Is Sover Wong worth it?

[Huss]

I thought I read something somewhere about sover being able to make an AS head into aspot meter, is that true or is it my wishful thinking/delusions?

If it is true it would be offered on his website.

 

[pentaxuser]

"...and he’s also good with time management as well. He’ll tell you when to send it in, and he works on it right when you send it in, and sends it back when he said it would come back. It’s not gone forever. None of that send it in and wait without much word for what seems like an eternity, never knowing if it’s being worked on or not kind of treatment you get from other well respected techs."

This alone is golden...along with the quality of work I've heard described.

It seems strange that members' experiences seem to vary such a lot in terms of what you have said above in the first paragraph. The opinions about the quality of his work seem fairly unanimous I always find it intriguing how this happens

pentaxuser

 

[Huss]

I had mine done before he became this popular. It was only a few weeks, and a decent price.

 

[George Mann]

I thought I read something somewhere about sover being able to make an AS head into aspot meter, is that true or is it my wishful thinking/delusions?

He offers both partial and full spot masks for all heads.

 

[Pieter12]

He is no longer taking reservations until he clears his backlog--something like mid 2024.

 

[Huss]

How much value does a Sover Wong service add to an F2? Say a regular F2 is $200.

 

[250swb]

How much value does a Sover Wong service add to an F2? Say a regular F2 is $200.

He'll take your $200 F2 and make it into a $300 F2, but you'll have paid $350 (or more) for the privilege. So you'll be $250 down. It's a great deal if your camera has always been with you and has emotional value, and if you can get on his waiting list in 2024. Otherwise I think despite his undoubted skills he's dealing with cameras that have less intrinsic worth over just buying another that works. The 'cheap' price of the donor camera alongside the expensive price of a service is aimed purely at sentimentalists.

 

[Pieter12]

Just like taking your $1500 Leica M3 and having it CLA'd for $500. Is it about having an M3 worth $2000 or an M3 that you know will operate reliably for the next 5-10 years?

 

[BMbikerider]

Suppose he is as good as they say, then I'd say it's money well spent. However, if you find a good repair technician, they could probably do a similar job for a fair bit cheaper.

I took an Olympus Pen F to be repaired to a well respected camera technician and I was told it was unfixable without a donor camera. Later, I took it to a repair shop in Dubai and they fixed it for a very reasonable price. Different repair technicians have different levels of skill.

Yes they may do as good a job, but if there are things wrong that are not in the technicians capability, such as replacing defunct meter cells then he is the only one I know who can do the task. He has all the special tools specifically for the job in hand where others who make a mess of it and making do with tools of lesser quality and not designed specifically for the job.
Have look at his section of horror pictures where things have gone sadly wrong and it has been botched to the point the camera is either unusable or at the very least in a worse condition than when it was sent in.
I have never heard or read of a complaint against this guy, I only wish there were more like him.

 

[CMoore]

Yes they may do as good a job, but if there are things wrong that are not in the technicians capability, such as replacing defunct meter cells then he is the only one I know who can do the task. He has all the special tools specifically for the job in hand where others who make a mess of it and making do with tools of lesser quality and not designed specifically for the job.
Have look at his section of horror pictures where things have gone sadly wrong and it has been botched to the point the camera is either unusable or at the very least in a worse condition than when it was sent in.
I have never heard or read of a complaint against this guy, I only wish there were more like him.

Yes..... .more like him and not just the F2

 

[Huss]

He'll take your $200 F2 and make it into a $300 F2, but you'll have paid $350 (or more) for the privilege. So you'll be $250 down. It's a great deal if your camera has always been with you and has emotional value, and if you can get on his waiting list in 2024. Otherwise I think despite his undoubted skills he's dealing with cameras that have less intrinsic worth over just buying another that works. The 'cheap' price of the donor camera alongside the expensive price of a service is aimed purely at sentimentalists.

You really think a Sover-d F2 is only worth $300?
With Leicas a cla is a losing proposition to the seller, as everyone expects the statement ‘cla-d!’ with it, whether it has happened or not.

But a Wonged F2? That is a gift from the gods, especially if I’m going to be selling one!

 

[Huss]

This is what a Sover Wonged F2 allowed me to capture. The dog looking at me disdainfully as it passes by the sign stating no dogs on the beach. With a regular F2 the dog would be replaced by a greasy sweater and a bottle of soda, the pic would have been out of focus, and the film would most probably have been ripped.
That, my friends, is the value of a Sover Wong service!

p.s. NB23 - one shot and done….

 

[250swb]

This is what a Sover Wonged F2 allowed me to capture. The dog looking at me disdainfully as it passes by the sign stating no dogs on the beach. With a regular F2 the dog would be replaced by a greasy sweater and a bottle of soda, the pic would have been out of focus, and the film would most probably have been ripped.
That, my friends, is the value of a Sover Wong service!

p.s. NB23 - one shot and done….

Nah, even a DIY YouTube repair job could have got the shutter to fire just a fraction later, the spring in the symmetry metering switch needs adjusting.

 

[Huss]

Nah, even a DIY YouTube repair job could have got the shutter to fire just a fraction later, the spring in the symmetry metering switch needs adjusting.

Look again. Dog’s head is dead center. Thanks to Sover Wong.

 

[BMbikerider]

Yes..... .more like him and not just the F2

Unfortunately there are unlikely to be any others. The F2 is for better or worse an icon in the camera world built like a Battleship to take the knocks but has all the fine engineering of a Rolls Royce.

Having said that there is a one man repair workshop in UK where he can do truly magical things with elderly bodied manual focus Minoltas. He has had my Minolta XM through his workshop and it came back working absolutely perfectly - if only the general cosmetic condition was better!

I don't know how accurate the statement is but it has been said that when Minolta closed it's photographic section down and sold out to Sony, he bought all the remaining spare parts for Minolta film cameras and he is the only technician who can do repairs on the older cameras.

 

[Huss]

Unfortunately there are unlikely to be any others. The F2 is for better or worse an icon in the camera world built like a Battleship to take the knocks but has all the fine engineering of a Rolls Royce.

Having said that there is a one man repair workshop in UK where he can do truly magical things with elderly bodied manual focus Minoltas. He has had my Minolta XM through his workshop and it came back working absolutely perfectly - if only the general cosmetic condition was better!

I don't know how accurate the statement is but it has been said that when Minolta closed it's photographic section down and sold out to Sony, he bought all the remaining spare parts for Minolta film cameras and he is the only technician who can do repairs on the older cameras.

NAMES! We need names!

 

[lecarp]

"Is Sover Wong worth it?"​

Ask yourself. Are your skills with a camera worthy of Sover Wong?

 

[BMbikerider]

"Is Sover Wong worth it?"​

Ask yourself. Are your skills with a camera worthy of Sover Wong?

Are you asking me or the forum contributors in general? If it was me, I don't have the knowledge, the tools or the eyesight to do close up work on a fine instrument like a camera - of any sort. I can however happily dismantle a gearbox from a car or motorcycle and repair it but with items like a camera - no way.

So if I had an F2 that needed attention I would consider his skill first before going to anyone else.

 

[lecarp]

Your skills using a camera, not on repairing a camera!
Is your work worthy of Sover Wongs skills and or his price.
It's for you to decide.

 

[faberryman]

Your skills using a camera, not on repairing a camera!
Is your work worthy of Sover Wongs skills and or his price.
It's for you to decide.

What a nutty idea. Seems like you would want your Nikon camera to work right whatever your skill level. Sover Wong has a reputation for fixing Nikon cameras so they work right, so he seems like a good choice. Usually, people who do good work command a higher price. Of course, there are other guys who work on Nikon cameras too, so you have a choice. No reason to exclude Sover Wong from the list just because you haven't had a show at the MOMA yet.

 

[btaylor]

I don’t know anything about Sover Wong, or Nikons for that matter. But I have paid more than the market value of a camera several times to have it repaired and/or CLA’d- and they are still a great bargain! Think of what these cameras cost new, we get them now for peanuts, and throw in a few bucks to have them work like new. I think camera service people are super cheap. Most repair people these days (plumbers, electricians, mechanics) are in the $250-350 an hour range (parts and labor). I’m sure Mr. Wong spends a number of hours on each F2 he restores.

 

[logan2z]

But I have paid more than the market value of a camera several times to have it repaired and/or CLA’d- and they are still a great bargain! Think of what these cameras cost new, we get them now for peanuts, and throw in a few bucks to have them work like new.

This is the logic I've been using when sending in old, now inexpensive, film cameras for CLA. The total cost of the camera plus the service is still pretty low, and it's nice to know that the camera is in tip-top shape and won't give me any issues for a long time.

 

[BradS]

Ask yourself. Are your skills with a camera worthy of Sover Wong?

Completely wrong (and majorly f'ed up) way to look at it. It has nothing at all to do with one's self-assessment.

It has everything to do with the peace of mind that comes from having a reliable tool with which to persue one's goals.

 

[CMoore]

Some of our members have ZERO sense of humor .....

 

[madNbad]

There are dozens of technicians technicians that can service the F2 but much like sending a Leica to Don Goldberg, if you want something specific, they are the shops that can deliver. Both have many more parts on hand and have experience with the infrequent problems that will stump a less experienced tech.