I'm thinking of buying a Leica R6.2 or R7 from D. Chatterton, J. Kuehl or Wall St Camera. Anyone have any good or bad experieicnes with any of these guys? I usually deal with B&H Photo but their Leica R selection is limited.

-- Chuck (cwpa@att.net), February 25, 2001

Answers

I've had very good experiences buying Leica equipment from Don Chatterton, Jim Kuehl and Tamarkin NY.

Never dealt with Wall Street Camera.

Godfrey

-- Godfrey DiGiorgi (ramarren@bayarea.net), February 25, 2001.

D. Chatterton gave a good feeling and always fair dealings, I recomend him for sure.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), February 25, 2001.

I had a few fairly large purchases from Chatterton, and the equipment was as described. He left out a few things he said were included in both deals, however, and never followed through after several phone calls. It left a bad taste in my mouth--I guess this is considered "customer service" in this day and age. Jim Kuehl is easy to deal with but doesn't have quite the selection.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), February 25, 2001.

I bought some gear from www.leicashop.at in Austria, and it was as advertised, in good nick, and came through the mail with insurance quickly. They have a lot of gear, and a huge catalogue. P Nelson

-- Paul Nelson (clrfarm@comswest.net.au), February 25, 2001.

I bought an accessory finder from Don Chatterton and was pleased with the price and speedy delivery. He uses Federal Express. I had to go to the Fed-Ex depot to get it, as they don't deliver. But they still got it to me very fast. I bought a used Hassie lens from KEH camera brokers. It had a minor shutter problem, which they fixed within 10 days and reimburbursed me for my shipping costs. I haven't bought from Stan Tamarkin (Yet) but I visitied the shop in December, and was impressed with the wide selection of M & R gear. They also have a great Leica photo gallery, well worth seeing when in New York. Easy to get to on Broadway, and you can take in Greenwich Village on the way.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), February 25, 2001.

I recently purchased some equipment from Tamarkin in NYC and was very happy w/ the purchase. I'd definitely buy from them again!

Ken Hansen Photographic in NYC is another very reputable dealer. He had moved to Florida for a few years, butnow he's back in NYC again. I don't know how extensive his selection is, but they're very easy to work with.

-- KL Prager (www.pragerproperties@worldnet.att.net), February 25, 2001.

I just received my used M6 from Don Chatterton today. Ordered it the day before the earthquake and received it the day after the quake.

Mr. Chatterton was very knowledgeable and helpful with me. (I'm pretty much a rookie) The camera (mint minus) exceeded my expectations and was within $50 of all other sites I visited on the web.

I'd give him a hearty recommendation and a try.

David S Smith

ps I hope he survived the Washington Earthquake without problems.

-- David Smith (dssmith3@rmci.net), March 02, 2001.

Don Chatteton is OK. After reading the above post I emailed him, and he responded with:

"Nice to hear from you again...everything is fine here...no damage....we were dead center on the epicenter....a "media event" more than a fact."

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), March 04, 2001.

Both times I did business with Don Chatterton, I was 101% satisfied. Very good quality service and excellent prices. The next time I buy, I'm calling him first.

I've also had good experience with Tamarkin, but I've only bought one item from them. They have a nice store front in NYC which is located next to the Leica Gallery. Every time I go to NYC, I need to visit both places.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@mail.com), March 04, 2001.

I've dealt with Jim Kuehl and recommend him highly. Very easy to deal with on used equipment and fair prices.

-- Kevin Sido (ksido@hinshawlaw.com), June 25, 2001.

I dealt with Don Chatterton and was perfectly satisified. I have an order out with DeltInt. and so far it seems to have been handled very well (and a little lower cost then the others).

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), June 25, 2001.

I have bought several Leica and Contax items from Jim Kuehl. Good prices and immediate delivery. I recommend him highly.

-- Jim Scheffler (hassy@prodigy.net), July 16, 2001.

I've dealt with Jim Kuehl, Don Chatterton and Wall Street. I do most of my business with Jim but have no complaints about Don Chatterton either. Both are very trustworthy.

One thing to note is that both sell Leica equipment that isn't warranted by Leica in NJ. What I've gotten from Don was Gray Market merchandise and I'm not sure what would happen if I'd had a problem with it.

The stuff from Jim is exactly what you'd get from an authorized USA Leica dealer but you have to send it to Jim if you have a problem. Neither Jim nor Don go into very much detail about warrantees.

I've found that Kuehl's prices seem to be a bit lower than Chatterton's and that he will give you more for your equipment on trade-in.

As for Wall Street Camera, my experiences have all been positive. At one point in time they occasionally offered some really great deals on stuff they bought in bulk from Leica in NJ. I don't buy used equipment from anyone but if I did, I doubt I'd do it from Wall Street.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 16, 2001.

Over the past 10 years I've dealt with and have been completely satisfied with Jim Kuehl. I have purchased and sold over $12,000.00 with Jim. He has always been a gentleman and business is as close to a handshake as can be done nowadays. Top notch ! Scott Hayden Fresno, Ca.

-- Scott Hayden (fulldome51@cs.com), August 31, 2001.

I purchased a new M6 from Don Chatterton a few years ago, it was one of his grey market Leicas, not Leica USA. I guess we all like to save a buck. Anyway, I had trouble with the body from the start; it turned out to be a sticky shutter roller. If the camera sat wound for more than a week and you hit the shutter, nothing happened for about 5 seconds. Unfortunately it took me quite a few rounds with Don to get him to honor his warranty; he even tried to tell me that you're not supposed to leave a Leica in the cocked position. Ultimately, he agreed to pay for the fix, sending the body to DAG for repair. DAG told me that Chatterton had a run of Leica bodies with bad shutter rollers. DAG repaired the camera and it has operated flawlessly since. That was 6 years ago. Still, I was disappointed in Chatterton's attitude about the whole situation.

-- Jay Pulli (pulli@elohi.com), January 22, 2002.

I bought an M3 and a Voigt 25mm with finder and M adapter from D. Chatterton about 6 months ago. The M adaptor did not arrive in the package although it was sent after a couple of reminders. I had a concern on the M3 (which was described as exc++++++++++ on the website)relating to some marks on the rangefinder. I sent D. Chatterton and never got a reply. I gave up on him. The M3 works fine despite these marks, so may be he is honest in the products he sells but his cutomer service is not good. I will never buy from him again.

-- enrique munoz (enrique.munoz@de.pwcglobal.com), January 29, 2002.