CLA where to send it?

J

Jaymz007

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Jul 8, 2009
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Should I send my black paint MP to DAG or Leica to get a full CLA with focus adjustment and also fixing of the led light meter inside the camera.

What would be the better options?

Thanks
Guys
 
Those are good options, I've used Gus Lazzari and Sherry Krauter with great satisfaction.

I'd choose between these suggestions (including DAG) based on who currently has the shortest wait!
 
Dag or Sherry.

I've used DAG several on different gear and always was VERY happy with the results.

Make sure you understand how long a wait there is from either before you send. They are the best here in the states, but some times the wait is very long. For me it's always been worth it, but I've always had alternative cameras/lenses to fill in.

B2 (;->
 
I've used DAG and Sherry for identical cameras before. Sherry twice in the past six months, DAG back in 2010. Sherry on both occasions was faster and more responsive for what its worth. Both of them did great work.
 
Definitely Sherry! She is a pretty incredible human that has done great work for me. I had a terrible experience with DAG scratching one of my lens when I sent it to him for a CLA.
 
DAG does undeniably good work (he once rebuilt a 90 Elmarit-M for me that had taken a bad fall and had it's helical frozen and ruined) but in the last few years he has also gained a reputation for sometimes taking a VERY long time to complete work, and for not necessarily being very good about communicating. Youxin does great work, but I think the poster above who noted he doesn't work on electronic Leicas is correct. Sherry does excellent work, too, and might be my choice for this job. Going directly to Leica isn't a bad choice either; I would call each and ask about for cost and turnaround time estimates before I committed.
 
These days, I use www.stevecamera.com. Leica authorized, entirely predictable TAT (usually 2 weeks), high quality service, and when I send an email, I actually get a response the same day.

Might want to try .... Best,

Roland.
 
I love Sherry's address ... it is so fitting for when your camera is away for a while and you start to wonder where it is ... and you remember it's in Purgatory ; )
 
ferider said:
These days, I use www.stevecamera.com. Leica authorized, entirely predictable TAT (usually 2 weeks), high quality service, and when I send an email, I actually get a response the same day.

Might want to try .... Best,

Roland.
Click to expand...

I had a recent bad experience with Steve's (mentioned elsewhere on this site). I had a Leica M3 that had developed a loose shutter speed dial. I just wanted the dial tightened but was refused that service. I was told I would have to have a full CLA. It recently had a full CLA at Samy's camera but Steve's was much closer so I thought I would give them a shot again. I was a repeat customer (they had handled some Nikon stuff for me).
Anyway, took it back to Samy's where they tightened it for free (as they should seeing they CLA'd it).
Fast forward a year, to today. I thought I would give Steve's a shot again, as maybe I caught the dood on a bad day.
Item #1: I have a Minolta SR1s that needs new light seals on the film door. I can do this myself in about 10 minutes tops, but wanted to see what their deal would be. (The kit including mirror bumper is $14 on ebay). Price? $85...
Item #2 : A Voigtlander 35 1.2 V2 that needs to be tightened. Apparently it has internally loosened. I contacted Youxin Ye - $90 and he was familiar with this happening. Steve's? "$165 to $275 depending.." was the quote.
 
Huss said:
I had a recent bad experience with Steve's (mentioned elsewhere on this site). I had a Leica M3 that had developed a loose shutter speed dial. I just wanted the dial tightened but was refused that service. I was told I would have to have a full CLA. It recently had a full CLA at Samy's camera but Steve's was much closer so I thought I would give them a shot again. I was a repeat customer (they had handled some Nikon stuff for me). Anyway, took it back to Samy's where they tightened it for free (as they should seeing they CLA'd it). Fast forward a year, to today. I thought I would give Steve's a shot again, as maybe I caught the dood on a bad day. Item #1: I have a Minolta SR1s that needs new light seals on the film door. I can do this myself in about 10 minutes tops, but wanted to see what their deal would be. (The kit including mirror bumper is $14 on ebay). Price? $85... Item #2 : A Voigtlander 35 1.2 V2 that needs to be tightened. Apparently it has internally loosened. I contacted Youxin Ye - $90 and he was familiar with this happening. Steve's? "$165 to $275 depending.." was the quote.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Last two jobs Steve did for me was:

- Nikon F3 CLA
- 75 Summilux CLA (incl Fungus removal)

Job was excellent, TAT was two weeks on either (as quoted), and the price was competitive (say, with Don or Sherry). I won't tell you how much though, otherwise you might add it to your "bad experience" :)

Btw. a proper service of your wobbly 35/1.2 requires collimating on a bench.

Roland.
 
ferider said:
Hmm. Last two jobs Steve did for me was:

- Nikon F3 CLA
- 75 Summilux CLA (incl Fungus removal)

Job was excellent, TAT was two weeks on either (as quoted), and the price was competitive (say, with Don or Sherry). I won't tell you how much though, otherwise you might add it to your "bad experience" :)

Btw. a proper service of your wobbly 35/1.2 requires collimating on a bench.

Roland.
Click to expand...

My CV is not wobbly per se, but feels a little loose. When I spoke to Youxin he said he was familiar with that, and had tightened up many. Re collimating is only required if the focus changes.

I did not count this one before, but now that we're mentioning it, I had to send my Nikon F2AS back to Steve's to be reworked. They serviced it the first time, when I got it back the meter read out was fluctuating badly. The guy in charge (Steve?) tried to claim that was normal but eventually relented and took it back in and then returned it fixed the second time around.
I was ok w this experience at the time as they did take care of it. But now after looking back at my total sum of experiences I cannot recommend them.

You shouldn't be shy to quote your costs. Sherry charged me about $350 to CLA my M5, Gus Lazzari $350 to CLA my M3 DS, Samy's $200-ish to CLA my MS SS (which then had to go back as the shutter speed dial worked loose, so there's that), Sover Wong $200-ish to CLA my Nikon F2. Mark Hama something cheap (I think $250 total) for my Zeiss Ikon Contessa and Voigtlander Vitessa, but he returned both in worse shape than I had sent them in!!!

Out of the people I used, I can only recommend wholeheartedly Sherry and Sover. Lazzari was good apart from an extremely long wait with very poor communication.

Glad you're happy with Steve's though.
 
I've had good results from:
Don Goldberg
Gus Lazzari
Clarence Gass (now retired)
Sover Wong (Nikon F2)
Authorized Photo Service in Morton Grove, IL (Nikon only)
Leica USA in New Jersey
Krikor Malarian (Krimar - Rollei only)

I've never had any dealings with Sherry.

Neutral or not so good experiences with:
Harry Fleenor
Nikon USA in Melville NY.
Certo 6
 
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