Why do you WISH you had decided NOT to buy a Leica Digital M?

[Lss]

What say you?

I only wish I had bought a digital Leica sooner.

 

[RichC]

I bought an M8 in large part because of the promised perpetual upgrade. Turns out Leica lied to me. Will never trust them again. Scum.

To add insult to injury, the camera had to be returned to fix a fault, which took a zillion years (I see nothing has changed in the decade since!). And then the shutter failed.

Not to mention the camera's weird quirks such as the firmware occasionally freezing - the solution being to yank the battery out, then replace it, just like you do with the mains plug when your computer glitches!

:bang:

I spent what was a huge amounts of money to me to buy a new digital Leica, seduced by Leica's reputation. But the company turned out to be dishonest, and the camera poor quality and unreliable.

Today, with a decade's worth of water under the bridge, the fact that Leica lied to me still rankles. We can't always keep our promises, but rather than being humble and honourable - apologising and providing recompense for the perpetual upgrade disaster - they treated customers like me with contempt.

 

[splitimageview]

They are, after all, computers, so it's not unusual for them to crash. I can live with this on occasion, although it seems to be less common these days among all brands

 

[Talus]

Why do you WISH you had decided NOT to buy a Leica Digital M?

I had bought a pristine M9-P early last year. Everything was going fine until I noticed a red line in all of my images. Sensor problem. I sent to Leica NJ and had one heck of a time getting any communication from them. I was at PhotoPlus in NYC a month later and had a very candid talk with one of the reps at the Leica booth about how I haven't had any updates. He turned out to be a big wig over at Leica NJ. Afterwards I received multiple email updates and a phone call. But, in the end, my Leica is my hobby camera, I use a DSLR for my workhorse. It was very frustrating to have the one camera that I really enjoy using sit for over 3 months waiting for a sensor. It returned to me on a Monday and I sold it on Tuesday. Perhaps the newer bodies are more reliable, but at this point I'm not going to go down that road again. Im happy with my M6.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Je ne regrette rien.

 

[willie_901]

... it sucks in general for digital, M10 is included.

...

Would you expand on the M10's shortcomings?

Data shows the M10's technical image quality (signal-to-noise ratio & dynamic range) is equal to or better than the highest performing 24 X 36mm sensor DSLRs and mirrorless competitors.

 

[willie_901]

They are, after all, computers, so it's not unusual for them to crash. I can live with this on occasion, although it seems to be less common these days among all brands

Uh... it is unusual for computers to crash. Otherwise, in 2017 practically nothing would work.

 

[airfrogusmc]

I like them so much I own 4. Leica MM (original). Leica M-E, Leica M 262 and the finest digital camera i have ever shot with the M 10.

With the exception of the sensor recall I had more problems with my digital Canons over the same time/same frame count. I had a 1DsMkIII from CPS dead on arrival. In 2012 while shooting for NATO here in Chicago I had a complete shutter failure. I have not had any issues with my Leica M's other than the recall. Knock on wood.

 

[Doug]

Je ne regrette rien.

Non, rien de rien... You could put that to music, Peter! 🙂

 

[ptpdprinter]

Je ne regrette rien.

...rien encore.

 

[JeffS7444]

I was a very early M8 buyer and also bought a demo M9 while it was still a current model. No regrets, but I never had any expectations that these would be flawless, and that probably made all the difference. At the time, these were some of the smallest cameras with the largest sensors, and that was a pretty awesome combination.

Actually, the biggest pain was in selling them: Digital M buyers are so nervous!

 

[cz23]

I own the Monochrom (but it is in Germany waiting for sensor replacement) and mostly shoot b/w film. Liveview can replicate any benefits of a rangefinder so there no need to go for the M's when there are alternatives. These alternatives are not only cheaper but more reliable. I would not bother with digital Leica if I shot color at all. I will likely sell the MM when I get it back.

That's exactly what I did. Once my MM came back with a new sensor, I let it go to an RFF member. I bought an M6. No regrets at all.

I'm surprised sometimes how much my scanned images look like MM output, especially if I crank up the clarity, which I don't.

But there's a new one for you -- processing film to look like digital. 🙂

John

 

[benmacphoto]

I've had two M8s, an M9, and now a 240.
I got the M8 in early 2009 and my regret with that camera was at the time a used Noctilux was around the same price as the used M8.
And then a few months later the M9 came out, so should have waited.
No real regret with the M9, sold it right as the sensor corrosion issue came out.
I just felt like I had to be careful with the camera, as if it seemed delicate.

Now with the 240 I am really enjoying the camera and feel like it is the right Leica digital for me.

 

[splitimageview]

Uh... it is unusual for computers to crash. Otherwise, in 2017 practically nothing would work.

Modern operating systems mean the application may crash but it won't take down the entire system. Camera computers do crash on occasion; Fuji cameras for example. I operate the largest/oldest Fuji forum and user threads show it *does* happen. And I've also experienced it on several brands. Every computer has bugs and as new firmware updates are released they are quashed, so over time the reports diminish.

 

[Fraser]

Once you have the lenses you really have no choice, back in the film days the lenses didn't seem that expensive maybe when I bought my M8 if fuji had been an alternative I would have not bothered with a digital M. I still have my M9 which I still enjoy using when I'm not working but lately my df has taken over because of all the cheap Nikkors!

 

[noisycheese]

Above we read of much grief that M8 and M9 owners have experienced.

That has not been my experience with my first digital camera, the M240 or the M-P 240 which I upgraded to. Each functioned as advertised, although the M240 buffer was too small and would become sluggish.

I did have 2 or 3 instances of the M240 freezing up on me; that was corrected by shutting down then removing and reinstalling the battery. I attribute the freezeups to the small buffer capacity.

It seems like with the M-P 240, Monochrom 246 and M10, Leica has finally gotten it right.

They could have handled the original Monochrom's sensor corrosion problem in a more owner friendly manner, though. Still, I will not hesitate to acquire an M246 and/or M10 when finances permit.

 

[Mudman]

I've made wonderful images with my m8. It's quirky but I knew that going in. No regrets.

 

[Mudman]

Also am I the only one with a positive experience with Leoca NJ?

 

[noisycheese]

I had to send my M240 to Leica NJ to get the rangefinder adjusted after I dropped my camera bag and the RF was knocked out of alignment.

As I recall, I had the camera back in two weeks time. That was about three years or so ago, though.

About five years prior to that, I had to send my 50 Summilux in for a check after it had fallen out of my camera bag and landed on a tile floor. It was returned to me in about three weeks at no cost since it was still under warranty.

 

[Godfrey]

I had to send my M240 to Leica NJ to get the rangefinder adjusted after I dropped my camera bag and the RF was knocked out of alignment.

As I recall, I had the camera back in two weeks time. That was about three years or so ago, though.

About five years prior to that, I had to send my 50 Summilux in for a check after it had fallen out of my camera bag and landed on a tile floor. It was returned to me in about three weeks at no cost since it was still under warranty.

Perhaps you should get a camera bag with a better strap? 😀