Youxin Ye

[Noserider]

I debated long on whether or not to post my experience, and the 'Africa' comment confirms my hesitation, you'd think in a community of Leica users people should be free to being concerned about originality of repair parts without prejudice. I can only state my experiences; otherwise he did decent work at good prices. The camera has before and after pics. The camera was inspected post repair by a noted Leica expert. It 'felt' different when I got it back; its perhaps more of my own fault for not closely inspecting the camera upon return, but this was not the only repair I've had YY do over the years and I trusted him; all other repairs were on other items. The replacement knob has the original correct black painted brass lever and knob, how I noticed it was when the lever started to wear ' funny' and make a new brass patch. Upon noticing this I looked closer at the knob and wondered if the arrow should be painted white (it was not). This repair was done in May 2012 and I did not catch it until mid-late 2013 and confirmed as not original at that time. As it has a bit of wear on it you can tell its not the original brass knob, and I am bummed since I've had the camera since it was in Like New condition and I was pretty glad to have put all the wear on it. I have not contacted YY, and have been debating doing so since it was so long until I caught the wrong part. Most likely is that he made a mistake and someone else has the brass black painted knob. I don't really know what to do at this point; he's done fine work for me over the years but I think I'll be only sending him non-rare items in the future if I do use him. If you think there is a chance of getting my knob back maybe I'll try, but its been a long time and from his perspective he might just think I'm full of BS. I just know what the camera part was and what it is now.

 

[Robert Lai]

Noserider, if it is eating you up so much, just contact him. He may still have it lying around somewhere.

 

[zuiko85]

My only experience with his work was with my M4-2 that apparently been serviced by a tractor mechanic. Many problems. Camera works fine now, very smooth and precise.

 

[zleica]

He worked on my IIIg, IIIf RD/ST, and a Shanghai 58 Type II and did a wonderful job on each one of them.

 

[jwicaksana]

I have also have very positive experience with YY. Long before I can afford an M body, we exchanged emails, basically me bugging him to put together a beater M for me. He couldn't do that so he pointed me at some directions, even allowed me to use his name when contacting them. Many moons later, I found this M4-P which was resurrected by YY. The guy who asked YY to rebuilt it then sold it to the guy I bought it from, who also sent it to YY a few months before sending it to me. I contacted YY about this and he told me background stories and what he had done with my camera. The communication was excellent, the camera feels right and finder is clear. Can't comment on wrench marks though since I got it in a beater condition.

 

[bobkonos]

I wholeheartedly agree. Not only is his work great and prices fair, but he has great communication about estimates and allowing the customer to decide how much they want done, unlike my bad experience with a certain SK.

 

[Spicy]

another very happy customer. i've gone down to his place as it's not to far from mine. great service, and all around pleasant guy -- very very interesting to talk to, if anyone lives in the area and has the chance.

he's been great with communication, although i'll admit that i haven't really had much other than the occasional e-mail about swinging by and chatting with him while he services my stuff.

to date, a IIIc that his japanese-sourced beamsplitter has turned into a daily-user, an M4-P that is incredibly smooth (an early one w/ brass top plates and gears, confirmed when we took it apart and serviced it), a Canon P, and a Canon 100/3.5 LTM that he gave a bit of a refresher. the lens was done by his wife, as in his own words "lens attention requires the delicacy that only a woman's touch can provide," haha.

again, anyone in the area, you are doing yourself a disservice to mail him stuff rather than visiting him in person. of course best to e-mail him beforehand and coordinate schedules, but he is a most pleasant guy to chat with. i learned a tremendous amount while watching him tear-down and re-animate my old cameras. when i'm back in the area, i'll likely swing by and request some love and attention for a recently-acquired IVsb2 that seems to have some pinholes curtains.

 

[hrzlvn]

I debated long on whether or not to post my experience, and the 'Africa' comment confirms my hesitation, you'd think in a community of Leica users people should be free to being concerned about originality of repair parts without prejudice. I can only state my experiences; otherwise he did decent work at good prices. The camera has before and after pics. The camera was inspected post repair by a noted Leica expert. It 'felt' different when I got it back; its perhaps more of my own fault for not closely inspecting the camera upon return, but this was not the only repair I've had YY do over the years and I trusted him; all other repairs were on other items. The replacement knob has the original correct black painted brass lever and knob, how I noticed it was when the lever started to wear ' funny' and make a new brass patch. Upon noticing this I looked closer at the knob and wondered if the arrow should be painted white (it was not). This repair was done in May 2012 and I did not catch it until mid-late 2013 and confirmed as not original at that time. As it has a bit of wear on it you can tell its not the original brass knob, and I am bummed since I've had the camera since it was in Like New condition and I was pretty glad to have put all the wear on it. I have not contacted YY, and have been debating doing so since it was so long until I caught the wrong part. Most likely is that he made a mistake and someone else has the brass black painted knob. I don't really know what to do at this point; he's done fine work for me over the years but I think I'll be only sending him non-rare items in the future if I do use him. If you think there is a chance of getting my knob back maybe I'll try, but its been a long time and from his perspective he might just think I'm full of BS. I just know what the camera part was and what it is now.

You should definitely contact him and see how it goes. I can't tell what he might think, but at least it's worth trying and it may possibly clarify some doubts. On the other hand, without contacting him to address the issue and posted a huge accusation right here does not seem like a wise move. You are putting someone's reputation at stake for a matter that you are not even sure.
M6's knob should be Zinc instead of Aluminum, the later M7's i used to own was brass though. However, the black chrome finish is so different from the Lacquer finish, even untrained people can tell the difference if they get to have a close glance, well, at least my 50-year-old mom did.

Best,
Levin

 

[colyn]

In 2008 members posted he was having issues with oil. I have not seen any mention of it since. http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64595

I sent him a IIIfRD. I was unsure of how to deal with the flash sync of this model so instead of trying I sent the camera for a simple CLA. When the camera came back I removed the bottom plate to load film and found oil dripping and upon inspection the curtains were oil saturated. Not spotted with oil, they were saturated.
When I contacted him his responce was that he was using a new oil and the few drops he used mush have expanded. There was a lot more than a few drops dripping out of the camera.
I sent it back for curtain replacement and have not used him since.. He didn't even bother to wipe out the excess oil... I had to remove the crate to cleanup excess oil...

 

[NY_Dan]

About 4 years ago I drove over to YY to have work done on 2 LTMs. He was very nice and did a good job. Driving there I expected to see a room devoted to the task, not part of a kitchen table - literally. He didn't have specialized equipment like a collimator. Nor did he have a stockpile of spare parts. (perhaps things are different now) A pro workspace inspires confidence in any field. (For example scroll down to a photo of Henry Scherer's workspace here: http://www.zeisscamera.com/services.shtml ). He mentioned buying parts from DAG from time to time -- which is okay, but what influence does this have on the decision to replace a part? At the time his prices were about 30 percent less than they are now (M3 CLA was $120 -- now $180). And YY is responsive and fast. So there is a lot in his favor. I did have one lens repair from DAG that was way way way over oiled -- the smell upon opening the box made my head reel. I called Don and he told me it had been CLA'd by an assistant -- which for me was not an inspiring statement -- unless accompanied with the words "under my direction and final inspection. However, from what I've read my experience with Don was a very rare occurrence -- although he seemed to take it quite casually. Best lens repair for me is John at Focalpointlens.com Conclusion: Do your homework, and match the repairman to the job, your budget, and your time constraints.

 

[x-ray]

I must disagree. His work was decent but he 'replaced' my Black Paint M4 brassed rewind knob with a new M6 aluminum one without my knowledge or consent rendering my once original BP M4 no longer original. It took me several months to realize the switch after confirming with a Leica expert.

Here's a solution to the problem. I think Leica is still offering a BP M4 rewind on the MP a la carte. Just buy a replacement and install it and be done with it. The new ones should be brass like the original and only you will know. It will wear just like the original paint.

 

[t.s.k.]

Keep in mind that Youxin isn't Leica factory trained. That said, he's done a remarkable job all things considered, especially since this isn't his primary job. He's also been doing this for maybe 10 years (?) and his skills have definitely improved over this time. For those on the fence, Youxin's bread and butter are the M2/M3. Send him one of those and be pleasantly surprised.

I've had less than stellar work done by DAG and Sherrie but they're quick to address them if notified. I've had no problems with Youxin's work but I'm confident he'd be equally as responsive.

 

[lrochfort]

Incase you didn't already know, Youxin Ye is the man. He replaced the windows on my M2 with new multicoated windows and recovered it with Aki-Asahi 4008 skin. While the top was off, he adjusted a frame line issue. The work was exceptional as well as the turn around time. He is a true expert with a professional follow through.

http://www.yyecamera.com/sample_blackpaint_M2.html

Does the multi coating on the windows reduce glare and increase contrast?

 

[Dan Daniel]

Just a note on "original" parts.

As I understand the OP's comment on the replaced knob, there was no reason for the knob to be replaced. It wasn't sent in with a problem on the knob and he wasn't told that he needed a new knob. It simply came back with a different knob with a different finish.

I understand your user and collector comments, and I'd agree with what you say pretty much. But face it, most Leica film camera users do not see the camera as simply a tool. The aesthetics of individual cameras and the history of Leica's production processes are part of the experience.

For example, I have an M3 out for an overhaul right now. It has a satin chrome ring around the shutter rather than the more typical shiny chrome ring. I really like that look, and if it came back with a shiny chrome ring I would be demanding that I get it back. Sure this is silly in ways. But so is shooting a 60 year old camera and film. Sometimes it's good for us to be a bit silly...

 

[raid]

I have sent Youxin only a Tower 35 camera with the Nikkor 50/2. It came back repaired/adjusted, and the lens was cleaned, and it took $250 to do so. I use DAG for Leica cameras.

 

[Dan Daniel]

... Hard to say on this one, because YY was not asked....

Yep. This is where the OP is on shaky ground- complaining on a forum without asking YY what had happened. I have had two bad repair jobs with two different camera lines. In both cases, I discussed things with the repairman and gave them the chance to make good. When I tell about these instances I am clear about the second round of communication and how the repairman responded (in one case, great response, in the other case, a horrible response).

 

[puxmep]

Earlier this year Youxin overhauled by M3. Now the camera operates like new, and I am especially happy with how he cleaned the viewfinder. The work took him 2 weeks. Communication was very good as well as the price.

 

[literiter]

Mr. Ye did a long needed CLA on my M4-P, it came back beautiful and the price was right.

No complaints.

He gets my M2 next.

 

[Noserider]

See; this is why I really hesitated on posting. As I have posted, YY did good work on a variety of other leica equipment of mine. I am sure that the knob is not the original, as I stated the rewind lever is the same but now has new wear from the different fitting part.
I am stating my experiences with this particular repairman, both my good ones and my not so good ones. I don't feel I am severely denigrating the reputation of YY; just pointing out to other my own experiences, and I already qualified this by stating that I probably should have been more keenly aware of checking the camera post repair. But, I am a working photographer with 2 Leicas (and Nikon film and Digital plus Rollei Mamiya and 4x5) in near constant rotation so my gear goes thru various levels of cycling in and out of use.
As it is I am still reluctant to go any further. The Leica works well and if I really want a BP M4 rewind knob I'll find one. The potential for further complications only increases: If I contact YY and he refuses/questions my integrity I would have That to add to this experience, and thus further the negative perception that some would have. As it is I chalk it up to merely a wrong part re-installed with no ill intentions, compounded by my own inattentiveness post repair and an excessive amount of time gone by.

 

[barnwulf]

I have purchased two Leicas from Youxin and had a couple of others repaired. Always a fast turn around time at a reasonable price and excellent work done. I had to return one for a small adjustment but I had the camera back in my hands in just a few days. If I need another repair I would not hesitate to send a camera again. - jim