Vent: Lost $150 on a junk repair kit for a Canon AE-1

Bought one of those cheap CLA kits off eBay for $40. Seller said it had all the right parts. Ended up with the wrong size light seals and a replacement screw that stripped out after two turns. Tried to make it work and broke the shutter curtain by accident. Had to send the whole thing to a real shop for $110 on top. Should have just paid a pro from the start. Anyone else get burned by those generic kits?

3 comments

3 Comments

clairen8522d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta stop you right there, a $40 kit stripping a screw and breaking a shutter curtain? That's brutal but honestly not surprising with those cheap ebay packs. I've seen people try to save a few bucks and end up wrecking a perfectly good camera every time. Sorry you had to learn the hard way but at least now the real shop can fix it right.

robinf5122d ago

My first camera repair attempt ended with me finding a tiny spring launched into the void of my living room carpet. Spent two hours crawling around with a flashlight before I gave up and ordered a replacement part online. That $40 kit is sitting in my drawer as a reminder that some things are better left to the pros.

wesley_adams22d ago

Honestly the real issue nobody talks about is those cheap kits usually come with the wrong size JIS bits not phillips. Japanese cameras use JIS screws and if you use a phillips bit itll cam out and strip the head every single time. A real JIS screwdriver set costs like $15 from Vessel or Hozan and works way better than any $40 amazon kit. Plus the cheap kits dont have tension control so people just yank on screws without realizing how much torque theyre applying.