North American Repair Shop - Schneider Symmar 1:5.6/210

[Axle]

I went to pull out my much loved SK Symmar 1:5.6/210 yesterday evening only to find that one of hte shutter blades had come loose! But I really don't want to replace the whole lens. I've went on the SK site and found the information for getting it repaired. But I'd rather not send it off to Germany. So the question is there a good repair shop in North America that can repair such things.

OR if someone here knows how and can share their knowledge I can attempt it myself.

 

[Luis-F-S]

I'd check w SK Grimes n follow their recommendations

 

[RobC]

isn't that a lens with a shutter? You should be able to unscrew the front and rear elements by hand leaving only the shutter. Is it a copal shutter? You can replace the shutter for probably around the cost of having it repaired, maybe a little more.

You certainly should NOT need to replace the whole lens assuming it is a LF lens.

Note: There is no danger in taking the front and rear elements off the shutter yourself. Just be aware there may be very delicate ring shims you need to take care of.

Also if its a copal shutter and you replace it, there is a palstic shroud in the shutter which is sized to fit the specific lens elements. Make sure you get the right one or take the one from old shutter.

 

[RobC]

just looked up price of a copal shutter. Prices seem to have sky rocketed. I bought a new one a few years ago for £100 in UK. B&H prices are a lot more than that today. So maybe a repair is best option. You should only need to send in the shutter itself and not the lens elements.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I'd check w SK Grimes n follow their recommendations

+1

There work is excellent.

So is Carol at http://www.flutotscamerarepair.com/

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

SK Grimes, Frank Marshman (CameraWiz) in Harrisonburg, VA, Zack's Camera Repair (also in Rhode Island, like Grimes, and also an APUG advertiser). I haven't used Zack's, so I can't comment on the quality of work they do. I have used both Grimes and Marshman and both do excellent quality work, with Grimes being more expensive but generally faster turnaround.

 

[Fluidphoto]

Try Tony at Nortown Photo in Burlington. If he can get parts for it, he can fix it. His number is on the website.

There are still a few repair places in the GTA that still do LF equipment and Burlington is a much quicker trip for you than mailing it to a US repair depot.

http://www.nortownphoto.com/

 

[John Koehrer]

Paul Ebel in Wisconsin and Carol Flutot are both highly thought of for leaf shutters.

 

[RobC]

A part may not have actually broken, the blade may just have been knocked off it mounting pin.

If you are any good at fixing small things it could be a DIY job. But if you're like me, you're expert at taking things apart but useless at putting them back together again and usually have parts left over..

 

[ic-racer]

I had a 210mm Symmar-S in a Copal. An aperture blade had jumped its track because some clown put too long of an index screw in the hole. To get to the aperture the shutter blades have to come off. I took these pictures at the time; they may be of help to you.

 

[Axle]

Ah! This is what I love about APUG! Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions, going to give this a go!

 

[Ari]

Roger at Camtech in Hamilton, Ontario has always been an excellent shutter repairman, and he's close by you.

 

[Axle]

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions, I dropped the lens off with Roger at Camtech on Saturday he immediately found the problem and can easily fix it. I'll have my favourite lens back by this coming Saturday

He was also rather pleased that his name came up on APUG as a good place for repair work.