Packing Cameras for Shipping: RB67 and RZ67 Damage Examples
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
I get a lot of cameras shipped to me via USPS, FedEx and UPS. Most make the trip safely. But this month I have received several packages that were badly damaged. Well, the package was not damaged, but the contents were. I’d suggest using large bubble wrap and packing peanuts. And allowing two inches around the item from the edge of the box. Please don’t use the air pillows (results shown below).
Photo one show how I received a damaged RB67. The focus knob was snapped off the shaft. This means a bit of work to install a new focus shaft and in this case, my client did not go further with a repair since the body was not in the best of shape initially. This body was packed in bubble wrap but it was the small bubble size and it knocked against other items in the box
Photo two shows an RZ67 back that was badly damaged through shipping: the insert had a lot of damage to the bottom and the outer cassette cracked in pieces. Not economically repairable.
Photo three shows the results of packing a camera with air pillows. The camera usually just ends up at the end of the box and in this case, the lens and body were dented.
Photo four shows an RB67 lens that was packed in small bubble wrap and knocked against other items in the box. The lens is fine but the filter cracked. To remove a dented filter like this, photo five shows that I begin by carefully breaking out all the glass. Then, I am left with the just the filter ring. I can then bend/twist the filter ring in enough with small vise grips to finally remove it from the lens.
