Spectacular Leica M9 sensor corrosion

[Freakscene]

I don't have a digital camera for personal use that takes photos in colour. My wife is tired of me stealing her Nikon, so last week I bought a Leica M9 for $US425. It is in perfect condition except the sensor coverglass is corroded beyond usability, or, really, belief. Looking at it with a microscope, it is apparent that the entire surface of the sensor coverglass is completely corroded.

I plan to give replacing the coverglass a go myself, using a very non-novel idea I had. If I fail but don't ruin the camera, I will get MaxMax to replace the glass. Knowing me this will take a while, so don't expect news anytime soon.

Wish me luck!

Marty

 

[jonmanjiro]

That is... UNREAL 😱 Good luck Marty!!!

Can you post a before pic (photo taken with the camera in its current state) for us? Curious to see what it looks like!

 

[Freakscene]

That is... UNREAL 😱 Good luck Marty!!!

Thanks. S8612 glass is soft but hopefully I can remove it without demolishing something.

Can you post a before pic (photo taken with the camera in its current state) for us? Curious to see what it looks like!

Sure - I need to find a battery and charger, but I can do that.

Marty

 

[santino]

Seems like a good deal and ambitious project. Good luck!

 

[Horatio]

That’s impressive! Both the corrosion and your plan. Good luck.

 

[shawn]

If you don't have replacement glass get a diamond hone and a cheap glass filter that you can remove from the filter ring. Many will come right out with a spanner. The diamond hone will let you file the glass to shape. Do it under running water. Take a little while but gives you good control to really size it properly. I didn this to create an IR filter for a Sigma SD Quattro H's hot/mirror dust shield and to replace the hot mirror in a X100 to make it full spectrum.

Edit: If the cover glass is also the hot mirror get a UV/IR blocking filter and then size it down as needed.

Shawn

 

[Out to Lunch]

Just looking at that sensor hurts my brain. Good luck with the repairs! Cheers, OtL

 

[KoNickon]

You sure it's just the glass? Don't like to be a downer, but just wondering.

 

[Musashi1205]

Have you seen this report?
Might be helpful for the project...?
https://petapixel.com/2020/09/12/le...on-due-to-dumb-design-decision-report-claims/

 

[ruby.monkey]

A perhaps less hysterical (and cheaper) take on the matter here: https://kolarivision.com/leica-m9-sensor-corrosion-repair/

 

[PRJ]

You might want to start with the battery and charger. I'd hate to go through all the grief of replacing the cover glass then finding out the camera was toast from the beginning....

 

[SolaresLarrave]

A Leica M9 for $ 425? Are you sure? As posted above, there's a company that will replace the sensor for a lot less than Leica (which, BTW, may charge you a pretty penny).

 

[benlees]

The link to kolarvision shows a description of the repair that is not clear. Do they replace the sensor or just the glass? Or both? Some clarification is needed. If they just replace the glass cover then Marty has a shot at success, I would think.

 

[ruby.monkey]

They replace the glass cover. The wrinkle is that the old one is fused to the sensor which makes it harder to remove safely.

 

[jarski]

Yes it would be interesting to see what photos look like from this sensor. White wall for instance.

 

[Freakscene]

A Leica M9 for $ 425? Are you sure? As posted above, there's a company that will replace the sensor for a lot less than Leica (which, BTW, may charge you a pretty penny).

Absolutely sure. In the gap between Leica declaring that they were not doing any repairs and various companies announcing repair services for these cameras I bought this M9, an M9P for $US536.27 and an MM for $481.67. But now all the lowest prices I can find are back around $2K.

Strike while the irony is hot.

Marty

 

[raid]

Great ambition here, Marty.

 

[benlees]

Absolutely sure. In the gap between Leica declaring that they were not doing any repairs and various companies announcing repair services for these cameras I bought this M9, an M9P for $US536.27 and an MM for $481.67. But now all the lowest prices I can find are back around $2K.

Strike while the irony is hot.

Marty

Discount for not having a charger, apparently.😛

 

[jsrockit]

Absolutely sure. In the gap between Leica declaring that they were not doing any repairs and various companies announcing repair services for these cameras I bought this M9, an M9P for $US536.27 and an MM for $481.67. But now all the lowest prices I can find are back around $2K.

Strike while the irony is hot.

Marty

Well, we will see if you were smart or of you have a $425 paper weight... 😉 KEH obviously did not want to deal with repairs and cut their losses. Now, will you still let us know if you aren't successful?

 

[robert blu]

I'm very impressed byt the strong and even more by your courage to attempt a reparation by yourself. I hope it will work ok !