Nightmare On Leica Street

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When my M8 died, shutter failure. It took 2 week turnaround from time sent to Leitz, NJ, to time delivered back to me.
 
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Thanks to those of you that at least made me laugh! As for replacing the sensor, i was under the impression that it needed a remapping but who knows.......and if waiting for parts is a problem, I should be given the choice to have it returned and use it until they get the parts. Not much I can do now except wait.
 
RR (if my memory isn't failing) in technical specifications describe (or did?) power as "Appropriate". To me this looks pretty much like 8 weeks in case of Leica repair. Gentleman can't be bothered by minor issues, finally, there are plenty of horses under hood and there's spare M9 in drawer for cases like this.

Anyway, this can seem ridiculous but isn't end of the world. If they do it right.
 
Leica's letting you wait deliberately. You're supposed to buy a second body in the mean time. Why haven't you?
 
My own experiences (three of them) have been more in the 4+ month time frame. 8-10 weeks would be a dream turn-around, when talking about this particular company.
 
Keith said:
If Nikon Australia or any of their service outlets wanted eight weeks to fix a problem on my D700 they'd be lucky to ever sell me another camera.
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I sold my Nikon gear to move to Leica. I've had two bad experiences with Nikon Canada over the years (and zero positive ones). I've also had many friends with bad experiences. If I ever go back to 35mm dSLR's I will by trying Canon, even though I prefer the Nikon ergonomics. Service matters.
 
Quality of service matters, and part of that is service time.
They can have good service (which I've heard they do), but the times should also be reasonable.
8 weeks is pushing it. 3-4 months is really bad!
A reasonable amount of time is a 1-3 week turn around (not including shipping times).
If Leica is continually behind they should hire more staff.
They will be charging for the repair in this case - so it makes sense.
 
I am in the same boat with Fuji with my GF670. Had a electrical fault and chewed threw a battery a roll. Gave it to Fuji NZ on 2nd August. Camera was 3 weeks old. Got a call from Fuji NZ this week to say Fuji Japan want me to pay NZ$150 for the damage to the rails. Fuji NZ said there was no damage when it left. So we waste another week. Fuji NZ have decided to bite the bullet and pay for the repair and hopefully will get it back next week. Pushing 8 weeks as well now so not just a Leica problem.
 
jsrockit said:
8 weeks is bad for any company. I think Leica assumes everyone who uses Leica is rich and has 14 other Ms at their disposal. It is crazy to be without a new camera for 2 months.
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Doesn't everybody have at least 3?!?
:)

My old M8 had a broken shutter & viewfinder (my fault) and it was gone for about that time...

I was initially concerned about the 8 week turnaround time, but was overall pleased with leica NJ service. The people I emailed were prompt with their reply and communicated the status of my M8 quite well.
Slow day in NJ perhaps?
 
Not a nightmare, perhaps a rude awakening, and certainly par for the course. I believe that you get a 1 year warranty on the entire camera after a repair by Leica. I'm not sure if other companies do that, but it is nice peace of mind. I hope you have many sessions enjoying it when it returns, I sure love mine.
 
I sympathize with 'gtto' but really any prospective buyer should do their research before buying anything. Two very important things to note are:
a. Leica (especially digital) is NOT a professional camera, and
b. The price doesn't reflect their speed of service.

....it's sad, but true.

Just by doing a quick search, anyone can find this simple but important information. I think Toyota has proven than price does not equal performance, reliability or quality f service.
 
leicashot said:
I sympathize with 'gtto' but really any prospective buyer should do their research before buying anything. Two very important things to note are:
a. Leica (especially digital) is NOT a professional camera, and
b. The price doesn't reflect their speed of service.

....it's sad, but true.

Just by doing a quick search, anyone can find this simple but important information. I think Toyota has proven than price does not equal performance, reliability or quality f service.
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Hi, first post so I hope I don't offend. How is a Leica M digital, or any camera for the matter, "not professional"? Isn't that what the "P" in M9P stands for?

My M9 feeds my family. I'd hate to think I was making money off the wrong camera.:)

Regards

Gordon
 
hausen said:
I am in the same boat with Fuji with my GF670. Had a electrical fault and chewed threw a battery a roll. Gave it to Fuji NZ on 2nd August. Camera was 3 weeks old. Got a call from Fuji NZ this week to say Fuji Japan want me to pay NZ$150 for the damage to the rails. Fuji NZ said there was no damage when it left. So we waste another week. Fuji NZ have decided to bite the bullet and pay for the repair and hopefully will get it back next week. Pushing 8 weeks as well now so not just a Leica problem.
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I had to send a Klasse to Fujifilm in Japan, via Japan Exposures, was very happy with the service and turnaround, fixed under warranty, no problems. I'd have hoped for better than that for a GF670, relatively expensive camera that it is.
 
So you did not register for pro service beforehand... That woulld have secured two-day turnaround and loaner service.
gtto said:
I work on and off as a professional photographer.....these days off. I have always wanted a digital M so in July, I bought an M8u from someone on this board. After a few weeks, I noticed the infamous vertical line. I spoke with the seller and he said he never had the problem. I believed him and could have returned the camera but since there was time left on the Mack warranty, I thought it would be ok to send it to them (assuming they would send it to Leica NJ), which they did. The camera was in really good shape so I figured it would be almost like new when it came back from Leica. The camera was sent in the beginning of august. Mack ok'd the repair on Aug 12th and it has been in Leicas possession since then. They claimed it would be finished on Sept 12th but now it seems it will be " at least one more week due to a backlog." I mean seriously.......my Canon was always returned in 7-10 days . This might have to do with being a member of their pro thing, I don't know, but 8 weeks ( if I am lucky ) to get a camera repaired? For an issue that is a known Leica problem? Ridiculous. I really, really enjoy shooting with this camera but if it needs another repair and it takes 8 weeks, there will be one less Leica owner on this forum.
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flash said:
Hi, first post so I hope I don't offend. How is a Leica M digital, or any camera for the matter, "not professional"? Isn't that what the "P" in M9P stands for?

My M9 feeds my family. I'd hate to think I was making money off the wrong camera.:)

Regards

Gordon
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No offense taken Gordon and welcome to the forum. Whatever means you choose to feed your family is entirely up to you, but the 'P' in M9-P to me stands for 'Professional Marketing' than anything else. Everyone is a professional photographer these days so 'Professional' has lost it's meaning somewhat. Plus if the M9 was so professional, a majority of the users/buyers/collectors wouldn't be wealthy amateurs. Most pros I know can't even afford such cameras, including me. Well, I have one, but really can't afford it ;-) The Leica market has always been this way, even when their cameras were predominately mechanical and professional by operational standards.

At the end of the day, Leica has had little experience with Electronics and their repair times are possibly the slowest in the industry. The problem with that is the lifecycle of cameras is so short these days, that by the time the camera is fixed, it could possibly be already superseded. Combine that with a primitive style camera that isn't weather proofed and I think it's obvious that this isn't a camera that 'most' professionals can depend on, or even justify owning/using to make their living.

Some like yourself obviously do, but you'll need to have at least another 2 backup cameras for when things go wrong. Again 'most' professionals cannot justify owning 3 of these cameras. I use mine to make my living, but as a supplement to my Nikon cameras, which do the bulk of the work because these are the more suitable tools for the work I do.

The M digital is not as reliable as the MP or other film M's. Simply nothing beats a fully mechanical camera, non reliant on power or modern technology. The best Pros I know and work with always choose the best tools for the job, not the fanciest tool for the job. Photography is about the pictures, and the camera is only a tool, no matter how much we glorify them on forums such as this.....it's important to not forget that.
 
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Leica aren't a small company. I don't think there is any excuse for an 8 week turnaround.
 
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