Berlebach Service (1 Viewer)

[Tringa45]

I have owned a Berlebach 552 for about 10 years and still consider it, together with its successor the 553 to be the ideal 2-way head for use with a birding scope.
A few weeks back the panorama function started feeling a bit gritty, probably due to ingress of some debris, so I applied a drop of Ballistol, which smoothed it up again but made the motion much too light.
I packed it up and sent it off to Berlebach and received it back again today after 4 day's absence, functionally as good as new. Berlebach didn't even charge postage!
They mention on their website a repair turnaround of 48 hrs. and also their willingness to modify their products in line with customers'requirements. This was confirmed some time ago, when they made three modifications to a long QR plate to optimize fit and function on my tail-heavy ATM65 at no extra charge.
The 552 is used on my heavy-duty tripod, an old aluminium Gitzo Studex. I mentioned on another thread that this was just oscillating at 25x in strong winds at the North Sea coast, so I think perhaps a wooden replacement is on the cards

John

PS:- Correction; the oscillations of the Gitzo Studex were there at any magnification. They were visually disturbing at the minimum magnification of 25x.

 

[WRL]

I have owned a Berlebach 552 for about 10 years and still consider it, together with its successor the 553 to be the ideal 2-way head for use with a birding scope.
A few weeks back the panorama function started feeling a bit gritty, probably due to ingress of some debris, so I applied a drop of Ballistol, which smoothed it up again but made the motion much too light.
I packed it up and sent it off to Berlebach and received it back again today after 4 day's absence, functionally as good as new. Berlebach didn't even charge postage!
They mention on their website a repair turnaround of 48 hrs. and also their willingness to modify their products in line with customers'requirements. This was confirmed some time ago, when they made three modifications to a long QR plate to optimize fit and function on my tail-heavy ATM65 at no extra charge.
The 552 is used on my heavy-duty tripod, an old aluminium Gitzo Studex. I mentioned on another thread that this was just oscillating at 25x in strong winds at the North Sea coast, so I think perhaps a wooden replacement is on the cards

John

PS:- Correction; the oscillations of the Gitzo Studex were there at any magnification. They were visually disturbing at the minimum magnification of 25x.

I can confirm that first class service provided by BERLEBACH by my own experience. In line what Tringa45 reported above, not only did they an inspection/repair of my (as perceived a bit sticky after all the years of usage) PEGASUS head (warranty period exhausted) without charging (not even their shipping cost) but are very helpful when asking for a modification to their parts. That was done in my case very fast and reasonably priced.
IMO this is an outstanding manufacturer in terms of product range, design and manufacturing quality as well as service (before and after sale).
B.T.W. I have no affiliation with this company whatsoever. I always paid the advertised prices for all my purchases.