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I am scared to get m9 with all the problems


JackLu123

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I am a canon user, I have seen my father using a rangefinder when was young...... I wanted to get my own Leica. I was doing research about Leica, but the more I read about it the more I am worried.

Initally I was worried about the memory card problem, so I have to get specific memory card and cannot view the pictures while data is being transfer.

Now there are postings about cracking sensors, and there is posting on leicarumors.com about this as well......

 

How often does this happen? Knowing this happens spontaneously would one still get it?

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I have had my M9 over a year. No problems whatsoever. Not with memory cards, cracked sensors, nothing except having to clean the sensor 2 times. I also shoot Canons... in that year I have sent 2 of my 3 Canon bodies in and 2 lenses for various issues (mostly electronic). And I am a fan of Canons and their reliability. Stuff happens. I don't believe the M9 is significantly worse than other brands, but this forum is where people come to help solve the problems, so you see a lot of it here.

 

Oh, yeah... by the way. My brand new BMW X5 had to go in twice in the first year for severe oil leaks.

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A Leica is not just a camera. It's like a baby and part of your life. And when that happens you will have that TLC (tender loving care) feeling.

 

This is what most of the forum members exhibit in one form or another. Any twitch, glitch, non standard behavior in a Leica over its long lifespan will be continuously analyzed and compared at great length to better understand and address.

 

You rarely see this in other camera forums. It actually has similarities to a forum on golden retrievers or a parent teacher association.

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I don't blame you. I have just had the card problem and lost a whole lot of pictures. They are unrecoverable. A Leica M9 is a big investment. It is not like a baby or a golden retriever, it's a tool. Reliability is key. I am thinking spending a lot of money on any digital camera is a doubtful prospect.

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People without problems seldom bother to post on forums, and many who join forums do so in order to ask about problems they are having. So all the forums I've been a part of are full of problem reports and make the products sound terrible, but from a minority of owners.

No product is perfect, and a high price doesn't imply that it is. The more complex something is, the more likely there are to be problems, as evidenced by the low "reliability" ratings that the complex German luxury cars have in the USA. When I studied engineering, the VW (original) Beetle was held up as the highest quality car on the road, due to its simplicity.

Also, the M9 electronic design is not an area where Leica has historic expertise. So problems are to be expected.

But I'm fully satisfied with my M9. It has been just as reliable in its first year as the four film Leicas I've bought new in the past.

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Don't base your opinion on what you read on forums. People are more likely to go online to share problems than to share no problems. The actual number of cameras that have developed an issue is quite small in relation to the total number produced. So your chances of having an issue are likely very slim.

 

The Leica M system is an excellent shooting platform, and many users here have had years of good service from theres, without issue. Ignore the 'internet noise'. Buy it, shoot it, enjoy it!

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I think your fears are largely baseless. However, if you want to buy into a system in this price class you should feel comfortable with your decision. Don't buy unless you are confident that you are doing the right thing. Once you get to that point you can begin to enjoy this excellent camera.

Internet forums are scary places....:(

Edited by jaapv
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Sebastiao Salgado is wise,

he uses Canon since 2008, no more Leicas,

I'm sorry but it's reality,

I was about to buy M9 and the problem of sensor do not buy,

I will buy the day they return to do something worthy to bear the name

 

Interesting. You are privileged to know Mr. Salgado's motivation.

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I am a canon user, I have seen my father using a rangefinder when was young...... I wanted to get my own Leica. I was doing research about Leica, but the more I read about it the more I am worried.

Initally I was worried about the memory card problem, so I have to get specific memory card and cannot view the pictures while data is being transfer.

Now there are postings about cracking sensors, and there is posting on leicarumors.com about this as well......

 

How often does this happen? Knowing this happens spontaneously would one still get it?

 

If you are that fearful of a Leica, don't do it. You'll never know firsthand all the good things it can deliver, but if you are that pre-disposed to believe all the negative things and feel that all of the reports you've read combined preclude you from making a move on an M9, forget it--don't do it.

 

I have had two M8's, one M8.2, an M9 and an M9-P. I've shot over 70,000 images with them, from 16,000 up in the Andes, to Death Valley. From 10 below zero F, to 110 degrees F. Other than the original M8 which did have problems which Leica remedied as quickly as possible, I continue to get great results.

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I have had and regularly used an M9 for 3 years with not yet any equipment problems other than the power switch having become very hard to move in very cold weather. Even my dropping to the floor my M9 while it was attached to a heavy Noctilux lens neither negatively affected it nor the lens except for a tiny dent in the rim of the lens hood.

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Jack, just so you know, it was because my Canon 1Ds MKI died and became irreparable that I ended up buying an M8. To be fair however, the 1Ds MKI is probably 9 years old and appeared to be in great shape when I bought it second hand about 5 years ago. It still cost me a fortune to buy, and now it's a door stop, but after serving me well, no less.

 

It's just an example to show how modern things (whatever they may be) can spontaneously stop working and be worth next to nothing. Good news is that the Leica lenses themselves are likely to last for many decades more, so not all is lost.

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Sebastiao Salgado is wise,

he uses Canon since 2008, no more Leicas,

I'm sorry but it's reality,

I was about to buy M9 and the problem of sensor do not buy,

I will buy the day they return to do something worthy to bear the name

 

It would seem that you don't have a shooting MO in mind, which I would have thought paramount in the choice of a camera, rather than whether it is worthy or not to bear a name!

 

The fact that Salgado apparently uses a Canon means nothing other than he uses one. Proves nothing. HCB used a Leica. Proves nothing. I use a Leica. Proves nothing. What we all (probably) have in common is that we choose a tool for our particular work.

 

Comparing a Canon with a Leica is like comparing a car with a bike. The only common thing is they both move you from A to B. But they do it in entirely different ways with totally different form factors. It is the same for Canon and Leica. I am afraid what someone else uses does not influence me one bit. Only I know what suit me. It could be said that Salgado might be interested to know that I gave up using Nikon to use Leica, but I doubt it.

Edited by erl
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The problems from others are not my problems. I´m using the M9 now for 30 months without problems. I rewiew pictures during the writing process, I delete them, whenever I want, also during the writing process hundreds of times. I had never think about what I´m doing with my SD-card, it works simply perfect. The cracked sensors don´t scare me, the problem is recognized, affected is a certain charge from the past. Don´t think about problems, otherwise you will die someday without having owned a leica which might have worked without problems forever....who knows.

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Initally I was worried about the memory card problem, so I have to get specific memory card and cannot view the pictures while data is being transfer.

Now there are postings about cracking sensors, and there is posting on leicarumors.com about this as well......

 

The memory card 'problem' has been overstated. Plenty of people have been using so called problem cards without any problem at all. But even so, are you really worried about buying a new memory card? The cracked sensor threads have been brought back to the top of the listings because one new cracked sensor has been discovered recently. It is a very old thread, and out of the many thousands of cameras sold it affected a very tiny percentage. As for leicarumours.com, well if you want a wacky unbalanced view of life with some inventive and irrational insights into all things Leica, that is the place to go.

 

I don't have either a Canon or a Nikon DSLR, but if I had the DSLR bug and went looking for problems I'm sure I would find enough to worry me. That is if I didn't have any other perspective on my purchase other than potential disaster.

 

Steve

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Depends on how you want to look at it. I purposely trawled the forums to find out all the problems associated with the M9, real or imagined... even the advent of something called an M10 in some near future that would supposedly render the M9 extinct :)

 

But you just know when it's time to take the plunge regardless of the reviews. Any bit of doubt is a warning sign that you should look elsewhere or postpone diving into it.

 

Good luck!

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I have an M9 and 2 M8's since they were first released and have had no problems.

 

Some SD cards don't work, but I know which they are, and they simply would'nt format.

 

I also use lot of Nikon, and pick the kit appropriate to the shoot.

 

I would never go on a critical shoot without backup regardless of brand.

 

The key question is do you want to shoot manual focus rangefinder camera's with superb but limited (no long tele's or wide range zoom's) lens selection.

 

... H

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