Dylan Hope
Established
Picked up an M2 today as a backup camera since my M6 has had to go in for servicing twice this year where it resides awaiting parts from the fatherland. The camera was described as cosmetically bad but mechanically fine and given a 90 day warranty by the store. There are a few mechanical issues though. The one meter adjustment portion of the RF cam is on backwards(!) and prohibits lens mounting unless part of the lens' mount is chipped off (Which along with the various light tool marks on the exterior make me think the last owner was too tight to pay for a CLA and tried it themselves), the shutter dial is a little loose (I can live with that), and the viewfinder is about half a stop to a full stop darker than viewing a scene with the naked eye and has a cold colour cast - girlfriend's Zorki-4 viewfinder trounces this.
I'm not sure if this is a sign of impending prism separation or not - When I was looking through the finder and out of the bus window on the way home I could see a rainbow pattern on a few surfaces (roofs, concrete, the bus window itself) similar to the kind you'd see if you had polarized sunglasses on but haven't been able to replicate this elsewhere, and there is a faint ghost image in the left side of the viewfinder (Not the RF patch).
The second-hand 28mm 2.8 in the store fit this M2 but no other lenses I tried at another store from either Voigtlander or Leica fit. The small engraving in the body indicates that the camera was serviced in 2008, and another engraving says 7793 so I assume that's the 7th July 1993 instead of once in '77 and once in '93
Paid $690 for this camera, last CLA from a Leica authorized technician for my M6 ran me $300 but he fixed the stuck framelines, tapering shutter and did some other minor fixes.
Most of these problems could be sorted with a proper CLA no problem, but what sort of cost would I be looking at for the viewfinder (Worst case scenarios, please). Should I count this camera as a lost cause and collect my refund while I still can, or should I see what the store can offer in the way of a partial refund/CLA? I mean, I've got my fingers crossed that it's just grime from a poor CLA because the camera is pretty crusty, as suggested at the bottom of the page of the link.
TL;DR - Slightly dark VF in M2 with a warranty - return it or get it fixed and what costs are associated decementation/desilvering
I'm not sure if this is a sign of impending prism separation or not - When I was looking through the finder and out of the bus window on the way home I could see a rainbow pattern on a few surfaces (roofs, concrete, the bus window itself) similar to the kind you'd see if you had polarized sunglasses on but haven't been able to replicate this elsewhere, and there is a faint ghost image in the left side of the viewfinder (Not the RF patch).
The second-hand 28mm 2.8 in the store fit this M2 but no other lenses I tried at another store from either Voigtlander or Leica fit. The small engraving in the body indicates that the camera was serviced in 2008, and another engraving says 7793 so I assume that's the 7th July 1993 instead of once in '77 and once in '93
Paid $690 for this camera, last CLA from a Leica authorized technician for my M6 ran me $300 but he fixed the stuck framelines, tapering shutter and did some other minor fixes.
Most of these problems could be sorted with a proper CLA no problem, but what sort of cost would I be looking at for the viewfinder (Worst case scenarios, please). Should I count this camera as a lost cause and collect my refund while I still can, or should I see what the store can offer in the way of a partial refund/CLA? I mean, I've got my fingers crossed that it's just grime from a poor CLA because the camera is pretty crusty, as suggested at the bottom of the page of the link.
TL;DR - Slightly dark VF in M2 with a warranty - return it or get it fixed and what costs are associated decementation/desilvering
daniel_aj7
Member
Youxin Ye in the US does a CLA at $150. I'm from Sydney and it takes 3 weeks inclusive of shipping times. But since you paid $690 for it, I think you should get a refund. You can get a mechanically perfect camera in good physical shape for that price. In fact, there is a pretty good looking M2 in the classifieds going for $700 right now.
Film dino
David Chong
Youxin has several M2s for sale too, all CLA'd by himself. It's worth asking him for details & pictures
ruby.monkey
Veteran
The camera sounds like a dog (and one that may well have more hidden faults). In your position I'd return it for a full refund and look elsewhere.
Range-rover
Veteran
I would return it, by time you spend getting a CLA, you can get a nicer one with
less problems.
Range
less problems.
Range
Beemermark
Veteran
Yes, sounds like it has more hidden faults waiting to be uncovered. And it sounds like it needs more than a simple CLA.
Dylan Hope
Established
Thanks for all your replies everyone.
I took it in for a refund and once I explained what I had discovered I was offered a free servicing by a technician since they would have to have it serviced anyway to try sell it again and get some profit from the camera, and if I'm not satisfied with the repair then they'll take it off my hands and give me a refund. I felt that was a pretty reasonable offer, so I guess I'll report back to this thread in two weeks. Fingers crossed, eh?
I took it in for a refund and once I explained what I had discovered I was offered a free servicing by a technician since they would have to have it serviced anyway to try sell it again and get some profit from the camera, and if I'm not satisfied with the repair then they'll take it off my hands and give me a refund. I felt that was a pretty reasonable offer, so I guess I'll report back to this thread in two weeks. Fingers crossed, eh?
Dylan Hope
Established
Cool, so I got the M2 back today and everything seemed fine except for a very minor vertical alignment issue I sorted when I got home, the technician said he examined the viewfinder and said it's repairable, though my particular camera is not at risk of further deterioration and at this point I can live with using the external finder for my 21mm. I can live with the darker finder, it's almost like a semi-sunglass monocle 
Shot a roll of colour today and will get it developed as soon as I can, feeling good to get back on the horse, especially since my Mju's battery just ran out this morning
Shot a roll of colour today and will get it developed as soon as I can, feeling good to get back on the horse, especially since my Mju's battery just ran out this morning