seller on eBay's site is required in order to acknowledge the acceptance and condition of the purchased item. This feedback registration must be completed within 21 days of the date of delivery; otherwise this warranty offer will not be activated, will not be in force and shall become void for all claims on the 22nd day after initial date of delivery.

Thanks For Looking ~ Have Fun Buying!