My $40 lens spanner set was a complete waste of money

I bought a cheap lens spanner set off Amazon for $40 to fix a sticky aperture on a vintage Nikkor. The tips bent on the second screw I tried to turn. Ended up scratching the retaining ring and making the whole thing worse. Had to order a vintage Stanley set from eBay for $80 which actually worked. Anyone else learn that camera tools are one thing you don't cheap out on?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarthompson16d agoMost Upvoted

Ha! Yeah, $40 says "bargain" but the tools always know the real price. I had a $35 set that folded like a wet napkin trying to turn a Leica retaining ring. The tips just bent into useless metal noodles. Ended up scratching the ring so bad it looked like I attacked it with a fork. The vintage Stanley stuff is the only way to go, those old steel tools just work. Sorry about your Nikkor though, that hurts.

umaadams16d ago

Bent metal noodles, that's a new one for the toolbox comedy set.