Same old Wisner

[RobertP]

Before anyone starts considering placing an order with the "New" Wisner Company. Let me assure you that nothing has changed at Wisner. I'm still getting the same old lies that I have been told for the last three years concerning my ground glass covers. If Dealers are receiving new cameras then the post on the web site is just another lie, stating that all old orders will be filled before any new ones are taken. I've been told ever lie imaginable. I've even resorted to just asking for a little honesty instead of the camera parts that were paid for almost 3 years ago. No response to my emails and no returned calls. Then again I've seen the Wisner response to this too, " sorry Robert I've been out of town, I'll check with Marie and get back with you." Same old song and dance, Same Old Wisner.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Dear Robert,
Delivery delays like this are disturbing to say the least and I have been there at times myself. I have e-mailed Ron asking in your behalf to either return your funds or deliver the product ASAP. This is really not my affair since you did not order through me but I will do my best to see if you can receive what you ordered or get your money back. Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com

 

[RobertP]

Emile, Not only has he done this to me but I bought my camera through Midwest Photo and he gives the same song and dance to Jim Andraki.He won't even return Midwest Photo's calls. So going through a dealer makes no difference in case anyone thinks they can get better service by not dealing with Ron directly. I appreciate your efforts Emile. It must be hard to sell a product knowing the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on.

 

[RobertP]

Although I would hardly dismiss 3 years as just a delivery delay. It is not only the fact that I've waited so long. It is the blatant lies I've been told. These GG covers have been being shipped every week now for the last 6 months. The claims of not accepting any new orders before all old business is cleared and then building and shipping new cameras( as I have been waiting for 3 years for my parts) hardly seems like a new approach for Ron. It seems like just more of the same. I just wonder how a dealer could recommend a Wisner camera in good conscience, knowing the track record and the integrity of the manufacturer.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Robert,
I really don't want to get mixed up in this but I have e-mailed Ron and he said he would rectify this problem immediately. He said he contacted you with the info and will settle up with you shortly. Seems there was some confusion about an 8x10 camera you had sent in for repairs with a GG cover that was not returned with the camera and the same thing with an 8x20 GG cover that there is no record of being paid for in the invoice from Midwest. Like I said this is between Ron and you... but I have tried my best to get things going. If, when, and ever, you need stuff from the Wisner Co. (dare I ask) please remember to order directly from me www.deleon-ulf.com as I'm close enough to Ron to get things done or at least find out what the problem is. Also from now on Ron will only be selling his cameras retail through my website. There will be no other Wisner retail dealers. I will go through these cameras personally to make sure they are completely up to spec before they are shipped. Also for those that need Wisner lensboards and Linhof Lensboard adapters for the Wisner 5.25" boards these will be coming in the next couple of weeks. Best, Emile.

 

[RobertP]

Emile, Thanks, we'll see what becomes of it.

 

[bruce terry]

Gee.

The needle on the old phonograph record, the stuck-stuck-stuck digital blippyness just goes on and on regarding Wisner, and the odds he will ever become a respected LF supplier again keep getting slimmer.

Back on 12-15 I got terminally fed-up with Ron's CHRONIC lack of response to the respectful LF community. I emailed him, reiterating what he has certainly heard before and doesn't seem to care to fix, namely his gross service deficiencies that contrast so sadly with his outstanding wealth of knowledge and top-notch camera constructing. I begged him: "You can fix this if you care to by putting a service specialist into your mix, and if you don't care to you should sail off on a sailboat like he and I talked about back in 98 while he blah-blah-blahed me for five months before I finally took delivery on a plu-perfectly-wonderful 8x10 Expedition.

Imagine my surprise when an email arrived two days later from Ron stating he really appreciated my thoughts and the time I took to pass them on ... and that he was currently "traveling" and would get back to me soon as he returned. Nothing since, and I expect nothing since his "on-the-road" excuse seems just another lame ploy.

Bottom Line ... I have never dealt with such a good-hearted, smart and capable, almost totally irresponsible person, EVER, and Emile ... looks like you are now Thee Service Manager De Facto! Congratulations and, really-and-truly, good luck!

On this I now forever hold my tougue.

Bruce

 

[Robert Brummitt]

Boy this thread and others about Ron makes me ill. I have a broken Graflock back for my Wisner and have also feel abandoned and alone.
I guess it maybe time for some other action.

 

[galyons]

Boy this thread and others about Ron makes me ill. I have a broken Graflock back for my Wisner and have also feel abandoned and alone.
I guess it maybe time for some other action.

Send it to Richard Ritter! Get it fixed right, the first time!

Cheers,
Geary

 

[Emile de Leon]

The last 8x10 camera and 4x5 reducing back I received from Ron is the best I've observed. I will also receive an 11x14 P w/sheepskin bellows this week and Ron has told me that he will keep the quality as high as I've ever seen. I will find out soon about this and report if anyone is interested. Ron also says that he will only produce about one camera per month from now on. He does not need to make anymore than that and there will be no more mass production. He genuinely seems relaxed and proud of his product again and only time will tell in this regard. Again as I've said before, send your fixes or accessory needs to Richard Ritter if you are in a hurry. I will stock Wisner lens boards etc. at less expensive prices than you will see elsewhere but if you need a custom job done, Richard Ritter is probably the answer. Emile.

 

[Robert Brummitt]

Again as I've said before, send your fixes or accessory needs to Richard Ritter if you are in a hurry. I will stock Wisner lens boards etc. at less expensive prices than you will see elsewhere but if you need a custom job done, Richard Ritter is probably the answer. Emile.[/QUOTE]

But, I purchased my Wisner (My second tech field) with the understanding of lifetime warranty from the camera maker. Why would or should I go to another when Ron is still in business? Should he not honor his warranty?

 

[Robert Brummitt]

It's a matter of a simple carbon leaf spring and tighening nut. The spring snapped in two and the nut fell off. A simple fix. He's currently offering on his website to sell the same graflock back for $250. So, he should have parts. One would believe.
It would be far better then having someone like Ritter start from square one. Forward this message to Ron and have him mail the parts and I'll replace them myself.
Then he would be honoring his Lifetime Warranty.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Fact is this is not the same company as before. It is much smaller and it remains to be seen what is available in the way of parts for past cameras, lifetime warrantee or not. If the part has to be made then the wait might be long, if he has it in stock then you may get a quicker fix.
Ron has severely downsized. Like I said on another post like this one...don't fester...ask Ron and if you don't get satisfation send your needs to Richard Ritter and get on with things. He can pop a spring on your back. Life is too short to dwell on what may or may not happen w/Wisner and if he has the parts in or not. I often wondered about the Lifetime Warrantee of Zone V1 stuff and what ever happened to that. I myself have had Richard Ritter do work on my Wisners or make Wisner-compatible things that I had no time to wait for even though it cost me extra funds, and I'm a Wisner dealer! This is just the way it is. Are the Deardorf people any different? Talk to Jim at Midwest...you may find that the wait for parts and repairs for your Deardorf is even longer than your Wisner. Emile

 

[Robert Brummitt]

If Ron would respond to calls and emails, give a definitive answer. "Yes, I have the parts" or "no, I'm sorry I do not". Then, I would move on as would many others. I see that he sales them the final componet. They're on his website as so. But, by not answering he leaves me in a lurch and because I'm reading these threads here and on other photo sites I fear I'm not the only one with these questions.
You want to help Ron sale cameras. Get him to write to us. Get him to respond. He is his worst sale point. His cameras are great but his people skills are not.
I love my Wisner. I also have a droff. Both are wonderful machines but the one is still in the making and the other I believe is not and my Wisner is my number one large format camera. So, I use the Wisner much more. The Graflock back is important to me. I would like it back in service.
As to the Zone VI items. I believe that when Calumet bought the ownership to the gear they need not comply to past warrantees. I have a friend who has a VI 4x5 camera and when he called Calumet that the gearing of his camera was bad, thats what they told him. They were not compelled to honor past warrantees. He wasn't happy. Would you be?

 

[jstraw]

As an observer I will note that I've never heard a negative word about the quality of Ron's merchandise and that's not at issue. There's no reason to expect that anything he delivers will be less than stellar. I have never heard a positive comment about the quality of his service and there is no reason to expect he will deliver anything at all.

Assurances about scope of production leaves me skeptical. The communication problems suggest an issue other than Ron being over-extended. I wouldn't be sanguine about a major change in the clearing of past repair and accessory requests even if he never started construction of another new camera.

 

[Peter De Smidt]

As an observer I will note that I've never heard a negative word about the quality of Ron's merchandise and that's not at issue.

I once bought an 8x10 techncial from Wisner. The quality was poor.

 

[Daniel Grenier]

I bought a 7x17 Wisner on the used market and all I'm hoping for, after readings countless threads such as this, is that nothing breaks down. I'd hate to have to order anything from the factory. Having said that, I love the camera - regardless of how shameful the level of "service" might be.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Daniel,
If you ever have a problem with your 7x17 let me know and I will do my best to have Ron solve the problem for you.
Also, if you need any Wisner accessories I will be receiving this coming week Wisner 5.25" to Linhof adapter boards for $149.95, 5.25" boards for $59.95, 4" boards for $44.95. I believe these are the least expensive prices for Wisner accessories in the country. Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com.

 

[MarkS]

I splintered my 4x5 Zone VI when the tripod collapsed, in 1999. The camera was then seven years old, bought with the lifetime warranty after Picker sold Z-VI to Calumet. I sent the camera to Chicago for the warranty repair and they did indeed fix it for free. I see that in more recent times the warranty has been reduced to five years, and seem to recall reading in the last few months that the Z-VI cameras are no longer offered by Calumet. So I'll try to avoid destroying my camera again...

 

[jstraw]

I splintered my 4x5 Zone VI when the tripod collapsed, in 1999. The camera was then seven years old, bought with the lifetime warranty after Picker sold Z-VI to Calumet. I sent the camera to Chicago for the warranty repair and they did indeed fix it for free. I see that in more recent times the warranty has been reduced to five years, and seem to recall reading in the last few months that the Z-VI cameras are no longer offered by Calumet. So I'll try to avoid destroying my camera again...

I wouldn't equate no longer selling them with no longer honoring the warranty.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Mike - in not too short a time, that will be the case... Since Calumet was the sole-source vendor for those cameras, it will only be a matter of time before no OEM parts are available. That said, I still love my Zone VI Ultralight, and I'm not swapping it for anything anytime soon.

 

[Monophoto]

Since Calumet was the sole-source vendor for those cameras, it will only be a matter of time before no OEM parts are available.

So for service, contact Richard Ritter. He's "the man".

That said, I still love my Zone VI Ultralight, and I'm not swapping it for anything anytime soon.

Ditto.