Leica LTM Leica repairmen

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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AnthonyM

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I have heard many nice things about DAG. Someone just recommened two others to me., .....Essex Camera Repair and Bald Mountain Camera Repair. Has anyone had nice experiences with these other Leica repair facilities?
 
I've had great experiences w/Ken Ruth, who is Photography on Bald Mountain, but not w/Leicas; if you need something done quickly, Ken's not really the guy, as he's always busy like DAG & takes his time. I had 1 so-so experience w/Essex, they did good work but were rude, but also not w/Leica (it was a Contax II).

AnthonyM said:
I have heard many nice things about DAG. Someone just recommened two others to me., .....Essex Camera Repair and Bald Mountain Camera Repair. Has anyone had nice experiences with these other Leica repair facilities?
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Leica repairmen

furcafe said:
I've had great experiences w/Ken Ruth, who is Photography on Bald Mountain, but not w/Leicas; if you need something done quickly, Ken's not really the guy, as he's always busy like DAG & takes his time. I had 1 so-so experience w/Essex, they did good work but were rude, but also not w/Leica (it was a Contax II).
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I'm really surprised, furcafe, that you said Essex [of New Jersey] did good work but were rude... Essex, which has been operated for years by very competent, very honest Korean technicians, has done lots of camera and lens work for me over many years and always very courteously...

Moreover, I have stood at their work window, in Carlstadt, N.J. , behind other customers, and never, never have I seen them treat anyone with anything but courtesy...

I haven't used them in a couple of years because I have since retired and moved to the South...
 
Essex is a reliable shop; their work has been good for me at least. I've had to send cameras back to them to repair recurring problems but they did so without complaint or argument. I never had a courtesy problem of any kind with them.

My experience with Kinderman was bad. The camera was not returned in good operating condition even after two tries on their part. I eventually had to have an overhaul done here in the US to get the thing working properly.

A well respected guru for Barnack Leicas is John Maddox at L&J Leica repair. His turnaround time can be long but his work is impeccable and his knowledge of LTM cameras is second to none.

DAG is well known, and of course, as good as they come. His turnaround time has grown long recently. In the past, Sherry Krauter was not accepting Barnack Leicas work work; this may have changed but check with her before you send a camera in.

Youxin also does good work inexpensively. He does not have the stock of replacement parts that the other guys have and the extent of the repair work that he is in a position to carry out is more limited. Youxin can have a camera back to you in a week if you ask him for quick service.
 
I just had a lens done at DAG and it came back LIKE NEW!!!! It was a 55+ year old Elmar 3.5 and its so nice (incl the glass) that it makes my mint IIIc look bad!!

I have read good things about all those mentioned above.

Ray
 
I too, am very surprised to hear rudeness mentioned with regard to Essex. I have had them CLA and repair several cameras and lenses through the years, also standing at their service window in Carlstadt. They couldn't have been nicer to me every time. I know that some of the repairmen may not be all that well versed in English, maybe this is what you experienced?

Although I have not used them for Leica work, they have given me excellent work in a very timely manner, very quick turnaround. I'm sure they would do excellent work on Leicas too. They are also very honest. If you bring something in for repair and it won't be economically feasible to you to spend that much money on the particular item, they won't do the job, they'll actually advise you against it, but leave it up to you to decide.
 
I have had LTM and M Leicas CLA'd by both DAG and Essex and would definitely recommend either but to me the ultimate Guru of Leica work is DAG. Don is simply great to deal with, very reasonably priced, and his work is outstanding. I've also had John Van Stelton of Focal Point CLA lenses and LTM bodies and his work is outstanding too, especially his lens work. He does stuff with lenses few others will attempt.

Don
 
This was quite a few years ago, & they were argumentative. I sent my Contax II in to have them clean the RF & CLA/fix the shutter. They didn't clean the RF & didn't completely fix the shutter (slow speeds messed up). When I sent it back, they initially accused me of not knowing how to use the camera, which was rather insulting. They eventually fixed the shutter & only charged me for that work (not the cleaning which wasn't done), but it wasn't a pleasant experience.

George S. said:
I too, am very surprised to hear rudeness mentioned with regard to Essex. I have had them CLA and repair several cameras and lenses through the years, also standing at their service window in Carlstadt. They couldn't have been nicer to me every time. I know that some of the repairmen may not be all that well versed in English, maybe this is what you experienced?

Although I have not used them for Leica work, they have given me excellent work in a very timely manner, very quick turnaround. I'm sure they would do excellent work on Leicas too. They are also very honest. If you bring something in for repair and it won't be economically feasible to you to spend that much money on the particular item, they won't do the job, they'll actually advise you against it, but leave it up to you to decide.
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Essex Camera Service...

Essex Camera Service...

I've been using Essex ever since Marty Forscher closed shop and died (RIP). Essex has always been courteous, reliable and prompt in all my experiences with them. And there have been many at the little sliding glass Carlstadt window.

Any rudeness felt was likely due to a language barrier.

As far as Leica repair goes... that's the topic anyway... they recently replaced the shutter curtains and CLA'd my IIIf BD along with a 35mm f3.5 Summaron and Universal View Finder. They did an outstanding job on all counts. The camera, etc. are all working like new and I use this stuff a lot as my everyday 35mm RF kit. Their typical turnaround time in house is one week.

FWIW: The guys at Essex aren't chatty. They don't want to talk to you about photography, your camera's history, lens SOOFA, the difference between RF's and SLR's, films, developers, formats, digital, etc. They just restore, repair, clean, lubricate and adjust camera equipment... that's it.

With the above in mind you will do well with them.

Best,
George
 
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