Youxin Ye, Camera Repair

[aleksanderpolo]

Great to finally see his face Great guy

[leica M2 fan]

Agree with most of the above comments, I had my M2 that I've had for 42 years and it had never been serviced. Sent it to him last year and had it back in a week and it works flawlessly, so smooth and quiet. Would also recommend him highly.

[froyd]

Great to see a picture of him. He cleaned and lubed my M$, Summaron, and Elmar last fall. I appreciated that when he came against a problem he could not handle, he refereed me to DAG and did not attempt a shoddy repair.

[sdotkling]

Add me to the list. He's a gem...and FAST.

[photo4ls]

Did a great job on my DR with really fast turnaround time.
+1 on everything that has been said. BTW, nice images you
have put together.
Nelson

[ravid905]

This thread provided a little reminder to me that I wanted to send him my camera as well. My viewfinder had always appeared cloudy to me, in particular when I compared it to a Hexar RF that I used to own.

On May 22, the camera was delivered to him, and on May 25, Youxin emailed me to say that he had already completed the CLA on my camera! He told me that my camera is in decent shape, but it had not been opened since it left the factory 30+ years ago. He added that there was a lot of haze inside the finder, and that the camera was mechanically dry as well.

Between the USPS, Canada Customs, and Canada Post, I had to wait until today to get the camera back, but it was definitely worth the wait, and completely worthwhile sending the camera to him. The VF is crystal clear and very bright now, the actions feel much smoother, and the shutter is nice and quiet.

Should it be required, I would send any other camera or lens that needed work to him, without hesitation.

[Mudman]

He did a CLA to my M3 before I purchased it. Wonderful job with the camera. It's flawless to use.

[andersju]

Wednesday, I sent him an email asking if he had a Summitar & LTM adapter that he could sell. He had two. I opted for the slightly cheaper one with worse cosmetics. Friday, he told me that the one I wanted had some separation, so instead he had CLA'd the nicer one and put it in the mail. This morning, the mailman rang the door (in Sweden!!). Like a rocket. Awesome.

I also had a great experience when he serviced an M3 & Summicron 50 for me a few years ago.

[useless generation]

Bought my ss M3 back to life. Bought it inoperative for a steal. He informed me that it was one of the last M3 to leave the factory with a serial well over a million with a replaced top plate of an early M3DS! He replace the curtains and full CLA and had it back to me within 3 weeks to Australia including post both ways. Stoked

[coelacanth]

He just fixed shutter brake issue my MP was having. Super quick, very reasonable cost and he communicates throughout the process. I respect Don at DAG and he's done some very difficult tasks that Youxin or others couldn't, but that have come with nonexistent communication and very slow turnaround. Last time my MP was stuck with Don for nearly 1/2 year with no commutation, and in the end, camera was returned with "no problem found." The problem remained. Youxin fixed it in a week for $40 shipped. Gotta love the guy. This is not to say negative things about Don, but to praise Youxin and his work, attitude and dedication.

[loquax ludens]

Hey, I don't know how I missed this thread before. I'm another happy YY customer. It's great to see photos of him at work. He did a great job returning my old IIIc back to beautiful looking and operating condition several years ago. It was a frozen up mess when I sent it to him.

[rickp]

Originally Posted by kknox

Great guy, has done work for me also.

same for me, nothing but good work and advice on several cameras and lenses. big thanks for posting the pictures of youxin at work.

greetings from hamburg

rick

[bobby_novatron]

Preaching to the choir: I agree, he's excellent.

Hate to say it, but after having sent an M3 to Sherry Krauter (poor communication, long turn-around, huge $$$), Youxin Ye is a gem by comparison.

He transformed my M6 into a silky-smooth machine. Fast turn-around, too.

[KoNickon]

The first time I reached out to him was a Saturday. I was stunned to get a response from him within 45 minutes or so. The post office was still open, so I hurried down there and sent it off to him. He had completed the work on Monday and I had the camera back by the end of the week, as I recall. Unbelievable.

[kingqueenknave]

YY is great. I needed to have an M2 repaired for a trip a few years ago. I sent it YY and he turned it around in a day. Camera still works flawlessly. Oh yeah, he said to just put a check in the mail once I got the camera back. I've since recommended him to friends and all of them have reported positive sentiments.

[mbdiesel]

Youxin cleaned up my 5cm summarit. The turnaround time was fantastic and he did a great job. I can not stand the arrogance of other Leica service people.

[El Jonbre Grande]

Youxin is fantastic - he brought my M2 back to life, did the modifications I requested and it came back feel like new!!! I'll be sending off a couple of lenses to him to work on next.

[ray*j*gun]

Here's how good he is from a customer service standpoint.

I bought an M4-P from another member that was serviced by YY and I had it for a cpl of years. When I sold it to another member, the buyer said it was too "oily". I contacted YY and he said to have the buyer send it to him directly and he corrected the issue and sent it back to the buyer! He didn't charge anything at all!! Now this was after 2 years after the service.

Unreal... and his communication was lighting fast!!

[Mabbo]

Hello everyone,

I've read that many people have sent Youxin their vintage Leica lenses to be CLA'd with great results (I will be sending him a 50 Summitar myself) but has anyone here sent him a 'newer' lens? Newer as in the mid-90's
I have a 50 'Lux E46 I was thinking of sending over as well (made in 1994 according to the serial #).

Thanks

[clayne]

Originally Posted by Mabbo

Hello everyone,

I've read that many people have sent Youxin their vintage Leica lenses to be CLA'd with great results (I will be sending him a 50 Summitar myself) but has anyone here sent him a 'newer' lens? Newer as in the mid-90's
I have a 50 'Lux E46 I was thinking of sending over as well (made in 1994 according to the serial #).

Thanks

There's nothing significantly different about a decent 90s era lens vs a 60s, 70s, or 80s era lens that would prevent the CLA of it (*this does not include ultra-cheap crap from the 90s, some of which were unserviceable). On top of that, 50mm lenses utilize some of the most common designs. There's usually no close focus, rear focus, or other crazy stuff to worry about.

[froyd]

Originally Posted by Mabbo

Hello everyone,

I've read that many people have sent Youxin their vintage Leica lenses to be CLA'd with great results (I will be sending him a 50 Summitar myself) but has anyone here sent him a 'newer' lens? Newer as in the mid-90's
I have a 50 'Lux E46 I was thinking of sending over as well (made in 1994 according to the serial #).

Thanks

Did you give him a call?

As I stated above, he was very straight forward with me explaining exactly what he could or could not handle himself, and was quick to refer me to DAG for one issue and Sweeney for another.