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Leica à la carte M7 top plate not an option for upgrading existing M7?


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  • 5 years later...

Hello Steven,

Why not call Leica on the phone & ask them?

We once had an old watch that needed a crystal. Whoever I asked (Including the manufacturer.) said that, that crystal (Made of plain glass.) had not been made for years & was no longer available.

I measured the crystal. Watch crystals are measured in 1/10ths of a millimeter so that they will fit correctly.

I kept that measurement with me. Whenever I was anywhere where there were watch crystals I asked for a crystal of the dimensions that I had measured. 1 day somebody had 1.

You might also ask some other Leica repair people.

I hope that you find a top plate. You may have to give them your old 1 to get a new 1. Or, maybe not.

Best Regards,

Michael

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4 hours ago, Michael Geschlecht said:

Why not call Leica on the phone & ask them?

Hello, 

Thank you. I called them ten times. Ten times they asked me to reach out by email. I wrote to them ten times. Ten times they did not answer. 

Therefore, I turned to the community for help. 

Steven

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3 hours ago, ianman said:

Should we assume the drilling did not go well?? 😬😧

The drilling is going well. But the drilling is for another project: a Leica M6 millenium styled camera with the Auto Exposure mode of the M7. 

Here, I have another idea in mind. I want to create an M7 Olive. Found the M7, found the vulcanite. All I need now is an A la Carte top case that has no red logo (I would not like it on the Olive color. I would prefer the silver screw) and the engraving on top, so it can match my MP Kyoto. 

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1 hour ago, Steven said:

I wrote to them ten times. Ten times they did not answer. 

 

You might find customer service is on holiday?! I emailed them with an issue with an M10M and chased it up a week later last Thursday and total radio silence.

Edited by Phil_P
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2 minutes ago, Phil_P said:

You might find customer service is on holiday, I emailed them with an issue with an M10M and chased it up a week later last Thursday and total radio silence.

And this is why real pros can't use Leica. Imagine your work tool is broken, and being told "We're on holiday, we'll figure out it September. It'll just take a month to answer after we've attended all other issues, and then you'll be able to mail in your equipment and we'll fix it for you within 6 months, against a 1000 euros repair fee. In the process, we'll make sure we keep you in the dark". Leica's customer service is a total joke. They sold me in February a six thousand euros 28 summilux that was broken out of the box. Took it for repair during 3 months, sent it back still broken. It's back in Germany now since a few month and I have no idea what's going on. 

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As much as we would like it to be different now the Leica M isn't really a "Pro" camera any longer, at least not as compared to how it was during it's film/analogue days. It has become the camera of choice for those who still prefer the rangefinder experience and too for those that can afford the high entry costs into the digital M world, not quite a "trophy wife" of cameras but getting there.

 Most Pro' photographers can't afford the high price of admission into a system that isn't as reliable or rugged as others, nor would they wish to. I used, still use mine on filming and other environments because of my decades long familiarity with the M's and it's unobtrusiveness, but if I am taking a stills camera on an assignment like I had in the Ukraine a year or so back, I always pack Nikons or GH4/5's as my prime gear and the M's as a favoured alternate. Never just the M's because I haven't yet built up a proven level of trust with them in real working conditions, the digital M's that is, not the analogue ones. Having said that about the M's I will note that the Q that has been packed into the kits as an afterthought then always proved it's worth, that's an underrated Pro' "B" camera I think.

Leica Service? I've nothing but good words to say in regards to my experiences with them at Wetzlar. Sadly all of my digital M's but one, the M10-M, have had to return there for one reason or another and most times more than once, ( the M10-D is still there on it's fourth trip back to service since new and is now "awaiting parts" as I write ), but the service people have always been extremely helpful and efficient as much as they can be within the system as it exists there. I can't say that I like the fact that I know many of them by their first names now, but it is what it is. Yes Leica's service times can be long, I also feel that Leica's QC could be a lot better on new cameras leaving the factory and maybe that has something to do with the long after sales service wait times, but I have always felt well looked after despite having to have used Leica service much more so than any other camera marque I use or have used on a Pro' basis. My Nikon FtN II's are still functioning perfectly with no major service since new, as are all my other Nikons up to the D810, that says something.

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3 minutes ago, Steven said:

True, but the SL2 gets the same treatment when it comes to customer care. 

 

3 minutes ago, Steven said:

True, but the SL2 gets the same treatment when it comes to customer care. 

But do you know if registered pro's using S, SL or M don't have access to a fast track repair service?

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12 minutes ago, pedaes said:

 

But do you know if registered pro's using S, SL or M don't have access to a fast track repair service?

I don’t know if there is such a fast track service. And if there is, I think it’s even worst. Everyone buying into a 10,000 entry point system should benefit of a reliable customer care. 

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27 minutes ago, Steven said:

True, but the SL2 gets the same treatment when it comes to customer care. 

Do you consider the SL to be a Pro' level camera Steven? I know it has it's following but how large would that be? I tried to "like" it as a system but found it wanting as compared to the Nikon environment that admittedly I have been immersed in for a long time. I appreciated the SL's design and build for sure, but it didn't, doesn't float my boat in regards to what I needed as a working kit......and then, as you point out the access to quick and efficient service may have proven to be a problem if I had taken up the SL as a "Pro" choice. Entry cost of the system, the size of and the limited range of lenses was another sticking point for me and I suspect would be so for many regular Pro's. Another thing against the SL for me was the EVF, I have yet to find an EVF that I like or it works for me as opposed to the OVF of the Nikons up to the D850. So that alone was a killer.

Edited by petermullett
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2 hours ago, Steven said:

And this is why real pros can't use Leica. Imagine your work tool is broken, and being told "We're on holiday, we'll figure out it September. It'll just take a month to answer after we've attended all other issues, and then you'll be able to mail in your equipment and we'll fix it for you within 6 months, against a 1000 euros repair fee. In the process, we'll make sure we keep you in the dark". Leica's customer service is a total joke. They sold me in February a six thousand euros 28 summilux that was broken out of the box. Took it for repair during 3 months, sent it back still broken. It's back in Germany now since a few month and I have no idea what's going on. 

From what I have read, Leica is the dominant choice among Magnum photographers. 

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