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M9 on tripod - bottom part broken anyone else ?


billh

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I think we've been taken for a ride here, folks. This was Godfrey's only post here ever and he's never come back to answer any questions or participate further in the discussion. I'm kissing this one off as a troll.

 

Now you've confused me completely, Brent :confused::confused: post #154

 

The OP is a very good friend of mine and I recall him telling me that Leica (Solms) had tried to replicate the failure in their testing lab and had been unable to do so.

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I think we've been taken for a ride here, folks. This was Godfrey's only post here ever and he's never come back to answer any questions or participate further in the discussion. I'm kissing this one off as a troll.

 

 

I thought OP's name was Bill.

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Now you've confused me completely, Brent :confused::confused: post #154

 

 

Sorry. I should have made that clear. The far back original poster was Bill Hollinger, and his camera did break, as the photos show. He's the one who is a good friend and is absolutely above board. It is Godfrey, who re-started the post recently, who I am suspicious of. I find it out of the realm of reason that anyone at Leica would ever tell someone that using a camera in a vertical position on a tripod constitutes misuse. That is completely ridiculous and should have clued us all in on the spot.

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Don't worry about it Mark, I only began to smell a rat after a couple of days.

 

My initial thought was that the camera had been sent to Leica without mention of a tripod, they had said the damage was due to misuse, and the poster had then interpreted that as meaning that using the camera on a tripod was misuse. However his lack of comment to this thread makes me feel that everything had been fabricated.

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Sorry. I should have made that clear. The far back original poster was Bill Hollinger, and his camera did break, as the photos show. He's the one who is a good friend and is absolutely above board. It is Godfrey, who re-started the post recently, who I am suspicious of. I find it out of the realm of reason that anyone at Leica would ever tell someone that using a camera in a vertical position on a tripod constitutes misuse. That is completely ridiculous and should have clued us all in on the spot.

 

I was one of the four who did list our experiences with base plate failure. This was done to add information to the forum with no ulterior motive. At first, I had no intention to share my problem with this forum, but as I came across this thread by chance, and saw 1st poster's photo showing the EXACTLY SAME breakage in the base plate, I felt it was bit more than a coincidence. It's impossible to gather how many had this problem as not all M8 users frequent this forum, and not every member cares to share their problems.

 

Please take my post without alarm, make what you will, but the exact same nature of my problem with the 1st poster did surprise me quite a bit, and the thought of possible repair charges that may incur depending on the reply from Leica is a bit frustrating. For those who are reading with concern, please take extra care when M8 is mounted on the tripod, and don't let the camera swing while on the 'ball', as this kind of impact I think will be the greatest cause of base plate failure. I was lucky as I caught the camera on its free fall from the tripod... with 90mm 2.0 lens on it.

 

oslo terry

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Terry--

You did right to post here. We're all trying to find out how widespread the problem is.

 

But we may be jumping the gun in getting on Godfrey's case. He may simply be a rare visitor who honestly posted what he thought was accurate, but had misunderstood or overstated.

 

Most of us here are frequent visitors (as you see by how often the same names appear as posters in this thread) and assume that other posters would also want to check on responses to their original comments.

 

A number of us have repeatedly asked for more information from Godfrey, but he hasn't responded. That is a big disappointment since we want to get a handle on the information.

 

But in fact, the fact that Godfrey hasn't responded may be a good indication that he isn't a troll. Most people whom we designate 'trolls' are relatively frequent visitors. If Godfrey had wanted to start a controversy, wouldn't he likely have visited again to see what kind of response he had generated?

 

Of course, he may be in hospital and unable to log in; or he may be snickering daily after signing on as "guest."

 

I agree that we haven't enough information to make any assumptions about his post. But we also haven't any information to indicate that he's a troll.

 

It's safe to say there have been four examples of a broken casting posts. And we're still awaiting Leica's response to Andreas' query.

 

Since we have so little more information about Godfrey's case, does anyone have an Allendale contact who might be able to shed more light on what the actual estimate communication was?

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I was one of the four who did list our experiences with base plate failure. This was done to add information to the forum with no ulterior motive. At first, I had no intention to share my problem with this forum, but as I came across this thread by chance, and saw 1st poster's photo showing the EXACTLY SAME breakage in the base plate, I felt it was bit more than a coincidence. It's impossible to gather how many had this problem as not all M8 users frequent this forum, and not every member cares to share their problems.

 

Please take my post without alarm, make what you will, but the exact same nature of my problem with the 1st poster did surprise me quite a bit, and the thought of possible repair charges that may incur depending on the reply from Leica is a bit frustrating. For those who are reading with concern, please take extra care when M8 is mounted on the tripod, and don't let the camera swing while on the 'ball', as this kind of impact I think will be the greatest cause of base plate failure. I was lucky as I caught the camera on its free fall from the tripod... with 90mm 2.0 lens on it.

 

oslo terry

 

Ok but did Leica repair or replace your camera free of charge?

That is the most important concern of other members on this forum and the question that needs to be answered. As I noted in a previous post there is a recessed area just underneath the lug on the body, it is clearly visible, making that area of the body half thinner and weaker then the rest and that is where the base plate locks.

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I've not experienced any problems of this nature - and rarely use my tripod, but saw that jrc's comment further up this thread seemed to suggest there shouldn't be be a problem unless using a tripod or hand grip. I'd be interested to understand what problem this might be, as I do use a hand grip all the time.

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Sorry. I should have made that clear. The far back original poster was Bill Hollinger, and his camera did break, as the photos show. He's the one who is a good friend and is absolutely above board. It is Godfrey, who re-started the post recently, who I am suspicious of. I find it out of the realm of reason that anyone at Leica would ever tell someone that using a camera in a vertical position on a tripod constitutes misuse. That is completely ridiculous and should have clued us all in on the spot.

Oh-I see. thanks for the clarification, Brent :)

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Ok but did Leica repair or replace your camera free of charge?

That is the most important concern of other members on this forum and the question that needs to be answered. As I noted in a previous post there is a recessed area just underneath the lug on the body, it is clearly visible, making that area of the body half thinner and weaker then the rest and that is where the base plate locks.

 

Haven't yet heard from Leica. It's been about 2 weeks so far, and maybe taking long due to the slow summer. I did ask the importer whether the repair would be under warranty or such like, but he did not know, and said will probably be sent to Germany anyways. Not the answer I hoped for, as the damage was so unusual and difficult to say caused by misuse.

 

oslo terry

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Terry--

You did right to post here. We're all trying to find out how widespread the problem is. ...

 

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Just trying to give a little contribution here, outside my photos which are mostly boring family shots.

:(

 

oslo terry

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Haven't yet heard from Leica. It's been about 2 weeks so far, and maybe taking long due to the slow summer. I did ask the importer whether the repair would be under warranty or such like, but he did not know, and said will probably be sent to Germany anyways. Not the answer I hoped for, as the damage was so unusual and difficult to say caused by misuse.

 

oslo terry

Thanks for the reply. Please keep the forum posted on the outcome.

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Haven't yet heard from Leica. It's been about 2 weeks so far, and maybe taking long due to the slow summer. I did ask the importer whether the repair would be under warranty or such like, but he did not know, and said will probably be sent to Germany anyways. Not the answer I hoped for, as the damage was so unusual and difficult to say caused by misuse.

 

oslo terry

 

Terry, Interfoto may take their own sweet time in getting things sorted and shipped off to Solms. Basically they don't do much, if any, work on the Ms these days (they did when it was Lars Farnes AS). You also, in my experience, have to be very careful in following what they do and making sure they do what you say. At they first sign of miscommunication talk to the head of their repair/service dept.

 

Best of luck!

- Carl

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I've not experienced any problems of this nature - and rarely use my tripod, but saw that jrc's comment further up this thread seemed to suggest there shouldn't be be a problem unless using a tripod or hand grip. I'd be interested to understand what problem this might be, as I do use a hand grip all the time.

I to very rarely use a tripod, I do on accasion, but I do use the Leica M8 grip all the time even though I've changed the covering to the griptac.

I have felt a movement when picking the camera up.

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Terry, Interfoto may take their own sweet time in getting things sorted and shipped off to Solms. Basically they don't do much, if any, work on the Ms these days (they did when it was Lars Farnes AS). You also, in my experience, have to be very careful in following what they do and making sure they do what you say. At they first sign of miscommunication talk to the head of their repair/service dept.

 

Best of luck!

- Carl

 

Wouldn't be surprised if they took a couple of months. Will push them maybe tomorow for an update. Thanks for the tip, Carl.

 

oslo terry

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I spoke w/ Leica in New Jersey yesterday about the lenses not locking in...seems to be more common that I thought.

 

Asked the tech if he's heard of the base plate failure ...he says they have never heard of any base plate failing.

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Asked the tech if he's heard of the base plate failure ...he says they have never heard of any base plate failing.

 

Well of course not!

 

It's the body casting that's failing, not the base plates.

 

They're staying attached to the tripod just fine. :) :)

 

(One must learn to be quite specific when dealing with Leica... ;) )

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