CLA in the USA?

[tedwhite]

Talked to Phil Barton. He says Phil Mason does Russian cameras, but that's all he knows. Barton sends all of his stuff to Alan Turner in Arizona. Turner currently has an ebay auction:
7561250403, so perhaps an inquiry would reveal whether he also does Russian RF cameras.

Ted

 

[tedwhite]

Anxious to learn your experience. I hope it's positive as I live in Arizona and shipping him a Zorki wouldn't cost much at all.

Ted

 

[tedwhite]

Thanks for the info. I'll wait.

Ted

 

[rbiemer]

You might want to wait until we see what I get back.
Bill

I decided that the Zorki 3m and it's lens were too nice to just sit around not earning their keep so I did the ebay BIN thing and also emailed Mr. Mason about doing the lens(the J-8 I got with the camera wouldn't focus correctly but until I screwed it up the Z 3m was great) and camera together. He's been very good about answering my questions and I figure this stuff is rather less complicated than some of the other optical repairs he does so I'm fairly confident about this.
Any way, the gear goes out this week. I'll let all y'all know how it comes back to me.
Not sure what the time frame is going to be--I'm hoping to get a nice Christmas present from AZ this year.
Rob

 

[rbiemer]

I sent him my Z4 with lens on 10/11 and he still has them, I don't see that as being too long, rather right than quick.

Bill

Agreed!This isn't a race so however long it takes(well, no too long I hope) I see it this way: The camera and lens are a paperweight right now so I'm not losing anything during the time he has it. And when he's done I'll have a camera that I know I really like and can actually use.
That's a good thing
Rob

 

[wclavey]

Any responses back yet?

 

[rbiemer]

I expected to send the Zorki to Mr. Mason before all the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday silliness that my family insists upon but that plan didn't work :bang: so the camera went off to him just about a month ago. Because I delayed so much in getting the camera to him, I'm a bit hesitant to ask how it's coming along so I'll be patient and wait a while longer. As Billfoto said better right than quick. I keep reminding myself.
I'll keep you folks posted about any real news.
Rob

 

[mjm6]

Anyone talk to Phil Mason recently?

He has about 5 of my cameras and had promised them by the end of February, and I haven't heard from him. I went to see if I could find a phone number for him, and the opticalrepair.net website is no longer functional, so I'm a little worried.

I'm going to use the phone number listed in this thread and see if I can get a response, but I'm worried I may have to make a trip to AZ to collect my cameras, or a pound of flesh (UGH!).


---Michael

 

[rbiemer]

He's had my Zorki for about 10 weeks now and I wasn't especially happy about it but not worried. PLease let us know what you hear.
Rob

 

[mjm6]

I just got through to Phil, so he is still of the living. It sounds like he has been overrun with work recently, and is running behind.

I'm hopeful that I can get my cameras back soon; I'm going through withdrawl...


---Michael

 

[rbiemer]

I just got through to Phil, so he is still of the living. It sounds like he has been overrun with work recently, and is running behind.
I'm hopeful that I can get my cameras back soon; I'm going through withdrawl...
---Michael

Sounded a little groggy, maybe? It's 7:30 or 8:30 am in AZ?
Any way, that's better news than I feared you might have for us!
I'll be patient....
Rob

 

[reagan]

Unfortunate. I was hoping for an FSU CLA option that was a little quicker/less trouble. 10 weeks+ is enough time to get across the pond and back and have excellent work done.

 

[rbiemer]

Unfortunate. I was hoping for an FSU CLA option that was a little quicker/less trouble. 10 weeks+ is enough time to get across the pond and back and have excellent work done.

Yeah,
that was my reasoning. I suspect(but please don't confirm this--it would be too depressing ) that if I had just sent the dern thing to OLeg, I'd have it back by now :bang: and probably spent less $ :bang: :bang:
On the delusional--I mean bright--side, I've had the last few days off form work so when I go in today, maybe there will be a box from AZ waiting for me...nope not gonna go there, that way leads to crushed hopes and desires
I really don't want to bother the man(Mr.Mason) especially if he's swamped; no point in slowing him down by making him get on the phone.
I've set my PC's wall paper to cycle through all the pictures of Z3s I happen to have.
I am so doomed!
Rob

 

[reagan]

10 weeks... Rob, he's ALREADY in slow mode. If you want to call him, call him. You certainly have a right and have been mooooore than patient. Give him a ring just so he can put a voice to a camera. He'll be reminded that you haven't forgotten him or your camera. [my dos centavos]

 

[rbiemer]

10 weeks... Rob, he's ALREADY in slow mode. If you want to call him, call him. You certainly have a right and have been mooooore than patient. Give him a ring just so he can put a voice to a camera. He'll be reminded that you haven't forgotten him or your camera. [my dos centavos]

Well,
If I had been prompt about my end of the auction(see above) I probably would. But since I had to make him wait for me at the "front end" of the transaction, I don't feel like I can reasonably bug him about it now at the"back end". Plus I want his best attention to the camera. I DON"T want any muttering like, "he wants his camera, fine! I'll get him his camera!" while he's working on the Zorki.
I can be patient. Really. Doesn't bother me a bit. Where's the Tequilla?
Rob

 

[outfitter]

Just got this reply:

"Thanks fo your inquiry, My repairs these days are limited to Ophthalmic Equipment.
Regards,
Phil Mason"

 

[rbiemer]

Just got this reply:

"Thanks fo your inquiry, My repairs these days are limited to Ophthalmic Equipment.
Regards,
Phil Mason"

That's reassuring....I wonder if he under-estimated the number of folks who want to use these wacky ancient cameras?
Rob

 

[Laurence]

So far, I think that the "across the pond to Oleg" choice still looks best. Will be interesting to see how this all comes out.

 

[reagan]

..."he wants his camera, fine! I'll get him his camera!"...

LOL!! Hey, I feel like that's the attitude I get from EVERY Zorki I buy out of the Bay!! Yeah, I fully understand. You're a more patient man than I. (But Aki is trying to change that. I screwed up and told him "no problem, I can wait" for the right color. Last word was Jan.30 )


edit: I wrote this post and three hours later, what was in the mailbox? My cover from Aki. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.

 

[tedwhite]

Frankly, I would question Mr. Mason's business sense. If he finds he's getting more cameras than he can possibly keep up with, he should simply respond to inquiries by saying he can't accept any more and "give me your name and email and I'll put you on my waiting list. First come, first serve." Then you could send your Zorki/Fed/Kiev bodies to Oleg and be better off in the bargain. But when this guy responds with "my repairs these days are limited to opthalmic equipment" what message does that send? No more weird rusky cameras is the message, and in the meantime, sir, can I please have my Zorki back? Please? Sir? Hello, can you hear me now?

My friend, Phil Barton, of Spotmatic Users Forum on Yahoo fame, uses Alan Turner in Phoenix, who has good ebay feedback and works on Kiev MF cameras, etc. If you go onto oivay and type in mjatinaz77 you'll be able to locate him. Phil says he does good work.

OTOH, if your camera is a Pentax, try Eric at pentaxrepairs@aol.com. He's the retired head of the Pentax repair division. He does superb work. But, he might just want to fiddle around with a Zorki 4K for the hell of it. And his turn-around time is super fast.