dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
This is a bit long.. so my apologies...
A few weeks back I hunted down and purchased a Ricoh GR1s camera from a gentleman south of the border.
I even posted about it here http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34691
My initial joy turned quickly to disappointment when I noted the flash was not working on the camera (dry firing). I figured that something may be wrong but wasn't sure about it. I googled for some insight and found Simon Larby's post about his GR1s here at RFF.
I decided to email the seller and find out if he noted any issues with the camera. He claimed that nothing was wrong with it when he was using it but that he did recently get back some film from his lab that was completely blank. I told him I'd run a roll through the camera and see what would occur.
In the meantime, Simon helped me out by explaining his GR1s problems (which sounded eerily similar to my own and to the former owner who's roll was blank. Simon had found out that his GR1s' problem was a circuit board.
I ran the quick roll through the camera and sure enough it was blank. I immediately emailed back the seller and explained the situation. I, of course, was nervous since I was unsure whether the seller would be "honourable" about the situation and help me resolve it. I kept my calm though and explained what I thought the options were for me. 1) Return the camera and request a full refund or 2) attempt to get the camera fixed and ensure the seller paid for the fix.
The seller, was an extreme gentleman and agreed to whatever would suit me best. I opted for #2 as I had really wanted to take this camera for a spin.
I took the camera into a local repair shop here in Toronto (Kominek Camera - http://www.kominek.com ) to see if it could be fixed. Kominek's has been a "fix it" mainstay in the city for camera geeks/users. The owner has enough guys that "used to work for (insert camera company here)" in his rollidex that they can fix almost anything. Based on what Simon had told me about his incident it looked like it was going to be a hefty cost to fix. Kominek's told me that it would likely be between $160-$180 CAD for the fix and they had a guy that used to work for Ricoh before they ditched the film camera division. It was, as I had suspected, a mid level circuit board that had been fried.
A week later, I got the camera back from Kominek's and I just recently put a quickie "shoot anything and figure it out later" roll through the camera.
I've attached some results.
The seller, when I contacted him and sent him a copy of the invoice, fired me off a paypal payment immediately and we were squared away. What could have been a nightmare and a loss for me turned out to be "fixed" by an honest and trustworthy seller.
After I put another roll through the GR1s I'll probably have a better idea of what this little black beauty can do; but as for now, I'm happy and I do note just how sharp that lens is!!
Cheers
Dave
A few weeks back I hunted down and purchased a Ricoh GR1s camera from a gentleman south of the border.
I even posted about it here http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34691
My initial joy turned quickly to disappointment when I noted the flash was not working on the camera (dry firing). I figured that something may be wrong but wasn't sure about it. I googled for some insight and found Simon Larby's post about his GR1s here at RFF.
I decided to email the seller and find out if he noted any issues with the camera. He claimed that nothing was wrong with it when he was using it but that he did recently get back some film from his lab that was completely blank. I told him I'd run a roll through the camera and see what would occur.
In the meantime, Simon helped me out by explaining his GR1s problems (which sounded eerily similar to my own and to the former owner who's roll was blank. Simon had found out that his GR1s' problem was a circuit board.
I ran the quick roll through the camera and sure enough it was blank. I immediately emailed back the seller and explained the situation. I, of course, was nervous since I was unsure whether the seller would be "honourable" about the situation and help me resolve it. I kept my calm though and explained what I thought the options were for me. 1) Return the camera and request a full refund or 2) attempt to get the camera fixed and ensure the seller paid for the fix.
The seller, was an extreme gentleman and agreed to whatever would suit me best. I opted for #2 as I had really wanted to take this camera for a spin.
I took the camera into a local repair shop here in Toronto (Kominek Camera - http://www.kominek.com ) to see if it could be fixed. Kominek's has been a "fix it" mainstay in the city for camera geeks/users. The owner has enough guys that "used to work for (insert camera company here)" in his rollidex that they can fix almost anything. Based on what Simon had told me about his incident it looked like it was going to be a hefty cost to fix. Kominek's told me that it would likely be between $160-$180 CAD for the fix and they had a guy that used to work for Ricoh before they ditched the film camera division. It was, as I had suspected, a mid level circuit board that had been fried.
A week later, I got the camera back from Kominek's and I just recently put a quickie "shoot anything and figure it out later" roll through the camera.
I've attached some results.
The seller, when I contacted him and sent him a copy of the invoice, fired me off a paypal payment immediately and we were squared away. What could have been a nightmare and a loss for me turned out to be "fixed" by an honest and trustworthy seller.
After I put another roll through the GR1s I'll probably have a better idea of what this little black beauty can do; but as for now, I'm happy and I do note just how sharp that lens is!!
Cheers
Dave
