WarriorJazz Posted June 20, 2012 Share #1 Posted June 20, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, 6 months ago I was cursing and swearing I would never buy another Leica product again. My m6 went to a technician 4 times in one year for calibration!! I am very carefull with all my camera's but this was horrible. Almost all the roll's I shot came out blurry. So I sold all my stuff and switched to another system. I totally lost my faith in the reliability of the M's rangefinder. Looking on different forums I read that people sometimes never need to recallibrate their M! Was I just really unlucky?Was there something wrong with my M6 that the technician. Luke not find? Now I really miss the feel of a Leica and I'm playing arround with the thought of getting a M3 or M4. But before I do can anybody share their experience with reliability of the rangefinder? And how my times do you need to recallibrate your camera? And what is the most reliable M? Hope you can restore my faith... - Eelco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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andybarton Posted June 20, 2012 Share #2 Posted June 20, 2012 My M2 is nearly 10 years in my keeping. CLA'd once, but never "recalibrated". My M7 never had anything done to it, apart from the DX reader change and my MP is too new to worry about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted June 20, 2012 Share #3 Posted June 20, 2012 My M4 was fine for 40 years use until I had it serviced, and it came back from the first tech a bit off (vertical), even after two tries. So I sent it to DAG instead and it has been perfect since. Bought my M6 when it first came out, and it has never been off. Same for my (newer to me) CL, M9, and M5. I don't understand why so many people have trouble with them. However, I don't shoot a Noctilux! I normally use Summicrons, but have no trouble with my f1.4 and 1.5 CV lenses either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted June 20, 2012 Share #4 Posted June 20, 2012 Never had "recalibrations" on any of my M film bodies, either. Just a CLA. And the optional MP focus patch upgrade on one of the M6 bodies. imho, the rangefinders seem pretty robust unless you either let a bad repair person play with them or drop them hard on concrete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted June 20, 2012 Share #5 Posted June 20, 2012 My M2 was CLA'd about 10 years ago, but no recalibration. My M3 has never been touched. They get average careful use - I don't drop them. Both are perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojancast Posted June 21, 2012 Share #6 Posted June 21, 2012 I think the tech may be the proble Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
too old to care Posted June 21, 2012 Share #7 Posted June 21, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've owned my M6 since new, about 1998, still never seen the service tech. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorJazz Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks guys. Good to hear that you have such good experiences. I guess the technian is the one who needs to be calibrated :-) Is it possible that a certain lens could have been the problem? Arround that time I got a 50mm summilux. The combination of this lens an my m6 never was a success. Are all M rangefinders the same and as reliable? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alw Posted June 21, 2012 Share #9 Posted June 21, 2012 These stories of out-of-focus -bodies/lenses are always weird to hear as I´ve never ever had any troubles with my M-bodies during the 20 years I´ve used them. I only have them cleaned every 5 years or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
symmetron Posted June 21, 2012 Share #10 Posted June 21, 2012 Owned an M6 and had no problems. Bought two brand new MPs; both had issues. One had a screwed up meter and needed to be replaced. The other had a shutter problem. Leica stood tall, but it was a hassle especially since new. Bad luck I guess. It seems the older M's don't have many issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stack62 Posted June 22, 2012 Share #11 Posted June 22, 2012 I got an M3 about two years ago, adjusted the rangefinder with no problem and it's been fine ever since. The good thing about the M3 is that you can adjust the rangefiner yourself without any special tools. Not sure about the M4?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 22, 2012 Share #12 Posted June 22, 2012 It is not a good idea to generalize from one experience. A number of people have already given their happier accounts, so please consider a number of possibilities. They do not necessarily apply to your case, and the list is not complete. So: did you determine the pictures were fuzzy by looking at the processed film or prints? was the problem the camera or the lens? were you using a new-to-you lens? Was it a collapsible? were the fuzzy pictures taken in a new-to-you situation? was the technician certified or certifiable? Leica Solms or New Jersey? did the person who bought it from you report any problem with the setup? Regarding what Leica M is best, you will get too many opinions. There was no bad Leica M. Some people baby their cameras. Some do not. The reports of the M3 being the best bother me because there were so many different M3 cameras; too many changes to please me. That's my opinion. What lens(es) do you plan to use? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorJazz Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share #13 Posted June 22, 2012 Hi Pico, Thanks for your long reply. I spent close to a year trying to find out what was wrong with this thing. The errors were with different lenses, scanned negs and prints from the shop. If I focussed on a subject somewhere far on the horizon I could clearly see that the horizontal focus was off again. I just guess it was just broke and the technician could not find the true problem. He was not certified. I did not want to send it to Solms since my M8 broke down twice and spend more that 4 months over there... I'm first going to try to find a good looking M3 or maybe a M6 again and buy a cheap Jupiter 8 until I learn to trust the camera again. If it works out I'll probably het a 35mm summicron or a Zeiss... Maybe a Voigtlander ;-) Have to see how much budget I have left after the body. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted June 22, 2012 Share #14 Posted June 22, 2012 Unknown lens and you are back to the problem. Who-what is at fault. If a RF needs constant touch up, it is broken or you are doing something wrong. You need to look at backlighted negs through a reversed 50mm lens. Then you know if they are sharp. Run some tests.The RF is calibrated for infinity and 1 meter from the film plane. Film plane is marked on top plate. INfinity is 1000 yards, not the building across the street. Once you farm out work like scanning & printing, you lost control and do not know where faults lie. Cheap processing is the bane of film photography in the USA. I get prints regularly from Europe and they do much better work. We have great labs, but you will pay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted June 22, 2012 Share #15 Posted June 22, 2012 I'm first going to try to find a good looking M3 or maybe a M6 again and buy a cheap Jupiter 8 until I learn to trust the camera again. If it works out I'll probably het a 35mm summicron or a Zeiss... Maybe a Voigtlander ;-) Have to see how much budget I have left after the body. I've bought several new Voigtlander lenses from CameraQuest, and every one has been spot-on focus on my M9, where it's easy to check with no processing or scanning to confuse things. They also work great on my film Ms, so my bodies also agree closely. I haven't tried their ultra-speed 1.1 or 1.2 lenses, but even the 1.4 and 1.5 models had exact focus at max aperture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorJazz Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share #16 Posted June 24, 2012 Thanks your stories and feedback. Can anyone recommend a great seller where I can get a m3/4 with warranty? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 24, 2012 Share #17 Posted June 24, 2012 [...]INfinity is 1000 yards, not the building across the street. So true. That should be engraved upon our memory. One thing I love about the Leica M is the very discriminating RF even at distances many would consider 'infinity', when in fact the subject is closer, and the RF will show that. I wonder if we should start a thread of common operator-errors, misjudgements, fallacies. I could list my own errors, but it would be too long. Tom wrote, "I've bought several new Voigtlander lenses from CameraQuest" If I may add - Cameraquest owner Stephen Gandy has been marvelous. He is not one for any but brief, business-like communication but once when I thought I got a bad lens he offered to send it back even though I had not asked for that. (and I am glad I did not send it back because it was just fine on the M cameras. I had tried it on an 4/3 unit. My serious error.) Aside: Voigtlander's lens adapters are very good. One in particular for mounting Leica lenses to M4/3 cameras has a feature others do not - a ridge that keeps a collapsible lens from entering into the body far enough to hit the sensor. That's a good thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 24, 2012 Share #18 Posted June 24, 2012 Thanks your stories and feedback.Can anyone recommend a great seller where I can get a m3/4 with warranty? M3/4 is a bit confusing. You mean an M3 or M4, correct? Please tell us where you live so that we don't recommend a too-distant dealer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 24, 2012 Share #19 Posted June 24, 2012 My M2 is nearly 10 years in my keeping. CLA'd once, but never "recalibrated". My M7 never had anything done to it, apart from the DX reader change and my MP is too new to worry about. Apart from 10 years (4 in my case) I could have written the same post, word for word. Regards. Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorJazz Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share #20 Posted June 25, 2012 M3/4 is a bit confusing. You mean an M3 or M4, correct? Please tell us where you live so that we don't recommend a too-distant dealer. Sorry about the confusion I live in the Netherlands. But the web is a wonderfull thing so a trustworthy European seller would do too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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