steve g Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 My friend just picked up a Leica M2 in need of some serious viewfinder repair. Basically, the viewfinder is completely black. However, the bright lines still show, as does the rangefinder patch. Any ideas what could be broken and how much this type of repair this tends to run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdavidprice Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I picked up one with the same problem not long ago...the cement holding the elements has let go. Kim at Essex Camera in NJ did a fine job on mine and for a very good price compared to several others I checked with. Takes about 3-4 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john15 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Would like to know the cost of the fix for the dreaded M2/M3 black RF. This will probably be a more common problem as the balsam cement used on these cameras approaches a half century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Google "CRR-Luton" Cheers, A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_boyle3 Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 David Price had the right diagnosis. You may want to call recognized Leica repair folks such as Gerry Smith at Kindermann Canada, DAG or Sherry Krauter and get some quotes. They all do good work and unfortunately this is a somewhat common problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdavidprice Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 John...based on what I have read the M3 finder is much more complicated that the M2 and the repair job is quite a bit more complicated and costs more. I don't know about giving out prices on the forum but I'll be glad to let anybody know privately. ywdprice at yahoo dot com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason_b. Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Don Goldberg can fix this and he's in the US. Give him a ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_a Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 What Andy said. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben z Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 AFAIK Sherry K was not doing this repair unless she's started recently. She and Leica would only replace the entire rangefinder with one from an M4-P for around $600 in parts, plus labor. Don Goldberg will recement the prism for around $250. How much does Essex charge? My M3 shows signs of decementing which is another reason I only use it occasionally and not for serious shooting. I'm amazed at the number of people who continue to recommend people buy M2/M3 and claim the decementing is a myth. Basically what the repair guys say, it's a crapshoot. Sometimes a slight knock can separate the prism, others could take a real hit and come away fine. If I just used the camera for around the neighborhood goofing around I'd be ok with an M2, but because most of my photography is travelling, I prefer something without that possibility looming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 CRR (in Luton, UK) can fully restore and re-silver finders on the older Leicas. The cost is reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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