I sent one of my M2's to DAG about fives weeks ago for a rangefinder adjustment. Anyone have any experience with Don's turn around time? I don't feel it's appropriate to phone him. If everyone's always calling him, he wouldn't have time to repair Leicas!

-- Ben Hughes (ben@hughesbros.com), March 25, 2002

Answers

Do you know that the M2 actually got to him?

-- Steve leHuray (steve@icommag.com), March 25, 2002.

It's a place of business correct? Call him.

-- James (snodoggydogg@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Ben,

It's too late for you, but for the others, I would recommend Sherry Krauter over DAG. I bought an M3 that was CLA'ed and recovered by DAG. He(she) did not replace the screws and the new M6 style vulcanite was not fit-up properly; I had to glue some of it up myself; and the bill (for previous owner) was $490! I paid $650 for the M3.

Sherry got my M4; replaced all of the screws she(he) touched and did a better job than DAG for $240, no recovering.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 25, 2002.

Are you sure you have the correct address and the camera reached him? From my one experience and what I've read here and other boards you can't find a better repair service. Of course you should call him. I called Don before I mailed him the camera to describe the problem and get an approximate price, a IIIc, and I called him about 2 weeks later to make sure he received it and to see if he started to work on it which he hadn't. It had a light leak problem which another repair person (who was listed on the LHSA) couldn't figure out. When I told him I would like it back for a shoot in less than a week, he immediatly went to work on it, shot a roll to see if his repair worked and sent it back to me BEFORE I sent him the payment because my MO wouldn't of reached him in time. His repair was less expensive than the origional person who couldn't figure it out. I couldn't ask for more than that.

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), March 25, 2002.

i'd go ahead and phone him. you don't have to sound pushy, but he shouldn't be offended, and he can let you know if he happens to be backed up right now.

rick :)=

-- rick oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com), March 25, 2002.

I've had a lot of work done by Don with no problems (well one minor one that he fixed overnight). Don's prices were reasonable and his turnaround time used to be pretty quick.

One of the things I like about DAG is that it was always possible to get in touch with him. In any case, if you are sending your camera to someone make sure you insure it and also get the FedEx/UPS tracking number so you can see when they get it.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), March 25, 2002.

I've also had good experience with the quality of DAG's work (he repaired/recemented the rangefinder prism in one of my M3s). Service was not speedy, though; it took about 7 weeks.

-- Mike Dixon (mike@mikedixonphotography.com), March 25, 2002.

Call them.

When I was in a similar situation I called after five weeks. They told me they had been very busy.

Make sure they have your camera. If they do be patient. They seemed very honest but slow.

-- David Smith (dssmith3@rmci.net), March 25, 2002.

Is this DAG's/Don's website?: http://www.dagcamera.com/

-- sparkie (sparkie@mailcity.com), March 25, 2002.

My in/out time has varied from 10 days to over 4 months, depending on his workload. I've never gotten anything but excellent work at what I consider fair prices. But we all know that sometimes Shit Happens, and it's nobody's fault, just a lousy combination of circumstances. I's give him a call.

-- Bill (wmitch3400@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

I've used DAG for over a decade without complaint. He's honest, fair & highly skilled. He'll work quickly if he knows you need something fast. If you don't say when it's needed, he'll just drop it in the workload. Usual turnaround is 3-4 weeks, but again, he'll half that if asked. Call him--I always do & he always picks up...

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), March 25, 2002.

I sent my M4 to DAG on Feb 12th and e-mailed him to confirm he got it, he had.

He quoted me $180 to convert the M4 to take a RapidWinder or the new small M-motor. I have the motor on my M6 and I really like it.

He said 4 weeks and so far I've heard nothing. Feb is a short month so I'll e-mail him next week to get a status.

Neil

-- Neil Swanson (neilsphoto@yahoo.com), March 25, 2002.

Ben:

Just phone DAG and find out the reason for the delay. He is always very polite and reasonable and would not be offended if you called to check on a work order. If there is an emergency, he will repair your camera before doing anything else!

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), March 25, 2002.

don is excellent but, like all leica-specific repairers, a little bit on the pricey side. but where leica expertise is required (or parts for old cameras) there is just no substitute for people like sherry and don. BUT, for simple adjustments, like RF alignment, just about any competent, old-school repairer can do the job -- apc camera in haverhill mass recently did a great job adjusting the rf in a iiig. it took him 20mins and he charged $20.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), March 25, 2002.

My impression: Tell him Exactly when you need it by and he will get it to you. I did not do this when I first spoke with him about my M4- 2, but after some time had elapsed I contacted him by email and specified a time frame and he got it to me before then.

His address is: dagcam@chorus.net

Yes he's a busy man, but I'm sure he's flexable as well. And he does quality work...

-- Dave Doyle (dave@soilsouth.com), March 25, 2002.

I e-mailed Don yesterday. He said he'll get to it this week, he thinks. He's had the M4 since 2/12. It is getting M4/6 parts as needed to let it accept an M-motor/Rapidwinder.

He said it would take a month but now it has taken a month to even get to it.

Oh well. I gave him no deadline, I'm not a full time working pro anymore and I have another body so I'm not jammed up. Still I wish it was going a little more on schedule.

Tom Abrahams advised Don to do the work on the M4. I went with it.

-- Neil Swanson (neilsphoto@yahoo.com), March 26, 2002.

Sparkie, yes that is Don's site. He actually answers his emails too:-) I've never had any Leicas repaired by Don but several Minox cameras. He has always done fantastic work, been pleasant to talk to and turned the cameras round fast if I was in a hurry. I recommend him highly.

-Duncan

-- Duncan (pilot@aviationmission.com), March 30, 2002.