Lens CLA in the US

[bayernfan]

I've got a couple Leica M lenses in need of full overhauls. I normally send all my items to Don at DAG, but his lead time is pretty long right now. Aside from Sherry and Youxin (I prefer not to send to them for several reasons), is there somebody that does work as well as DAG without the wait?

 

[ferider]

It's a funny thing with these threads: for every 5 great repair stories of a Leica technician, you will find at least one bad one .... for any of the shops. I could tell you one for Don, for instance.

In any case, any authorized Leica technician will do. I have used Steve in San Diego several times, good quality work, fast email response, and quick and predictable TAT (the "predictable" is what I value most).

https://www.yelp.com/biz/steves-camera-service-center-culver-city

But I'm sure somebody here will not like him 🙂

Roland.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I've had several repairs at Steve's Camera and am totally satisfied with the results. However, I wonder if he is still in business, the website won't come up.... There were several unanswered questions on that Yelp site referenced above.

 

[DHK]

If sherry, DAG, and yyee are first class, who's second?

 

[f16sunshine]

John Stelton at Focal Point or DAG for full overhaul.
YY is great for basic CLA of older lenses and LTM's (he'll tell you as much).
DAG can do just about anything. I think I read he made Aperture blades for one of Raids lenses.

If you're not in Sherry's circle of friends don't bother.
If you are..... she does good work.
She is much... too personal and subjective for a professional service if you asked me.

 

[splitimageview]

When I've had stuff worthy of DAG but wanted it faster I would contact him and work out arrangements, he's always accommodated

 

[dmr]

Wait a couple of weeks and I should be able to tell you if this place near Atlanta which I mentioned is worth considering. I have not heard anything bad about them and they said estimates in about a week and turn-around two weeks or so.

 

[Beemermark]

If you're not in Sherry's circle of friends don't bother.
If you are..... she does good work.
She is much... too personal and subjective for a professional service if you asked me.

I used to be in her circle of friends, then must have fell out - 🙁. But i agree with your assessment.

I love Ye Youxin, he's done some amazing work on a number of Leica M & screw mount bodies for me. Unfortunately on 3 out of 3 lenses there was more dirt coming back then going in. And I don't mean a little dust. So I don't send him lenses anymore.

DAG is the best. Been using him for decades. At least 3 decades. How many people know who his world famous father was (hint - he mounted a motor drive on a Leica as a first if I remember correctly). But yes he can be slow. And don't bother him with emails and phone calls. I never try first contact until at least 3 or 4 months have gone by.

I've only used them maybe twice but don't discount Leitz of NJ. Even if it goes to back to the Fatherland they pay the postage and you can bet it's done right. I was very happy with their work and would probably use them again.

 

[Robert Lai]

Beemermark, we all know of Norman Goldberg. I loved seeing how he would take apart cameras entirely (then reassemble them) for Popular Photography's camera reviews.

I still have his Leica M4-2 review from July 1980. Serial number 1469511 was taken apart to assess its construction. He praised the fine construction, and the heat treatment of the gears for a long life even with heavy use. He found two problems: a spring kept the frame counter from working properly. This was fixed by bending the end of the spring slightly so that it cleared the counter.
The second was the unfortunate use of a plastic mounting for the flash ports on the camera. He felt that they would fail in time, and recommended going back to metal mountings as in the M4 and previous cameras.

For those who wonder about the accuracy of the Leica viewfinder framing, they found it to be quite dead on when compared to the film afterwards. The technical review was written in conjunction with Michele A Frank.

The Field Check was by none other than Bill Pierce.

BTW. the M4 was reviewed in the March 1968 Popular Photography.

 

[aizan]

since you're in texas, i'd send it to precision camera in austin.

 

[splitimageview]

Make arrangements regarding ETA *before* sending gear to DAG. 9/10 I don't ask for special turnaround from any tech including DAG, but on rare occasions I will ask him for a favor. And then when the promise date is within a day or two I'll drop him an email for status.

 

[ellisson]

I used to be in her circle of friends, then must have fell out - 🙁. But i agree with your assessment.

I love Ye Youxin, he's done some amazing work on a number of Leica M & screw mount bodies for me. Unfortunately on 3 out of 3 lenses there was more dirt coming back then going in. And I don't mean a little dust. So I don't send him lenses anymore.

DAG is the best. Been using him for decades. At least 3 decades. How many people know who his world famous father was (hint - he mounted a motor drive on a Leica as a first if I remember correctly). But yes he can be slow. And don't bother him with emails and phone calls. I never try first contact until at least 3 or 4 months have gone by.

I've only used them maybe twice but don't discount Leitz of NJ. Even if it goes to back to the Fatherland they pay the postage and you can bet it's done right. I was very happy with their work and would probably use them again.

I disagree with this assessment of Youxin Ye's work. He does excellent work, reasonably priced, and within a reasonable period of time. I have never encountered this "dirt" or dust problem. I highly recommend Youxin Ye.

 

[splitimageview]

If you send anything to Precision ask who is doing the work. Jerry used to do all Leica work, not sure if that's the case anymore. If it's Dave then turnaround should be reasonable. Dave is an excellent tech but he isn't a DAG, no one is. 🙂

 

[splitimageview]

Re: Sherry, ditto. Won't be sending her anything again. 🙂

 

[benmacphoto]

I do not understand how Sherry still operates, or rather, who would subject themselves to her "personality".
I've used DAG for complicated work such as lens collimation, and Youxin for general CLAs.
Trying out Nippon Photo Clinic now for a different lens adjustment, but have heard great things about their service.

 

[Huss]

I've had several repairs at Steve's Camera and am totally satisfied with the results. However, I wonder if he is still in business, the website won't come up.... There were several unanswered questions on that Yelp site referenced above.

Steve's has been good to me. I was just there a week or so ago.

http://www.stevecamera.com/contact.html

They repaired my Rolleiflex 2.8 GX that none of the experts (Fleenor etc) would touch.

 

[bayernfan]

I used to be in her circle of friends, then must have fell out - 🙁. But i agree with your assessment.

I love Ye Youxin, he's done some amazing work on a number of Leica M & screw mount bodies for me. Unfortunately on 3 out of 3 lenses there was more dirt coming back then going in. And I don't mean a little dust. So I don't send him lenses anymore.

DAG is the best. Been using him for decades. At least 3 decades. How many people know who his world famous father was (hint - he mounted a motor drive on a Leica as a first if I remember correctly). But yes he can be slow. And don't bother him with emails and phone calls. I never try first contact until at least 3 or 4 months have gone by.

I've only used them maybe twice but don't discount Leitz of NJ. Even if it goes to back to the Fatherland they pay the postage and you can bet it's done right. I was very happy with their work and would probably use them again.

I agree on all points.

To be more specific:
1. DAG is the best. If you can deal with the lead time, there's nobody better.

2. Same issue with Youxin. Sent him a Summaron to have helicoid re-greased. Glass was perfect when I sent it. Came back with large particles and no improvement on focus stiffness. Sent it back to him, received
it back with fewer particles, focus ring still stiff, and a newly acquired severe front focusing issue. Proceeded to send it to DAG, all issues resolved. I have talked people out of sending lenses to Youxin after that experience.

3. Sherry is a very selective person. I prefer not to engage in business with people that operate like that.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and feedback.

 

[steveyork]

Post #2 is spot on. The problem with DAG is that his service is a black hole. Years ago I sent him a camera, and after 12 months with no word, I just told him to send it back. I've sent Sherry a lot of work in the past -- R lenses, various Leicaflex , and M5s, and always received good and timely service, albeit at a cost. After a gap of several years, I recently sent her some new work, and apparently she is busier now, because the wait is longer (or I'm in her doghouse). YY is fast but I've had one issue with the camera I sent him. He did, however, fix a blacked out viewfinder of an M3 owned by my sister, salvaging the camera.

The availability of timely, competent repairs is becoming a factor in my acquisitions.

 

[icebear]

... how about a seldom recommeded option? How about Leica US, Allendale?
Get in touch with them, give them the serial# of the lenses and ask them about the turnaroud time for inspection and estimate.
For lenses the wait might not be that bad as for a sensor replacement🙄
I have used Sherry's service for 50 summicron and Leica would not have been more expensive.
You can be sure that the lenses will come back in pristine condition.