Winedemonium Posted August 3, 2015 Share #1 Posted August 3, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) As a new S owner with one lens I am pondering other lenses, and this forum has been helpful in various posts I have made on that theme. One matter I haven't asked though is the subject of second hand S lenses. As an M user I feel I know the deal with used M lenses. The fact that they are entirely mechanical/optical means most issues relate to aperture rings, focusing helicoid issues, alignment issues, haze, fungus, scratches, etc. A lot can be fixed by a good repair shop (especially here in Hong Kong where these guys are referred to as 'masters'), and the costs are often very reasonable for CLA work. But with S lenses we introduce motors and electronics. And I have heard of (and read here) experiences of failed motors, failed AF, etc. So when I see seemingly well-priced used deals on S lenses I feel more weary than with an M lens. I would welcome hearing of any users experiences where something failed and had to be repaired out of warranty. Did you ever have an S lens beyond repair? If you had a successful repair, what work got done and what did it cost please? Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 Hi Winedemonium, Take a look here S lens out of warranty repair experiences?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Scott997 Posted August 3, 2015 Share #2 Posted August 3, 2015 The focus motors on S lenses break, they all do. Then it takes months to get them back. Leica will of course blame you for them breaking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted August 3, 2015 Share #3 Posted August 3, 2015 (...) Leica will of course blame you for them breaking. Do you know of any cases where this happened? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaubauu2009 Posted August 4, 2015 Share #4 Posted August 4, 2015 The customer service for Leica S is very friendly and helpful. But it still do not negate the fact that their product has some, dare I say serious quality issue. The parts/component they use for electronics are actually pretty poor or poorly planned or not well thought out, understandably that they are small company with not much experience in electronics. Part sourced might not be well compatible with each other, OEM parts might be of low quality that Leica is not aware of... etc etc etc. Anyway, for the price they are charging, the quality should be better than this is. My experience is mainly on the body. I purchased a new body around April, it arrived with a huge dead pixel brand new. I called Leica up and they arrange for me to replace a new one from the store I bought it from. During the process, they asked for the serial no. card, and to my horror, the card in the box is not the same in serial with the body, and you can tell it is a mistake as only 1 no. in the middle of the serial is wrong. Leica told me no matter, as this happen alot (what the hell??) So, I have waited 1 and a half months for my replacement body and upon turning it on, there's another dead pixel on the screen... but it's not visible on the LR through mapping. So I have decided to keep it. On this second order, I have also order the Contax adaptor, which came with the well-known 'not recognized lens upon turning on' issue. I have to unmount the adaptor and remount again everytime and prevent it from going into sleep mode. I have just confirm today with a friend who had this issue with the adaptor and he sent it back to Leica for replacement (which work fine now). I guess I have to do the same. I have 4 S lens and hope that they might hold up a little better in terms of usage, but I doubt it. All I am saying is this, all these problem shouldn't have happened in the first place, and they are just doing their job to keep their customer from walking out on the brand. It's the least they could do, really. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaubauu2009 Posted August 4, 2015 Share #5 Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) There seems to be a problem for my Leica S 35mm lens. Everytime, when I put on my 35mm lens onto the camera for the first time, the aperture will not close down on the first 2~4 shots or do the DoF preview. I have to press a few times of the DoF preview button to engage the lock down (after a few times) and it will then initiate, and the function of the aperture will return as normal. Looks like I have to send this in for repair pretty soon. So, of the 6 items I have for Leica S, 3 is broken so far.... Edited August 4, 2015 by xiaubauu2009 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott997 Posted August 5, 2015 Share #6 Posted August 5, 2015 Do you know of any cases where this happened? Yes of course I do from personal experience with M & S equipment. If you would like details pm me and I'd be happy to share. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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