Weekly Update, October 2025
New Mamiya stuff this coming week! I'm a fan of Mamiya cameras and lenses in general so it's something I'm often keen to pick up for the shop when I see it. Anyway, here's some highlights of this coming week's new items:
- Mamiya TLR 80mm f/2.8 blue dot lens. Had some minor fungus which I've cleaned, though has some etching and light scratches on the viewing lens. Some marks to the threads from the previous person who tried to get into it (I had to put it in the oven to open it, to be fair). Overall good usable condition - £95
- Mamiya 645 1000s with metering prism (the good, albeit heavy, one). This is in excellent working order and has had new light seals fitted recently. Comes with a 220 film cassette that's been modified to 120, though 120 cassettes are easy enough to source. £250, or £310 with a lens I'm servicing this coming week (80mm f/2.8)
- Pentax SMC 50mm f/2, K-mount. Nice and clean - £20
- A Riken Steky IIIb subminiature camera. These are quite uncommon and particularly interesting as it's an interchangeable lens camera - in 16mm format! £110 with case
- Sony HVL-F60RM2 flashgun. As far as I can tell this is new in box and hasn't been used - £300
- A Gossen Digipro F digital light meter. Not tried one of these before but seems very solid and similar to the Sekonic I use - £80 with case
- Nikon Zoom-NIKKOR 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 AI-S lens. Scratches on the front element, which I doubt will appear in photos, and otherwise good condition - £80
New services
I'm starting to offer some basic services with reasonable fees, though they are liable to change if I end up overwhelmed!
Light seal replacement - £20
This covers most basic light seal replacement jobs, including the prism foam on OM cameras etc. I've gotten pretty quick and the materials cost me practically nothing. More complicated cameras, like the Minolta SRT range, might require a higher fee but I'll have to take a look first. This doesn't involve all the tiny little foam seals dotted around the internals of cameras like Pentax love to do, as that involves full dismantling and CLA-ing.
I do the seals when I'm bored in the market so it should usually be a one-week turnaround at the longest, depending on backlog.
Lens cleaning/restoration - £10-100, probably
This one's wildly variable but I'm increasingly confident in servicing certain types of lenses, primarily older primes and Mamiya TLR lenses. I'll have to see the lens, probably in person in the market, in order to quote for it. I can clean fungus or haze quite quickly, again depending on lens, and I can repair stuck apertures and regrease helicoids; though those are one and the same, because stuck apertures mean the grease has separated.
Guides - free!
I've started writing up some guides, mostly aimed at those new to film photography, on this website. It's quite hard to explain some concepts whilst info-dumping in person, so I'll be adding to the list over time when I have ideas for new things to cover.