jgb Posted March 7, 2015 Share #1 Posted March 7, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Have any forum users had any major issues with senor dust.? I have mine just over 6 weeks and have had to have the sensor back to the shop for cleaning 3 times. They are chatting with Leica at the moment. I have owned Nikon gear for many years, constantly changing lenses never had major issues with dust on the sensor. With my M, I only have 1 lens (28mm Elmarit) which I have had no reason to remove and fail to understand the dust issues. Anyone with similar problems? Suggestions? Etc? Cheers, JB 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Hi jgb, Take a look here Sensor Dust on the M (240). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Mornnb Posted March 7, 2015 Share #2 Posted March 7, 2015 Have any forum users had any major issues with senor dust.? I have mine just over 6 weeks and have had to have the sensor back to the shop for cleaning 3 times. They are chatting with Leica at the moment. I have owned Nikon gear for many years, constantly changing lenses never had major issues with dust on the sensor. With my M, I only have 1 lens (28mm Elmarit) which I have had no reason to remove and fail to understand the dust issues. Anyone with similar problems? Suggestions? Etc? Cheers, JB Nikon (and Canon) vibrate the sensor to remove dust. Leica does not have this feature. I remember Canon users used to complain a lot about sensor dust on the 5D classic, the sensor cleaning feature was introduced with the Mark II. My advise, don't freak out about it. It's only visible on apertures above f8 (usually only bothers landscape shooters). And it's easier to remove in Lightroom than it is to clean the sensor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tookaphotoof Posted March 7, 2015 Share #3 Posted March 7, 2015 I had some oilspots I had to remove in the beginning. After that only some dust spots now and then. They usually are easy to remove with a rocket handblower. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted March 7, 2015 Many thanks for the advice. Your suggestion that this issue "usually only bothers landscape shooters" hits the nail on the head for me, I am using a 28mm and nearly always shoot for 'big sky' and apertures 8 to 22 . Hopefully it will not plague me after the dealer discusses the issue with Leica next week. Cheers, JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornnb Posted March 7, 2015 Share #5 Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) Many thanks for the advice. Your suggestion that this issue "usually only bothers landscape shooters" hits the nail on the head for me, I am using a 28mm and nearly always shoot for 'big sky' and apertures 8 to 22 . Hopefully it will not plague me after the dealer discusses the issue with Leica next week. Cheers, JB Happens to all cameras and is a reality of shooting landscape! I shoot 3 cameras, Leica M, Canon 5D Mark III and a Sony A7r and have issues with dust on all of them. Even with regular cleaning and a vibrating sensor cleaning feature you will still find a few dust specs pretty quick after a cleaning. Make the spot removal tool your friend: Edited March 7, 2015 by Mornnb 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted March 7, 2015 Share #6 Posted March 7, 2015 The facts of life are that with the M you will have to get used to doing your own sensor cleaning especially if you wan to shoot at these apertures. Personally I will very rarely shoot at anything below F8 and will only occasionaly shoot at F11 as you will start to get some image degradation. I use the a filtered blower to keep the back of my lenses and the lens chamber as free as possible of dust and an Eyelead gel stick to clean the sensor. If things get really bad I will do a wet clean or as I live in London I can got to Leica Mayfair who will do it for free. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 7, 2015 Share #7 Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Have any forum users had any major issues with senor dust.? I have mine just over 6 weeks and have had to have the sensor back to the shop for cleaning 3 times. They are chatting with Leica at the moment. I have owned Nikon gear for many years, constantly changing lenses never had major issues with dust on the sensor. With my M, I only have 1 lens (28mm Elmarit) which I have had no reason to remove and fail to understand the dust issues. Anyone with similar problems? Suggestions? Etc? Cheers, JB Suggestion? Persevere, use Lightroom when there are just some spots around. After about 1000 shots you will find the issue has all but disappeared, it is not really oil spots, those are in the minority. Most is dust from the mechanical parts settling in. Just a quick pass with a bulb lower every few months, maybe a Lollipop cleaner occasionally, that is all you will need with a camera that has settled down. Edited March 7, 2015 by jaapv Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted March 7, 2015 Many thanks for all the advice. As I said I was amazed that a freshly, dealer cleaned sensor could be so dusty an hour later wihout a lens being taken off. Cheers anyway, JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bab Posted March 7, 2015 Share #9 Posted March 7, 2015 yep its an issue if you looking with a loupe but only a problem if you have little crystals on the sensor Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share #10 Posted March 14, 2015 Further to my post (07/03) re dust on the sensor of a month old M, the dealers in Dublin tried 3 times cleaning it but today we decided to return the camera to Leica to see what they have to say about it. The technician in the shop suggested that 'the sensor appears to have built up a static charge as it cannot be cleaned successfully'. It will be interesting to hear what those in Leica say. Thanks for the advice, J Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted March 14, 2015 Share #11 Posted March 14, 2015 Interesting. I have 2 M240's and a crap ton of lenses and lots of lens changes indoors and out and not getting dust accumulation. In fact the menu dust-checker routine shows none at all. I think I do have a couple of oil spots though, so far I've been lazy to wet clean it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share #12 Posted March 14, 2015 I have regularly cleaned my sensors since 'going digital' but was reluctant to touch a month old sensor, certainly when there was an accumulation less than an hour after having been cleaned by the dealer. The technician in the Dublin shop this morning was 'bewildered' too. Back to Leica HQ with it. Cheers, J Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share #13 Posted April 16, 2015 Further to my post, 7th March, when I outlined an issue of sensor dust: yes I know how to clean a sensor but was reluctant to do so with a brand new camera so brought it back to dealer in Dublin, 3 times they cleaned it and 3 times the sensor was very bad with dust (I only use 1 lens and this was not removed after the dealer cleaning). The final time with the dealer they decided to return the camera to Leica (some coating on the sensor they couldn't clean either.) The saga ended with word from Leica after having the camera for 4 weeks that it would be another 8 to 10 weeks before it would be seen. Not good enough for either me or the dealer. I accepted a refund thinking that if this is what Leica's after sales service is like, i want none of it. I know that I may be vilified on this forum by the committed Leica fans but this is my personal experience so reluctantly I say goodbye to Leica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 16, 2015 Share #14 Posted April 16, 2015 I never found dust much of an issue on mine and never had trouble getting it off, but I understand your annoyance. I feel your dealer could have handled this more elegantly. They should be able to get things moving in Wetzlar in a case like this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted April 16, 2015 The dealer was not sure that it was a simple 'dust' problem, there was some strange coating on the sensor they had never encountered before. Also they were less than impressed by the after sales support in Wetzlar, more than 10 weeks is way beyond what I would have expected from a company with such a reputation for quality cameras (let down by their after sales attitude I feel). As the prices has risen significantly here, over €1600 for the M, a replacement wasn't available so I opted for a refund. I will sell my 28mm Elmarit. A situation not handled at all well i'm afraid. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 16, 2015 Share #16 Posted April 16, 2015 The thing that irritates me immensely (admittedly without having heard the opposite side of the story) is that I am convinced that if this had been a Boutique Store or one of the major dealers, this customer would not have been lost....There is no need for this. And that responsibility is with Wetzlar... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted April 16, 2015 Ireland has only one Leica dealer, not a Boutique store, just a shelf or two. But maybe the mark of a company should be how they treat all their customers, not just the ones who buy in the top end shops. My purchase of the M was my first venture in to Leica, I sold my Nikon gear to fund it, it wasn't cheap and I didn't expect it to be. The shooting experience with the M was fantastic but I feel extremely let down by a company that seems to treat their customers with a flippant manner. What I will shoot with next remains undecided. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 16, 2015 Share #18 Posted April 16, 2015 Well, if your shooting experience was positive, it might be worth it to complain at the highest possible level in Wetzlar. In my experience this type of (dis)service is not typical for Leica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
indergaard Posted April 16, 2015 Share #19 Posted April 16, 2015 The sensor on my M Monochrom and M240 always got very dirty all the time in the first ~3 months. After that, and after a couple of wet cleans, the sensor stays perfectly clean almost all the time, and if there is some dust there, all I need to use is a rocket blower focused on the point where the dust is (easy to see with the dust detection). Let the camera "settle in" for a few months, and clean it properly, and it will stay clean after settling in and getting rid of all the oils, lubractions, and initial dust from the assembly and manufacturing process. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share #20 Posted April 16, 2015 Many thanks for the advice re emailing to the 'highest level' in Leica. I think I will. In regards to letting the sensor settle in I have accepted a refund for my M as I was not willing to wait for nearly 3 months for my camera to be returned. To sum up: I loved the camera but not how Leica dealt with my very basic issue. J Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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