Mamiya 7 difficulties

[dc1215]

Hello all,

I bought a Mamiya 7 last summer, and fell in love with it, however some time around November it broke on me. It was bumped (and honestly, it was just bumped lightly) against something and now the whole camera body is locked up and the film advance mechanism doesn't work. So, being a student and lacking the funds to actually have it fixed, its been on my shelf since November. I now finally have the money to fix it, but have another problem. Mamiya USA won't work on the camera because I purchased it from someone in Taiwan.

Does anybody know of a private repair place that I can trust this job to? I'm still trying to negotiate with Mamiya, but I doubt it will happen so i need somebody else. Preferably somebody who is in the northeast, reasonably priced, and won't take TOO long, although at this point I've been getting along without it for 7 months so...

Anyways, thanks in advance.

-Dan

 

[Muihlinn]

They should service it for a reasonable fee independently where you bought it, which only should affect to the warranty terms. Anyway your camera problem looks very weird.

 

[Pinholemaster]

Mamiya USA should repair it out of warranty. If they don't, they just lowered themselves a couple of notches.

Where are you located? There are plenty of good repair shops, but I don't want to send you to California if you are in South Carolina.

 

[david b]

If I remember correctly, Mamiya will fix it but their "minimum" repair is $425 which covers the whole camera.

 

[dc1215]

I'm located in CT but regularly travel to Boston and NYC so hopefully someone has had very good experiences with a repair place there? When I talked to Mamiya it seemed that they would only fix Mamiya cameras that were purchased in the US, I'm not sure of the reason why, but maybe I misunderstood. I'm going to call them again tomorrow to talk to the person in charge at the repair center. I'll report back.

-Dan

 

[SuzanneR]

I think Mamiya USA doesn't like to service or repair "grey market cameras". Perhaps it's an effort to discourage folks from buying the cameras in Japan or Asia and selling them in the US so Mamiya USA sees nothing from those sales.

I like and use Mamiya cameras, but I find this policy incredibly annoying. I've bought my Mamiya gear used at KEH, and I have no idea if it's grey market or not, and no idea if Mamiya USA will repair or service them.

Granted, as someone who has bought the gear used, Mamiya USA doesn't make any money, but it seems to me... they will make even less money from me if they won't repair it if it turns out to be grey market gear. Right?

 

[DrPablo]

The only camera repair shop in Boston I know of is EP Levine's. Actually the machine shop in EP Levine's is called SK Grimes. They'll do some basic stuff, but you might want to call and ask for Roberta (their machinist) before schlepping up here.

Same name but different shop now is the SK Grimes in Woonsocket, RI, which is one of the best camera machine shops in the world. They're truly outstanding. They tend to specialize in large format, so I don't know how they'll feel about your camera. You might give them a call though.

 

[dc1215]

Thanks for the tip Paul, I actually called EP Levines when this first happened and they won't work on this camera unfortunately, however in my other dealings with them they were great so I highly recommend them to anyone else who may need something.

 

[TimVermont]

Not in New England, but you may want to try the service department at KEH in Atlanta. They've seen a lot of Mamiya's over the years, and are certainly friendlier than Mamiya USA.

 

[Richard Wasserman]

If you are willing to ship the camera, Bob Watkins at Precision Camera Woks services Mamiyas and is very good. He has recently moved and I don't think his website is updated yet, but here he is:

The new address is:
7064 W. Main St.
Niles, IL 60714
847-470-3350

Good luck!

Richard Wasserman

 

[John Koehrer]

They should service it for a reasonable fee independently where you bought it, which only should affect to the warranty terms. Anyway your camera problem looks very weird.

Actually the north american importer will not service a gray market camera for any price.
Nor will Nikon for what it's worth.
Whether or not you like it The importer has bought the rights to import these products from the manufacturer and as arbitrary as they may seem it's their right to refuse service if they choose.
On the other hand there are hundreds of independent repair shops across the US who will service the camera and accept your coins very happily.

 

[dc1215]

Thanks for the suggestions, Mamiya gave me a definite no. So somewhere else it is. I had forgotten about KEH and since they're the closest, and I've always had great experiences with them, I'm going to send my camera out to them tomorrow. Thanks again.

-Dan

 

[rpsawin]

I have not used these guys myself but I have heard good things about them.I too have an M7II.

Dead Link Removed

Bob