Cost of Leica M8 total sensor replacement?

mgilbuena

mgilbuena

San Francisco Bay Area
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May 25, 2010
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Out of warranty.

Be very careful when cleaning your sensor. Ugh, what a horrible experience. Shattered. Destroyed.

Thankfully, I had scheduled the M8 on my insurance and thus have a check in the mail for a total body replacement. My question is this: what is the cost for a total sensor replacement? Does anyone know?

I rather save money on shipping if the cost outstrips the value of purchasing an M8 used.
 
Good grief, how did you manage that? Maybe give a lesson on what not to do? Sensor cleaning for an M8 should be no different than for any other digital camera, not many of which are trashed.

Steve
 
I used dust-aid (liquid goes onto spatula-like cloth-covered stick) and then you gently clean the sensor.

Or at least I thought it was gentle. You can certainly get a lot of leverage with such a long stick. Anyhow, I cleaned the sensor, no problems. I went outside (~30 degree temperature difference) and shot the blue sky to check for the dust.

Shutter opened and closed. No problems. Took a few more pictures and then the camera locked up. Strange, I thought to myself. I took the battery out, put it back in, and then took another photo. It was on this photo that I noticed a huge crack in the picture.

I rushed inside, opened the shutter up and there it was: a shattered sensor. Whether it was from the temperature difference and having used a liquid cleaner, or a microfracture caused by too much leverage and then further stressed by a change in temperature, I'm not sure.

Sick to the stomach is an understatement for how I felt. For any of you guys running around sans insurance on your cameras: get it. I never thought I would have to use mine, but thank goodness I had it.
 
Really sorry to hear about your sensor problem. Was the sensor shattered or merely cracked? Have you contacted Leica Germany and explained what the circumstances were, warranty or no. There have been some reports of M9 sensors cracking, don't know about M8 sensors. It maybe worthwhile to see what Leica says.

Bob
 
I contacted Leica and I think I reached New Jersey. Would that be the same service as the Germany office?

It's cracked.. but from the way it looks, the crack may have gone all the way down to the sensor level as well. It's a bit hard to tell.

Leica informed me that they would like to see the camera prior to providing any sort of estimate or discussion. I'll be dropping it into the mail a bit later today.
 
I can understand Leica wanting to see the camera before commenting on the cracked sensor. DSLRs also apparently suffer from cracked sensors http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/996696/0 . It could be a manufacturing flaw in a sensor batch that over time leads to a crack or the sensor may have been improperly installed causing say uneven stress and an eventual crack. These are uneducated guesses, I am having a hard time seeing normal sensor cleaning as causing a cracked sensor unless there was an underlying cause. I hope you get an answer from Leica and that it turns out to be a flaw in manufacture or installation. Let us know the final outcome from Leica.

Bob
 
Sounds like a part defect to me........that's terrible, I wish you the best of luck in getting it repaired, not being under warranty it will be very expensive.

But, the people at New Jersey are very helpful, just takes Leica forever to fix stuff :(

Tom
 
Only 700 quid for a new sensor? Chicken feed. My repairman was quoted $AU4000 from Leica to supply a new circuit board for my M6ttl.
 
sorry to hear OP. perhaps you could explain your insurance company that because M8 is not made anymore, only way for them to refund your broken camera is to give money for M9 :D

fdigital said:
, maybe more an m8 specific problem
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or maybe not. sounds more like individual issue and bad luck.
 
alan davus said:
Only 700 quid for a new sensor? Chicken feed. My repairman was quoted $AU4000 from Leica to supply a new circuit board for my M6ttl.
Click to expand...

At that price I would want Leica to do the job themselves, and I'm sure it wouldn't cost nearly as much.

As regards the cracked sensor, it may be worth just not mentioning the cleaning attempt. But Leica have been sensitive to a few cracked sensors on the M9, related to a specific batch (mine was one), so I wonder if it is something that can crop up with the M8 anyway? Give them sight of the camera and they confirm it is cracked (they aren't going to diagnose things by email) and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the sensor is replaced for free due to a manufacturing defect. If there is no trace of impact, and no trace of it being fiddled about with, there can't be many other conclusions.

Steve
 
My M9 has had one sensor replaced and now I have 100's of tiny spots all over the replacement sensor that do not clean off. Never a problem with the many Canons I have had and the 5 here in the same environment and not treated as well as the M9.
 
There may be a warranty on it; I'm not sure.

This is a secondhand M8 where the original owner had the sensor replaced due to a vertical line problem. It's possible that cleaning the sensor was simply a red herring or exacerbated a poorly replaced sensor?

I'll update everyone once I find out from Leica their take on the matter. When I was sending out the camera yesterday afternoon, I reinspected the sensor and the crack looks to be isolated to the glass and not the sensor itself.
 
jamato8 said:
My M9 has had one sensor replaced and now I have 100's of tiny spots all over the replacement sensor that do not clean off.
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I'm on sensor #2 (number two) with my Leica M8 and it's filthy!!!!!! .......with hundreds of tiny black tick marks that don't clean off? No matter what you do. ~ Taking photos stopped down below f5.6 is IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

Leica really needs to get their Sh*t together, sounds like alot of people have had the SAME problems I've had as well with the M8 and now the M9, it is POOR QUALITY control with the cameras internals being imported to Germany for final assembly etc. etc.

The good ole daze of Wetzlar 100% German Made Parts and Near Flawless Quality Control are ALL OVER at Leica, they are producing a second rate product with a michze masche of assorted parts from all over the world.

No more 100% Hand Made German Quality, that stopped with the M6 back in the 1980's!!!! :(

Tom
 
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alan davus said:
Only 700 quid for a new sensor? Chicken feed. My repairman was quoted $AU4000 from Leica to supply a new circuit board for my M6ttl.
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My knowledge is limited, but it sounds like he is trying take you for a ride!

@Tom: Saw your M6 black paint LHSA on the other thread. Simply beautiful!
 
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LeicaTom said:
I'm on sensor #2 (number two) with my Leica M8 and it's filthy!!!!!! .......with hundreds of tiny black tick marks that don't clean off? No matter what you do. ~ Taking photos stopped down below f5.6 is IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

Leica really needs to get their Sh*t together, sounds like alot of people have had the SAME problems I've had as well with the M8 and now the M9, it is POOR QUALITY control with the cameras internals being imported to Germany for final assembly etc. etc.

The good ole daze of Wetzlar 100% German Made Parts and Near Flawless Quality Control are ALL OVER at Leica, they are producing a second rate product with a michze masche of assorted parts from all over the world.

No more 100% Hand Made German Quality, that stopped with the M6 back in the 1980's!!!! :(

Tom
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Its difficult to suggest an answer if you just vent without saying what it is that you've already done to try and clean it. It all sounds a little bit hysterical to me.

Steve
 
250swb said:
Its difficult to suggest an answer if you just vent without saying what it is that you've already done to try and clean it. It all sounds a little bit hysterical to me.

Steve
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Hmmmm well, you try having two sensors that DON'T clean up and all your stopped down work is lost, you would be hysterical too if you were getting PAID for your photography.....

I talked to Leica today about the issue of a cracked sensor the OP should call the New Jersey office and talk to them......

Tom
 
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