Repaired M3 - Youxin Ye's work

Leica, well into the 50's I believe, used to use whale oil as a lubricant - as did all precision equipment makers (microscopes, cameras, etc.). When whale oil became scare finding an oil substitute was difficult and not always successful. Oil is a very, very complex subject. Google tribologist.
 
Well my friends,

If we think wisely, everybody does make mistakes, some will do what is right to correct the mistakes, some won't do anything at all.

In case of Youxin Ye, he's an honorable person who will do all his best to make it right.

I'm actually planning to send him my other Leica IIIf for a CLA soon...
 
elshaneo said:
Well my friends,

If we think wisely, everybody does make mistakes, some will do what is right to correct the mistakes, some won't do anything at all.

In case of Youxin Ye, he's an honorable person who will do all his best to make it right.

I'm actually planning to send him my other Leica IIIf for a CLA soon...
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people have been griping about his excessive use of oil for a couple of years and he's just getting around to sorting it out? this doesn't make any sense to me.

how many threads are there regarding DAG or Sherry doing less than stellar work?

the only complaints we ever hear about either of them are long delays and expensive rates.

i think youxin is a nice and honorable person, but i was not satisfied enough with his work to warrant sending him anything in the future.

my .02

bob
 
I for one think the problem should have been caught and addressed by him a lot sooner than it was. Still good that he's taking steps to repair what went wrong. We can only hope that some litigious sort doesn't take him to court for extended lack of use of their equipment. 😱
 
Ok, seems like I am posting already and have only been here for a day or so. Without naming names I had Don Goldberg CLA my M6 along with a nice old 50mm Summicron collasable. Took the better part of three months. It sat in my bag afterward for almost a year and I sold it in a fit of lens lust. Wish I had the lens back but do not miss the camera. If there is a point to this post it is that there are very few folks who will work on these cameras. I just sent a IIIg off to Ye for repair and a 5cm Summarit for cleaning. I will trust Ye till he proves me wrong. I found Goldbergs work satisfactory but his communication was totally lacking till it came time to return the camera and his prices were more than double those of Mr Ye.
I will report back on the quality of work. I feel fortunate to have found the IIIg and I have high hopes for it as a nice old shooter. If the lens is not capable of cleaning what would you put on a IIIg which would not be a disaster. I would like to keep it faster than f2 but have no preference. I already shoot a Voigtlander on my M7. John
 
Don Goldberg is probably the best Leica repair person in the country. He is not a communicator however, and your experience is common. He is a perfectionist and spends his time on his work rather than on his computer. Youxin is unusually inexpensive and Don is not that expensive. If Don charged more for his services you would not have the three month wait and he would still have plenty of work. However nobody seems to be able to persuade him of that.
 
I'm just glad there are people out there to do this work, period. I sent my Canon P to Mark Hama, he CLA'd it, and when the shutter stuck for me on first re-use, I sent it back and he fixed it so it's perfect. I had a Canon 50/1.8 attached when I sent it in and he also did the lens (cleaner, looser) although I never mentioned it. It was gone a total 6 or 7 weeks for both visits, but I have a perfect camera with an amazing lens.
 
I have a camera at DAG, I knew of his lack of communication when I sent him the camera, but also like his work.

What is his current turn around time? Some have said it took 3 months, I am wondering if anyone has had a camera worked on my Don lately and how long it took?



Leo
 
" If Don charged more for his services you would not have the three month wait and he would still have plenty of work. However nobody seems to be able to persuade him of that. "

Let me get this straight... you want a Leica repair person that we all send our hard earned money to, to charge us MORE??? 😱
Let me guess- you were dropped on your head as a child...
 
George S. said:
Let me get this straight... you want a Leica repair person that we all send our hard earned money to, to charge us MORE???
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For a better, quicker job, of course.

But if you're happier with a faster, cheaper, inferior job...

I have never used any of the repairers mentioned. Why would I, living outside the United States?

But equally, there is often (far from always) a reason why, as the old saying goes, 'you get what you pay for'.

Cheers,

R.
 
George S. said:
" If Don charged more for his services you would not have the three month wait and he would still have plenty of work. However nobody seems to be able to persuade him of that. "

Let me get this straight... you want a Leica repair person that we all send our hard earned money to, to charge us MORE??? 😱
Let me guess- you were dropped on your head as a child...
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No but I used to stand on my head in soft chairs/sofas a lot when I was a boy. Maybe that explains it! 😉

Seriously though, Don just needs to behave rationally, as economists would say. Demand goes up? The price incleases to a point where there is equilibrium for Don - just enough full-time work at a price that is acceptable to the marketplace. I do contract work all the time and the price goes up and down depending on the market.

What Don also needs to do is tell his customers there will be a three month wait so that they don't get frantic and start venting in forums like this. It is known as setting customer expectations, another well-worn business practice.

BTW I recently sent a lens to Steve Choi in LA for a thorough CLA. It is back and he seems to have done a good job. Wait time was less than 3 weeks.
 
More details on Stephan Choi, please, in case we might need his services? Address or web site would be good. Heck, even a phone number will do. I'll jot down somewhere (where I'm sure to misplace it).

Thanks in advance.
 
"More details on Stephan Choi, please, in case we might need his services? Address or web site would be good. Heck, even a phone number will do. I'll jot down somewhere (where I'm sure to misplace it)."

Per the LHSA site:

Stephen Choi
310.397.0072
310.397.3473 Fax
http://www.stevecamera.com/
 
JRG said:
"More details on Stephan Choi, please, in case we might need his services? Address or web site would be good. Heck, even a phone number will do. I'll jot down somewhere (where I'm sure to misplace it)."

Per the LHSA site:

Stephen Choi
310.397.0072
310.397.3473 Fax
http://www.stevecamera.com/
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Thanks! I'm dropping this into Outlook where it may actually be when I need it!😀
 
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jja said:
What does Steve Choi charge for a standard lens CLA?
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I called a few weeks ago about a lens CLA and they quoted me $130-150. Keep in mind, that is for a lens with dents, mold, a stiff aperture ring, and plenty of scratches. I didn't end up having it CLA'd but the people there were very helpful.
 
Steve is in Culver City, California. Web site is stevecamera.com. I don't know what a "standard" CLA would cost but mine cost $185, the lens was in extremely bad shape. The most I have paid up to now is $125. Steve gave me an estimate based on my detailed description and he held to it after he examined the lens. Details at the link below.

Steve's Camera CLA - Any Experiences?
 
Seriously though, Don just needs to behave rationally, as economists would say. Demand goes up? The price incleases to a point where there is equilibrium for Don - just enough full-time work at a price that is acceptable to the marketplace. I do contract work all the time and the price goes up and down depending on the market.


Why not let Don decide where his equilibrium lies...?
 
Ahhh geeze, after reading this thread, I`m not sure it was a good idea to have sent my IIIC K Grey to Youxin afterall???????

The first person who had their hands on it really didn`t do anything but, fix the vulcanite and didn`t adjutst anything or lube the camera, it came back in-operational and I still had a $5,000 paperweight, but now after reading all this negative response about Youxin, I thought that he was a really good repairman????? - now I`m having second thoughts, the shutter curtains in my camera are worth over $1,500 alone, I can`t afford to have any oil seeping into them.

It seems to getting to be TOO EXPENSIVE using LTM`s anymore, I should just sell the damm lot and buy a couple of M6`s or a nice Black M3 kit........I guess DAG`s one of the few places you can trust 100%, but I`m sure I`d pay like $400+ for a CLA on a K shutter, JUST TO CRACK IT OPEN?

Tom
 
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