| |
ALTERNATIVE REPAIR SERVICES
Originally Published in The Minox Memo
Series 2, Volume 1, Number 3. Summer 2002
Charles Trentelman
Editor in Chief
Let's face it: Six months is too long to wait to get a camera fixed.
And yet, if you send it to the one repair facility everyone wants
to use, Don Goldberg's highly acclaimed DAG Repair, that's what
you may have to do. Don is good about rush jobs and emergencies,
but for a simple repair, that's what it takes. He is snowed under
and, by one report, even discouraging new work. This is not Don's
fault. He is extremely ethical, extremely good, and as a result
has become the darling of Leica and Minox users worldwide. In their
love they have deluged him with work. Doing official Minox USA warranty
work has only made the situation worse. Fortunately, there is nothing
magic about Minox cameras. They are high performance machines with
their quality built-in. Most just need cleaning and replacement
of a few simple parts -- rubber shutter brakes on older models,
for example, or busted shutter blades. It's not black magic. There
are other shops, highly qualified, with repair technicians who service
Minox alongside Leica, Rollei and others.
The editors have done a survey and found the following shops. We've
even used a few of them. Before you add to Don's frustration, give
them a call. If you know of any others, let us know and we'll add
them to the list. Keep in mind that all prices are estimates or
"typical" charges, and parts are always extra. No ethical
repairman will tell you what a repair will cost, for sure, until
he has the camera in hand. By giving these people work you are encouraging
them to keep repairing Minox cameras. This helps everyone, even
Don. A repairman with nothing to fix is a repairman looking for
another job. A dozen repairmen all fixing cameras, and returning
them in good time, is better than one poor guy going nuts and contemplating
early retirement.
North America
Essex Camera Service
100 Amor Ave.
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
Phone: (201)-933-7272
Fax: (201)-933-7647
Email: essexcam@cybernex.net
Web: www.essexcamera.com
Essex camera has been listed as an "old reliable" on the
Sub Club web site for some time, and several members have commented
on their good work and courteous service. They will do CLA and repair
work on both the 35mm cameras and the 8 x 11 subminiature cameras,
subject to the availability of any replacement parts that might
be needed. The average turn around time for a
CLA is under two weeks, with a price ranging from $70 - $140 for
an 8 x 11 camera, and $80 - $120 for a 35mm model; bear in mind
that these are estimated prices only, and are subject to change
if the technician opens the camera and finds that it might need
repair. They will always notify you first if that is the case. Essex
would like you to know that they repair all kinds of photographic
equipment. Contact Ian Lee.
Now Camera Repair
11204 W. 77th St.
Shawnee, KS 66214-1462
Phone: (913) 248-9155
Email: cmed@jfirewaterarts.com or
cmed@cameramedic.com
Web: http://www.cameramedic.com
or
http://www.jfirewaterarts.com/won/cmtp.html
"We do repair Minox cameras.
"As you're probably all too aware, there aren't many parts
for the older cameras around any longer. With the exception of critically
machined / complex parts, we repair or fabricate many parts which
are NLA.
"Unlike many shops which seem to get quite "fat"
by flat rating repair charges, WE DON'T. We take each camera or
problem on it's own merits / demerits, time, parts needed, and base
our estimates on these factors.
Consequently, it isn't possible to give you a $$ estimate, or average.
Whether old or new, the cost of repair could literally be any where
from $10.00 ~??? depending on what actually is involved.
"Our average turnaround time, depending on the work load of
course, is 3~14 working days from time of estimate approval.
"Estimates are FREE, no repairs are undertaken without your
approval via email cmed@cameramedic.com
Cameraquest.com
Steve Gandy
1336 Moorpark road
P.O. Box 184
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-5224
Phone: (818) 879-1968
Email: stephen@cameraquest.com
Web: http://www.cameraquest.com
Steve farms the equipment out to repairmen who are highly qualified,
factory trained. He advertises a return time of one month, but that
is a worst-case scenario. More typically it is 10 days or less.
Minox 9 mm camera overhauls $175, 35mm cameras $100, parts extra.
Steve also offers service on classic 35 mm rangefinder cameras.
The editor can testify that he returned a Leica IIIf in like-new
working condition and turned it around in a week.
His web site is also a treasure-trove of information on just about
every classic 35mm camera ever made, a massive reference source.
Advance Camera
118 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: (415) 772-9025
Fax: (415) 772-9024
Email: dubinskyy@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.camerarepair-sf.com
"We continue to both service and repair all models of Minox
cameras. A basic cleaning, lubrication and adjustment averages $85-$90
with a turn around time of 7-10 days. We offer free estimates on
all repairs. Obviously damaged and inoperable cameras can take a
little bit longer to repair, but we try and keep the wait under
two weeks. Our services are by no means limited to the Minox. We
have expertise in repairing Rollies, Leicas, Hasselblads and other
high end cameras."
Contact Jacob Dubinsky.
Strauss Photo-Technical Services, Inc.
1240 Mount Olivet Road N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20022
Phone: (202) 529-3200
Fax: (202) 526-6465
Email: SteveSPTS@aol.com
Web: http://www.SPTS.com
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00-5:00, Saturday 10-2
Strauss Photo-Technical Services, Inc., does CLA and repair work
on 35mm Minox cameras only; they do no work on the 8 x 11 subminiature
cameras. The average turn around time for a CLA is 10 days, with
an average cost of $90.00.
Icamera
1444 Franklin St., Oakland CA 94612
Phone: (510) 763-4226
Fax: (510) 763-4227
Email: Oakland@icamera.com
also
International Camera
9 N. Wabash,
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 630-1017
Fax: (312) 630-1019
Email: Support@icamera.com
Web: http://www.icamera.com/items/MenuPages/RepairFAQ.htm
Icamera appears to be the California facility, while International
Camera appears to be the Chicago, IL facility of the same organization.
We have not received a response to our inquiry regarding the services
they currently offer, but their web site does indicate that they
handle Minox cameras. Give them a call.
Canada:
Kindermann (Canada) Inc.
Attn.: Gerry Smith - Service Department
361 Steelcase Road West, Unit #3
Markham, ON L3R 3V8
Phone: (905) 940-9262 or (905) 479-0167
Fax: (905) 479-9755
Email: kindrman@istar.ca or
info@kindermann.ca
"We still service Minox cameras and perform repair work on
broken ones (all 35mm and 8x11mm types except "AF". The
average turn-around time is 7-10 days, while average CLE costs $95.00
US. We have been servicing Minox since the '50's and employ factory-trained
technicians."
Brighouse Camera Repair
#131-6151 Westminster Highway,
Richmond, BC, Canada,
V7C 4V4
Email: info@brighouse.com
Web: http://www.brighouse.com/pages/fulldir2.html
Brighouse can provide CLA service as needed to bring a Minox camera
to "like new" condition. They will also do repair work
on broken Minox cameras, and this includes both the 8 x 11 models
and the full range of 35mm cameras (but please, note that they have
no forks for the 35mm models). The average price for a CLA ranges
from $65 to $95 (Canadian dollars), with an average 3 to 4 day turn
around time after a free estimate is given. Brighouse would like
you to know that they did the warranty work for Minox in Canada
for 10 years.
Contact Ken at:
Vancam Services
1666 West 8th Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, V6J 1V4
Phone: 604-736-4113
Email: info@vancam.com
Web: http://www.vancam.com
England:
MS Hobbies (in Leicester)
Email: ms.hobbies@virgin.net
Web: http://mshobbies.com or
http://freespace.virgin.net/ms.hobbies
Phone: 01264 737709 mainly evenings
Fax: 01264 737499
"To this day I have mainly aimed at providing a maintenance
service for MS Hobbies customers who have cherished cameras they
want to preserve. Since I operate as a hobby in my spare time there
is a limit to the amount of work I can process, but saying that
I have not had to turn any work away so far.
"I can provide service for 8x11 and 35mm, however I would not
like to use the words 'like new' as there certain items which are
not serviceable with out replacement. I would always try and maintain
the cameras as original.
“I will attempt to repair all cameras from Riga's to TLX and
the full range of 35mm Minox, including making replacement parts
if necessary.
"As I do this as a hobby, the turn round time can vary depending
of many factors including the number of cameras arriving. But tends
to be a weekend to a couple of weeks. The cost of a CLA depends
on the time taken
but on average £25 - £75 plus postage"
Camera Repairs and Restoration
5 Downview, 751 Dunstable Road
LUTON LU4 OHP
UK
Phone / Fax: 01582-570395
Email: crr.luton@virgin.net
Web: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page2.html
"At this moment in time my workload is such that I cannot accept
any work till the end of 2002 for Minox sub-miniature or Minox 35
series cameras. My main business is with Leica R M and screwthread
camera which I trained on in Wetzlar & Solms as well as Minox
when it was based in Geissen W.Germany . I would be able to answer
questions later on in the year when it is less busy."
Japan:
Kanto Camera Service Co., Ltd.
1-49, Tsutsumine, Kawasaki-ku
Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa
JAPAN 210-0026
Web: http://www.kanto-cs.co.jp/shuuri/ippan/index.html
Email: info@kanto-cs.co.jp
If you live in Japan, Kanto Camera Service Company, Ltd. can do
wonders with your Minox. See the article "Word from Japan"
in this issue for details.
Please note that if
you do not live in Japan, Kanto Camera Service prefers not to accept
Minox work from outside the country due to issues with language
and shipping to and from foreign addresses.
|
