2 Posts in One Month

I currently work with Middle School students. I do expect a fair number of drops, bumps, and spills. It's photography business for the 7th grade today. A kit was was dropped and the bayonet on the lens was busted all the way around. Upon inspection of the body itself, it seems to work just fine. I can't quite inspect the entire function of the lens, but from the aperture I can see no visible damage to the glass or mechanisms. I can buy a used lens Canon EFS 18-55mm for less than $55 or fix the bayonet for $20 and risk something else being wrong with it as a result of the drop.

But Bou, it's six screws and an uncomplicated alignment, you could totally fix it. I imagine these kit lenses don't offer metal bayonets because they are built for mass consumption and/or to keep the prices down. I dig that. I do wish Canon made these parts more readily available to tinkers and hobbyists like myself so we can repair our own gear. 

None of the reputable dealers in my area will sell me a bayonet. If it was my own money, I would buy a bayonet and gamble that nothing else was wrong with the lens and that the bayonet was a quality part. But, I don't have to play this game. I'm going to replace the lens with a used one and hang on to this one until the next accident. We'll find out then if the lens is still good. Unless a kid shatters the bayonet again (sad trombone).

You Gotta Fight, For Your Right, To Repair Things!

Gen Xer here calling on the Beastie Boys to intro my next entry. As a tinker I pride myself in being able to fix just about anything. I have a few different methods. Use schematics and manuals provided by the manufacturer. Use schematics and manuals provided by others like iFixit and YouTube videos. My own experience read trial and error. Because I enjoy fixing stuff, I hardly purchase things new and just buy used or reconditioned items knowing that I’ll make an attempt to fix it myself eventually. If I’m successful, I’ve gotten a few more uses out of it before it completely craps the bed and becomes spare parts or if I fail, I now have experience diagnosing and tearing something down and I didn’t lose too much money in the process. 

This ability and desire to take things apart, repair them, and extend the life of things became a useful skill when I was laid off from work and did freelance repairs on electronics of all sorts. That’s become complicated as makers of the products we use begin to lock down their gadgets and devices with firmware, and parts needed to complete the repairs. Tolerances have become very tight when it’s comes to these powerful and portable devices. So repairs require a little more finesse and and a lot more skill. Now you could take it to an authorized repair location and pay a premium for their expertise, parts, and some sort of warranty on that repair but you also run the risk of being up sold to another product. Whether or not it’s intentional to buy something new because it’s less expensive than fixing it makes for a lot of waste and discourages the potential for a learning moment.

If you get the chance to talk to a lawmaker remind them that we should be able to repair the things we buy with our hard earned money. We are not asking for unlimited warranties or products that last "forever". We just want the chance to access and service our stuff and get as much use out of them as we can. The longer we can use something, the more money we have to spend on other stuff like books, travel, and charitable giving. Plus you're keeping trash out of some landfill from your non recyclable thing and the packaging that comes with buying a replacement.