How long to hear back from Leica (about M9 corrosion issues)

[xavoy]

Hi all,

I recently sold all of my digital camera gear and replaced it with an M9. Wonderful! Until during my first shoot with the camera I had reason to use a far smaller aperture than I ordinarily would, and found that these pictures had strange dots all through it. I did the sky test (attached) which appears to confirm that my sensor has been affected by the corrosion issue, then quickly emailed Leica about it.

This was more than three days ago, and I'm yet to hear anything. I sent it to Customer.Care@leica-camera.com - just asking what the procedure is for someone like me here in Sydney, Australia.

I guessed they might have a bit of a back log with the actual replacement of the sensor, but more than three days without acknowledgement of an email?

Am I being unreasonable? Should I be worried? I guess I'm a little more on edge given that it's new to me and therefor second hand. I have read that they will replace all affected sensors, second hand or not, but a confirmation would definitely put my mind at ease.

Have any of you contacted Leica about the corrosion issue? What was the turnaround time for the emails? What was the turnaround time for the procedure?

Thanks all 🙂

 

[dpetrzelka]

You will get a response much quicker if you call - but I would not worry about it having been 3 days. They will get back to you.

I've also noted that when I email Leica with questions its valuable to include the serial number of the camera in question in the email title - makes it easy for them to track what camera its about, and may also lend some authority to your questions.

The email you are emailing to is the global office, so they likely have far more emails to get through, but more details on the current availability of replacement sensors.

 

[EdwardKaraa]

There is no need to email Leica, there's not much they can do with an email.

Just send it in for service. They will replace the sensor for you or offer you an upgrade if you wish so.

 

[seakayaker1]

A little back ground here in the US.

I called the Leica Repair Department which is located in New Jersey this past December and arranged to have my M9 sent in for repair. They requested it arrive by January 15th for them to inspect. I received a letter that was dated January 19th stating that they will replace the sensor under the 'Leica Good Will Warranty' program and the work should be completed by February 27th.

I called Leica Repair Department last week to inquiry about the repair on the M9. They stated that they did not have any sensors in the shop and that they were backordered and awaiting a shipment from Germany. They did not have an estimated date of arrival at this time. I did inquire as to where I stood on the list and they could not give an exact place except to say I should be near the top.

Please note they did not offer the upgrade at any time during the conversation. I had read about the upgrade program and cost at a couple of web sites.

After thinking about it over the weekend, I called Customer Service in New Jersey this morning and asked if I could join the upgrade program instead of waiting to have the M9 sensor replaced. The upgrade from the M9 to a MP 240 would cost $3750.00 (USD) after a credit of $4200.00 was given for the M9. I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a new camera with the full 2 year warranty instead of waiting for a new sensor. I thought the credit given for the camera was fair since I had been using it for the past four years.

I choose this path since this was the second time I had sent my M9 in for sensor issues. The first time was in 2013 and is was gone for about 10 weeks. It has now been gone for the past two months with no date of return provided. My other concern was if I waited for the repaired M9 to return and if another issues arose with the sensor it would be out of my hands once again. I am sure Leica would honor any problems I just do not like having a camera in a repair shop instead of in my hands.

So the journey will continue with a silver MP 240.

I would recommend that you try and get a phone number for the customer service or repair department for you part of the world and attempt to talk with someone directly. When I spoke to the folks in New Jersey in December they asked me to send my M9 to them so it would arrive around January 15th. The number of requests they were receiving vs the staff to inspect and repair if the parts were available needed to be managed. This may be the case why no one has responded to your email promptly.

It may take awhile but I would trust that they will honor the repair if the sensor does have the corrosion.

Best of luck.

 

[JayC]

I called the New Jersey store about my M9, and he said to just "send it in". They received it February 24. I have not heard from them yet. Just to give you an idea of the minimum time to wait. I hope to hear from them in the next week or so.

 

[JayC]

After thinking about it over the weekend, I called Customer Service back this morning and asked if I could join the upgrade program instead of waiting to have the M9 sensor replaced. The upgrade from the M9 to a MP 240 would cost $3750.00 (USD) after a credit of $4200.00 was given for the M9. I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a new camera with the full 2 year warranty instead of waiting for a new sensor.

I jumped right over your post to post mine. Yours offers tons more useful info. I did not know one could choose an upgrade path without Leica offering it first. Now I have some soul searching to do of my own....

 

[seakayaker1]

I jumped right over your post to post mine. Yours offers tons more useful info. I did not know one could choose an upgrade path without Leica offering it first. Now I have some soul searching to do of my own....

You can request the upgrade once they tell you that the M9 is covered by the 'Leica Good Will Warranty' program. In the letter Leica sent there was just an estimate of repair and nothing mentioned about the upgrade path. If I had not read about it elsewhere I might have just patiently waited for the sensor to be replaced.

To be fair, there is a lot of information out there and I do believe Leica is having a lot of folks send in their M9's, so they may be a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

Good luck with your decision if you do have a defected sensor.

 

[Ong]

Since you're in Sydney, your first port of call would be to email Camera Clinic in Melbourne since they are the official Leica repairers for the region and if anything who you should send your M9 to where they will either attempt to fix it (if they can at all, don't quote me on that) or send it off to Germany to be fixed...

 

[pyeh]

Xavoy, like Ong and others have said, send it to Camera Clinic in Melbourne and ask them to check your sensor. Phone them first and maybe email them your test shots.
I sent mine in in November (I think), knowing that it had The Corrosion and asked them to clean and check the sensor. It came back a few weeks later with a new sensor. No charge, as expected.
How long it takes will depend on their stock of sensors, but you can ask this on the phone.
My camera is over 4 years old now, but that didn't seem to matter to Camera Clinic, also as expected. I was never offered the upgrade choice though, although I didn't ask for it beforehand.

 

[awslee]

My current understanding is the wait time could be 6+ months and you will be without a camera. From my understanding, you will need to send the camera in because it is a sensor exchange setup with Leica. What this means is your distributor will need to remove the sensor, send it to Leica, then Leica will send back a replacement sensor based on the queue.

I had my M9P done last year and it took about 3+ months. I now have my MM in and I was told it will be the 2nd half of 2015.

I will be selling my M9P, then my MM after I get it back from Leica. IMO, Leica has been contaminated by BlackStone, a hyper top line oriented organization.

 

[seakayaker1]

You can request the upgrade once they tell you that the M9 is covered by the 'Leica Good Will Warranty' program. In the letter Leica sent there was just an estimate of repair and nothing mentioned about the upgrade path. If I had not read about it elsewhere I might have just patiently waited for the sensor to be replaced.

To be fair, there is a lot of information out there and I do believe Leica is having a lot of folks send in their M9's, so they may be a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

Good luck with your decision if you do have a defected sensor.

I did take another look at the Repair Estimate sent to me by Leica and there was a line in the body of the letter that stated "For upgrade information please call 800-222-0118 ext 9930" (Note: this is the number for Leica Service in the US)

My mistake, I did not remember the line was included when posting last night.

 

[JayC]

there was a line in the body of the letter that stated "For upgrade information please call 800-222-0118 ext 9930"

I received my repair estimate letter back today. Mine does not have that number, just the statement that they will be replacing the image sensor, checking the meter, adjusting the r/f, etc.

The expected date of completion is April 10, just about 6 weeks after they received the camera.

 

[Godfrey]

I received my repair estimate letter back today. Mine does not have that number, just the statement that they will be replacing the image sensor, checking the meter, adjusting the r/f, etc.

The expected date of completion is April 10, just about 6 weeks after they received the camera.

Just call if you're interested in the upgrade. They'll take care of you.
I'm enjoying the new M-P much more than I did the M9. It's so much more responsive ... A pleasure to use.

G

 

[Pioneer]

I wonder if they would honor an upgrade request to an MP? The film version. That would certainly eliminate any potential sensor issue. 😀

 

[pepeguitarra]

I sent mine and lasted 3 months plus change. I did not get any confirmation at all. I only received y USPS delivery notice. After several emails, I got an letter in the mail with a list of work to be done, paid by Leica. After that, it was two months or so. They did not have the part (I guess the sensor). I got it and they adjusted everything. Everything looks great. I bought in the M9's absence an M8.U with the hope to sell it later, but ain't doing so. I am enjoying the old Leitz lenses with the M8.u in black and white.