M9 CCD Out of Stock! (Coating issue)

jaapv said:
Actually, according to my sources at Leica, sensor replacement rates are lower than expected. The problems arise from sales being more than three times the projected number.
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That's great for Leica. Now that they know how many were sold, it would be great if they stockpiled enough sensors so that they (and we) aren't at the mercy of a third party supplier (or sourcing a new one, if the current supplier becomes unavailable or uneconomical). Even if someday I get an M10, I would want to keep my M9 as a backup rather than sell it as I did the M8.
 
Ben Z said:
That's great for Leica. Now that they know how many were sold, it would be great if they stockpiled enough sensors so that they (and we) aren't at the mercy of a third party supplier (or sourcing a new one, if the current supplier becomes unavailable or uneconomical). Even if someday I get an M10, I would want to keep my M9 as a backup rather than sell it as I did the M8.
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Owning a DMR which, should it break down, cannot be repaired through lack of spare parts, I can only sympathize with this sentiment.
 
It's a little like being a film shooter with this constant threat of film dying that we read about regularly! 😀

I'd be a little worried about the new manufacturer's committment to making the CCD for Leica long term ... especially in this CMOS world! I wouldn't expect Leica to be offering replacement M9 sensors in twenty years ... but the next ten would be nice!
 
Keith said:
I'd be a little worried about the new manufacturer's committment to making the CCD for Leica long term ... especially in this CMOS world! I wouldn't expect Leica to be offering replacement M9 sensors in twenty years ... but the next ten would be nice!
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CCD will live long years more with the camcorders due to the fact that they use global shutters; i.e. the entire frame is exposed with a predetermined shutter speed whereas there's no mechanical shutter to cover and then uncover the imager; electronic timing accomplishes it. With the CMOS rolling shutters are used but they exhibit skew, wavy imaging, wobble and partial exposure. (Dalsa just recently issued CMOS with global shutter however they are for very high frame rate industrial cameras)

Leica should have left the CCD type sensors behind however the speculations on the new B&W camera makes me think that, probably they could not devise a way to reach to a FF-CMOS and to maintain the interest (or to be able to introduce something new) they might still use the same CCD and get almost 10 times more sensitivity in lux compared to the one the M9 has. If they do, then add another 10 years for the availability of this sensor.
 
Johann Espiritu said:
My M9 went to Schmidt Marketing in HK (offical distributor) for a sensor cleaning (first time in over a year of use) and it was discovered that the coating on the CCD has peeled off at one of the corners.

Has anyone else had this happen to their M9? I'm assuming this is covered by the warranty (I hope I'm right).

They also told me that the CCD's are out of stock at Leica Germany? Anyone have news on this?
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Twice on mine. Both repaired under warranty. Now that my camera is out of warranty, I pray it doesn't happen again.
 
I had mine replaced due to a banding issue that was quite frequent. It's popped up recently again though infrequently so i might have it sent out to have the issue taken care of one more time.

Phil Forrest
 
UPDATE:

I contacted Leica in Solms to confirm the CDD stock problem. I got a quick reply saying that the CCDs are indeed out of stock, but should arrive "any day now". They said they would send them to HK right away so that they could replace my sensor - under warranty! Hurrah!

Still keeping my fingers crossed that this is fixed soon!
 
The sensor was replaced in my M9 back in November 2011. They were out of stock and said it could take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I thought it was strange, since the sensors are made here in the US and have to be shipped to Solms for distribution to Leitz in New Jersey. When I mentioned this to the woman on the phone, she told me the sensors are not made by Kodak! I left it at that....sometimes ignorance is bliss. A week and half later my camera arrived back from repair under warranty. A lot faster then the 2-4 weeks NJ originally said.
 
Nigel Meaby said:
My M9 is at Solms for a replacement sensor. I had an email from them a couple of days ago stating that the sensor will be replaced. There was no mention of a delay due to sensor's being out of stock. I would imagine they would have mentioned it in the email if they were.
There are many camera manufacturer's using sensor's not made in-house so lets not get hysterical about all this. Let's keep this in proportion!
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Mine is in New Jersey for a sensor replacement, kind note just received indicating it would be 2-3 weeks for the repair due to delay in replacement sensor shipment from Germany to the US.

I'm resigned to a higher frequency of repairs in the case of the M9. I believe, on the side of hope and reason, that the camera is worth the trouble. Only a fool would spend this kind of money on such equipment if it weren't.

Um, that lightbulb over there, yeah that one, it almost looks like it's on ...
 
UPDATE 2: The sensor has been replaced and is on it's way back home to me! Despite the anxiety, Leica customer service in Solms was great and I can't wait to have it back.

Now, let's see what May 10 brings...
 
Update: my M9 arrived today from New Jersey, 19 days door-to-door, with new sensor/board, CLA, and new covering. Very pleased.
 
dcsang said:
Mike,

Out of curiosity was it under warranty? If not, I'm curious to know what it costs to do this with an M9.

Thanks,
Dave
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Dave, mine is still under warranty. The invoice shows "NC" rather than any figures, so I have no idea. My experience, and others' too, are making me consider an extended warranty which Leica has been offering for awhile.
--Mike
 
Okay, so this is an almost six years old thread but I have a positive note to attach: My M9 was afflicted with what we now know as sensor cover glass corrosion, too, but I only found out recently when I got it out of storage. I took it in to Wetzlar and was offered the exchange program even though that has officialy ended. How‘s that for standing by your product? Now I‘m getting a new M monochrom (Type 246) on Saturday. Giddy with anticipation, as this is my dream camera.
 
phaedrus said:
Okay, so this is an almost six years old thread but I have a positive note to attach: My M9 was afflicted with what we now know as sensor cover glass corrosion, too, but I only found out recently when I got it out of storage. I took it in to Wetzlar and was offered the exchange program even though that has officialy ended. How‘s that for standing by your product? Now I‘m getting a new M monochrom (Type 246) on Saturday. Giddy with anticipation, as this is my dream camera.
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What is the exchange program? (owner of a working M9)
 
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