Next generation of Leica techs

[Bob Michaels]

Roger, That's a lovely idea, but I suspect the answer is simpler -- and duller: basic economics. They are charging what the market will stand, and the Leica-user market will stand more, so it pays more....

Good thought but I see two different aspects.

1) the "ability to pay" are not those with the film Leicas. It is the ones who have the D3's or 1D's, those $6-7K pro DSLR's owned by people who make their living with them. We are way down towards to bottom of the economic repair. Very few below us even bother to have their consumer film cameras repaired.

2) I see most camera repair people not having profit as their primary motivation. They do it because they like cameras and their personal independence. Camera repair is not a profession one chooses for the money.

But then the camera repair people I know tend to pick and choose their customers, not the other way around. And I see classic high end film cameras (like Leica's) costing no more, sometimes less, on a per hour basis. Maybe I am just lucky. Or maybe I just have had better results in cultivating relationships with camera repair people.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Good thought but I see two different aspects.

1) the "ability to pay" are not those with the film Leicas. It is the ones who have the D3's or 1D's, those $6-7K pro DSLR's owned by people who make their living with them. We are way down towards to bottom of the economic repair. Very few below us even bother to have their consumer film cameras repaired.

2) I see most camera repair people not having profit as their primary motivation. They do it because they like cameras and their personal independence. Camera repair is not a profession one chooses for the money.

But then the camera repair people I know tend to pick and choose their customers, not the other way around. And I see classic high end film cameras (like Leica's) costing no more, sometimes less, on a per hour basis. Maybe I am just lucky. Or maybe I just have had better results in cultivating relationships with camera repair people.

Dear Bob,

That's true of all the camera techs I know, and quite a lot of their customers (not having cameras repaired if it costs too much).

Cheers,

R.

 

[rxmd]

So far I have never heard of a Leica being unrepairable because of lack of parts.

It happens. We had a discussion on a German forum (Phototec) a few months ago where someone who had been beating the mechanical-cameras-last-forever drum for years was shocked that Leica Solms wouldn't touch his goggled Summaron 35 that he sent in for a CLA-type repair. They said they didn't have the replacement parts for this particular lens and wouldn't accept it for service because there was no way to repair it if it got damaged in the process.

 

[Roberto V.]

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

That's what you think... 😛

 

[Rob-F]

So far I have never heard of a Leica being unrepairable because of lack of parts. Not like the Minolta CLE, where a broken circuit board equals a nice paperweight. Or the Hexar RF.

That is, at least until someone starts a cottage industry of making CLE circuit boards. It probably would not be that tough for anyone who knows how. I made a few when teaching electronics years ago.

 

[rxmd]

That is, at least until someone starts a cottage industry of making CLE circuit boards. It probably would not be that tough for anyone who knows how. I made a few when teaching electronics years ago.

Are the schematics documented in any way?

 

[kosta_g]

this thread is sort of funny... for me anyway. I stumbled upon it this evening after discussing exactly the same thing with my girlfriend yesterday. I thought about getting involved at one point...but I don't have THAT much time free on weekends... and my day-job is rather involving; requires 'mental-downtime' afterwards.

 

[literiter]

I've done a bit of work on my M2, quite a few years ago now. It is a somewhat easy camera to work on. I'll never do it again though.

Last year I sent my M2 to Gerry Smith at Kindermann for a complete CLA. It was expensive! It was expensive but there is a certain confidence I have in a tech who has done perhaps thousands of M series Leicas in his/her time before they get to mine.

There will be the tools to open the camera, adjust the shutter speed, and adjust the rangefinder etc. and there will be the access to parts.

I hope there is some young person looking over Gerry's shoulder, learning the technique so we can still get these things serviced when he retires.