Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 16 of 16

Thread: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

  1. #11

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    228

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    Quote Originally Posted by Rider View Post
    "... Mac vs. Windows wars are much more fun..."
    LOL! Or tranny vs. negaitive film... or color vs. B&W... Ha! You're right! There are so many more meaningful things to fight over.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    228

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    Wise old King Soloman might suggest resolving this dilemna by having the shutter cut in half - and one-half sent to each for overhaul.
    OUCH!

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    505

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    Tastes Great! ;-)

  4. #14

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    I recently had a very unsettling and dishonest interaction with Paul Ebel, who I sent a 300mm Heliar in a Compound shutter to for CLA.

    I was shocked, upon receiving the lens back, to find that Mr. Ebel had chipped the front glass element of the lens with a tool and had then neglected to inform me of the damage, despite the fact that he was well aware of it.

    When I called and confronted him over the telephone, he immediately admitted that he had indeed chipped the glass. He then patronizingly and condescendingly asked me “how much do you know about large format lenses from the 1930’s”, following which he told me that: “this happens all the time with older lenses.”

    I have had many dozens of lenses serviced by other technicians over the years and have never encountered anything like this. It is hard to believe that he actually thought that a photographer would not notice a fresh chip on the front element of a lens.

    He then said to me that he had chosen not to tell me because “the chip will not effect the optical quality of the lens”, he didn’t think that I “would care,” and that the lens was “not really worth anything.”

    In fact, clean examples of this lens and shutter combination now regularly fetch about $1200 to $1400 on Ebay and I cannot imagine a photographer who would not care about obvious damage to an optical element.

    At the end of our conversation, Paul Ebel offered to refund the cost of the repair, which is of course quite minor compared to loss in value to the lens (I was disgusted enough to decline the offer).

    If he had been upfront an informed me right away that he had damaged the lens and sought to resolve the matter I probably would have accepted it as an honest mistake and tried to find an amicable solution. As it is, I am simply very disappointed by the whole experience.

    Needless to say, I will not be sending any future repairs to Paul Ebel. I would under no conditions recommend his services to anyone.

    There are plenty of other honest technicians out there (e.g. S.K. Grimes, Carol Flutot, John van Stelten...etc.). They may be more expensive, but you clearly get what you pay for.

  5. #15

    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN USA
    Posts
    27

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    Paul CLA'd a shutter and set the scale focus for me last summer on a Perkeo II medium format folder. He did a great job and quickly too. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, mine was the opposite. Bummer about the lens.

  6. #16
    funkadelic
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Yadkinville, NC, USA
    Posts
    1,300

    Re: Paul Ebel for shutter repair--contact info

    Why didn't you remove the glass before ssending?
    If it was just the shutter that needed service, glass only adds weight for increased postage.
    Besides, if the shutter got lost in transit, you would still have the optics in hand... to find a suitable barrel or shutter replacement.

    Chris

    Quote Originally Posted by david griffon View Post
    I recently had a very unsettling and dishonest interaction with Paul Ebel, who I sent a 300mm Heliar in a Compound shutter to for CLA.

    I was shocked, upon receiving the lens back, to find that Mr. Ebel had chipped the front glass element of the lens with a tool and had then neglected to inform me of the damage, despite the fact that he was well aware of it.

    When I called and confronted him over the telephone, he immediately admitted that he had indeed chipped the glass. He then patronizingly and condescendingly asked me ?how much do you know about large format lenses from the 1930?s?, following which he told me that: ?this happens all the time with older lenses.?

    I have had many dozens of lenses serviced by other technicians over the years and have never encountered anything like this. It is hard to believe that he actually thought that a photographer would not notice a fresh chip on the front element of a lens.

    He then said to me that he had chosen not to tell me because ?the chip will not effect the optical quality of the lens?, he didn?t think that I ?would care,? and that the lens was ?not really worth anything.?

    In fact, clean examples of this lens and shutter combination now regularly fetch about $1200 to $1400 on Ebay and I cannot imagine a photographer who would not care about obvious damage to an optical element.

    At the end of our conversation, Paul Ebel offered to refund the cost of the repair, which is of course quite minor compared to loss in value to the lens (I was disgusted enough to decline the offer).

    If he had been upfront an informed me right away that he had damaged the lens and sought to resolve the matter I probably would have accepted it as an honest mistake and tried to find an amicable solution. As it is, I am simply very disappointed by the whole experience.

    Needless to say, I will not be sending any future repairs to Paul Ebel. I would under no conditions recommend his services to anyone.

    There are plenty of other honest technicians out there (e.g. S.K. Grimes, Carol Flutot, John van Stelten...etc.). They may be more expensive, but you clearly get what you pay for.

Similar Threads

  1. Bosscreen contact info
    By Craig Maxwell in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 20-Jun-2007, 08:28
  2. Contact info for Tachihara in Japan
    By Robert Skeoch in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 1-May-2007, 05:08
  3. Contact info for Gitzo warrant
    By Ed Richards in forum Gear
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 18-Sep-2006, 09:41
  4. contact info
    By david clark in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 13-Mar-2004, 12:45
  5. Contact printing frame repair
    By Bruce Schultz in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 22-Feb-2004, 09:55

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •