Bought a Used M4-P from the Lady in the East, but...

[Thud]

If it is Krauter, I am NOT surprised. She recently serviced three M bodies of mine, each and every single one came back with problems after problems.

She might have done quality work before, but now she's a con artist to me who has no professional ethics whatsoever...

People at RFF, you have been warned.

If it is Sherry, I have known her from when I lived in the NY, NJ area over 25 years ago. She had no ethics then. Both Personally and Professionally.

 

[Hatchetman]

Glad all the critics are coming out of the woodwork now, I just ordered a camera from her!

 

[enasniearth]

I've had every major repair person make a goof on a camera in the last 25 years ,
One Nikon guy said sorry for my bad hair day .
In the end all these cameras are pretty old now .
The difference is that most seem to agree to look at the item again more closely ,
And try to address the concerns .

 

[Thud]

I've had every major repair person make a goof on a camera in the last 25 years ,
One Nikon guy said sorry for my bad hair day .
In the end all these cameras are pretty old now .
The difference is that most seem to agree to look at the item again more closely ,
And try to address the concerns .

But why does it need to be looked at again and again. To make it work.
I would rather hear from a repair person "I don't have a clue what's wrong," and I sending it back. Instead of sending money down a rat hole.
There is a time to say OK I'm done and put it on a shelf.

 

[Huss]

If the M4-P is well known for this then all Ms are.

Out of all my Ms, I've only had VF hazing on my M4-2. That and the M4-P are notorious for this.

Pivoting here, a plug for Youxin. I had him clean out my M4-2's vf and I mentioned to him the rf patch flared. I asked him if he could replace it with all the anti-flare parts. He said he could if I wanted to, but would only really recommend coating the VF as that makes the most difference. So he suggested I save my money and only do the coating.
It was totally fine with only the coating added. Imagine that - he could have got more money out of me if he wanted but directed me otherwise.

 

[splitimageview]

Considering the majority of Ms are quite old, the factor that has the most impact is how an individual camera was cared for (or not.) No M is any more prone to VF haze than any other M; anecdotal evidence notwithstanding. An M2 or M3 that was subjected to the same exact conditions and environment as that of a hazy M4-2 will likely also have a hazy VF.

Stating that M4-2/P are 'notorious' in this regard is just false.

FWIW, I've owned probably 50+ Ms of all types over the years and handled many multiples of that.

 

[BillBingham2]

Glad all the critics are coming out of the woodwork now, I just ordered a camera from her!

I can't speak anyone experiences but my own.

I would recommend that you look at the camera you purchased when it comes in. Get a roll through it and souped quickly and communicate any issues you have quickly back to Sherry.

With all due respect to the folks trashing her, I'm going to go with the folks I have know here for years and their experience. There might be an issue now, but heck everyone has issues.

....The difference is that most seem to agree to look at the item again more closely ,
And try to address the concerns .

This seems like the most level headed approach and the one I'd do.

B2 (;->

 

[f16sunshine]

Glad all the critics are coming out of the woodwork now, I just ordered a camera from her!

Sherry has great service manners if she decides she likes you.
If she decides she does not.... not so great. It's the kind of "personalized service" that has no place in business.
There are numerouse threads around the internet.... it's no secret.

 

[Keith]

I have a background in specialised repair (spoked wheel restoration) and one thing I remember is that ninety five percent of your customers will think you're the best thing since sliced bread but will say nothing. The other five percent will think (right or wrong) that you're the worst hack the planet has ever known and will be very vocal about it via word of mouth and forums etc.

Human nature!

 

[Huss]

Considering the majority of Ms are quite old, the factor that has the most impact is how an individual camera was cared for (or not.) No M is any more prone to VF haze than any other M; anecdotal evidence notwithstanding. An M2 or M3 that was subjected to the same exact conditions and environment as that of a hazy M4-2 will likely also have a hazy VF.

Stating that M4-2/P are 'notorious' in this regard is just false.

FWIW, I've owned probably 50+ Ms of all types over the years and handled many multiples of that.

There could be a very good reason why the M4-2 and M4-P haze more than other Ms. Cheaper construction, cheaper materials, different adhesives etc.

The M4-2 and M4-P is where Leica started cutting corners to save the company. The M5 was the last Leica that was made to the old standards.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my M4-2, but my experience with it, and those of others that mirror mine, reflect this.

I'll tell you what. There are two Leicas I have that I know will never, ever have these sort of issues. My MDA and iF...

 

[Mr. Fizzlesticks]

There is no excuse for sloppy work. Mistakes happen, but they should be rectified with minimal grief. I am glad for threads like these. I won't be sending anything to SK when there are other options. I would rather pay DG a rush fee...

 

[Huss]

I would recommend that you look at the camera you purchased when it comes in. Get a roll through it and souped quickly and communicate any issues you have quickly back to Sherry.

I just received a Nikon F4. Looked great. I have a roll of Kodachrome 40 that I use to test cameras when I get them (you can't get this stuff processed anymore) to make sure the film feeding/rewind is ok and that the camera functions ok as far as I can see before the developing stage.
I tested it w/ multiple lenses - AF-G, AF-S and manual focus. And found that it did not work correctly in shutter speed mode. It would not register long exposures.

Anyway, sent it back w/in 12 hours of receiving it. Point being, when you get a piece of gear you have to check it out. No matter the brand. If you can't have someone do it for you. Otherwise it's on you.

 

[Ranchu]

OP how much did you pay?

 

[Steve M.]

A lady in the east? This is a person who has no name? How odd. As mentioned, if your camera has a problem, simply send it back to the nameless repair person.

 

[splitimageview]

There could be a very good reason why the M4-2 and M4-P haze more than other Ms. Cheaper construction, cheaper materials, different adhesives etc.

The M4-2 and M4-P is where Leica started cutting corners to save the company. The M5 was the last Leica that was made to the old standards.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my M4-2, but my experience with it, and those of others that mirror mine, reflect this.

I'll tell you what. There are two Leicas I have that I know will never, ever have these sort of issues. My MDA and iF...

They just don't haze more, sorry, this is false. Any M with a hazy viewfinder was subject to environmental conditions that promoted it. Propensity for viewfinder haze has nothing to do with the gear itself.

 

[mpaniagua]

You are wrong. You contract for a service. You expect it to be done properly.
Why do you as a consumer need to send a product back for a rework after waiting for a time to be repaired. With the expectations of job well done.

In my business if I have redo's I loose customers big time. And money.

Agree, but you normally give a certain time span for you customer to accept the job. If the customer has a problem after that period, you normally charge for the work right?

Main issue here is that OP was new on Leica and didnt knew what issues to look for but after the 10 days periods has gone by.


Regards.

Marcelo

 

[mpaniagua]

They just don't haze more, sorry, this is false. Any M with a hazy viewfinder was subject to environmental conditions that promoted it. Propensity for viewfinder haze has nothing to do with the gear itself.

I got a M6, 2 M5, 1 M4, 1 M4-P, 1 M3 and a M2. Only ones with haze issue is the M3 and M2. I think their past owner was a bit rough on them. Neither M6 and M4-P (two of the "poorly made" and where Leica "Cut corners") has any haze issue. So yeah, its mostly related to how they are kept.

Regards.

Marcelo

 

[Huss]

A lady in the east? This is a person who has no name? How odd. As mentioned, if your camera has a problem, simply send it back to the nameless repair person.

Her street name says it all.

😀

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I sent my M4 to Sherry K. after I got back from Iraq and had over $700 of service done to the camera. Two days after I received the camera back from her I was out shooting and the self timer failed. Lever went completely floppy. I called her up immediately and she said "it's a mechanical camera," "Sometimes things fail," and wouldn't cover the fault. This, after a COMPLETE overhaul (supposedly.) I could have paid her another $400 to correct it but figured I rarely used the self timer anyway, so I just let it go. It still flops around and I still will never send her a camera again.

Phil Forrest

 

[nobbylon]

There's just too many of these stories about this tech's attitude to backing up work. It's really simple, don't send anything to them. I can't believe some are still backing this person. There are much better choices out there so vote with your wallet.