How we test & rate our products at Fotohandel Delfshaven
Here at Fotohandel Delfshaven we don’t just put camera’s or lenses straight onto our shelves after we just bought them. What sets us apart from competition is that everything gets tested, small or big, affordable or very expensive. Every product gets tested and described as it is. And not just by hearing or by looking at them, but by placing them on the most cirital testing benches available. We use the exact same testing and calibration devices as the original manufacturers would have used during their production or repair processes. Our team has over 70 years of combined experience in selling used photographic equipment.
Critical Testing
All camera’s lenses and even accessories get critical inspection by our in-house technicians. The series of tests depends on the type of product, brand or even model. Everything with a shutter* gets tested on one of our Kyoritsu Shutter testers. These machines are the exact ones that were used by manufacturers back in the day. They can measure shutter irregularities up to 1/8000th of a second! Not only shutter speeds get testing for accuracy, but also balance and consistency.
Shutter accuracy: How accurate is a shutter on a certain time, for example: is 1/1000th really 1/1000th, or maybe more like 1/700th? Especially the very long or high speeds often are not good.
Shutter consistency: Does the shutter run at the desired shutter speed every single time you fire a shot, or does it change per frame and cause inconsistency?
Shutter balance: This is how accurate the shutter runs from top to bottom or left to right side of the frame. Unbalanced shutters can cause parts of your photo to be brigher or darker compared to what it should be.
Light meters are tested on 4 different EV values using the same machines as well. For lenses we use a series of collimators to check proper focus calibration. For other mechanisms we use a series of very old-skool to state of the art testing equipment to make sure everything works as well as the day the product left the factory.
We use the Arrowin EF8000 Multiplex camera shutter tester as our main testing device.
Our Kyoritsu EF-511NK is better suited for repair- and adjustment jobs.
Image: a visualisation of the proces from buying to selling.
Adding value
The part in between buying and selling the products actually takes most of our time, but for a good cause. We don’t only test and sell the camera’s we get in, we are adding huge extra value to many of them as well. After testing we decide what’s needed to make the product as best as possible. Whether it’s simple tasks like replacing old light seals, deep cleaning a lens, polishing a body or big ”surgeries”, we can do many things within our highly specialised team.
Repair or CLA
Products that don’t meet our standards during critical testing will receive status ”rejected”. These products are placed in a repair queue and will be taken care off by our technicians later on. Some need small tune-ups, some others need a full CLA (clean, lubricate and adjust). Many jobs we can resolve ourselves, but some need the attention of our master technician Alan from Amsterdam Camera Repairs. He has over 30 years of experience and is able to revive camera’s and lenses back from the death. Because we have so much work for him, he has build his second workshop within our store. We have been partners for a long time and Alan is also making sure our junior technicians Levi and Jorn will learn this trade over time. This is a very time consuming process but we want to make sure a new generation of film camera repairmans will be available in the future of film photography.
Condition reports & rating
After testing and having added value to the products it’s time to list them on our website. Our technicians notes or findings have to be translated to a honest and understandable description for our website listings. We have been doing this for a long time and the only way to have happy and loyal customers is by providing them with a 1:1 product as they are seeing and reading on our website. We don’t hide flaws or make them sounds better as they really are. If we were not able to restore a product back to perfection it for sure will be described as best as possible using our texts and rating system containing 1 to 5 stars.
On eBay you will often find labels like ”mint” or ”perfect++”. These sellers often don’t even have the knowledge, let alone the testing equipment to really describe a product as it should. To make things more clear and understandable we at Fotohandel Delfshaven have come up with a rating system split up into 3 main subjects: cosmetical, mechanical and optical condition. By using this system you can easily determine if a certain product is the perfect one for you. Whether you are in the market for a ”mint+++’‘ collectors piece or a used but fully working user camera, we have the one for you!
Mechanical: Condition and accuracy of the moving parts.
Optical: Condition of the glass inside a lens or viewfinder.
Cosmetical: How the product does look like.
Optical Rating:
★☆☆☆☆ The glass has severe issues or damages. These damages will show up in final images, or the lens can not produce images at all.
★★☆☆☆ The glass will have visible issues such as scratches, haze, fungus or heavy dust inside the lens. Images are affected but still usuable under right circumstances.
★★★☆☆ The glass has some light marks such as coating marks, a light haze or light dust layer inside. The lens is most likely still perfectly usuable as-is.
★★★★☆ The glass is in excellent condition. Might have some tiny remarks that can be seen upon critical inspection but none of these will impact image quality.
★★★★★ The glass is perfect, like new without remarks. (Note: even some lenses new out of the box might even show tiny dust specs inside, that won’t affect image quality).
Mechanical Rating:
★☆☆☆☆ This product is unusuable in its current condition. Good for parts, repair attempt or as decorative piece.
★★☆☆☆ This product is in a semi usuable condition. Some features might not work and it has to be used with caution.
★★★☆☆ This product is in a good user condition. It’s still perfectly usuable with film but has some small things to take in account when using.
★★★★☆ This product is in great mechanical condition, it’s (machine) tested and fully working as intended.
★★★★★ This product is in perfect mechanical condition + a fresh service by one of our technicians.
Cosmetical Rating:
★☆☆☆☆ This item is very used, ugly or damaged. Might have some missing cosmetic parts such as covers or buttons. Considered for parts or restoration.
★★☆☆☆ This item has obvious signs of use. There are bumps or dents or bigger pieces of paintloss. Dirty in hard to reach places.
★★★☆☆ This item has normal signs of use. There is some visible brassing, paintwear or light dents on corners and frequently touched places.
★★★★☆ This item shows light signs of previous use. Light marks to the paint or around frequently touched places. Still a great cosmetic condition.
★★★★★ This item is in beautiful cosmetic condition. Only the ever so lightest mini marks that can only be seen upon very close inspection. Collectors grade.
OUTLET Category:
This basically is our bargain corner. Here we sell items that didn’t make the cut for our store but still have value and potential. If a product does not pass our critical testing methods explained above we might decide to turn it into an outlet product. Described as they are and often the same quality as found on Marktplaats or eBay, but now you know up front what’s wrong with it. We will share our testing results and advise where the product still can be used for.
In our outlet category you will mainly find:
1. Products that still can be used with flaws or caution
2. Partly broken/defective products, good for their parts or your own repair attempt
3. Beautiful collectors- or display pieces that don’t need to have perfect mechanics anyway
4. Digital camera’s, lenses or accessories, in which we don’t specialize.
Because of their condition you won’t receive any warranty, but this is reflected in an often heavily reduced price.