the day i lost faith in leica

[Pete B]

If its really scratched, why would they give you a free sensor, then?

+1

Seems an OK price to get an effectively new leica on which all your lenses will work well. Any other option will have quirks that will annoy you and sooner or later you will start looking at Leica M240s for big money. Even a Sony will cost more. I'd pay for the repair.
Pete

 

[Godfrey]

Cameras are tools, machines .... not investments.
Paying a lot of money for a camera entitles you to the camera, nothing else.

I have no "faith" in Leica. Or any other camera manufacturer. I have had good experiences with Leica, Nikon, Olympus and others, so I trust their products; that's as far as it goes.

G

 

[xyz3450]

Stephen's point about getting an independent verification of the scratch seems sensible (especially if the difference between a scratch / cracked sensor is difficult to diagnose).

In addition, as only Leica have serviced your camera then it seems worth stressing this point and suggest that the scratch may have originated with their service team....

I hope this turns out well for you.....

 

[David Hughes]

Digital cameras in general are a very poor investment. A digital Leica is an oxymoron because of this.

Here's the unavoidable fact:

Digital Camera: Use it as a tool to take LOTS of photographs and when it breaks throw it out.

Classic Film Camera: Use it as a tool to take photographs for a lifetime. If it does ever break, get it fixed. Only certain film cameras can qualify for classic status, such as Leica, Rolleiflex and a few others. Basically, you want a mechanical camera that does not depend upon electronics, except maybe for the meter only.

Hi,

Agreed but I'd add electronics to the don't expect too much list. When they go, they go for good unless it's something mechanical like a a high resistance building up somewhere.

It's like old cars only with old cars I could undo every electrical connection and then do it up again and no problems and most of the gizmos worked properly from then onwards.

Regards, David

PS I often wonder how to get covers off of cameras to repeat the disconnect and reconnect magic.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Sony A7Rii, you'll have state of the art, 42 MP, and you can still use all that fine Leica glass. Oh, and full frame.

As long as you don't mind the handling and the viewfinder, they're every bit as good as any rangefinder camera ever made...

Cheers,

R.

 

[uhoh7]

Sony A7Rii, you'll have state of the art, 42 MP, and you can still use all that fine Leica glass. Oh, and full frame.

No you can't if you care about the lens working as designed 35 and wider.

A half-finished science project which makes many pixels, yes. A true alternative to Leica M, no.

 

[Bille]

germany sits on it for a few weeks then comes back saying the sensor is badly scratched. its gonna cost around £500. are you sure i ask?

The sensor didn´t scratch itself, right?

 

[kehng]

no the sensor didnt scratch itself. the point about digital leica being the end of an era rings true. i think i will be sticking with my m3 and m6 for my leica experience.

i actually work with canon as a client but have stuck with leica over the years. i am considering the switch now.

 

[kehng]

also by investment i mean a piece of equipment that helps me produce exhibition quality material or make me money. £5000 plus lenses makes this whole enterprise seem a but like a poor choice especially as the quality of the product is iffey and not supported when it comes to the crunch.

 

[kehng]

my wifes digital hasselblad has been far more reliable and the service has been stellar when there was a problem. i guess i was foolish to assume leica would be the same.

 

[Godfrey]

also by investment i mean a piece of equipment that helps me produce exhibition quality material or make me money. £5000 plus lenses makes this whole enterprise seem a but like a poor choice especially as the quality of the product is iffey and not supported when it comes to the crunch.

Is the point to grouse about Leica because it's expensive and you feel entitled, or to get your camera fixed so as to continue using it?

Obviously, one of the techs who worked on your camera (cleaning it) caused a problem. This is not Leica's fault, the fault of the camera, or your fault. It was most likely an accident, a human error. Getting all huffy about your "faith in Leica being broken" is just so much hot air and pretension over feeling entitled and not wanting to pay for a repair.

You should just want your camera set right again as it went to a shop for cleaning and came out damaged. Don't blame Leica for that; blame the people in the shop for screwing up, if you can prove it, and get them to pay for the repairs. If you can't prove they did it, either suck it up and pay for the repairs or sell it as is, and move on.

There's really no need for all the drama and BS.

G

 

[kehng]

Really godfrey ?
I am not allowed to feel agrievved? You really think this is a situation where I should "suck it up"?!! Nice.

 

[newsgrunt]

can you post photos of the 'scratch/wiggly line' ? extremely curious and another reason why I'm hesitant to go digital M.

 

[Godfrey]

Really godfrey ?
I am not allowed to feel agrievved? You really think this is a situation where I should "suck it up"?!! Nice.

Yes. I do. Sorry if you find that offensive, but when I run into problems like this, I find it much better to just take care of the matter, one way or the other, and get on with more important things, like doing my photography, without whining to the world that I'm so aggrieved. I really don't give a hoot whether I paid $50 or $5000 for a Leica: it's just a camera to me, one that I felt worth the cost and any subsequent expenses, or I'd have bought something else.

G

 

[CameraQuest]

Is the point to grouse about Leica because it's expensive and you feel entitled, or to get your camera fixed so as to continue using it?

Obviously, one of the techs who worked on your camera (cleaning it) caused a problem. This is not Leica's fault, the fault of the camera, or your fault. It was most likely an accident, a human error. Getting all huffy about your "faith in Leica being broken" is just so much hot air and pretension over feeling entitled and not wanting to pay for a repair.

You should just want your camera set right again as it went to a shop for cleaning and came out damaged. Don't blame Leica for that; blame the people in the shop for screwing up, if you can prove it, and get them to pay for the repairs. If you can't prove they did it, either suck it up and pay for the repairs or sell it as is, and move on.

There's really no need for all the drama and BS.

G

There is nothing obvious here other than the OP has a damaged sensor.

Whether its scratched or cracked - I would a a 2nd opinion either way. Leica techs can make diagnoses errors just like any other tech.

Godfrey, You might give it a rest on attempting to get others to agree with you. Your opinion is no better than the OP's.

Stephen

 

[Bille]

no the sensor didnt scratch itself.

So what´s your point? This is an insurance case, if anything.

 

[Godfrey]

There is nothing obvious here other than the OP has a damaged sensor.

Whether its scratched or cracked - I would a a 2nd opinion either way. Leica techs can make diagnoses errors just like any other tech.

Godfrey, You might give it a rest on attempting to get others to agree with you. Your opinion is no better than the OP's.

Stephen

Stephen,

I could care less whether anyone agrees with me, I'm offering my opinion on the subject since the OP cared to open the subject asking for such. I have no illusions that I'm going to get anyone to agree with me, Stephen. I was responding to the OP a second time since he addressed me directly with a question.

People will whine and complain about all kinds of things. Means nothing to me. I don't see the point, but it's not my energy they are wasting. If they open a subject to opinion, I offer it if I care to. Isn't that the point of participating on a discussion board?

G

 

[thompsonks]

You: "... a couple of weeks later a strange wiggly line appeared on all my shots."

Me: "If it were scratched in cleaning, the problem would have appeared in the first shot you took. Do you mean you didn't use the camera for a while, or used it but didn't notice the problem – or that it struck out of the blue, some time after the cleanings?"

Newsgrunt: "Can you post photos of the 'scratch/wiggly line' ? extremely curious and another reason why I'm hesitant to go digital M."

Another poster suggested you look at your exif data to see exactly when the defect actually appeared, to see if that aligns with your service receipts.

Kehng, you don't seem very interested in providing facts. I don't think a thread of opinions/speculations/emotions should keep expanding until you get down to the brass-tack facts about when the problem started and in whose hands the camera was at that time: you, Leica, an authorized dealer inspecting for corrosion, or whomever.

While I suspect, like Godfrey, that there's some whining going on, I disagree that one should just suck up service errors on the magnitude of a damaged sensor – if that's what actually occurred. Though most of us are said to be rich dentists, some of us don't enjoy an experience or an expense like that.

Kirk

 

[uhoh7]

I don't think Godfrey is saying suck it up as in take the cost. He is saying S happens, just take care of it, and spare us all the drama;"I've lost my faith etc"

The sensor was likely cracked by the tech cleaning it. They are not going to want to admit that. But there is the simple fact, the tech did not report a crack. The OP did not touch the sensor after cleaning. So how did the crack happen?

I would call Leica and go over this carefully.

The bottomline is when you let anyone inside your camera you are taking a risk they will cause a problem and later deny it. So I would trust very few inside mine. Especially for sensor cleaning.

Few will care as much as you in that dangerous operation.

 

[fireblade]

Pay the 650, sell it, buy a A7Rii, put the change in your pocket, then down to the pub for a beer. 😀 Lifes too short for 650. 😉