About Flutot's Camera Repair

	C. Edward Flutot

We are a small LF shutter repair shop located in Whittier, CA, which is about 30 miles south-east of Los Angeles.

"My favorite thing to work on is Large Format shutters," says Carol (Flutot) Miller, proprietor. "Originally, one of the few customers with LF was Dagor77 and he suggested that I put a CLA listing on ebay. Since that time, because of the kind words Dagor77 and others have been saying about the work I have done for them, I am now receiving work from all around the world. I want to say 'Thank You' to all of you!

"Flutot's Camera Repair began in 1945," Carol continues, "when my father; Charles Edward Flutot, opened a small watch and camera repair shop. He had previously worked at Vultee Aircraft as a draftsman in the tool and jig department before the plant closed down that same year.

"His interest in electronics began in 1925, when a neighbor brought home a radio and showed it to him. He just had to know how it worked! He went to the school library and found a Navy book that was full of pictures of the crystal sets used by the Navy. He taught himself how to build one for himself and by 1930 he was repairing radios and watches as a part-time job while he was in high school.

"In 1954 my Father moved into the home he designed and where the camera shop is located to this day. The business became very successful, serving many camera stores and maintaining a healthy walk-in trade. He also began training others to become repair technicians, many of whom started their own repair shops.

Carol (Flutot) and Lee Miller

"As a child, my father gave me the task of finding all those run-away screws or fly-away springs that always managed to find their way to the floor. I would watch him intently, as any child would, and was fascinated by all the tiny parts, how they all worked. In the 1980’s I began working for my father. We mainly repaired rangefinder and other 35mm cameras, the occasional Medium Format camera, and, very rarely, a few large format shutters.

"My first experience with repairing Large Format shutters was when Andrew Glover (also known as Dagor77 of eBay fame) first visited the shop, bringing in his shutter for repair. He has continued to supply us with a steady flow of items over the years. Now, my love is the Large Format shutter!

"My Father passed away in 1997 at the age of 85, and I took over the business with my husband, Lee, who was my father's last student. Lee worked on the projectors."       Lee passed on July of 2020. 

As Lee tells it, "In 1986, I went to Flutot’s Camera Repair to get my Canon F1 repaired and Ed told me of his school, so I became his last student. A few years later I married his beautiful daughter. I was taught Camera and Projector repair and when our beloved "Charlie"—who had worked with Ed for around 15 years—passed away, I took over his position as projector repairman. Another associate, Del Forpal, began working at the shop after Kodak closed down their projector repair facility. Del was one of their top technicians and he showed me a lot of very good tips for working on Kodak projectors."

In summary, Carol says, "My Father had a magic touch with cameras and I hope to think that I too have inherited a little of that magic--in keeping this business alive in this modern age of digital and throw away products, by keeping my customers happy with old fashioned courtesy and care, and keeping all those great vintage shutters alive for all you good folks!"