That $60 focusing screen tool was a total gamble, and it paid off

I've been repairing old SLRs for about 5 years now, mostly Canon and Pentax film bodies. Replacing a focusing screen always gave me the shakes, I'd scratch one out of every four screens trying to seat it with tweezers. Last month I bit the bullet and ordered one of those dedicated vacuum pickup tools with the silicone tip, roughly $60 including shipping from a shop in Ohio. The first time I used it on a Canon AE-1, the screen dropped in perfectly on the second try, no scratches, no re-seating dance. That tool alone probably saved me from buying three replacement screens at $25 a pop. I'm still clumsy with the little retaining clips, but the screen part is finally stress-free. Has anyone else found a weird specialty tool that made one specific repair way less terrifying?

2 comments

2 Comments

carter.gavin19d ago

I got a similar vacuum pickup tool for a different reason, sensor cleaning on my digital bodies. It works great for holding those tiny shims when I'm adjusting mirror stop positions on old FTb bodies too. The silicone tip grabs them without flinging them across the workbench, which used to happen to me all the time. Worth every penny for that alone.

the_wren18d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that takes me back, @carter.gavin. I remember spending an entire afternoon hunting down a spring that shot off my workbench while fixing an old Minolta. I finally found it in my coffee mug, which was empty thank goodness, but still. Now I keep a magnet on a stick for that kind of stuff, but it doesn't work on brass or plastic parts, so I get why you'd want that vacuum tool. It's funny how the same gadget can save your sensor and your sanity, you know?