Leica MM parts availability

[wolfloid]

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I'm almost at the point of getting a Leica Monochrom - just waiting for another drop in price. However, I am still hesitant. I'm sure I'll like the camera, and I like what I've seen it produce and I already have the lenses for it, but my biggest concern is more with Leica and their commitment to the camera. Obviously, I want my money to be invested in something that can be repaired for the next ten years or so. Will Leica commit to servicing these until then, or will they simply bail out when they can no longer get any replacements for that crappy, ancient screen they put on the back? Or any other old tech that's inside?

 

I can't imagine why any company would keep these rear screens in production when the ME is dropped. (If the M240 is a success, I think Leica will rationalise their range) and only the slow selling Monochrom needs the thing.

 

Has anyone heard anything from Leica on this?

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[Moritz]

Hello,

 

If Leica can not repair possibly the Monochrom in ten years or so, they will make you a reasonable offer for its sucsessor. So don't worry. The next Monochrom will be based probably on the M 240. There will be a change then from a CCD to a CMOS sensor. While many like the CCD better, go for the Monochrom today.

 

Best Regards

 

Moritz

[otto.f]

Hello,

 

If Leica can not repair possibly the Monochrom in ten years or so, they will make you a reasonable offer for its sucsessor. So don't worry. The next Monochrom will be based probably on the M 240. There will be a change then from a CCD to a CMOS sensor. While many like the CCD better, go for the Monochrom today.

 

Best Regards

 

Moritz

 

+1

[jaapv]

It is not slow-selling. They are building three times the numbers they expected - 10.000 or so and have a hard time keeping up with demand.

[Jeff S]

....(snipped) Obviously, I want my money to be invested in something that can be repaired for the next ten years or so. Will Leica commit to servicing these until then....(snipped)

 

Has anyone heard anything from Leica on this?

 

Here's what Stefan Daniel said at Photokina 2012, following the M8 screen issue...

 

 

Question: Can we ask you for a statement on the “lifelong endurance” which is mentioned in some of the marketing materiel?

 

Stefan Daniel: We can’t maintain this ambition. Providing a warranty or even repairs over the entire life time or even decades is a hopeless task. We aim to be able to repair our cameras at least 10 years after the last production run. That’s how we set up our stocks of replacement parts.

 

 

No guarantee, but with the additional precedent of the M8 to M9 discount, one can't expect much more.

 

I strongly recommend researching your personal insurance options, regardless the camera you purchase. Mine would cover any situation that resulted in a camera that wasn't fully functional. I like to concentrate on pics, not hypotheticals.

 

Jeff

[sanyasi]

This is one area where there is a big difference between film and digital cameras. With digital, I just don't think you can count on decades of use. Your most durable investment is in lenses. My planning horizon with the cameras is 5 years, which means that I am paying about $1,500 a year to use a Leica M camera. After that, everything is a crapshoot.

 

If you can get 10 or 15 years out of a digital camera, great, but I suspect the majority of users will want to upgrade as the technology improves. In essence, it is Moore's law.

[tobey bilek]

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And you thought film was expensive.

 

So if you make a great amount of pics, and the camera does not need extensive repairs, it is probably a wash.

 

If you make 300 a year, you probably can not justify digital on a cost basis.

 

However the fun factor and convenience of digital is always there. If you are willing to pay, buy digital.

 

Personally I find the convenience and fun worth the vast expenditure. I can not come close to a cost justification.

[jaapv]

Film use will get more and more expensive in the future.

On a per-shot/keeper basis the cost is probably about even between film and digital at the moment for many of us.

[bocaburger]

If Leica keeps repairing cameras for 10 years after the last production run, and keeps introducing a new model every 3 at roughly the same price as the outgoing model, and the number of serial upgraders holds steady, I figure it should be possible for me to purchase a lightly used prior- generation body every 5 years at roughly 1/3 the cost of new, and not need to anguish over the repairability issue to any significant degree. I feel as though the M9 was the last one I will buy new.

[pieterpronk]

The fact that some people are reporting that they are already waiting 4 months on repair of their M9s because Leice does not have the sensor, does not bode well imo.

 

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[Guido]

The fact that some people are reporting that they are already waiting 4 months on repair of their M9s because Leice does not have the sensor, does not bode well imo.

Urban myth? As long as M-E and MM units are leaving the factory, they have the sensor.

[pieterpronk]

Urban myth? As long as M-E and MM units are leaving the factory, they have the sensor.

 

But are they? In the camera stores near me it seems that the M-E is the only camera they just can't get in stock.

 

I haven't heard that about the MM, but although similar the MM has a different stock of sensors then the M-E.

[leafster]

A week ago, I was informed by Singapore Leica repair service rep that M9 sensor replacement will have to wait until Feb 14.

[pieterpronk]

A week ago, I was informed by Singapore Leica repair service rep that M9 sensor replacement will have to wait until Feb 14.

 

Thank you. Without such facts/anecdotes my point could have stayed an urban myth.

I have seen other posts stating the same problem.

 

So I guess Leica's promise to service their digital camera's for at least ten years has a small print "but it might take half a year to service depending on supply problems". Let's just hope they are not stalling and this in the end turns out to be a repeat of the M8 screen problem.

[MarkP]

Urban myth? As long as M-E and MM units are leaving the factory, they have the sensor.

 

This is not an urban myth. There are major shortages of M9 sensors with large numbers of cameras awaiting replacements. Some 60 or so in Australia alone!

[Guido]

This is not an urban myth. There are major shortages of M9 sensors with large numbers of cameras awaiting replacements. Some 60 or so in Australia alone!

Granted, but this only indicates that there seems to be a problem with the supply chain at the moment. I still believe it's a bit far-fetched to take this as an indication that M9/ME/MM sensors are no longer being produced at all. It just would not make any business sense for Leica at all IMO to continue advertising the ME and MM as vaporware, as well as even accepting current cameras for repair (and incurring costs for storage and later return shipment of those cameras).

[NJH]

Sounds to me just like what happens in the automotive world with older models. Happened to my race car a 20 yr old Porsche, for several months no one could buy a front suspension arm or anti roll bar. The place I used bought one from a shop in the states and had it shipped over here as they couldn't get one from anywhere in europe. He joked it was the last one on the planet and they needed it to repair a car that had an off at one round. The explanation was that in such circumstances the part goes on back order until the supplier can gear up for another production run which would then naturally result in a fairly large stock of the part which is then available for the next few years.

[wolfloid]

Granted, but this only indicates that there seems to be a problem with the supply chain at the moment. I still believe it's a bit far-fetched to take this as an indication that M9/ME/MM sensors are no longer being produced at all. It just would not make any business sense for Leica at all IMO to continue advertising the ME and MM as vaporware, as well as even accepting current cameras for repair (and incurring costs for storage and later return shipment of those cameras).

 

You are right, it would not make sense, and I am sure they would not deliberately get themselves in that position. But how much is it in their control, and how much will it be in their control in two or three years time.

 

What worries me most is that the manufacturers of these parts - sensors, rear screens etc. unlike with the parts of the old film cameras are neither in their control, nor, does it seem, can be brought under their control.

 

 

In the end I'm simply being pragmatic. Will they be able to commit and fulfil or not?

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Hallo,

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[wjkotze]

This is not an urban myth. There are major shortages of M9 sensors with large numbers of cameras awaiting replacements. Some 60 or so in Australia alone!

 

I you extrapolate these figures to the rest of world the number of units awaiting sensor replacement could be as high as 1000, or more. This seems to be completely out of proportion. Are you sure about these figures ? Is there a problem unique to Australia ?

[menos I M6]

The longer you wait for the camera to become more affordable, the shorter the time will be of you being able to use it before Leica will be depleted on parts to repair it for you, not to mention the pictures you could have taken with the camera if you would have bought it earlier.