Re: [Leica] mechanical shutters

[Javier Perez <summarex@yahoo.com>]

That's precisely the reason I got out of the repair business after less than a year
in just one shop. You are little more than the slave of the shop owner.
My worst memory is cleaning gravy out of an old view lens. It was a piece
of crap but the guy insisted that he wanted it returned to service. The retard
had dropped it in the bowl and left it there until the gravey cooled off and then let the
thing dry
fully assembled for several months.. His friend the shop owner had me working on the thing
for
what seemed like a whole day. I think I got it running but I don't remember.

It kinda bugs me to hear some listers talk about some of these select techs as
if they were rocket scientists. I remember some guy a year or so back posted
an article about a no-brainer repair problem on an M and reported that the that the tech
had worked delicate magic on the camera and gotten it back to service. It kinda
got me wondering about just how easily impressed some people on this list are.

After a couple of years of repairing privately I quickly discovered that
this was a financial dead end. That was around 1982

Now I buy broken cameras, fix them and add them to my small collection
It's a lot of fun but I would never ever do it as a job again and refuse a few
job requests and even some job offers each year.

Lastly, I'de trust Leitz over any of these superstar private techs any day of the week.

See Ya
Javier





Walter S Delesandri wrote:

> On Thu, 09 Nov 2000 18:17:52 -0500 Emanuel Lowi <mano@proxyma.net>
> wrote:
> > In 25 years, Sherry and DAG and Reinhold will, I hope, be enjoying their
> > much-deserved retirements on the Riviera or some South Seas island.
> >
> > I have yet to meet a younger person keen on mastering the internal intricacies of the
> > Leica M or screwmount cameras, nor, for that matter, any other precision mechanical
> > device. As someone who is still on the south side of 40, I despair about the
> > interests and aptitudes of my own and the following generations, especially when I
> > imagine that I may want to continue using my Leicas in my old age.
> >
> > Given Leica Inc.'s own increasingly spotty performance on the quality control and
> > service score, perhaps moving soon to electronics and their concomitant
> > "broken-replace it"  philosophy  will be the best way to insure survival for the
> > marque. People like Sherry and DAG and Reinhold are bound to become as scarce as the
> > rarest Leica one day.
> >
> > Emanuel Lowi
> > Montreal
>
> Show me $35-50K a year, retirement plan, health insurance, and LIFETIME
> benefits for my family if I should die/be shot/etc....and I'm yours.
> That's what most college graduates can get, if they pursue the same
> path I did....(although I make less, cuz I'm a lazy shit).
>
> The life of a camera repairman is one of working for shop after shop, mostly
> on shit cameras, for $10 hr/billed, with no commitment of any kind from the
> owner, he himself who is unsure of tomorrow...then dealing with anal retentives
> who blame everything on the gear (pros being some of the worst-the "wedding" crowd).
> No benefits, handle your own IRS problems, cuz you're a "sub-contractor" so the
> owner has no liability, etc. etc. etc.....
>
> Maybe DAG and Sherry have enough Leica-only work, or maybe they have other
> business interests, but it's not for me......I'll take the state teat anytime....
> been there, done that, seen two companies go out of business while turning
> a significant gross profit....it weren't us that were stealing the money...
>
> Judging from Leica's financial position, I'm just glad I don't work for them....
> I hate looking for new jobs....
>
> Walt
>
>


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