Repair shops getting overwhelmed.

[Dismayed]

This is good news! There's a lot of demand to get film cameras back to spec.

 

[flavio81]

I wonder if these camera repair technicians work alone, or if they have assistants/apprentices or will trained and competent camera technicians become extinct? Do Hasselblad and Leica and whoever else is left making mostly (even partially) mechanical cameras and lenses have factory-authorized repair centers? I know even digital cameras of a certain age are no longer supported by their makers.

I became a part-time camera technician not so long ago.

Out of necessity, since the good camera techs here retired, and I got left only the bad (terrible!) camera tech.

Since i have 25+ cameras and 50+ lenses, I had to take charge of these matters.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

I became a part-time camera technician not so long ago.

Out of necessity, since the good camera techs here retired, and I got left only the bad (terrible!) camera tech.

Since i have 25+ cameras and 50+ lenses, I had to take charge of these matters.

Flavio, How long does it take you to disassemble, clean, assess, and overhaul a standard mechanical SLR camera or a Leica M? Is it, say, 8 hours, 16, 32?

 

[logan2z]

Believe his website says RUSH work is suspended. And that poor M3 will need overhaul...beyond CLA, to be sure.
Ray

I misinterpreted your post, I didn't realize it was the $4 M3 that you sent to Youxin. Yeah, that is definitely going to need more than your standard CLA!

 

[RAY WILSON]

I am surprised that a repair of a body that looks like that would only be $500 in USA. I would expect much much more, maybe $1000. Also, I see that the previous owner used a leather strap with sharp edged clips that are guaranteed to destroy the strap eyelets over time. Regardless, I hope it works out for you. Did this M3 have the modern shutter speeds? Also Was it dual or single stroke?

Kodachrome, I haven't had Mr Ye's evaluation just yet. He may say "...camera is beyond economical repair...". In any case, the typical overhaul is $500, per DAG and YYE's websites. As for this particular M3, who can say. Some of the screws were rusty. Worst case, this M3 went for a swim. But, based on the condition of the interior, don't think so. This is a 2nd year production M3. Double stroke, with the old style shutter speeds. The film advance lever would swing to about 6 o'clock and stop there. No shutter release action - button would not move. The camera didn't look that bad once I cleaned the outside of the camera up. Parts camera or miracle $4 Leica? We shall see.

Oh, and I couldn't take the four one dollar bills out of my wallet any quicker. Seller was not a camera person, probably selling parents or grandparents stuff. She apologised and said "...there is a lens, too, but we couldn't find it...".

Same flea market years before, I bought a Rolleiflex Automat for $50. And a pair of Steiner Marine 7x50 binoculars for $20. And a Nikon F for $20. And a Canon EF for $4. You never know what you'll find. Hope this Leica is repairable.

Ray

 

[faberryman]

Methinks the building trades are indicative of what is happening in the photography repair...

• Not enough folks willing to invest the time in being properly trained
• Not enough training opportunities as veteran craftsmen retire

so we end up with a few poorly trained rookies doing improperly done jobs, with little conscientious quality.

I remember my grandfather telling me you just can't get good help anymore so this appears to be an intractable problem.

The funny thing is when I was a kid (oh no, not one of those stories again) and workers were building houses there would always be a piece of plywood laid across two sawhorses and a sheaf of construction plans laid out and held down by a couple of rocks so the workers could go over and see what to do. When I walk by a home building site now there are no plans anywhere to be found. I guess the workers have them on their phones or something.

 

[BrianShaw]

I remember my grandfather telling me you just can't get good help anymore so this appears to be an intractable problem.

The funny thing is when I was a kid (oh no, not one of those stories again) and workers were building houses there would always be a piece of plywood laid across two sawhorses and a sheaf of construction plans laid out and held down by a couple of rocks so the workers could go over and see what to do. When I walk by a home building site now there are no plans anywhere to be found. I guess the workers have them on their phones or something.

A couple of months ago I was at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Had a great room that looked out over the roof. There was a lot of construction going on and on the roof a lot of HVAC work. The workers toiled in 100+ degree weather. One day a tent was erected with a table. I thought it was for refreshments but, instead, a few "suits" showed up with paper plans being reviewed under the tent. After a couple of hours they left, the tent was removed, and the workers continued to toil in 100+ degree weather.

... and since this is the "rangefinder forum"... I took pictures of this through the window using a Kodak Retina IIIC with an 80mm Longar lens.

 

[flavio81]

Flavio, How long does it take you to disassemble, clean, assess, and overhaul a standard mechanical SLR camera or a Leica M? Is it, say, 8 hours, 16, 32?

It depends on the particular camera, because some are very easy to work on (i.e. Mamiya RB67) and others are a nightmare (i.e. Canon New F-1, which I don't dare to service).

But even me, who still needs to acquire more and more practice, can strip down a Pentax ME, do whatever is needed and assemble it again in about 5 hours, probably less. A pro, full-time camera tech will do it even faster of course. This of course includes cleaning many mechanisms, plus the focus screen/condenser/prism/eyepiece and testing the machine. Although if i had to strip down the shutter it would take more time. Stripping down anything with leaves -- be it a vertical shutter, a leaf shutter or a diaphragm, is a pain that can take many hours.

I can't comment on Leica cameras since i don't own them and thus won't have one of my own to practice on before servicing other.

 

[flavio81]

Kodachrome, I haven't had Mr Ye's evaluation just yet. He may say "...camera is beyond economical repair...". In any case, the typical overhaul is $500, per DAG and YYE's websites. As for this particular M3, who can say. Some of the screws were rusty. Worst case, this M3 went for a swim. But, based on the condition of the interior, don't think so. This is a 2nd year production M3. Double stroke, with the old style shutter speeds. The film advance lever would swing to about 6 o'clock and stop there. No shutter release action - button would not move. The camera didn't look that bad once I cleaned the outside of the camera up. Parts camera or miracle $4 Leica? We shall see.

Oh, and I couldn't take the four one dollar bills out of my wallet any quicker. Seller was not a camera person, probably selling parents or grandparents stuff. She apologised and said "...there is a lens, too, but we couldn't find it...".

Same flea market years before, I bought a Rolleiflex Automat for $50. And a pair of Steiner Marine 7x50 binoculars for $20. And a Nikon F for $20. And a Canon EF for $4. You never know what you'll find. Hope this Leica is repairable.

Rusted things are a bad sign -- things can be rusted at the interiror and this isn't a good thing. If said M3 "went for a swim" that means massive rust ,and yes, this means very bad things.

 

[Huss]

...another data point, October 2021. Sent a Leica M3 to YYE recently. Four months, turnaround. I didn't flinch at that news. Not surprised. And I'll be happy if I have the camera back at the 4 month mark. Longer would not surprise me.
Cameras have nothing on guns, though. Gunsmiths are even more long lead. And even tougher to find a competent 'smith.
Picture of flea market $4 Leica M3, well, for fun....

View attachment 288500

Ray

Looks like a Mint - or Exc +++ ebay Japanese seller to me.

 

[MattKing]

... and since this is the "rangefinder forum"... I took pictures of this through the window using a Kodak Retina IIIC with an 80mm Longar lens.

If you were flying from there, I hope you didn't take your camera out on the plane to fiddle with it.
Just in case someone thought it was a bomb....
(as compared with a Retina IIIC being "da Bomb", which it is)

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Kodachrome, I haven't had Mr Ye's evaluation just yet. He may say "...camera is beyond economical repair...". In any case, the typical overhaul is $500, per DAG and YYE's websites. As for this particular M3, who can say. Some of the screws were rusty. Worst case, this M3 went for a swim. But, based on the condition of the interior, don't think so. This is a 2nd year production M3. Double stroke, with the old style shutter speeds. The film advance lever would swing to about 6 o'clock and stop there. No shutter release action - button would not move. The camera didn't look that bad once I cleaned the outside of the camera up. Parts camera or miracle $4 Leica? We shall see.

Oh, and I couldn't take the four one dollar bills out of my wallet any quicker. Seller was not a camera person, probably selling parents or grandparents stuff. She apologised and said "...there is a lens, too, but we couldn't find it...".

Same flea market years before, I bought a Rolleiflex Automat for $50. And a pair of Steiner Marine 7x50 binoculars for $20. And a Nikon F for $20. And a Canon EF for $4. You never know what you'll find. Hope this Leica is repairable.

Ray

Repairing a Leica M3 is a valuable service to the film community. Also, you will have a camera with a neat story! Some ideas:

1. If your M3 is from the 2nd year of production, it may have a glass pressure plate. Leica discontinued the glass sometime in production because users reported static marks on their film in dry air. (Recall, Rollei tried a glass plate to prevent film bowing, but users had problems. Nice idea but impractical.)
2. Check if the viewfinder has the deteriorating balsam between some of the glass elements. Mine went black when I thumped the body, and the famous Marty Forscher repaired it. I do not know if any current technicians can re-cement the finder elements. I have read of other users experiencing the blackout.
3. Your camera will most likely be double-stroke, unless someone converted it in the past. Years ago, technicians could convert the body to single stroke, but I do not know if the parts are available. I had mine converted in the 1980s.

Please show us the results when done!

 

[flavio81]

Repairing a Leica M3 is a valuable service to the film community.

I beg to differ. Does the world needs one more insufferable Leicaphile?!

 

[RAY WILSON]

I beg to differ. Does the world needs one more insufferable Leicaphile?!

Too late. I'm insufferable no matter what camera I have in front of my face! But, then again, I may not qualify as a Leicaphile. I had sold all my M kit years ago. Looking forward to being insufferable in any event.

Ray

 

[RAY WILSON]

Repairing a Leica M3 is a valuable service to the film community. Also, you will have a camera with a neat story! Some ideas:

1. If your M3 is from the 2nd year of production, it may have a glass pressure plate. Leica discontinued the glass sometime in production because users reported static marks on their film in dry air. (Recall, Rollei tried a glass plate to prevent film bowing, but users had problems. Nice idea but impractical.) >>Ray writes: Serial number is M3-753067. I did look at the pressure plate but couldn't tell what kind of material it was made of. Shooting during a Pennsylvania winter, with single digit humidity will tell the tale.
2. Check if the viewfinder has the deteriorating balsam between some of the glass elements. Mine went black when I thumped the body, and the famous Marty Forscher repaired it. I do not know if any current technicians can re-cement the finder elements. I have read of other users experiencing the blackout. >>Ray writes: Indeed, the view finder was blacked out other than the focusing patch area. Mr Ye will let me know the good or bad news, one way or another. Is Marty still famous and fettling?
3. Your camera will most likely be double-stroke, unless someone converted it in the past. Years ago, technicians could convert the body to single stroke, but I do not know if the parts are available. I had mine converted in the 1980s.
>>Ray writes: Yes, should be a double stroke - but with the seized condition, can only speculate. I vote for double stroke.

Please show us the results when done!

I intend to let everyone know the outcome, good, bad, or otherwise. Thanks for the reply, Kodachrome.

 

[logan2z]

According to this site:

https://www.cameraquest.com/mtype.htm

It's an early M3 (1955) double stroke with glass pressure plate.

 

[RAY WILSON]

According to this site:

https://www.cameraquest.com/mtype.htm

It's an early M3 (1955) double stroke with glass pressure plate.

Thank you, Logan. I hope it can be saved.

 

[Craig75]

I think my leicas were gone about a year but both needed a lot of work.

Pentax came back in about 2 weeks for simple cla

Alpa has been away over a year now

 

[Huss]

I beg to differ. Does the world needs one more insufferable Leicaphile?!

The world needs us to remind others of the order of things.

 

[flavio81]

The world needs us to remind others of the order of things.

One more for the "ignore" list. Plonk!

 

[Huss]

One more for the "ignore" list. Plonk!

Oh no!!!!!!!!!!

lol.

 

[Dismayed]

Looks like a Mint - or Exc +++ ebay Japanese seller to me.

Mint - can have fungus in the finder.

 

[RAY WILSON]

Another data point;

Mr Ye (YYE Camera) converted this sow's ear:

into this silk purse:

in 3 months, two weeks, which was less than he estimated.

 

[cptrios]

Looks great! But seriously, in this day and age, who doesn’t take a few minutes to check something out online before they sell it for $4? I’d expect someone who pays for a table at a flea market to do at least a tiny bit of research.

Bah, my jealousy is difficult to contain. At the last flea market I went to, the two guys selling photo gear had everything at Japanese eBay prices.

 

[RAY WILSON]

She apologised because she couldn't find the lens. This M3 also came with a manual for a M4 - so, I suspect there was a M4 in grandpa's stuff, too.

Looks great! But seriously, in this day and age, who doesn’t take a few minutes to check something out online before they sell it for $4? I’d expect someone who pays for a table at a flea market to do at least a tiny bit of research.

Bah, my jealousy is difficult to contain. At the last flea market I went to, the two guys selling photo gear had everything at Japanese eBay prices.