Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk Posted December 23, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 23, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) My Leica M8 has started showing this error on the rear LCD. When I fire the shutter it just keeps firing, sometimes it stops, sometimes I have to power down the camera to get it to stop. Phoned Leica this morning and the camera has to go back to Solms. Anyone had this issue and can tell me roughly how much the repair cost? I might consider upgrading the shutter to M8.2 instead of the repair if the cost is not massively different. Also going to get my 35 Summicron 6-bit coded while it's in. Cheers Daniel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 23, 2009 Posted December 23, 2009 Hi Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk, Take a look here Attention Shutter Fault. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
leica_m4p Posted December 23, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 23, 2009 Mine has done this once. I had to power it off, but it hasn't done it again since. Maybe you can let us know when yours is fixed, how long it took and what it cost. Thanks, jc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted December 23, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 23, 2009 $425, apparently. It's not the shutter that's at fault, but another component. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leica_m4p Posted December 23, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 23, 2009 Strange, I'd have thought if the Germans decided to say 'shutter fault' that's exactly what it would be. Any idea what the actual fault might be? ...just out of interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 23, 2009 Share #5 Posted December 23, 2009 Strange, I'd have thought if the Germans decided to say 'shutter fault' that's exactly what it would be. Any idea what the actual fault might be? ...just out of interest.The electromagnet holding the recocking mechanism may have failed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted December 23, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 23, 2009 Is the camera not covered by the Leica warranty? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk Posted December 23, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 23, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Unfortunately my camera is out of warranty. I bought it used about a 12 months ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted December 24, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 24, 2009 They will maybe offer just to clean the magnets. That might save some cost. Mine was in two times for the same issue- I think that it is not normal wear, but some flaw in the engineering of the cocking mechanism. If you ask me, it is very probable that all M8, M8.2, and if they haven't changed anything in the M9, will eventually do that in time. Sadly I can provide no evidence, except my own experience and long correspondence with Leica Service on the topic- from which I draw my own conclusions. The thing is that I'm reluctant to go for M9 because of couple of reasons, out of which this is one, and it seems that the same mechanism is being used in that model also. But that's just my opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrockit Posted December 24, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 24, 2009 I guess I should have a spare chunk of cash set aside in case my M8 decides to die? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk Posted January 3, 2010 Share #10 Posted January 3, 2010 I just got a response from Leica saying: "repair of the shutter fault will probably have costs about € 650,-/700,- and the price for the shutter upgrade will be € 750,-." So basically I'd be as well upgrading the shutter rather than paying for the repair as it will likely only cost me an extra €50! It's still very annoying though as this definitely appears to be a fault with the camera - so many people have had the same issue. Unacceptable for a product which costs so much money. Maybe we should start a petition to get Leica to sort this out as the repair costs are way too high for something that is clearly Leica's fault and not down to normal wear and tear or misuse. Daniel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atufte Posted January 9, 2010 Share #11 Posted January 9, 2010 I just got a response from Leica saying: "repair of the shutter fault will probably have costs about € 650,-/700,- and the price for the shutter upgrade will be € 750,-." So basically I'd be as well upgrading the shutter rather than paying for the repair as it will likely only cost me an extra €50! It's still very annoying though as this definitely appears to be a fault with the camera - so many people have had the same issue. Unacceptable for a product which costs so much money. Maybe we should start a petition to get Leica to sort this out as the repair costs are way too high for something that is clearly Leica's fault and not down to normal wear and tear or misuse. Daniel I agree, this issue should have been fixed for free by Leica and not be another step dive in the wallet for their faithful users, this i clearly a way to loose dedicated Leica users, and i know about several people who did just that because of this issue...if there was a production weakness on let's say a VW gearbox, all the cars from his batch would be called back and fixed. My 1994 Chrysler had a weak ABS brake pump, which is still to this day fixed for free by Chrysler,(16 years later) but Leica would never admit to weaknesses in their production, just look at the IR issue with the M8, they would not even admit to this in first weeks of the M8 release...so we are left paying for their faults, and that's bad...if this had been Nikon or Canon, they would also have fixed this for free, but Leica know that we Leica users are stupidly loyal to them, and that's a bit sad really. But since no other brand have something similar, we are screw, stewed and tattooed...but if, let's say Zeiss would release a digital Zeiss IKON, i would not be very loyal any longer, because Zeiss have an extremely good customer service, and a quality control which put's Leica to shame... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted January 9, 2010 Share #12 Posted January 9, 2010 $425, apparently. It's not the shutter that's at fault, but another component. This is totally ridiculous. This is a fault in the camera. A camera built with faulty parts and now the owner has to pay for Leica to fix something that shouldn't break in normal use and not until the camera/shutter gets close to the shutter activation it is rated for. Which is 100,000. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted January 9, 2010 Share #13 Posted January 9, 2010 Upgrading the shutter does not change the cocking mechanism. I had the same problem, and believing that when I upgrade to silent shutter, the cocking problem will disappear- it did not (I sent for an upgrade, informing them about the issue, that it needs fixing, and they sent me the camera back with the new shutter (850E) and the problem, as you decribe it,- still there.) My advice is to CALL them (Andrea Frankl), and kindly explain. I think there should not be a problem then. You can also upgrade (really worthwhile) and request for a fix- but be sure that they are capable of changing the shutter and leaving the problem as is. M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk Posted January 11, 2010 Share #14 Posted January 11, 2010 Gutted about this but even if I decide to bail on Leica I need to get it fixed to sell it. Seriously thinking about selling my M8 and 35 cron and getting an M7 and 50 cron instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
theendlesshouse Posted January 11, 2010 Share #15 Posted January 11, 2010 The 8.2 uses the R8 shutter (trivia) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk60 Posted January 12, 2010 Share #16 Posted January 12, 2010 I agree, this issue should have been fixed for free by Leica and not be another step dive in the wallet for their faithful users, this i clearly a way to loose dedicated Leica users, and i know about several people who did just that because of this issue...if there was a production weakness on let's say a VW gearbox, all the cars from his batch would be called back and fixed. My 1994 Chrysler had a weak ABS brake pump, which is still to this day fixed for free by Chrysler,(16 years later) but Leica would never admit to weaknesses in their production, just look at the IR issue with the M8, they would not even admit to this in first weeks of the M8 release...so we are left paying for their faults, and that's bad...if this had been Nikon or Canon, they would also have fixed this for free, but Leica know that we Leica users are stupidly loyal to them, and that's a bit sad really. But since no other brand have something similar, we are screw, stewed and tattooed...but if, let's say Zeiss would release a digital Zeiss IKON, i would not be very loyal any longer, because Zeiss have an extremely good customer service, and a quality control which put's Leica to shame... I also agree... but the reality does not work that way. Sadly.. About 3 months ago, I was looking at RAW images that I had taken about 1.5 years ago and fond the famous high ISO related lines in some of the photos. I also found a slight 'mark' on one of the shutter blades so I sent the M8 to Leica NJ along with a sample photo (RAW) that showed the line although my camera was already out of warranty at that time (6 months out). Lecia NJ sent me an estimate = $1250, saying that I had to pay the repair (replacement) cost. Screw it! I told them to send the camera back to me without the repairs. The sample RAW file clearly shows the date when it was taken,which was well within the warranty period. They still rejected the warranty repair. A harness in the SRS system (Air bag system) on my Mercedes had shorted right after the warranty expired. I took the car to the dealer for repair and Mercedes USA asked me to pay $600. What do you think about this?? OP - sorry to hear the issue. If you are still fond of a rangefinder, I suggest that you get a film M. My M3 and M6 work with no drama (M8 is collecting dusts and waiting for a buyer), and I am having a blast shooting with films! Good luck, mate. mashu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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