![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stereo.thurstons.us\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_9891.jpg\" "\\"IMG_9891\\"")
<\/a>The camera can be carved up into five major pieces:<\/p>\n- \n
- Viewfinder<\/li>\n
- Lens board<\/li>\n
- Front skin<\/li>\n
- Back skin<\/li>\n
- Guts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You’ll need a pair of tweezers, as well as #0 and #1 cross-head screwdrivers. While I don’t think the screws are actually Philips, such drivers fit fairly well. There will be several different types and lengths of screws. Get a muffin-tin or some other parts tray with labels and keep them all sorted. There are differences in length, head size, and thread type, and they all need to get back in the right place.<\/p>\n
In the following description, any mention of left\/right\/top\/bottom are written from the perspective of someone holding the camera in its operating position. It may not<\/em> conform to left and right in the provided picture.<\/p>\n
Remove the battery cover and batteries before doing anything. I’m not providing a picture of this step. I’m assuming that anyone willing to rip into their camera already knows how to replace the batteries.<\/p>\n
Viewfinder<\/h1>\n
Regardless of what type of finder you have on there, it can just be unclipped and set aside.<\/p>\n
Lens Board<\/h1>\n
The lens board is held on with either four or five screws. The older cameras have four, the newer cameras have five.<\/p>\n
Lay
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stereo.thurstons.us\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_9853-150x112.jpg\" "\\"Lensboard\\"")
<\/a> the camera on its back, loosen the screws and lift them out with your tweezers. When you are doing the screws, loosen one just a little and then move on to the next. Work your way around the board so they all are loosened fully at about the same time.<\/p>\nOn older cameras, the lens board will now lift off the front of the camera as a single unit. Set it aside somewhere safe.<\/p>\n
On newer cameras, there will be three wires soldered to the viewing lens. These wires transfer the aperture setting from the lens board to the meter circuit in the body. The same signals are transferred in the older cameras, but they pass through three spring-loaded contacts rather than by soldered wires. Subsequent pictures in this sequence are from an older camera so the lens board can be fully removed. With a newer camera, you’ll need to decide if you are going to unsolder the wires, or leave the board attached and just work around it.<\/p>\n
The lenses can be removed from the lens board, but if you do so there is a high risk of un-syncing the focus or apertures. Unless there is something wrong, leave them alone.<\/p>\n
You can now start to see the guts of the camera. There should be one standoff for each of the lensboard screws you removed. These will be about 3mm tall and appear to be attached to the camera. They aren’t really. They’re held on with a little bit of double-stick tape. Remove them (before they fall off into the carpet) and store them with the screws.<\/p>\n
Front Skin<\/h1>\n
The front skin is made of thin plastic. It really is just a skin over the metal guts. The carrying strap lugs come
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stereo.thurstons.us\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_9855-150x100.jpg\" "\\"IMG_9855\\"")
<\/a>through holes in the skin and are attached directly to the metal guts. Remove the four screws (two each) and lift the left and right strap lugs out of the camera. In the picture, the lug screws are circled and the left lug has already been removed.<\/p>\nThe shutter button is the next to go. The black trim ring simply unscrews (normally threaded) and the black button underneath lifts off to reveal a brash bushing. A pin spanner could be used to unscrew the bushing, but chances are good that a sturdy paperclip will provide enough leverage to loosen it. Finally, lift out the rod and spring. Make sure you get the spring<\/em>. Don’t let it fall inside or fly across the room!<\/p>\n