Anyone able to contact Don Golberg DAG Camera?

It may be that camera repair people, like radiologists, are not the most communicative people because they are introverts and quite possibly loners. The nature of the work suits their personality.
 
I know for a fact that is true for the camera repairman that I use... but he has an assistant who is very good at communicating status.
 
Granted, I've only had Don work on a couple things for me over the years, so my experience with him is somewhat limited, but he completely overhauled my Leica CL in about 4 weeks, tops, and he always responded to my emails within 24 hours. If he had one of my cameras for 2 years and didn't ever respond to me, I would be pretty ticked off, despite his reputation as one of the best in the biz. That's a ridiculous amount of time. I'd have pictures of my camera on the back of milk cartons!

But that's not been my experience with Don, in which case I have nothing but nice things to say about him.
 
He quoted me 2 weeks for a CLA, after 2 weeks I emailed him, and he said he'd be getting to it "that week." Now it has been over 5 weeks, and he isn't returning my emails.
 
Threads like this (and this isn't the only thread like this) are why I will never consider sending anything to this guy. I don't care how good his work is, it's a crappy way to treat people. I'll send things to Leica directly and pay that price, but at least I'll know exactly what's going on with my stuff. If someone like this drops communication and still has my stuff I'd consider it stolen and call the cops and my insurance company and let him explain that he's just "eccentric" to them.
 
Oh Dear very sorry to hear... Frustrating indeed !

i received My M2 back from Don this past December
I think around the 7th of Dec...he had it for about 6-7 weeks (it took longer than he thought it would)
but it required a few things aside from CLA and it works Wonderfully

can't say that about Essex Camera where they took approx 2 weeks on an M body...
high price and the work was just mediocre

Don now has my M4 ... so I will be using my IIIc until its return

Call him late mornings, early afternoons and he Usually answers the Phone and is Quite Polite & Inquisitive in his Dealings
Cheers & Best to You - H
 
The apologists among you are making me laugh. 7 months, 16 months with this bloke holding on to your camera? What the...!!

I'm with Sean Bonner on this. Consider the camera stolen and send in the repo men.
 
sorry but I Disagree...
I am not Apologising for Don just giving Sympathy to Douglas's Plea

I just stated what the Time Frame & Service Don did for me
and I chose to have GOOD Work
than a Camera returned not up to its standard and a high Price paid for the work (Esse3x Camera, NJ)
 
Don has always been extra quick in replying to my emails. I always start by asking if he had the time to do some repair for my lens.
 
Don has done good work for me. Sometimes the turnaround has been quick, sometimes not. I certainly understand the frustration! Maybe a good rule is not to send him anything urgent! Sherry is better for that.

As far as knowing where he is, or what is going on, I don't know what to suggest, short of an ankle bracelet. Or maybe Letterman could install a "late-night DAG-CAM" to keep track of him! (It would probably just show Don sitting up till 3AM, working on Leicas, anyway.)
 
Don has a LOT of cameras and lenses in the queue. Would you rather him answer the phone and emails all day, or work on the gear?

He's known in the Leica world for years, there are few equals. Yes, he could be better at communication. But believe me, there are far worse out there that you don't want to deal with. :) As for Sherry, no thank you. DAG is gentleman when you speak with him. I don't want to describe Sherry here. LOL
 
Good repair folks are hard to find, so when word gets out, they usually get swamped with work. Maybe they put aside some days to do certain repairs, and when something goes wrong (say they only can get four of the nine cameras that were going to be fixed completed because they were in worse shape then the owners let on), it just delays when your camera will get back in the que. Today's world of instant gratification doesn't fit with the way cameras are repaired.

PF
 
I agree with Helen. I think the longest he had any of my gear for was roughly two months. But it came back in amazing shape. He recently adjusted the focus on my M9 and I had the camera back within one week. Of course, I live about 2 hours from DAG so the transit time is much less..

He currently has my 50mm Summicron. I've had focusing issues since I bought it so I finally sent it to him - we talked for about 20 minutes or so and discussed the various options for fixing it. He was very courteous - I sent him an email that showed a focus test with the lens and he mentioned that he could spend 8 hours just responding to emails.



helenhill said:
Oh Dear very sorry to hear... Frustrating indeed !

i received My M2 back from Don this past December
I think around the 7th of Dec...he had it for about 6-7 weeks (it took longer than he thought it would)
but it required a few things aside from CLA and it works Wonderfully

can't say that about Essex Camera where they took approx 2 weeks on an M body...
high price and the work was just mediocre

Don now has my M4 ... so I will be using my IIIc until its return

Call him late mornings, early afternoons and he Usually answers the Phone and is Quite Polite & Inquisitive in his Dealings
Cheers & Best to You - H
Click to expand...
 
When my Canon 50/1.2 was always OOF, and when the local repairman was out of ideas onwhat to do next, I sent it to Don. He ound the element that needed realligning, and the lens was repaired while I was in Japan. He was very good about timing his return of the lens with my return to the USA.

My second lens was a CZJ 5cm/2 ltm that he adjusted and cleaned. He did a great professional job on this lens too. I asked him to take a second look at the lens, and he did not mind adjusting the lens again. It is now a sharp lens.

Sometimes, I ask Don before I buy a vintage lens in need of repair whether he had the parts and if he could fix it. Don gives me advice.
 
Well I will agree about Sherry being chatty, but in a good way. I talked to her for around 1.5 hours once just inquiring about some of her knowledge. I guess she found me a little interesting. She fixed my father's M3 DS that had no shutter. I remember it taking a while. It came back looking like it belonged in a museum and works perfectly. Totally makes you forget its age.
 
Milling down cam on DR Summicron

Milling down cam on DR Summicron

So, I need to have the cam(s?) on the DR-Summicron milled down so that I can use it on the M-Monochrom, as well as having the lens cleaned for some fogging. In light of the discussion here, where would you recommend that I send it, either in the US or in the EC (I'll be in Paris in February)? Speed (and quality of work) is of the essence.

—Mitch/Bangkok
Bangkok Hysteria (download link for book project)
 
malland said:
So, I need to have the cam(s?) on the DR-Summicron milled down so that I can use it on the M-Monochrom, as well as having the lens cleaned for some fogging. In light of the discussion here, where would you recommend that I send it, either in the US or in the EC (I'll be in Paris in February)? Speed (and quality of work) is of the essence.

—Mitch/Bangkok
Bangkok Hysteria (download link for book project)
Click to expand...

Call Don. Ask him if he can expedite the work and give him your need-by date.
 
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