cole
Established
Just wanted to leave some kind words here in favour of Gerry Smith over at Kindermann in Ontario.
I recently sent Gerry my M2, as the rangefinder was becoming quite dim; also, as the camera still had the original Leica "L" wax stamp on it, I figured the poor thing was due for some servicing.
Gerry initially offered to have a look at the camera at no charge - shipping excluded, of course - and to let me know what, if anything, he thought the camera could benefit from.
After a couple phone calls, Gerry let me know that the shutter speeds were fairly erratic, and that the camera as a whole would benefit from a CLA. He wasn't sure how much the rangefinder's visibility would benefit, but we went ahead with the servicing.
All told, the camera was back in my hands within 2 weeks of me shipping it off to him, and the bill was quite reasonable. Gerry was a pleasure to deal with, very courteous on the phone and prompt with his response time.
The camera arrived back to me feeling like new! It even looked new - all the controls and exterior of the camera had been polished to a shine. The advance lever felt smoother than before (which I didn't think was possible), the shutter sounded much healthier, and the frame counter's action is much smoother and more decisive.
The rangefinder itself is still not honestly as bright as I would like it, but there is only so much one can expect from a 40 year old assembly! My M7's RF is still much brighter, but again, it's only 7 years old.
Gerry's cleaning of the RF, however, did benefit it and bring it back to what I think is 'as best as can be' considering the camera's age. I can also now be much more confident in its alignment than I was before, having only tweaked it a little myself.
Long story short, I've had a wonderful experience with Gerry and all the staff at Kindermann, and would recommend them to any fellow Canadian Leicaphiles! Thanks, Gerry.
I recently sent Gerry my M2, as the rangefinder was becoming quite dim; also, as the camera still had the original Leica "L" wax stamp on it, I figured the poor thing was due for some servicing.
Gerry initially offered to have a look at the camera at no charge - shipping excluded, of course - and to let me know what, if anything, he thought the camera could benefit from.
After a couple phone calls, Gerry let me know that the shutter speeds were fairly erratic, and that the camera as a whole would benefit from a CLA. He wasn't sure how much the rangefinder's visibility would benefit, but we went ahead with the servicing.
All told, the camera was back in my hands within 2 weeks of me shipping it off to him, and the bill was quite reasonable. Gerry was a pleasure to deal with, very courteous on the phone and prompt with his response time.
The camera arrived back to me feeling like new! It even looked new - all the controls and exterior of the camera had been polished to a shine. The advance lever felt smoother than before (which I didn't think was possible), the shutter sounded much healthier, and the frame counter's action is much smoother and more decisive.
The rangefinder itself is still not honestly as bright as I would like it, but there is only so much one can expect from a 40 year old assembly! My M7's RF is still much brighter, but again, it's only 7 years old.
Gerry's cleaning of the RF, however, did benefit it and bring it back to what I think is 'as best as can be' considering the camera's age. I can also now be much more confident in its alignment than I was before, having only tweaked it a little myself.
Long story short, I've had a wonderful experience with Gerry and all the staff at Kindermann, and would recommend them to any fellow Canadian Leicaphiles! Thanks, Gerry.
Last edited:
Dan Chang
Established
All told, the camera was back in my hands within 2 weeks of me shipping it off to him, and the bill was quite reasonable. Gerry was a pleasure to deal with, very courteous on the phone and prompt with his response time.
Two weeks is speedy, any one know what is DAG's turn around time?
Two weeks is speedy, any one know what is DAG's turn around time?
Andrew Sowerby
Well-known
Gerry is very pleasant to deal with and his turn around time is great. The work is top notch. His work isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. I recommend him too.
cole
Established
I've just spent some time testing the rangefinder of the M2 in different lighting situations, and in fact the improvement is greater than I initially thought.
Especially in dim lighting, the rangefinder's coincident image is much, much better than it was before servicing. There are a couple tough lighting situations where it predictably has some trouble, but overall the improvement is much greater than I noticed on initial inspection.
All the better!
Especially in dim lighting, the rangefinder's coincident image is much, much better than it was before servicing. There are a couple tough lighting situations where it predictably has some trouble, but overall the improvement is much greater than I noticed on initial inspection.
All the better!
capitalK
Warrior Poet :P
Do they still do Hasselblad service as well? I have a 500C that won't unjam and I want to send it somewhere close. I guess I could just contact them
dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
Out of curiosity, what is "quite reasonable".
I know that Gerry is local to me (in Toronto) but so is David Yau (whom I would also recommend).
Reasonable may be $400 if no one else does the work but I know how much David charges (or has charged) me for a CLA so I'm curious what Gerry's price was that made him "quite reasonble"?
Cheers,
Dave
I know that Gerry is local to me (in Toronto) but so is David Yau (whom I would also recommend).
Reasonable may be $400 if no one else does the work but I know how much David charges (or has charged) me for a CLA so I'm curious what Gerry's price was that made him "quite reasonble"?
Cheers,
Dave
cole
Established
DCSang - Before shipping, the servicing ran me a little under $300 - that's with parts included as well, mind you.
cole
Established
CapitalK - their website doesn't make mention of any Hasselblad repairs, but I do know that CompuTech Camera Repair here in Winnipeg have serviced many of my friends' and acquaintances' Blads. If you're willing to ship to Manitoba, they're worth talking to.
Their website, if you want to take a look, is: http://www.computechcamera.com/
Their website, if you want to take a look, is: http://www.computechcamera.com/
thomasw_
Well-known
I agree with Cole's comments. Gerry Smith is a top shelf technician and repairman; the prices are reasonable and the turn-around time for me was way, way, way better than other technicians of the same pedigree. I highly recommend him.
newsgrunt
Well-known
Interesting that not a lot of people are familiar with or use David Yau, except for dcsang and I I've never had a chance to use Gerry since I'm very happy with the work David has done on my M6s and MP.
David takes the time to explain fully the work he does on my cameras and I think I understand how he determines accurate shutter travel and timing. Turn around for me is quick since I usually just drop it off in the morning and get it back in a few days if I'm lucky. Also got some excellent leads on Chinese duck liver sausages and good eats in Hong Kong
Little factoid: David trained Gerry fwiw. Kinda like Obi Wan and Anakin, both are quite skilled, to put it mildly.
I've never had a chance to use Gerry since I'm very happy with the work David has done on my M6s and MP. David takes the time to explain fully the work he does on my cameras and I think I understand how he determines accurate shutter travel and timing. Turn around for me is quick since I usually just drop it off in the morning and get it back in a few days if I'm lucky. Also got some excellent leads on Chinese duck liver sausages and good eats in Hong Kong
Little factoid: David trained Gerry fwiw. Kinda like Obi Wan and Anakin, both are quite skilled, to put it mildly.
dof
Fiat Lux
With the comparison to Darth Vader, does this mean that Gerry now repairs digital cameras too?
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Gerry has always been fair and fast with my cameras as well. He's worked on my M7's and did some shutter work on my M5.
Andrew Sowerby
Well-known
I had a good experience with David Yau as well. We Canucks have it good!
newsgrunt
Well-known
This is definitely true and no horror stories at all. Maybe we should keep this on the dl so they don't get so busy that my turn around becomes a week
N