Solms or Milton Keynes for Rangefinder Adjustment?

[cliffp]

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My new M9 has an out of adjustment rangefinder (front focusses by 1-2cm at 1 metre with a 50mm and 90mm lens).

 

It looks like I may get a choice of either the technician at Leica's UK HQ adjusting it or having it sent to Solms for the work. The turn round time in the UK is likely to be a few days compared to 2-3 weeks if Solms do it.

 

I would appreciate advice on which service centre to choose. Would Solms do a better job? (I suspect the camera was set up properly in the factory and mistreated during shipping)

 

In either case I could probably get my lenses checked to make sure they are not the culprits (one of those is brand new)

[chris_tribble]

If it's in warranty, shipping straight to solms has been the best solution in my experience - quicker and a good job. If you bought from a dealer, you can often get them to ship for you and also receive back. Where I live (a central London mansion block flat) couriers can be a real hassle. RG Lewis, my dealer, has always been really helpful in this area.

[cliffp]

Thanks Chris

 

Actually R G Lewis is my dealer too and they are recommending that Milton Keynes does the job on the basis that it would be quicker (I think the guy there has some clout with the UK head office). I spoke to the technical guys at MK and they said a typical turn round (to Solms and back) is 10 days but that this might be longer at the moment due to their workload. My concern is to get the job done optimally - if I felt that Solms would do a better job, I would prefer to wait. My guess is, the UK technician would do as good a job but it would take him longer (I am talking about the calibration rather than getting round to do it) because he doesn't have the £50,000 test rig they have in Solms (the UK technical spokesperson told me about this test rig costing £50k as if it was a lot of money - it doesn't sound all that much to me).

 

I should add that I am not local to London so taking it in to the dealer is not an option.

[michali]

I'm presently in South Africa, I had a stupid accident and dropped my M9 resulting in the range finder being out of alignment.

 

To cut a long story short, I shipped it to Solms, they guaranteed a maximum turnaround time of 5 days for any M9 repair. They turned it around in 2 days and I had it back in my hands in S Africa within 8 days of shipping, customs delays included; you haven't got that problem within Europe.

 

There's no way this should take more than 5 days to sort out plus shipping time.

[stunsworth]

...the UK technical spokesperson told me about this test rig costing £50k as if it was a lot of money - it doesn't sound all that much to me

 

From what I understand the rig is only needed for the M8/9. If they are only getting a handful of cameras requiring rangefinder adjustment then it is a lot of money per camera - the rig in Solms on the other hand can also be used during the manufacturing process.

[glenerrolrd]

Thanks Chris

 

Actually R G Lewis is my dealer too and they are recommending that Milton Keynes does the job on the basis that it would be quicker (I think the guy there has some clout with the UK head office). I spoke to the technical guys at MK and they said a typical turn round (to Solms and back) is 10 days but that this might be longer at the moment due to their workload. My concern is to get the job done optimally - if I felt that Solms would do a better job, I would prefer to wait. My guess is, the UK technician would do as good a job but it would take him longer (I am talking about the calibration rather than getting round to do it) because he doesn't have the £50,000 test rig they have in Solms (the UK technical spokesperson told me about this test rig costing £50k as if it was a lot of money - it doesn't sound all that much to me).

 

I should add that I am not local to London so taking it in to the dealer is not an option.

 

I would love to see some support for the 50,000 pound test rig. If you take a look at the video of the first reviewers of the M9 ..you will find that the primary rangefinder alignment test is a series of Lens Align rulers at established predefined distances . I was told the same thing when the M8 was released .

 

With that said I would ship it to Solms....even if it took a month ..your chances are better that it will be done well.

[andybarton]

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MK have an M technician there two days a week, as he is semi-retired.

 

If it were my camera, I'd have my dealer send it to Solms on my behalf. Just make sure that the dealer doesn't collect two weeks worth of cameras before shipping it over there.

 

The people on the CS desk at Solms speak very good English. I'd have no problem sending it directly to them for treatment. Tell them it will be on its way, and tell them if you absolutely need it for your daughter's wedding on Saturday. Might make a difference, might not

[cliffp]

Thanks for all of your replies - I will send it to Solms.