Old cameras, made ready for film again.

A small atelier restoring mechanical rangefinders, one at a time.

See a restoration

A rangefinder camera taken apart, its parts laid out in neat rows on a cream mat

Taken apart, then put right.

Each camera is stripped to its parts on a single mat, so nothing is lost and every screw goes back where it came from.

Shutter: Cleaned, lubricated and timed against a tester at every speed.
Rangefinder: Mirrors resilvered where needed and the focus patch aligned.
Body: Fresh light seals and leatherette, with the chrome polished by hand.

Every camera shoots a roll.

Before a camera leaves the bench, a roll of black-and-white film goes through it. The strip is read for light leaks, even frame spacing and a sharp focus patch, and the contact sheet is filed with the camera.

A developed black-and-white film strip above a contact sheet of street scenes, with a chrome loupe

A hand tightening a screw on the top plate of a rangefinder resting on a linen cloth

One bench, one camera at a time.

Kodriva imagines a quiet workshop where a camera stays on the bench until it works the way it did when it was new.

Slow by designNo queue of half-finished bodies, just the camera in front of us.
Original parts firstWorn parts are repaired before anything is replaced.