Written by Jordan Michael Lockhart
7500+
submissions
109
countries
470
repair shops discovered
The results are in! More than 7500 analog photographers from 109 countries came together to participate in our survey to #saveananalogcameras. In this article we will focus on where in the world to repair analog cameras, sharing with you all of the data, provide analysis, next steps, and most importantly resources to connect you with the services you need. To recap, these were the main questions we asked you, the analog photography community.
How do get your analog camera gear repaired? Where can you recommend a new user to service their camera?
Before we get into the numbers there are a few things to mention so you understand the validity of the data obtained. In all we received over 7500 submissions to the #saveanalogcameras survey. This article interprets the results submitted to us in English which was around 6000. Of those 6000 entries, 1752 people submitted how they get their camera repaired, and 1358 people submitted specific information as to where one could get their camera repaired. Additionally as the campaign originated in Tampere, there is a healthy contribution of knowledge from the Finnish community. It’s with this information that we calculated the following results. The more data we have the stronger set of resources we can and provide. If you have information on a repair shop you would like to submit, please do so here. More on that later in the article.
How Photographers Repair Their Cameras
About half of photographers repair their cameras at a local store, a quarter repair themselves, and the rest are roughly split between mailing it to a repair center or having it fixed by a someone recommended in a forum or by word of mouth.
1752
Responses
48%
local store
19%
fix it myself
12%
online store
12%
individual from forum
09%
a hobbyist or acquaintance
What’s probably most interesting here is that only 12 percent of photographers send their cameras off for repairs. This means that roughly 9 out of 10 cameras never leave their community to get repaired, “Why” this is true is debatable, but the next set of data gives us more insight into this.
Where Photographers Repair Their Analog Cameras
So far we have documented mention of 470 different repair shops. Taking a deeper look at the entries reveals a lot more. Here’s the most interesting statistics that the survey revealed.
38% of photographers recommended the same 10 repair shops
92% of known shops were mentioned by 5 people or less
67% of all shops were only mentioned once.
So that leaves us with some questions.
Why are so many camera repair centers known by 5 people or less [per our survey]?
What are those few shops that are most well known amongst the analog community?
Why are so many camera repair centers known by 5 people or less?
So, we have 92% of camera repair shops around the world mentioned by five people or less, and conversely nearly half of photographers mentioned the same 10 shops. Simply put this tells us that 10 shops are very well known, the other 98% of shops are relatively unknown.
The lack of awareness for so many of these shops implies that their reach is small and does not extend beyond the local community. Why they are only known locally is speculative, but we can think of two reasons. Either most shops have little or no online presence and they are known only by word of mouth, or there is such an abundance of camera repair shops that one does not need to look outside of their local community to get the services they need. Based on our data at this point it’s hard to tell the exact reason. While 9 out of 10 repair locally, this supports the idea that photographers have access to the services they need within their own community. But then again 70% of all participants did not provide any knowledge of any repair shops whatsoever. Do they even need repairs? Is it less expensive to replace a broken camera with a working one? Is it a repairable model all? Where to dead cameras go? We can go down this rabbit hole all day, and we will, but for now we want to give you the facts we have and the answers to “Why” will come in time as we collect more data.
Cameraventures is working hard to catalog these repair shops and make them easily discoverable by locals, and non locals alike. Additionally by connecting more people to more shops, these shops get more work. More work is good for business and helps ensure their longevity, which in turn helps us the photographers. And the best news is, that if there were this many local shops mentioned by so few people, there are bound to be many more analog camera repair shops to discover. And while many analog camera repair shops can accept and receive shipments, there is no reason why location should be a reason not to use their services, that is assuming they are trusted and available to take on more work.
What are those few shops that are most well known amongst the analog community?
Ok time for the good stuff. There are a few shops helping a lot of people, some of which you probably already know. If you need to customize, restore, or repair analog cameras then these shops might be the place to start as they are the Top 10 Most Popular Analog Camera Repair Shops in The World – so far.
Top 10 Analog Camera Repair Shops & Services
KANTO CAMERA
Location: Kawasaki, Japan Phone: +81 44-328-8118 Website: kantocamera.com Email: info@kantocamera.com Address: 1-1-23-2F, Watarida, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, 210-0837 Japan
KAMERATORI
Location: Tampere, Finland Phone: +358 010 2311777 Website: kameratori.fi Email: info@kameratori.fi Address: Pyynikintori 8, 33230 Tampere
SENDEAN CAMERA
Location: London, United Kingdom Phone: +44 020 7439 8418 Website: sendeancameras.co.uk Email: soho@sendeancameras.co.uk Address: SOHO: 9-12 St Anne’s Ct, Soho, London W1F 0BB, UK Clerkenwell:22-23 St Cross St, Clerkenwell, London EC1N 8UH, UK
KEH
Location: Smyrna, Georgia, United States Phone: +1 (770) 333-4210 Website: keh.com Email: repair@keh.com Address: 4900 Highlands Pkwy SE, Smyrna, GA 30082
LEZOT COMPLETE CAMERA CENTER
Location: Williston, Vermont, United States Phone: +1 (802) 662-4932 Website: lezot.com Email: repair@lezot.com Address: 8016 Williston Rd., Suite 102, Williston, VT 05495
YYE CAMERA
Location: Canton, Massachusetts, United States Phone: +1 (781) 830-9141 Website: yyecamera.com Email: wye7@yahoo.com Address: 16 Fairview Road, Canton, MA 02021
APERTURE PHOTOGRAPHIC
Location: London, United Kingdom Phone: +44 20 7436 1015 Website: apertureuk.com Email: 27@apertureuk.com Address: 27 Rathbone Pl, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1JE, UK
NIPPON PHOTO CLINIC
Location: New York, New York, United States Phone: +1 (212) 982-3177 Website: nipponphotoclinic.com Email: nipponphotoclinic@gmail.com Address: 37 W 39th St #401, New York, NY 10018
DONG CAMERA REPAIR CENTER
Location: Manila, Philippines Phone: +63 2 733 7591 Website: dongcamera.com.ph Email: dongcamera@yahoo.com Address: 318 P. Gomes Street, 306 Quiapo, Manila, 1001 Metro Manila, Philippines
BLUE MOON CAMERA & MACHINE
Location: Portland, Oregon, United States Phone: +1 (503) 978-0333 Website: bluemooncamera.com Email: sales@bluemooncamera.com Address: 8417 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203
What’s next?
Thank you to all who participated and to who all who helped spread the word for the campaign. The data we received is invaluable, but there is much more work to be done. The more data we have the stronger set of resources we can provide. Please visit our “Submit A Shop” page and answer a few question about any camera repair shops you know about. Much more to come in the near future.
About the author
American film photographer Jordan Lockhart is known for his striking and uncomplicated depictions of nature and urban space. His foresight and meticulousness behind each piece can be traced back to a lifelong passion of film-making and architectural design.
After starting his career in Los Angeles, he moved to New York City where he began shooting film after a ten year hiatus. Taking an average of only one photo per day from his collection of over 30 cameras, it was not uncommon for a roll of film to last 6 months or even a year. In 2017 he sold his collection down to just 3 cameras and moved to Budapest, Hungary.
Instagram: instagram.com/cameraplex/ Website: hisgallery.com Blog: cameraplex.com Store: gearmat.com