Mark Hama

Beemermark said:
Why does anyone send anything to a one man operation unless its highly specialized. Any good repair shop can repair most RF cameras, esp. fixed lens one. I've lived a lot of places in the US and have always tried to use one that was somewhat local. Right now I use one in Western NC. They've repaired a non-working Minolta CLE, a couple of Olympus OM-2SP, some M42 lenses and what not. Turn around is always a few weeks at most and the bill (with shipping) is never more than $100. They have an office manager that answers the phone, ships, bills and keeps track of what's happening. That leaves the repair people free to fix cameras.
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Well, I've got a Yashica YF, and so I'd rather have the known expert fix it, than some tech who's just going to whip through it doing the bare minimum. And Mark has the parts it's going to need. Other than that, I'd be happy to send any other camera I have to places like Essex.

PF
 
Despite the few really negative comments and because of the really very many very positive statements, I decided to give it a try and sent my Yashica Lynx 14 to Mark Hama end of last week. He should have it by end of this or beginning of next week.

He was very fast in answering my request (only a few hours) stating the price and the obviously standard 2 weeks return time. Well, nothing that I can do now but hope and keep fingers crossed. Although I am not in a hurry at all, I would still like to have it back rather soon.

Wish me luck :).
Rob

Update Feb 18: I had sent my Lynx 14 on Thursday 9 via airmail parcel. Tracking number showed me that Hama-san received the camera on Thursday 3pm. He sent me an email only a few hours later confirming that he had it and also the exact shipping costs. PayPal prepayment which he really requests is done, so I'm just curious if I hear again...
 
Last Wednesday I emailed him, asking whether he still had ABLON-like film cutting templates to sell. He answered minutes later, kindly letting me know that they were all gone..

Greetings, Ljós
 
Beemermark said:
Why does anyone send anything to a one man operation unless its highly specialized. Any good repair shop can repair most RF cameras, esp. fixed lens one. ...
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... and another aspect is "why does anyone send anything to a one man operation where the one man is very old and not expect there to be some risk of delay or loss involved?" I don't know Hama-san, BTW, but have heard lots of comments about another old-timer who get complaints about slowness, nonresponsiveness, etc. and I can attest in his situation that it is the result of extreme age, health problems, and an unwillingess/inability to use modern communication technology, Yet some people still expect him to perform like he could when in his prime. A little more understanding mght be in order. But I understand concerns over loss of gear, etc and can sympathize... but unfortunately there may be considerable risks involved when using these "last of their kind" repairmen. I hope all works out OK for the OP.
 
Ummm....judge jury executioner all on the forums. But, I think I have an idea what is meant behind these statements.

Never dealt with Mark Hama. Since he is town, maybe I will stop by and see him to get the real facts.

Dismissing "old" people as incompetent, uncaring and non-communicating is not right IMO. The facts of each situation are known only between Mr. Hama and his customers.

If there are complaints as in any business, it is not good for that business and there are ways for any business owner to take care of those. However, just because there are complaints, there is nothing here that would cause me to NOT use a "1-man or woman" camera repair business...they may be "old", they may work "alone". Does this mean we shouldn't use DAG? Youxin? Sherri? And how many more? Are they old? I have no idea. What is old? Do they provide good serviceor not?

Stereotyping is a very slippery slope IMO.

The free market allows anyone to use or not use anyone based on whatever they perceive as the way they should go... :angel:... stereotyping is not the proper way to judge a camera repair shop.
 
Positive experiences, three times in past year. Fab work on GTN and GX.

He does want payment up front, and in each case quoted me a fixed price for work on each camera. He did lose track of one job (the GTN), but apologized graciously and sent it right away when I contact him.

I spoke to him once on the phone and thought he was an awfully nice guy.

I will keep using him for anything Yashica. He's unique in that he has parts.
 
dave lackey said:
Dismissing "old" people as incompetent, uncaring and non-communicating is not right IMO..
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If you are referring to my comment, Dave... then you need to re-read it without your exagerrated interpretation. YOU are the one introducing the negative sterotypes.
 
i finally got in touch with him last week and he said he had to get a second parts camera to fix mine and for me to call him back in 2 weeks. we'll see what happens next week.
 
Gumby said:
If you are referring to my comment, Dave... then you need to re-read it without your exagerrated interpretation. YOU are the one introducing the negative sterotypes.
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Fair enough. I re-read it. But I still do not subscribe to anyone who puts down a bad business to old age and the other things that go with it. It is most likely the character of the person.

You, fairly enough, did not attribute that to Mr. Hama, the previous poster did. I do not know the person you are talking about. As we get older, a lot of things enter into our lives and sometimes it is just personality and experiences, not old age or staying with the times.

If my communication is viewed as mis-interpreted, accept my apologies but don't use the word "perverted" or we get into another dead-end discussion.:p Thanks for your correction.

I hope to meet Mr. Hama and see for myself what these posted problems are with his business and I will let all know if I am fortunate enough to meet him.
 
I've done business with mark over quite a few years and he is a stand up guy.

His problem if there is one, is at times he does not have the parts and goes looking for part's cameras to find them and is not as responsive as some would like.

I've had fast turnarounds and a couple that took months.

I've also sent cameras to Don Goldberg and John Van Stelton and have learned I will get them when I get them.

Best turnaround times for repairs are with Sherry Krauter and she loves to talk.
 
I don't know who you refer to as putting down businesses due to "old age". Older people sometimes do business "the old way". FACT. Older people tend to have medical issues. FACT. Sometimes one or both of these result in them not being able to perform "to our liking". FACT.

I deal a lot with older people. The average age of my personal staff is 78. Yes, that is the AVERAGE. They are very intelligent and experienced. They also tend to become "not available" due to medical issues. They also tend to not be avid users of technology. They also tend to suffer age-realted memory issues. They also tend to have, ummm, unique personalities... but they may have had those prior to advancing in age. These are facts, Dave. I have more than once had a repair delayed becuase one of these living legends needs some time off to recover from a stroke. I've also lost gear because one of these living legends died... and my stuff just became part of the estate and who knows what happened to it. These are facts of dealing with "living legends" (to avoild the work "older people"). That's my message.

You seem to want to twist that message and turn it into an anti-geratric statement. it is not anti-geratric... is is a warning to set expectations differently when working with people of special needs.

Re: the word perverted. It is a valid and correct word in the English language and was used correctly. Please understand what the first definition in mose English dictionaries is: "Deviating from what is considered right and correct". That wod does not always refer to sex. :)
 
Just a little heads up: Mark had received my Yashica Lynx 14 on February 16 and sent an email confirmation on receipt, including the repair estimate and shipping costs. We did not communicate since then.

Yesterday he had sent me a message that the camera was ready for shipment and wanted me to reconfirm the shipping address (because he wasn't sure if he correctly read my handwriting :)).

This is just a week longer that he said he would need for the repair, which I think is more than fair enough.

Very much looking forward to having the camera back. So far, I can't join the choir of negative feedback at all.

Cheers, Rob
 
He fixed one of my Canonets once.. two weeks estimate... took nearly 3 months. When I got it back, the shutter worked again, but the flash hot shoe didn't work anymore. I could've sent it back I suppose, but after waiting 3 months, I didn't want to wait again..
 
FWIW - My dealings with Hama have cordial and response was reasonable.
Like most solo operators, he has time conflicts and priorities. If hand-holding is high on your list of needs; perhaps you should deal with a larger shop that has a full-time manager or customer service rep.

OH... and Gumby, stop picking on old folks! :angel:
 
...some good comments, some negative. Sounds about par for the course on every camera repair specialist I've read about on this forum -fixed camera, but slow; fixed camera, but bad communication; fixed camera, but failed to tell me they were going on vacation for a couple weeks....etc etc. Nothing unique here.
 
newspaperguy said:
FWIW - My dealings with Hama have cordial and response was reasonable.
Like most solo operators, he has time conflicts and priorities. If hand-holding is high on your list of needs; perhaps you should deal with a larger shop that has a full-time manager or customer service rep.

OH... and Gumby, stop picking on old folks! :angel:
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i dont think its hand holding for me to expect some form of contact. and, i think 5 months is a bit rediculous. ive been calling him every couple of weeks and he keeps saying he needs more time. i dont know what to do. he has my money and my camera.
 
I don't think I responded to this yet - I should state that Mr. Hama serviced two cameras and a lens for me in the the last year or so, and I was very happy with the turnaround time, price, and communication.

I see some negative comments about every one of the established repair people, and I suspect this is a combination of tremendous unpredictability as to the problems encountered and parts supplies. Plus, I suspect these are all solo operations, where it is very likely that things occasionally get mixed up. And that confusion is not confined to any age group. ;-)

Randy
 
jhthomasii said:
i dont think its hand holding for me to expect some form of contact.
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Now you are picking on old people too! Please stop picking on newpaperguy... he's sensitive. :D

p.s. I don't think its "hand-holding" either, but the old man makes a good point.
 
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