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Had a real choice between a donor body and a full rebuild on a Nikon F3 last week
The shutter curtain was torn, and I found a working F3 body for $150 online. The other option was ordering the curtain kit and doing the full repair myself, which would take about 4 hours of work. I went with the donor body, swapped the parts, and got the camera working in under an hour. But now I'm wondering if I should have done the proper repair to keep my skills sharp. What would you have picked?
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davidwright1mo ago
Last year I had a Minolta X-700 with a sticky shutter. I spent a whole Saturday taking it apart, cleaning it, putting it back together. It worked, but man, that time adds up. For a common camera like the F3, the donor body route is just efficient. You got a working camera in an hour. Save the four hour curtain job for a rare camera where a donor isn't an option, or when you're specifically in the mood to test your patience. Your skills aren't going anywhere.
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fionagibson1mo ago
Donor body was the smart move. Save the deep repair practice for a camera you care less about.
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