The issue with 'freshly CLAd' cameras on the popular auction site

logan2z · Mar 6, 2021

antonio_b said:
this is very bad the receipt was a fake then.

Or the repairer was terrible at his job.

cptrios · Mar 6, 2021

logan2z said:
Or the repairer was terrible at his job.

Yeah, I trust the seller, and he actually sent me the real receipt. Repairer has a good rep, too, weirdly enough.

tballphoto · Mar 21, 2021

wyofilm said:
Certo6, a reputable camera repair and online seller can be trusted for folding cameras. I bought a cla'd folder from him. It is great.

I just purchased a TLR camera that was recently CLA'd (within the last few months) by Mark Hama. This camera is being sold by an individual. My anticipation is that it will be great.

In the past, I bought a Voightlander Bessa II from a camera seller in the Netherlands (the name of the camera shop escapes me right now), but they performed a CLA on it before posting it on eBay. It has performed great.

Every purchase on eBay requires some scrutiny, but so far my experience has been good buying cameras serviced by the seller. In the first case, the reputation of the name is well known. In the second case it was an established camera shop with a strong rating. I'll let the forum know in a couple days how the Yashica 12 tlr purchase works out.

Any repair service on a camera is dependent upon THE KNOWLEDGE of the person doing the repair work. Not everyone is qualified to touch a camera. SOME things can, and only SHOULD be done by QUALIFIED people.

Example the TLR you had repaired by Mark Hama. HE is the "el heffe", "el patrone" of TLR cameras. IF you have the paperwork to show he did the work, ANYONE would be happy to buy it. HE and his people do the best work possible. I spent more on having him service my TLR then any other place wanted to. But if I had used anyone else, I would have had to send it in to Mark Hama to have their repairs fixed.

One beautiful example is a Canon FTBn that i bought from a repair/camera shop in New York that opened in the 1960s. When it arrived it was damaged. The shutter lock was frozen in the on position. The "repair technician" who answered my email HAD NO IDEA IT WAS SUPPOSED TO get this, MOVE.

BrianShaw · Mar 21, 2021

tballphoto said:
HE is the "el heffe", "el patrone" of TLR cameras.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Jefe

albireo · Mar 21, 2021

tballphoto said:
Example the TLR you had repaired by Mark Hama. HE is the "el heffe", "el patrone" of TLR cameras. IF you have the paperwork to show he did the work, ANYONE would be happy to buy it. HE and his people do the best work possible. I spent more on having him service my TLR then any other place wanted to. But if I had used anyone else, I would have had to send it in to Mark Hama to have their repairs fixed.

Agree with you about the overall sentiment and I know what you mean about Mark Hama - he actually fixed my Yashicamat 124G - he did some beautiful work.

However just a reminder that there are many others TLR 'chefs' around. Your signature says you're based in the US. Do consider the readership of this forum is international. There are many other camera repairmen that are as good as Mark Hama elsewhere in the world and are worthy of consideration. Germany, Japan, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands to name a few are - thankfully - still full of experienced technicians who will make your Rolleiflexes/Autocord/Yashicamat run again like clockwork.

But yes in general - I'd buy a TLR CLA'd by one such certified 'star' technician over some dodgy ebay repair job any time.

tballphoto · Mar 21, 2021

BrianShaw said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Jefe

you need to start watching WESTERNS.

tballphoto · Mar 21, 2021

albireo said:
Agree with you about the overall sentiment and I know what you mean about Mark Hama - he actually fixed my Yashicamat 124G - he did some beautiful work.

However just a reminder that there are many others TLR 'chefs' around. Your signature says you're based in the US. Do consider the readership of this forum is international. There are many other camera repairmen that are as good as Mark Hama elsewhere in the world and are worthy of consideration. Germany, Japan, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands to name a few are - thankfully - still full of experienced technicians who will make your Rolleiflexes/Autocord/Yashicamat run again like clockwork.

But yes in general - I'd buy a TLR CLA'd by one such certified 'star' technician over some dodgy ebay repair job any time.

If you send a camera to Mark Hama, your going to be american based. Everyone else will just wipe it down with a wet knap and charge you 150$ for the job.

And that sadly is what most CLA work is, wipe it down and make it look shiny. If your lucky they will then wipe it down with a silicon cloth

The issue with 'freshly CLAd' cameras on the popular auction site

logan2z

cptrios

tballphoto

BrianShaw

albireo

tballphoto

tballphoto

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