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Tried a dry heat method on a sticky shutter and it did the opposite of what I expected
So I had this old Pentax Spotmatic that had that classic slow shutter issue, you know, where the curtains drag at slower speeds. I read a few old forum posts about using a hair dryer on low to gently dry out old lube that gets gummy. Figured I'd give it a shot since the camera wasn't worth sending to a pro anyway. Ran the dryer on it for about 3 minutes from six inches away. The shutter actually got worse, like the curtains started sticking halfway through on every speed below 1/30. Turns out I just melted some old grease deeper into the mechanism instead of drying it out. Had to pull the lens mount and clean everything with alcohol anyway. Learned my lesson the hard way with that one. Has anyone else had better luck with heat methods or is it always a trap?
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craig.john10d ago
Three minutes with a hair dryer? That sounds like you cooked that poor camera. Can't believe it actually made things worse than they already were.
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roberts9510d ago
Hold on, is using a hair dryer for a few minutes really gonna cook the camera though? I mean, people use heat guns for all sorts of delicate electronics work and they don't instantly destroy things. Three minutes on a low or medium setting is probably fine, maybe even less risky than letting moisture sit in there for days. Idk, it just feels like one of those things people get dramatic about online. Everyone acts like a little bit of warmth is the end of the world, but cameras are pretty tough. Unless you held it right against the lens for the whole time, I doubt it did any real harm.
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joel_martinez9d ago
Craig, you're totally right to call that out, and I feel for the guy because it's an easy mistake to make when you're panicking about water damage. A hair dryer blasting hot air right at those tiny little seals and crevices can warp the adhesive or even push moisture deeper into the body (which is kind of the opposite of what you want). I've seen photos where someone used a heat gun on a phone and it literally bubbled the screen glue, so three minutes of concentrated heat on a camera lens could definitely soften up the internal coatings or make the glass act foggy from the inside out. It's not like the camera's gonna melt into a puddle, but it's a delicate balance between drying it and accidentally baking it, you know?
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