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DMR - again. What are you stories of failures


vickko

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I had a DMR last year, and sold it in frustration due to its weight.

 

Well, I suppose they aren't getting any lighter, and I've been thinking of trying one again.

 

But there are still other factors that scare me, like, lack of service, impending fatal failure of an old electronic device, and, of course, devaluation.

 

So, my question - what are your stories about DMR failures and ending up with a paperweight?

 

And what did you do? Switch to Nikon ? Canon? Other DSLR?

 

regards

Vick

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- what are your stories about DMR failures and ending up with a paperweight?

 

I bought a backup DMR because of the fears posted on so many websites that it would fail, it would be a paperweight, there are no parts available, etc. I wanted to have one available in case the first one became a paperweight.

 

So far the second DMR has pretty much turned out to be a waste of money :). The biggest problems have been power supply, since new batteries are not available and the exiting ones are old enough that some no longer hold a charge.

 

Michael Bass has several solutions for power supply, including rebuilding battery packs and external power.

 

The backup DMR developed a problem once: it refused to stay off! I'd turn it off and it would turn itself back on. A quick trip to Leica USA solved the problem.

 

Depreciation hasn't been a problem either. If I were to sell one of them the net cost would be the time value of the original cost (I bought them used).

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Except for the latch, DMRs don't really have many moving parts do they? Given the nature of electronics, aside from the battery issue one wouldn't really expect them to fail much would one? In perspective I would think the possibilities would be far greater for problems with the R8 and R9 bodies...though I suppose those are much more readily available on the market.

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I bought my DMR in January of 2007. I have taken well over 5000 photos with it and I can say it is built to be used. Yes the battery situation is difficult and I am lucky to have 4! When I take my outfit to Moab Utah and climb, hike, even rappell, my DMR is always with me! It stands up to the heat of the desert and the miserable cold of the northeast as well! I absolutely love it with a passion. I also owned a wonderful M8 that I sold in order to purchase a few more R lenses!

 

I developed a problem with my outfit this spring as it appeared that my exposure meter would constantly display an underexposure reading! I knew instantly that the readings were so way off it was amazing! I resorted to manual good old fashioned metering with my grandfather's very old Weston light meter while I pondered what to do with my situation. I contacted Sam at Classic Connections and he researched the problem for me. I feared the worst, I thought oh no, my DMR is failing! Bless that man, he kept me calm and did his homework. It appears that the DMR was fine, it was the camera itself! So for $500 I was up and running in no time! I shipped it to him, he did all the rest!

The R9 body is back, working splendidly and the DMR sat waiting chomping at the bit to be in Utah again! It is a magnificent marriage of lenses, camera bodies and the DMR. They fit together after 5 years of heavy use with that same reassuring Leica click as chime as the whole thing comes to life and thrills my eyes over and over again.

 

Yes it is an expensive unit, but one I am so glad I purchased! I say enjoy it, use it, care for it, live with it! You will not be disappointed it is a unique medium to use and really creative wonderful things!

 

By the way, for desert photography, my 19mm is superb, portraits are exceptional with my 35, or 80 and by far the best all around lens is the 28-90! So versatile and so crystal clear! I absolutely love my R9 with its sister DMR!!! Two ladies I am proud to serve!

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Like Doug, I now have two DMRs. I’ve in fact had 3 DMRs, but one got stolen. So far, touch wood, they have worked faultlessly. Fortunately I foresaw the problems with batteries and bought several; I now have eight inc two new unopened ones. I have had one battery rebuilt by Michael Bass - great service and quick turnaround. My two DMRs still give me great service and I often use them both (one with a 50 cron and the other with a 180 cron) in the photographers pit at concerts. Occasionally you have to take them apart and clean the contacts, but that only has to be done once a year maybe.

 

Best wishes,

 

Charlie

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I switched to the S2 and have never looked back. It is an amazing camera system.

 

Albert,

 

It certainly feels like it on the short acquaintance I had with one in London. The problem (apart from the price) is the lack of fast long glass. My 180 summicron is my favourite lens and there just isn’t an equivalent. For Doug, his go to lens is his 280/4 APO - no equivalent there either. So even if I made enough money, the S2 just wouldn’t do for me, much though I think it is wonderful.

 

Best wishes,

 

Charlie

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My DMR musteriously developed a crack in the LCE review screen cover glass, fixed out of warrantee. When In the Falklands and the Atacama my DMR mother board failed, and was replaced by Leica for $1,200. The meter in my R8 failed so both the DMR and R8 (and my 80-200) enjoyed a trip to Solms while I enjoyed a trip to Antarctica and northwestern Argentina. I still love the rig, though.

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I switched to Canon before I got my DMR. I regretted it immediately. The lenses don't compare to Leica ones. I gave my 5D to my daughter and put the 1DMII in the closet. I haven't regretted getting the DMR and have had no problems with it. It is heavy but I carry it when I can drive to the shoot, not when I'm hiking up mountains! The 100 Macro makes it worth continuing to use a Leica DSLR.

 

Tina

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Except for the latch, DMRs don't really have many moving parts do they? Given the nature of electronics, aside from the battery issue one wouldn't really expect them to fail much would one? In perspective I would think the possibilities would be far greater for problems with the R8 and R9 bodies...though I suppose those are much more readily available on the market.
Exactly the reason I am phasing the system out. I will probably hang on to it but the bodies are not reliable enough any more for my purpose. I had to replace four times.
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I switched to Canon before I got my DMR. I regretted it immediately. The lenses don't compare to Leica ones.

 

Tina

 

I had a pair of R8s, 21, 28, 35, 50, 90 and 180 plus the 80-200/4 and 280/2.8. I replaced them with similar EF lenses after very careful comparison and much soul searching. Optically there was nothing that special about the R lenses I owned compared to the EOSes. The hardest part was accepting the plastic construction, but I realized that most of the pros in the world use them. I have never had a single issue with the bodies or lenses, which is more than I can say for the Rs. If not for the lighter weight I would not even own a reflex system any more. The R stuff was beautiful, but it's day had come and gone for me.

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My R9 DMR had some issues at the beginning but these were fixed under warranty at Solms. No real issues over the past years - apart from user failures (change of sd card while still switched on, wrong focus due to deteriorating eye-sight). You have to know its limitations though, eg. don't write GPS data into its files, use max 200 ISO, carry plenty of batteries.

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My brand new DMR failed on frame 56 during it's first ever shoot! The old Leica UK were excellent and although the DMR had to be returned to Solms, they lent me another with no charge. I was eventually given another new DMR which went on to give me almost four years of excellent service. It needed contacts and sensor to be cleaned every year...very easy to do myself. I sold it when I received a whisper that the DMR was no longer to be supported by Leica and that the R line was to be discontinued.

 

I changed to a Sony A900 with SonyG and Zeiss lenses and I haven't looked back since!

 

At first I missed the robustness of the DMR's 16bit files as they could take quite a bit of abuse in Photoshop before breaking up, but I quickly learned to appreciate the fast and accurate auto focus of the A900 and the quality of most of the lenses. The higher dynamic range and higher resolution pixel count sensor at 24.8 Mpx is also useful providing masses of headroom for cropping etc. Now even the A900 is surpassed with more modern cameras that offer superb jpeg's straight out of camera and raw images to die for!

 

Add to that lighter packages, smaller lenses etc. The superb DMR as good as was in it's day has now had it's day, in my view unless you like working with old obsolete cameras, as some people do. It's just that I don't!

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My brand new DMR failed on frame 56 during it's first ever shoot! The old Leica UK were excellent and although the DMR had to be returned to Solms, they lent me another with no charge. I was eventually given another new DMR which went on to give me almost four years of excellent service. It needed contacts and sensor to be cleaned every year...very easy to do myself. I sold it when I received a whisper that the DMR was no longer to be supported by Leica and that the R line was to be discontinued.

 

I changed to a Sony A900 with SonyG and Zeiss lenses and I haven't looked back since!

 

At first I missed the robustness of the DMR's 16bit files as they could take quite a bit of abuse in Photoshop before breaking up, but I quickly learned to appreciate the fast and accurate auto focus of the A900 and the quality of most of the lenses. The higher dynamic range and higher resolution pixel count sensor at 24.8 Mpx is also useful providing masses of headroom for cropping etc. Now even the A900 is surpassed with more modern cameras that offer superb jpeg's straight out of camera and raw images to die for!

 

Add to that lighter packages, smaller lenses etc. The superb DMR as good as was in it's day has now had it's day, in my view unless you like working with old obsolete cameras, as some people do. It's just that I don't!

 

Well, I for one would love an R9 + DMR. I have an M3 and IIIF so I guess I am old and obsolete.:p

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My R8/DMR is the best kit I have ever had. I shoot a lot of film with my 2 other R8 bodies. The Hasselblad back is just amazing. The color rendered with the 80 Summilux, 35 Summilux and R19 are pure magic. I acutally LOVE the 1/3 crop as it removes any distortion on frame edges. I think this rig just might outlast me. I certainly hope so. :D

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