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Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers

Repair and adjust cameras and photographic equipment, including commercial video and motion picture camera equipment.

1,650 people do this job in the US. $52,720 a year.

now
6%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 7%
  • 0%
  • 93%
4%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 7% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 6%.

0%5%10%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 1% within reacho3, April 2025: 3% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 4% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 5% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 5% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 5% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 5% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 6% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 6% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 15 tasks from .

TaskKind
Install electrical assemblies and wiring in aircraft camera housings and memory cards or film in cameras, following blueprints and using hand tools and soldering equipment.Done several times a day by most who do it.15%1.7 h38 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Assemble aircraft cameras, still or motion picture cameras, photographic equipment, or frames, using diagrams, blueprints, bench machines, hand tools, or power tools.Done several times a day by most who do it.14%2.1 h50 min to 4.2 hStays with people
Adjust cameras, photographic mechanisms, or equipment such as range and view finders, shutters, light meters, or lens systems, using hand tools.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 12%38 min17 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Clean and lubricate cameras and polish camera lenses, using cleaning materials and work aids.Done several times a day by most who do it. 11%38 min17 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Disassemble equipment to gain access to defect, using hand tools.Done several times a day by most who do it. 10%33 min13 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Calibrate and verify accuracy of light meters, shutter diaphragm operation, or lens carriers, using timing instruments.Done daily by most who do it. 8%42 min17 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Test equipment performance, focus of lens system, diaphragm alignment, lens mounts, or film transport, using precision gauges.Done several times a day by most who do it. 8%29 min13 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Fabricate or modify defective electronic, electrical, or mechanical components, using bench lathe, milling machine, shaper, grinder, or precision hand tools, according to specifications.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 7%2.1 h50 min to 5 hStays with people
Examine cameras, equipment, processed film, or laboratory reports to diagnose malfunction, using work aids and specifications.Done daily by most who do it. 5%33 min13 min to 1.1 hStays with people
Read and interpret engineering drawings, diagrams, instructions, or specifications to determine needed repairs, fabrication method, and operation sequence.Done daily by most who do it. 3%21 min8 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Measure parts to verify specified dimensions or settings, such as camera shutter speed or light meter reading accuracy, using measuring instruments.Done daily by most who do it. 3%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people
Requisition parts or materials.Done daily by most who do it. 2%13 min4 min to 25 min100%Half by now

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).