About
Sanford Camera Repair:
The Early Days
Sanford Camera Repair was
founded in 1955 by Gerald (Jerry) Sanford after he had repaired cameras
for several years at John Allen's Camera Store in Brookline. Those were
the days of mechanical cameras that you could figure out by disassembling
the camera and watching it work, and like most camera repairmen of the
time, Jerry's repair skills were self-taught. His background as an aircraft
instrument mechanic and his innate mechanical skills made him a natural
at camera repair.
Demand for his services was
strong, and he had more work than one person could do. He began to
hire other skilled mechanics and taught them camera repair. Over
the years the business grew, his reputation for quality repairs and prompt,
professional service expanded, and many Boston area photographers and institutions
used Sanford Camera Repair exclusively for all their repairs. By the late
'60s he employed a dozen technicians and was the service arm behind many
of the large camera stores in eastern Mass. If you had your camera repaired
by your local camera store in the '60s, chances are it was done at Sanford
Camera Repair.
In his 50 years at Sanford
Camera, Jerry has experienced many changes in the world of cameras, and
some of the people he trained have gone-on to start successful repair shops
of their own.
Changes Throughout
the Years
During the '70s and '80s
cameras evolved from mechanical controls to electronic controls and the
repair business changed dramatically. Sanford Camera kept pace by
learning the new electronics, retraining technicians, and investing in
the new tools and equipment required by the new electronic designs.
In the new millennium Sanford
Camera Repair has transitioned from film cameras to digital camera repair.
We have added the electronic skills necessary to repair the new cameras,
while maintaining the quality of service associated with our 50 years of
experience repairing mechanical cameras.
Jerry Sanford developed a
reputation for designing and machining custom equipment for cameras, and
over the years has built up a complete machine shop. He has made many interesting
cameras and devices, including:
Aerial cameras
Camera to photograph subway
train brakes
Camera to photograph hot gas
flames in a tube under pressure
Camera equipment for National
Geographic expeditions
Custom lens mounts
Lens alignment equipment
Sanford Camera has made a
specialty of lens repair and has developed a nation-wide reputation for
repairing the high-end complex zoom lenses used on Electronic News Gathering
(ENG) TV cameras.
Frustrated with the limitations
of the analog test equipment available in the 1970s, Jerry's son Gary started
designing digital test equipment to meet the needs of testing the new electronic
cameras. This eventually evolved into a complete line of shutter testers,
exposure testers, and calibrated light sources, and was marketed to camera
repair shops under the name Measurement Engineering. His equipment
is still in use by many shops, including Hasselblad. Gary now owns
a data
conversion service bureau that specializes in converting data from
IBM mainframe computers to PCs.
Sanford Camera
Repair Today
Over the past 50 years we've
grown from that small one-man shop specializing in just a few makes and
models, to six factory trained technicians, plus the support staff, service
manuals, tools, test equipment, and parts needed to repair hundreds of
camera models. We stock over 80,000 different parts (several
hundred thousand parts in total), including many that are hard to find,
and we have made a huge investment in test and diagnostic equipment and
specialized tools. It is our belief that this investment in quality
service pays off in better repairs and more satisfied customers.
For the past thirty years
Sanford Camera Repair has been owned by Jerry's son Paul. Under Paul's
guidance the business has added video repair and support for many newer
electronic and digital cameras.
We have tried to maintain
a balance between being small enough to offer personal service, and large
enough to make the necessary investments in equipment and tools to properly
service your equipment.
Our Commitment
to the Future
Sanford Camera Repair has
always made the commitment to employ the best technicians available, and
to use the best test equipment and tools for the job. We are continually
reinvesting in new technologies for the future. We believe our success
over the past 50 years can be attributed to our stringent quality control,
a genuine concern for our customers, and the pride each technician has
in the quality of his work.
With an average of over ten
years in the repair business, we have some of the most experienced repair
professionals in the country, including camera repair instructors.
Each of our technicians is a specialist in his chosen brand and type of
equipment. This specialization results in more complete knowledge
of each model, and lower repair cost.
We are proud of having completed
well over 200,000 quality repairs in our 50 years. Our dedication
to quality and customer satisfaction has resulted in a loyal customer base.
We are extremely pleased that over 90% of new customers come from referrals
by satisfied customers. We hope to count you among our many satisfied customers.
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