My Yashica-Mat jammed mid-shoot, should I pay $95 to fix it or go digital?

I was in the middle of a roll at my niece's wedding last Saturday when the advance lever on my 1960s Yashica-Mat froze up solid, right after shot 7 of 12. I tried wiggling it gently, then harder, and now the shutter won't cock either, so the whole camera is just a paperweight for the rest of the event. The local repair guy quoted me $95 plus parts, which is more than I paid for the camera in 2018, but my phone shots from that day just look flat and lifeless compared to what that twin lens would've given me, so should I sink the money into an old camera that might break again, or accept that film is just too fragile for important days?

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andrew72d ago

Honestly I used to be the guy who said film is just for fun and you should never trust it for real events, but your story totally flipped me on that. I had a similar jam with my old Rollei at a friend's picnic last year and I was ready to toss it in the trash, but then I found a local guy who fixed a stuck shutter with just some cleaning and it's been rock solid since. The thing is, these cameras are mostly mechanical, so they're actually easier to fix than you think, and $95 is cheap compared to buying a decent digital that still won't give you that look. Your phone will always be there for backup, but you can't just replace that twin lens glow with an app filter, it's just not the same. If you love the camera and it's been good to you for years, I'd say pay the guy and then maybe run a test roll through it every month to keep it limber. It's a gamble, sure, but I'd rather lose $95 on something I care about than lose the whole hobby out of fear.