Buying guide · Inspection

How to Check a Used Film Camera Before You Buy

A vintage camera can look perfect and still be unable to take a single good picture. Most of what goes wrong is invisible in a quick glance: a shutter that runs slow, foam seals that leak light, a meter that reads two stops off, a lens with a faint web of fungus. The good news is that you can catch most of it in ten minutes, without film and without tools you don't already own.

This is the checklist we'd want in our pocket at a flea market, an estate sale or a camera fair. If you're buying online, use it to decide which questions to ask the seller and which photos to request.

Before you start: what to bring

You don't need a workshop. A small, bright LED flashlight (a phone torch works in a pinch), a lens cloth, and a little patience will cover almost everything. If you plan on doing this often, a hand loupe makes inspecting film rails, rangefinder windows and lens surfaces much easier.

Ask the seller, politely, whether you can open the back. A reasonable seller won't object. If they refuse to let you look at a camera with the back open, that tells you something too.

Check the body and controls

Start with the obvious. Cosmetic wear tells you how the camera lived, and some damage points to deeper problems.

• Dents on the top plate or lens barrel can mean a drop. A dented filter ring is cosmetic; a dent near the focusing helicoid or the film advance can mean bent internals.
• Missing or swapped screws suggest someone has been inside. That's not necessarily bad (good repairers open cameras), but mismatched screws and chewed slots suggest an amateur.
• Corrosion in the battery compartment is a common problem with cameras stored with old cells inside. Light green or white crust can sometimes be cleaned; corrosion that has crept into the wiring is a repair job.
• Every dial and lever should move with clean detents. A shutter speed dial that turns freely between settings, or an aperture ring with no clicks where there should be some, needs explaining.

Advance the film lever through its full stroke. It should feel smooth, without grinding or a hard catch halfway through. Then press the rewind release and turn the rewind crank to make sure it spins freely.

Test the shutter at every speed

The shutter is the heart of the camera, and it's where age shows first. Old lubricants thicken or migrate, and the slow speeds, which depend on a delicate escapement, slow down or stick.

1. Open the back (with no film loaded) and set the lens to its widest aperture so you can see light through it.
2. Fire at the fastest speed while pointing at a bright window. You should see a brief flash of light across the whole frame.
3. Work down through every speed. Each step should sound and look roughly twice as long as the one before. At 1/8 and slower you'll clearly hear the difference.
4. Listen for hesitation. A shutter that hangs open for a moment at 1 second and then snaps shut, or that won't close until you tap the camera, needs service.
5. Check the B (bulb) setting stays open as long as you hold the button.
6. Try the self-timer if there is one. It often has its own sticky mechanism, and a jammed self-timer can occasionally lock the shutter.

Focal-plane vs leaf shutters

Most 35mm SLRs and many rangefinders have a focal-plane shutter just in front of the film. Look at it with the back open. Cloth curtains should be flat and opaque; hold the camera up to a bright light with the shutter cocked and look for pinholes or wrinkles. Metal blade shutters should have no bent or creased blades. Never touch either kind with your finger.

Many folding cameras, TLRs and medium format lenses use a leaf shutter inside the lens. Watch the blades open into a clean circle or polygon and close fully. Oil on leaf shutter blades (a shiny, wet look) is a classic cause of sticking.

Inspect the light seals and mirror foam

Many cameras from roughly the 1960s through the 1980s use strips of black foam in the channels around the film door and at the hinge. That foam breaks down with age into a sticky tar or a dry crumble. Once it does, light leaks onto the film and you get orange or red streaks on your frames.

• Press the foam gently with a fingernail or toothpick. It should spring back. Sticky or powdery foam needs replacing.
• Check the hinge area, which is the most common leak point.
• In an SLR, look at the small foam strip the mirror rests against when it flips up (often called the mirror bumper or damper). Rotted foam there can stick to the focusing screen.
• Look for black crumbs in the film chamber or on the shutter, which are a sign the seals are already failing.

Bad seals are not a reason to walk away. They're cheap and replaceable, and many owners do the job themselves. Just factor in the time or the repair cost.

Check the lens for fungus, haze and separation

Glass problems decide whether a lens is a user, a project or a shelf piece. Set the aperture wide open, set focus to infinity, and shine your flashlight through the lens from the back while you look in from the front, then reverse it. Tilt the lens slowly so the light catches each surface.

Also check the aperture blades. Turn the aperture ring and look for oil (shiny or wet-looking blades) and for blades that move slowly. On SLR lenses with an automatic aperture, work the stop-down lever on the back and watch the blades snap closed and open again quickly. Then turn the focusing ring through its full range: it should feel smooth and even, not gritty or loose.

If you want to read the markings on the lens barrel while you're at it, see our guide to vintage camera lens engravings.

Check the viewfinder and focusing

Look through the finder at something with straight lines. In an SLR you're looking for a clear focusing screen, an evenly lit view and a mirror that isn't scratched or flaking. Dark corners or a cut-off image can mean a misaligned mirror. Desilvering of the prism (dark patches or lines inside the finder) is a known issue with some cameras and is expensive to fix properly.

In a rangefinder, find a distant edge and turn the focus ring. The secondary image should line up with the main image vertically and merge cleanly at infinity. A dim or yellowed rangefinder patch can sometimes be cleaned; a patch that is vertically offset or doesn't reach infinity needs adjustment.

Test the meter (and don't overpay for it)

Many vintage cameras have a built-in light meter, and many of those meters were designed around mercury cells that are no longer sold. A meter can look dead simply because the wrong battery is fitted or the contacts are corroded.

• Selenium meters (the honeycomb cell on the front of many older cameras) need no battery. Point one at a bright light and the needle should swing; if it doesn't move, the cell may be exhausted.
• CdS and silicon meters need a battery. Ask the seller to fit one, or bring a fresh cell of the right size.
• Cross-check against a phone meter app or a camera you trust. Being within about a stop is useful; wild swings or a stuck needle are not.

The honest rule: unless you see the meter working accurately, price the camera as if it has no meter.

Red flags worth walking away from

• The shutter won't fire, or fires only at some speeds.
• Visible fungus on several internal lens surfaces.
• The film advance is jammed or grinds.
• Bent shutter blades or a torn cloth curtain.
• Signs of water damage: rust on screws, white mineral residue, or a musty smell.
• The seller won't let you open the back or won't answer specific questions.

None of these means the camera is worthless. Plenty of collectors buy non-working examples as display pieces or parts. Just make sure the price you pay reflects what you're actually getting.

If you're buying online

You can't hold the camera, so let the seller do the checks for you. Ask for a photo of the lens with a light shining through it, a photo of the open back, a short video of the shutter firing at slow speeds, and a straight answer about whether the meter responds. Read the condition terms carefully: "as is" and "for parts or repair" mean exactly that. Before you commit, look at what similar cameras in similar condition have actually sold for.

Medium format and rangefinders follow the same logic, just with higher stakes per mistake.

The bottom line

Take your time, test every speed, and use your flashlight. If a camera passes all of the above, you've found a good one. If it fails a few, you've found a project, and that's fine too, as long as you knew before you paid.

Frequently asked questions