Heard someone say 'just clean the lens' and it stuck with me

I was at a camera swap meet last weekend and overheard this guy telling a newbie that 90% of camera issues are just a dirty lens or sensor. He said he's fixed over 200 cameras that way. I thought about it and honestly he's right for a lot of the simpler stuff that comes through my bench. But I took away that we gotta stop dismissing people who bring in gear with real problems like sticky shutters or broken winders. Has anyone else had a customer get mad because they thought cleaning would fix a seized up lens barrel?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_butler5d ago

and that's the thing about that phrase, it's become a sort of joke almost but there's a real truth to it... people get so offended when you suggest cleaning first like you're calling them dirty or something. I've had folks drop off a camera with a shutter that's clearly sticking and they're adamant it just needs a blown out sensor, and you gotta explain that no, a dirty lens won't cause the mirror to hang up. it's like they heard that saying and now think every problem is a dirty piece of glass.

dylan_rodriguez5d ago

You ever had someone argue with you for ten minutes before finally letting you look at it?