Bought a nice Linhof Master Technika Classic. Can I do the CLA myself to save money?

[Jim Noel]

By all means - SEND IT BACK! It is too daunting a task for someone inexperienced with the camera to repair it.

[r.e.]

this gentleman sold this Linhof MT Classic to me for $1500 cash

Which suggests an in-person transaction. Yes, it would be best if he could return the camera, but that may not be easy. I would think that he needs to know what other options he has. One of them is small claims court if the camera is actually unusable. It would be helpful to know whether there was an ad and, if so, what it said about the camera's condition, and whether it was on a platform that offers any kind of protection.

The actual repair bill is $1235. The rest is for a CLA and ancillary work.

[Benjamin]

It's biggest problem is the front standard baseplate - the part that holds it to the rail had been cracked/sheered off completely. That said, the camera is basically unusable as the front standard doesn't ride or lock onto the tracks. The camera, while built in 2005, also needs new bellows as well as a new silver focusing knob and a new ground glass frame to replace the ones that are damaged/dented in.

So many red lights here. First, that these serious flaws weren't disclosed before the sale is borderline criminal. But what I don't get, and makes me doubtful of the honesty of the seller, is how such serious damage can happen if you use your camera 10 times and then leave it in a display case. Makes no sense what so ever - I mean, you've got to work pretty hard to break a front standard baseplate the way you've described it.

Lastly, these days, when I buy something used, anybody who asks me for cash payment on anything above 100$ - especially camera stuff - I don't bother with, as I would be left without protection.

Truly hope you can get your money back on this, if you decide to send it back.

If not - and I do know my post doesn't in any way answer your question re: CLA - then yes, your only choice, unless your bank account is pretty substantial, is to try to CLA it yourself. Maybe you can find a cheap used but unusable one sold for parts somewhere.

Personally, if I found out I couldn't return it, I'd bite the bullet and shell out the extra 1635$ instead of risking damaging the camera even further by attempting the repairs myself. And if so, I'd forget about the extra bucks for the new cams. I don't really see the point in hand-held use of a 4x5 camera, honestly.

[abruzzi]

There's a thread about ecbuyonline2008 and its sister account mytongguy: Bellows from ecbuyonline2008???

Yup, I bought lots of stuff, including bellows from them. I had no issues, and the fit of the MT bellows was perfect.

[manfrominternet]

Perhaps this would help if anyone is curious. Here's a link to the original eBay listing that the seller took down (and subsequently had me pay him privately via PayPal): https://www.ebay.com/itm/22454986649...p2047675.l2557

After he had his Linhof MT Classic appraised by Nippon Photo Clinic, he amended what he originally said on his listing. I managed to give him my phone number (a tricky thing to do through eBay) via eBay messages and he called me. He said the camera was in great shape and, importantly, said that the Linhof can be used without the repairs. Anyway, I ended up buying it from him via PayPal. Once it arrived, I drove 2-hours to LAFLEX near Los Angeles to get it appraised. A day later, after I saw how much it would cost to get the camera up to par, I was bewildered, needless to say. If the repair was a little over $1000, then fine, but over $1600? No way. I would end up going broke.

I've been trying to call the seller, but every time I call him, he just hangs up on me. It's at a point where I feel I was defrauded. It hurts too especially because I told him that I'm a student with rather limited funds. While speaking to me on the phone, he reassured me that the repairs would be minimal, under $1000 (even though the Nippon Photo Clinic clearly states that the repairs would cost over $1000.)

So I don't know what to do. The outside of the camera looks great, but on the inside, 1.) the front standard doesn't tilt forward or backward, 2.) when you push the front standard assembly back into the housing, the coupling cam stays to the left (instead of being centered as it should be when closing the camera) and said couplin cam is now bent because the original seller, I guess, closed the camera by force, and 4.) the rangefinder evidently doesn't work properly even with a properly installed cam.

I'm truly embarassed. I feel like an idiot who was duped. I trusted this seller because he seemed honest with the problems of the camera. I guess he was honest just enough to sell the camera.

Nonetheless, I would absolutely love this camera if it worked properly. That's why I'm asking if I should roll up my sleeves and just try to fix it myself. I'm pretty OCD-like when it comes to these things, so I imagine that I could become quite good at repairing cameras, especially seeing as I fixed both my Pentax 67II and my Bronica GS-1 and got them to flawless working condition. But I know the Linhof Master Technika Classic is a different beast.

I'd, of course, appreciate any suggestions on how I can fix this Linhof MT Classic.

To those that read this whole thing, I really appreciate it.

[r.e.]

I haven't gone through the eBay Listing and Los Angeles repair estimates in detail, but they appear to be pretty close. The estimate on the eBay Listing is $1155. The estimate that you got in Los Angeles is $1235. The difference is only $80. I'm assuming that the Los Angeles estimate for a CLA ($400) is above and beyond the repair work. Unless I'm missing something, the $1350 estimate for camming is a separate issue entirely.

It sounds like the vendor and you decided to make this deal outside the eBay system. If that's what you did, it saved the vendor eBay's commission, and it saved you retail sales tax. However, in that case the consequence is that you have no recourse against the vendor within eBay.

You do have PayPal protection if you treated this as a purchase of goods. However, you may not if the vendor got you to save him PayPal commission by paying him via "friends and family". If you have no eBay or PayPal protection, you have no realistic recourse against the vendor, given that Georgia is a long way from California.

In any event, if my understanding of the estimates is correct, it isn't obvious that the vendor misled you. The basic problem here may be that you didn't anticipate the CLA cost or the camming cost, or at least didn't anticipate that they would be as high as you are being quoted.

I figure that what you don't need right now is a lecture on doing an end-run around eBay or Pay Pal That said, I note that the vendor said "No returns". I have no expertise on eBay, but I recently saw a suggestion that eBay vendors can't, in fact, preclude returns. Might be worth checking to see if that's true for the future. Also, note that if you pay via credit card, your card provider offers its own protection.

[Tobias Key]

Personally I would get the repair done professionally and hold off on the camming and the CLA for now. If you are good at repairs the CLA might be something you could attempt yourself and replacing bellows is pretty easy. You can use the camera without camming the lenses, it's just not as convenient. If you have two 6x7 camera systems perhaps consider selling one of them to cover the costs? If the MT becomes your 'tripod camera' perhaps the GS1 will be excess to requirements.

[Tin Can]

Next time and there will be a next

Buy as good condition box aka "camera" as you can find

That can take a while, but right now many are dumping VGC gear

the end is nigh...

[John Layton]

To the OP...this is truly heartbreaking!

I've been right where you are, and much worse, but in the long run have been thankful that my particular "bumps in the road" happened early in my career and have since paid for themselves many times over in helping me to avoid similar bumps going forward.

While I would not give up in seeking reimbursement just yet...there may come a time when you will need to chalk this up to experience, learn from it and move on. You will get over this! (and hey...you're a student - consider this part of your education!)

[Benjamin]

I feel really bad for you. As someone else mentioned, we've all been there - I have a totally useless Canon QL that I was duped into buying (nothing as high as a Technika!) and that I intend to pick apart one day just for fun.

You do seem left with two choices, either put up the money for the repairs, meaning leaving the camming to another time, or do it yourself.

If you go that route, I suggest checking out the Learn Camera Repair site. They do have the parts diagram for the Linhof Technika V. As I mentioned earlier, depending on the damage, you might have to hunt for extra parts (Learn Camera Repair also has a Facebook page, so maybe you can find parts through there). New bellows, new front standard, new ground glass, new whatever else is broken will still cost you, though. So you'll have to evaluate if that money + time and effort of doing the repairs yourself is worth it.