Who still service the CL?

I think that I've decided that my CL is a cute handy old fashioned meterless camera. I'd rather make incident readings with my Weston Master V anyway.
 
Al, the shutter is jammed and slow speed is way off. The battery conversion is pretty much free with the CLA. I am not sure if I would trust the meter anyway but it's good to have it there.
 
JUst an update to complete this thread. My CL just came back from Don. The whole trip took a little over two weeks. Everything is fixed, meter is adjusted to modern battery. The whole thing costs me less than 200$.
Thank you for all your help. Now I finally have a sweet,working CL.
 
I have just received back my CL from Mr Peter (CRR - Luton- England) for servicing. Resilvering is perfect, new meter cell for light metering and 1,5V adjusting. All well done.
Very nice to deal with.
Thanks a lot Mr Peter!
 
Used Leice in Switzerland (where I live) for CLA, new light cell + PCB and spool. Quiet expensive but happy with the result
 
I've got two out for repair at the moment. One, meter inoperative, is with Sherry Krauter, and the other, with operating meter and a misaligned rangefinder patch, is at Kindermann in Canada for a general overhaul and calibration.

Sherry, I wager, has both a pipeline to factory parts stocks somewhere and a hoard of old CL carcasses she cannibalises. She's never been unwilling or unable to deal with a parts issue for me, in three previous CL repairs. She's expensive, though.

On the phone, Kindermann guardedly confirmed that they'll still work on CLs- when they can get the parts. Meter cells are a problem for them, apparently. That's why they got the one that still functions and that seems to only need an enema and a stern talking-to.

Will post feedback and results, as warranted.
 
I had my CL serviced by Nippon Photo Clinic in NYC and they did a great job. I insisted (against their recommendation) that they replace the dead meter cell -- it cost twice what the rest of the repair cost -- but I wanted it done. They tried their best to convince me it would be too exensive (it ws) but they were able to find a replacement and install it. They did fantastic work & I've never regretted having them recondition the entire camera.

Contact:
Nippon Photo Clinic Service
212-982-3177
920 Broadway At East 21st St
New York, NY 10001
 
Biggles said:
I've got two out for repair at the moment. One, meter inoperative, is with Sherry Krauter, and the other, with operating meter and a misaligned rangefinder patch, is at Kindermann in Canada for a general overhaul and calibration.

Sherry, I wager, has both a pipeline to factory parts stocks somewhere and a hoard of old CL carcasses she cannibalises. She's never been unwilling or unable to deal with a parts issue for me, in three previous CL repairs. She's expensive, though.

On the phone, Kindermann guardedly confirmed that they'll still work on CLs- when they can get the parts. Meter cells are a problem for them, apparently. That's why they got the one that still functions and that seems to only need an enema and a stern talking-to.

Will post feedback and results, as warranted.
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My CL's meter also seems to be inoperative.
Needle moves when I change shutter speeds but doesn't move when I change apertures. I can't tell if the battery check is working or not even after replacing it with a wein air cell.

Anyways - I emailed Sherry a couple of days ago and haven't rcvd a response. Could you folks tell me what she charges for on a CLA and meter repair?

Any other repair folks that are local to Orange County, CA?
 
I've heard from Kindermann. Estimate was done about five days following receipt of camera. It needs its rangefinder adjusted (as I suspected), its film spool replaced, and a general overhaul, and they've recommended that I permit them to re-calibrate the meter to use 1.5V alkaline batteries instead of the Wein cell I left in it. (This is apparently their standard practice, though I had mentioned needing to know which battery they'd use for meter calibration in my instructions in the box.)

$243 CDN parts and labor; told to expect roughly 14-day turnaround. I've asked them to proceed.
 
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PentHassyKon said:
Could you folks tell me what she charges for on a CLA and meter repair?
Click to expand...

I can't find the service write-up for the overhaul with meter cell replacement she did for me, but I think it was either $275 or $375 US. Hefty sum, anyhow; I remember thinking I could nearly have gotten a rough but working CL from the classifieds for the price of that overhaul. That was, I think, 2007.

By comparison, she charged me $130 US + postage to blueprint a CL I dropped onto a tile floor (without killing the meter) in late 2006. Therefore, CLA + meter cell replacement will be at least twice her going rate for oil change and spark plugs only, is my guess.


I'll prolly break a few more CLs before I pack it in and take up oil painting, though, so I'll make a point of adding to this thread whenever a fresh invoice arrives to brighten my day.
 
When I said Sherry is the leading expert, I said so because she was in at the beginning of the CL and knows every single improvement and strengthening of the CL. The same goes for the M5. She gave us a very detailed talk about both cameras at the St. Louis LHSA meeting. And she has done first-class work for me. This is not to detract from Don Goldberg (DAG). He has done fine work for me as well. but I think of Sherry as the master of the CL and M5. I had an M5 she rebuilt, and the work was superb. The M3 she rebuilt for me is now as smooth as butter--and lower in cholesterol.
 
Biggles-
Thx for the info. If/When she replies to email correspondence I'll update here. Unfortunately as I've on this forum, she rarely responds to email inquiries unless its about business she already has.

Having purchased my CL for ~225 I'm not too concerned about it not having a functional meter. I'll just pretend it's a mini M2/3/4 :D
 
Overhauled CL received from Kindermann, today, with both price and turnaround time exactly per orginal quote. Focusing patch offset seems fixed. Film will tell the rest of the tale, but so far, pleasant, trouble-free and surprise-free repair transaction.
 
Hi.

I have had several cameras CLA'd at Kindermann, and Gerry does great work. Hoping to get a CL soon, and the first stop will be a trip to the "spa" with Gerry. And they truly back up the work they do.

P
 
fbf said:
Besides, Don and sherry, is there anybody else still service the CL for a decent price? The vf is far off in the vertical plane and i am unable to test the meter (no battery). It is a great body and I would like to put it into good use.
Thanks.
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Who is this Don you are referring to?
I sent my CL to Sherry a month ago and she dein't even bother to answer wheter she received my camera. I might have to look for someone else.:(
 
Was at Nippon Photo Clinic in Manhattan last week, to drop off a Nikon F3 & 55mm lens for an overhaul. Had a bit of a chinwag with the counterman, when he found out I'd come 400 miles to ask him to fix a $100 camera.

"How did you hear about us?"

"The internet! You're apparently the go-to place for mechanical Nikon repair in New York City."

The guy looked surprised at that. "Actually...we are, ah, known for working on Hasselblad."

I'd had no idea they fixed European stuff. Curious, I held up the CL I had in my hand. "Do you work on these pieces of junk, too?"

He laughed. "Not on the meters. On everything but the meters."

Based on the speed, price, and quality of the job they did on my Nikon rig, I would not hesitate to walk into Nippon Photo Clinic for a shutter calibration, rangefinder adjustment, or similar non-photometric repair, if I found myself in New York City with a mechanically-sick CL. The three different people I dealt with there all seemed mentally agile. I think the worst one could come out of there with would be a speedy and accurate diagnosis of the problem.
 
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