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Need a CLA for a Rolleiflex

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indy_kid

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Other than Harry Fleenor, whom would you recommend? I have a 2.8 F with a bad shutter. Rest of the camera appears to be in excellent condition.

Quick turn-around is a plus!
 
I would recommend Bill Moretz at ProCamera. He has CLA’d a number of Rolleis for me, and all have come back perfect. He is both reasonable and fast.
 
I had my 2.8F CLAed by Zacks and it looks like new. No chance to try out because daughter and family whisked me out of NJ to FL just in time.
 
I had a 3.5F CLA'd with Karl Ehlers two years ago. Great work and a man who really believes in ASAP. Round trip was less than 60 days. Highly recommended. Fairly, there are many here on the list who can recommend good workmanship by many of aging friends. Virtually all of them do great work. Good thing is getting it done.
 
Mark Hansen repaired and CLAed my Rolleiflex 3.5B. Did an amazing job, but he is usually backed up 2-3 months.
 
Dave Feely at Key Camera Service in Longmont, CO. I don't know what his time frame is for service, but he is quite good.
 
Are any of the mentioned Rolleiflex service options located in the Los Angeles area?

Thanks.
Dale
 
jeffbennett said:
I would recommend Bill Moretz at ProCamera. He has CLA’d a number of Rolleis for me, and all have come back perfect. He is both reasonable and fast.
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I took my Rolleiwide to Harry Fleenor and he’s charging me over $800. Is that normal?
 

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Kabitzer said:
I took my Rolleiwide to Harry Fleenor and he’s charging me over $800. Is that normal?
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In my experience, $800 for a Rollei overhaul is high but not necessarily unheard of. Fleenor prices his work on what I would call an “a la carte” approach in which there are separate charges for items such as smoothing of controls, straightening of feet etc. And he is meticulous in examining the camera and will identify any issues that can be addressed to bring the camera back as close as possible to original specs. He has the parts to address issues that some other shops may not be able to deal with as well.

There are repair guys that will do a Rollei CLA for around $200 or so, and I have received excellent work from one of them (ProCamera). But I do not know whether they would address the various parts replacements that Fleenor called out. I also suspect that a RolleiWide may be a bit more expensive to work on than the more common Rolleis.

You may want to call some of the other recommended shops and discuss the issues that Fleenor identified to see what they can address. I suspect that you can bring the camera back to life for less than $800, but I would not want to suggest that a $200 CLA is the same as what Harry is quoting. The RolleiWide is a fairly rare camera, and if you want it restored to the highest degree, you would be hard pressed to do better than Fleenor. It just costs money and a fairly long wait.
 
That’s his price. He’s never been known as cheap or affordable, or fast turnaround. He is known as The Master, though, and there is some value attached to that. You camera seems to need quite a bit more than a “typical CLA”.
 
He does good work. I have never heard of him either padding the bill or doing unnecessary work. The price could have been driven up by the cost of needed replacement parts. I am sure the work and the price are worth every cent of it.
 
BrianShaw said:
That’s his price. He’s never been known as cheap or affordable, or fast turnaround. He is known as The Master, though, and there is some value attached to that. You camera seems to need quite a bit more than a “typical CLA”.
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Yes, it’ll be worth it. I just wanted to check.
 
Sirius Glass said:
He does good work. I have never heard of him either padding the bill or doing unnecessary work. The price could have been driven up by the cost of needed replacement parts. I am sure the work and the price are worth every cent of it.
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Thanks
 
Sirius Glass said:
He does good work. I have never heard of him either padding the bill or doing unnecessary work. The price could have been driven up by the cost of needed replacement parts. I am sure the work and the price are worth every cent of it.
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I did not have a good experience with him and will never use him again.

Also his prices are now more than double what many good techs would charge because he has now been vaulted to Rollei Repair God status when in reality there several good techs that are every bit as good as him but without the ego and associated price tag.
 
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I would think unless your camera is having a problem that's not the usual thing then he might be worth it, but most repairmen can do general repairs. I have sent 2-3 cameras to Procamera in Va. and they are generally quick turnaround and reasonable.
 
Ai Print said:
I did not have a good experience with him and will never use him again.

Also his prices are now more than double what many good techs would charge because he has now been vaulted to Rollei Repair God status when in reality there several good techs that are every bit as good as him but without the ego and associated price tag.
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A part of the price is probably due to his status and that his clients expect his work to be perfect, so he spends more time on each job than most repairmen.

Then we have the famous Kodak Retina repairman, Chris Sherlock. He disasemble, clean and rebuild the cameras part for part, makes big and tiny adjustments when needed, and these cameras are about as complicated as the Rolleis, especially those with rangefinders. He is humble, doesn't charge you a month's salary, and will even advise you how to repair your camera yourself! Chris makes Youtube videos of him working on the cameras, and explaining every step in detail. Of course, the Retinas aren't as expensive as the Rolleiflexes, but his work is probably on par with Mr. Fleenor's.
 
Ai Print said:
I did not have a good experience with him and will never use him again.

Also his prices are now more than double what many good techs would charge because he has now been vaulted to Rollei Repair God status when in reality there several good techs that are every bit as good as him but without the ego and associated price tag.
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I have used Harry many times with many cameras but the last two times where a very unacceptable experience.. took way too long cost way too much and didn't do a good job. I am done with him.
 
dpurdy said:
I have used Harry many times with many cameras but the last two times where a very unacceptable experience.. took way too long cost way too much and didn't do a good job. I am done with him.
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If you don’t mind, could you be more specific? What about his work wasn’t good? What did you have done?
 
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