Next generation of Leica techs

[daveywaugh]

Was wondering tonight about where the next generation of Leica techs might come from... particularly those with film M expertise. I imagine in the past there was the usual trickle of people from the Leica factory and 'official' training programs. So what happens in the future? Do the current camera techs usually take on apprentices? Just wondering who will be doing CLAs on my M3 in twenty years from now ;-)

 

[rogerzilla]

Leica are still fixing M film cameras in Solms (even M3s), so that route is open.

 

[sleepyhead]

I am also genuinely concerned about this.
Will van Manen has/had an apprentice a couple of years ago (Kathy), who worked on my M3, and solved a mysterious shutter problem.
It took a long time, several failed attempts, but much patience and persaverence on her part.
I'm pretty sure sherry has no apprentice, unless you count her dog.

 

[ChrisP]

This is an interesting thread.

I think we have two options really, either we have to find a way to teach Sherry's dog to respond to emails (I assume it can already fix the cameras if it hangs out with her all the time) or we have to find someone's first born daughter to send to work on camera's with her. I'd chip in $5 for financial compensation to whoever sends their daughter to Sherry.😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Camera repairers are probably a dying breed. Fewer and fewer cameras are reparable (or worth repairing, or at least, economically reparable) so repairers are going to get further and further apart (geographically) with longer and longer waiting lists.

Of course, many of the best were self-taught, including the greatest of them all, Marty Forscher. Unfortunately, some of the worst are self-taught too.

I suspect it will become a 'second career' for a number of people who are fascinated enough by it, but I'd be surprised if there were ever that many apprentices, even in the glory days.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Was wondering tonight about where the next generation of Leica techs might come from... particularly those with film M expertise. I imagine in the past there was the usual trickle of people from the Leica factory and 'official' training programs. So what happens in the future? Do the current camera techs usually take on apprentices? Just wondering who will be doing CLAs on my M3 in twenty years from now ;-)

I am not concerned. Unlike others, I believe there are actually more than a handful of excellent Leica repair people in the world. The other excellent repair people are simply not out there soliciting business.

There are a few good camera repair schools in the US. There are people who also apprentice with experienced repair people. Camera repair is not rocket science.

 

[ZeissFan]

I'm pretty sure sherry has no apprentice, unless you count her dog.

And he doesn't have thumbs, so how is he ever going to use a screwdriver?

 

[hans voralberg]

Time to learn diy, i can do basic cleaning and adjsuting, trying to get round to the shutter part.

 

[joohander]

i was just talking to my repairman in singapore, he's been in the business for almost 30 years but has never taken an apprentice. but he has faith that someone will pop up to take over. i just hope he's right

 

[johannielscom]

I've started a thread on this before (cannot locate it now) and in that suggested we put as much info into it as possible, to make sure that people who are interested in camera repair can find a place to start learning.

Also, the repair forum on this site is remarkably empty! 😱

I think we all can have a hand in the availability of future repair people.

 

[hans voralberg]

I think Malcom Taylor teaches if you're willing to learn, but he lives in the middle of nowhere (literally) so that might be a problem.

 

[daveywaugh]

Interesting comments - thanks very much. Like the idea of a repository of info for DIYers. Not that it would ever replace a good tech, but that knowledge is great as a resource.

 

[Landshark]

Like any other repair source, there has to be income to survive.
DAG ans Sherry are booked, more or less constantly. Many Leica users don't want just anyone to touch their camera so won't drop it off at Joe's camera repair.
Another little item is price gouging. I worked for a gent who charged twice for Leica and Hasselblad, not because they were more difficult to work on but because people would pay it. Neither were more difficult at that time. Simpler really, no metering systems.

 

[daveywaugh]

Yeah I just had an OM1 serviced (came back almost new!) and I had a quote for the M3 from the same tech and it was literally twice as much! I can't for the life of me see the difference... perhaps specialist tools? I haven't actually asked the tech yet - I didn't want to seem rude. I guess Leica owners generally have the money and don't ask those questions ;-)

 

[rxmd]

Yeah I just had an OM1 serviced (came back almost new!) and I had a quote for the M3 from the same tech and it was literally twice as much! I can't for the life of me see the difference... perhaps specialist tools? I haven't actually asked the tech yet - I didn't want to seem rude. I guess Leica owners generally have the money and don't ask those questions ;-)

Leica owners are also generally a lot pickier and nowadays well-connected; if you do a bad job on a Leica repair you're more likely than not to find an angry diatribe about yourself in the next Google search and people will recommend "just send it to Sherry next time".

So I guess as a repairman you better take your time on a Leica job, and the customer pays for that.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Yeah I just had an OM1 serviced (came back almost new!) and I had a quote for the M3 from the same tech and it was literally twice as much! I can't for the life of me see the difference... perhaps specialist tools? I haven't actually asked the tech yet - I didn't want to seem rude. I guess Leica owners generally have the money and don't ask those questions ;-)

Could it be that the M3 is totally mechanical with provisions for adjusting many of the internal mechanical functions plus many mechanical parts to clean and lubricate. The OM-1 on the other hand has an electronic shutter that either pretty much works or not. You are comparing a camera designed for expert assembly and adjustment with mass production "attach the components" design.

Consider the epitome of low maintenance cameras to be the Contax G1 and G2. No mechanical parts to clean, nothing that can be lubricated and total non-adjustable as all functions (including film advance & focusing) are piezoelectric motors. There is no such thing as a CLA. Your M3 is the opposite end of that spectrum with your OM1 somewhere in the middle.

 

[wafflecakee]

Put on a class, and i'll make a career out of it. This bachelors degree I just got is useless.

 

[35mmdelux]

Pay for a Leica training program. Might be fun as well.

 

[Chinasaur]

About 2 decades ago, the Swiss watch industry saw the trend of electronic watches and what it meant for their long term survival. So they began to institute training programs around the world with vocational schools to ensure their product had skilled repair personnel to fix them. They continue to churn out enough people to support the contiuned sale of mechanical watches.

Is this happening with cameras?

 

[zauhar]

Put on a class, and i'll make a career out of it. This bachelors degree I just got is useless.

Speaking as a college professor, your comment does not surprise me at all. Sorry about this, but the powers that be are sort of lying when they tell you that our society values education. I see little evidence of it.

(I do hope the education meant something to you, if not to prospective employers.)

What I do see is that skill is always valuable, at least to a certain population (like owners of old Leicas). The backlogs that Sherry and other skilled techs have prove that there is a viable livelihood to be made at camera repair, at least for quite a while.

But you do need to build a reputation, and the best way to get that is to apprentice to someone everyone trusts.

I wonder how many of the pros would take the idea seriously? They should.

Randy