Leica M9 FF-CCD corrosion on sensors

[Godfrey]

... The resentment comes from Leica promoting themselves as the finest camera on earth and especially the M9 is plagued with continuing problems. ...

This sounds to me like people setting absurd expectations based on marketing hype.

No Leica has ever been "the finest camera on earth" just like no BMW (or Mercedes, or Lexus, or ... you name it) has ever been "the finest car on earth." Both companies make nice machines but any hype like that is just BS. Their products are cameras and cars, and no camera or car ever made has been perfect.

G

 

[Vobluda]

And they still dare to market them self as professional camera maker:/
I had M9P that had sensor replaced, M-E went for rf calibration after 1500 pictures taken..
Please Sony make FF rf camera!

 

[Pioneer]

"after more than four years, my 2010 M9 is still working just fine"; he says with fingers firmly crossed. 🙂

 

[daveleo]

Well, if you are a pro-photographer, aren't equipment repair expenses tax deductible ?
If you're a hobbyist ... Never buy a toy that you can't afford to throw a way.

The second comment there sounds kind of pompous and tutorial - but it's meant as a "lesson learned" from my Leica D2 experience. Just passing it along.

 

[x-ray]

This sounds to me like people setting absurd expectations based on marketing hype.

No Leica has ever been "the finest camera on earth" just like no BMW (or Mercedes, or Lexus, or ... you name it) has ever been "the finest car on earth." Both companies make nice machines but any hype like that is just BS. Their products are cameras and cars, and no camera or car ever made has been perfect.

G

My expectations for my Leica M9 was no different than my D800 or Df or any other digital camera that I've owned. The same is true of my M film cameras over the years being mo greater or less expectations than my Nikons.

It's true that nothing is perfect and no maker has a perfect record. You do however have to look at reliabity of other makers VS Leica digital and Leica seriously falls short.

As to RF durability, since buying my first M2 in 1968 and using them professionally since then, I've only had one occasion that the RF needed aligned other than my M9.

I'm afraid the number of journalists using Leica digital is not even a drop in the bucket compared to DSLRs. Versatility and reliability are key factors.

 

[raid]

Leica should take in the damaged M9, say, and provide free of charge a similar new Leica. This is getting silly after a while. I still have my film cameras.

 

[Pioneer]

In some ways this does seem to be the Achilles heel of digital cameras right now.

The sensor is the heart of the camera and repair is very expensive. And technology is moving so quickly that if your camera is too old replacing the sensor may not really make sense.

But I would hope that the camera would last at least 10 years or longer. Though the sensor technology is hopelessly out-dated my Pentax ist DS is now 10 years old and works just as well as it did when it first came out. I don't see how that expectation is out of line regardless of the camera brand or the original purchase price.

 

[rpsawin]

Wow, just wow.

+1...and after-the-fact to boot.

 

[YYV_146]

This sounds to me like people setting absurd expectations based on marketing hype.

No Leica has ever been "the finest camera on earth" just like no BMW (or Mercedes, or Lexus, or ... you name it) has ever been "the finest car on earth." Both companies make nice machines but any hype like that is just BS. Their products are cameras and cars, and no camera or car ever made has been perfect.

G

But still, when you sell at a certain price level, there are corresponding expectations...

I don't use digital Leicas, but I would not expect anything less from them than, say, Ultrasone. My Edition series headphones just came back from a driver repair, seven years after I bought it. Turnaround was two weeks including shipping time from Germany, and the only thing I paid was shipping...

 

[EdwardKaraa]

Having had an M9 with a delaminating sensor, and actually Leica's response being partly as a reaction to my posts on that thread, I can say the following:

- the delamination is not caused by contact. My new camera had started delaminating by the time I purchased it, before doing any cleaning. Corrosion needs only time, and some help from extra humidity.
- Leica replaced my sensor free of charge under warranty, and took care of all shipping and customs clearances in Thailand (these can be very expensive).
- turn around time was about 2 1/2 months but was quoted earlier 4-6 months but maybe I got mine quicker because I was very vocal on the forums, or maybe not.
- not only the sensor is replaced, but the entire board and battery/card slots as well because they all come in one piece.
- even though Leica does not guarantee the problem will not reoccur with the new sensor, I see much less delamination cases with the newest batches.
- all digital cameras become obsolete within 3-5 years so there is no point in getting too worked out.

 

[gb hill]

Perhaps now we understand why Leica is coming out with a new film rangefinder camera.😉

 

[f16sunshine]

Perhaps now we understand why Leica is coming out with a new film rangefinder camera.😉

Hehe... this statement wins the internet 😛

 

[Godfrey]

My expectations for my Leica M9 was no different than my D800 or Df or any other digital camera that I've owned. The same is true of my M film cameras over the years being mo greater or less expectations than my Nikons. ...

My expectations were/are the same as well. Thus far, my Leica digital cameras have been exactly as reliable as all my other digital cameras—that is, no failures at all.

Has your M failed or something?

G

 

[x-ray]

My expectations were/are the same as well. Thus far, my Leica digital cameras have been exactly as reliable as all my other digital cameras—that is, no failures at all.

Has your M failed or something?

G

My M9 spent much of its life traveling to NJ and in repair. Actually about 1/2 the time I had it. Almost straight out of the box it needed a new sensor and motherboard. It went back three times with lenses because Leica could not get it to focus properly with my 90 apo asph. Leica finally replaced the lens.

I could not take it on a job with confidence so I sold it.

My M9 should never have left the factory. Bad QC in my opinion.

 

[Godfrey]

My M9 spent much of its life traveling to NJ and in repair. Actually about 1/2 the time I had it. Almost straight out of the box it needed a new sensor and motherboard. It went back three times with lenses because Leica could not get it to focus properly with my 90 apo asph. Leica finally replaced the lens.

I could not take it on a job with confidence so I sold it.

My M9 should never have left the factory. Bad QC in my opinion.

Sorry to hear it. But it explains your antipathy towards Leica. I had similar issues with a Canon camera and a couple of Sigma lenses. I'll never buy another of either. Doesn't mean all Canon cameras or Sigma lenses are bad or that either Canon or Sigma are makers of junk. But whenever I see one of them, I shudder and think of the misery I had with both.

I don't talk about it much because I feel that extrapolating my personal bad experience with a couple of flawed units is not a representative sampling of the brands.

G

 

[xleic]

The corrosion only starts after wet cleaning. Anybody else has nothing to fear.

 

[xleic]

- not only the sensor is replaced, but the entire board and battery/card slots as well because they all come in one piece.

Are you sure?

 

[p.giannakis]

The sensor replacement is 1,800 euros? WTF?

1,800 euros can get you a pretty nice FF body these days.

For me that i don't care much about digital, it would get me 6 Nikon F5s and film stock for a year...

 

[Michael Markey]

Lest people think that its only this forum which reacts negatively ...the announcement has attracted more adverse reaction on LUF.


http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/307974-strange-white-spots-m9-sensor-9.html

 

[f16sunshine]

It's ridicules that Leica would even consider the continued sale of these cameras (ME, MM) after admitting the potoential likelyhood for failure.

It's not like they came out and said "hey we discovered a problem... we came up with a fix for future copies.... Send us your camera for an update."

The problem still exists and will exist even for repaired cameras?! Wild!
It just seems like they are asking for legal trouble.
It will be a bad day in court when the company has already admited to selling a potential faulty product!
What sort of legal department would let this fly?
Sure it's not an automobile or baby stroller with potential hazard to safety/life but still..... pretty major product flaw for such an expensive item.