# Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers

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

- **SOC code:** 49-9061.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-9061-00
- **Also known as:** Camera Repair Technician, Camera Repairman, Camera Technician, Repair Technician, Photo Equipment Technician, Photo Technologist, Photographic Equipment Repair Technician, Photographic Equipment Technician
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Adjust cameras, photographic mechanisms, or equipment such as range and view finders, shutters, light meters, or lens systems, using hand tools.
- Disassemble equipment to gain access to defect, using hand tools.
- Test equipment performance, focus of lens system, diaphragm alignment, lens mounts, or film transport, using precision gauges.
- Clean and lubricate cameras and polish camera lenses, using cleaning materials and work aids.
- 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.
- Requisition parts or materials.
- Calibrate and verify accuracy of light meters, shutter diaphragm operation, or lens carriers, using timing instruments.
- Examine cameras, equipment, processed film, or laboratory reports to diagnose malfunction, using work aids and specifications.
- Read and interpret engineering drawings, diagrams, instructions, or specifications to determine needed repairs, fabrication method, and operation sequence.
- Measure parts to verify specified dimensions or settings, such as camera shutter speed or light meter reading accuracy, using measuring instruments.
- Assemble aircraft cameras, still or motion picture cameras, photographic equipment, or frames, using diagrams, blueprints, bench machines, hand tools, or power tools.
- Fabricate or modify defective electronic, electrical, or mechanical components, using bench lathe, milling machine, shaper, grinder, or precision hand tools, according to specifications.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Adjust or repair cameras, photographic mechanisms, or equipment such as range and view finders, shutters, light meters, or lens systems, using hand tools.
- Repair and calibrate drone cameras and equipment for aerial photography and videography.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Troubleshooting _(transferable_skill)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Repairing _(transferable_skill)_
- Visualization _(ability)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Finger Dexterity _(ability)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Equipment Maintenance _(transferable_skill)_
- Quality Control Analysis _(transferable_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Equipment Maintenance _(Specialized Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Email software
- RepairTRAX
- Statistical process control SPC software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 48th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 49th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 40th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 58th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 94th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -15.1% growth (Declining); 0.2k annual openings; 2.3k → 1.9k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $49,300; 2,010 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 62% automation, — augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Measure parts to verify specified dimensions or settings, such as camera shutter speed or light meter reading accuracy, using measuring instruments. _(0.4% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me measure parts to verify specified dimensions or settings, such as camera shutter speed or light meter reading accuracy, using measuring instruments.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-9061-00_