oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Share #1 Posted March 11, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Saturday I finally decided to shop for an M8, after a long story with M6 and M7 (I used to post under the nickname of Snapper in the old leica forum, maybe somebody roughly remembers me). I went to the dealer and told him I was already convinced, that my only request was to be able to actually check if the camera worked before paying. He said this was not possible, that it would not have been new anymore and that he already sold forty. Given the reply, I was ready to walk away, but since I knew the dealer was reputable and I shopped there before without anything to complain, I decided to risk it. bottom line: camera is a dream but there is a problem: the exposure lock little red light in the display will not light up when I half press the button. Luckily the exposure lock function itself works perfectly. You know I hate it because I know that I have 2 choices: keep it like it is and live with it or return it and wait for it to be fixed. what do you think I should do? ciao! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 Hi oldsnapper, Take a look here New M8, viewfinder exposure lock missing dot. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
gravastar Posted March 11, 2007 Share #2 Posted March 11, 2007 Since it's so new I'd return it to the dealer and ask for a replacement. It was clearly defective out of the box. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted March 11, 2007 Share #3 Posted March 11, 2007 Hi Giulio, welcome to the forum. It's a nice place to get informations about the Leica Camera Range. To answer your question I would recommend to read the threads about the M8 from, lets say January07. After this you'll be able to calculate the riscs which you will buy with this huge amount of cash. As it is more and more evident the M8 has unknown failures and nearly every week new ones are coming to the surface..... Three weeks ago I got my 2.hand M7 this is a camera you can trust, but you have already... I'll wait until the dust has settled and develop and scan and and... Bernd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted March 11, 2007 Thanks for your quick replies. 1) return as defective out of the box: I don't think this is viable, I believe that once the camera is sold, the dealer has no obligation to take it back and give you a new camera when they offer to repair it for free. Does Leica have a different policy? 2) huge amount of money buys a lot of problems: yes, true.(btw I had read the forum all along before buying) Leica in my opinion is really a mechanical company. they do not have experience or resources to handle this kind of electronics on such small run productions as the M8. I suggest you read the old leica forum starting say january '04 (or was it '05? anyway the january immediately after the m7 introduction) you should see how many problems the m7 had with the electronics... 3) I think leica reached their top with the m6 (non ttl). that camera is a bomb: mechanically indestructible as the older ones and the electronics is of the old kind (for example the exposure meter has a different technology from that used in the MP) and if it fails, everything apart meter works as a dream. 4) the M8 produces incredible pictures, it's a dream to use and many many photogs know that it's another level from anything else. still, it's like using a Formula 1 racecar, so cutting edge that you could die in it. But, boy, when it works you can win the world cup! Go ask Michael Schumacher if he would have traded his ferrari for a volvo during his GP career... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted March 11, 2007 Share #5 Posted March 11, 2007 Saturday I finally decided to shop for an M8, after a long story with M6 and M7 (I used to post under the nickname of Snapper in the old leica forum, maybe somebody roughly remembers me). I went to the dealer and told him I was already convinced, that my only request was to be able to actually check if the camera worked before paying. He said this was not possible, that it would not have been new anymore and that he already sold forty. Given the reply, I was ready to walk away, but since I knew the dealer was reputable and I shopped there before without anything to complain, I decided to risk it. bottom line: camera is a dream but there is a problem: the exposure lock little red light in the display will not light up when I half press the button. Luckily the exposure lock function itself works perfectly. You know I hate it because I know that I have 2 choices: keep it like it is and live with it or return it and wait for it to be fixed. what do you think I should do? ciao! Two stupid questions for you but just to make sure: Are you in A mode on the shutter speed dial? Did you know that there are two semipressed modes before release? The first one wakes the camera up and the second one locks exposure. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted March 11, 2007 Share #6 Posted March 11, 2007 Giulio, also bear in mind that many people have had no problems whatsoever. I fall into that category. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted March 11, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Tim, my answer is yes to both your questions. thanks for asking, it is always good to make sure that the easy way has been followed before scratching the head thinking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted March 11, 2007 Share #8 Posted March 11, 2007 Just to repeat what Tim said: there is no halfway. There is 1/3 to wake it, and 2/3 to hold the exposure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetccox Posted March 11, 2007 Share #9 Posted March 11, 2007 Thanks for your quick replies. 1) return as defective out of the box: I don't think this is viable, I believe that once the camera is sold, the dealer has no obligation to take it back and give you a new camera when they offer to repair it for free. Does Leica have a different policy? . I am not sure about Italy, but most European countries have a law to protect you from defective merchandise. In Poland, for example, the dealer has to take the merchandise back and either give you another new item or refund your money. There is of course a time limit for this. The dealers do not want you to know about this law. I would advise you to call the appropriate consumer authority for Italy or take a chance that the law exists and simply tell the dealer he has give you a new camera or a refund. There is no reason for a warranty repair on brand new merchandise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share #10 Posted March 11, 2007 steve: well I know that many did not have problems, I know that Canon's have similar problems.I know I know. I just say 2 things: 1) I had an M6: no problems. I had an M7: problems. I now have an M8: problems. 2) If I have problems, the fact that many people do not have them doesn't solve my problem. Nice to see you still active, your paris M6 series of pictures a day got me into buying my first m6 back then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share #11 Posted March 11, 2007 just to get back to the problem: I know how exposure memory works, I have an M7 that does the same trick. on my M8 everything works except for the red light in the vf that should light up when the button is in the second step. would you return the camera? I am starting to feel that the memory lock is quite noticeable with the finger (provided you do not wear gloves) therefore one could live with it and have less clutter on the screen (I know it is far fetched but you know that Leica loves to quote the bugs as features, like with the article on LFI about the infrared problem, that made me laugh... I quote from page 33: "photographing darks clothing remains precarious and green plants in particular may turn excessively bright when exposed with the M8. the latter, however, may sometimes even do the picture a favour". clearly they need better pr there... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted March 11, 2007 Share #12 Posted March 11, 2007 Giulio, the only Leica I ever had problems with were with my M6. It locked up on day one of a two week holiday in France. I've no intention of making light of your problem with the M8, it's just that we only seem to hear of the problems - that's just the way that we as human beings operate :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
35mmSummicron Posted March 11, 2007 Share #13 Posted March 11, 2007 i understand that the red LED dot is not showing up, but does the shutter actually lock the exposure like its supposed to? are your pictures exposed correctly? afterall that is the most important thing.......while it is disappointing not getting a product that's 100% advertised, maybe its something you can live without and get it fixed when you need to send in the M8 body for some other reason....perhaps it is something as simple as a prematurely burnt out LED? /a just to get back to the problem: I know how exposure memory works, I have an M7 that does the same trick. on my M8 everything works except for the red light in the vf that should light up when the button is in the second step. would you return the camera? I am starting to feel that the memory lock is quite noticeable with the finger (provided you do not wear gloves) therefore one could live with it and have less clutter on the screen (I know it is far fetched but you know that Leica loves to quote the bugs as features, like with the article on LFI about the infrared problem, that made me laugh... I quote from page 33: "photographing darks clothing remains precarious and green plants in particular may turn excessively bright when exposed with the M8. the latter, however, may sometimes even do the picture a favour". clearly they need better pr there... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted March 11, 2007 Share #14 Posted March 11, 2007 I have a missing segment on the least significant digit LED and it is startign to bug me more and more. The problem is I don't want to be without the camera for 2 months to get it fixed. I purchased from a dealer in Florida and I live in California so plus I have had it for 2 months so I don't think going back to the dealer is an option. Other than that it appears to be working correctly so I am waiting. If I do get a serious failure then I will deal with it at that time. I still think Leica should replace defective units and resell the refurbs like Epson does at a discount. I know I will push very hard for a replacement if mine fails before I will accept a 2 month period for a warranty repair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnapper Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted March 11, 2007 yes exactly, the exposure lock works and pictures are exposed as intended. only problem is the dot. I can live pretty much without it, but... as everybody who is buying anything expensive I think that I deserve it to be like it should... I know that if I go to buy a horse I may take it without an ear if it runs fast. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstotler Posted March 12, 2007 Share #16 Posted March 12, 2007 Just to repeat what Tim said: there is no halfway. There is 1/3 to wake it, and 2/3 to hold the exposure. Carstenw to the rescue again. That solves my mystery of how to lock the speed in--I wasn't exactly sure *why* I wasn't getting a lock indication. (I didn't pay much attention because I've largely been avoiding A.) The "there is no halfway" comment encouraged me to press down until *just before* shutter release and, sure enough, there it was. Sorry to jump in to the thread, but this was super useful and the answer was apparently obvious to just about everybody but me. Thanks! -Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted March 12, 2007 Share #17 Posted March 12, 2007 Giulio, I would discuss it with your dealer and see what they say. If they are as good as they say, the really ought to do something for you, other than send it to Leica for 6 weeks. The camera is brand-new, after all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neelin Posted July 26, 2007 Share #18 Posted July 26, 2007 I have a missing segment on the least significant digit LED and it is startign to bug me more and more. The problem is I don't want to be without the camera for 2 months to get it fixed. I purchased from a dealer in Florida and I live in California so plus I have had it for 2 months so I don't think going back to the dealer is an option. Other than that it appears to be working correctly so I am waiting. If I do get a serious failure then I will deal with it at that time. I still think Leica should replace defective units and resell the refurbs like Epson does at a discount. I know I will push very hard for a replacement if mine fails before I will accept a 2 month period for a warranty repair. I just had the same start problem tonight. I am missing the upper right vertical segment on the 6000 > 6x00 on the digit marked x. robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth_c Posted July 26, 2007 Share #19 Posted July 26, 2007 the answer was apparently obvious to just about everybody but me. Thanks! -Will Don't worry, I will join your exclusive club! I had mine a while before working out the 2/3rds rule! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted July 26, 2007 Share #20 Posted July 26, 2007 I finally had to get mine exchanged when it also stopped turning on until the shutter button was pressed. I insisted on an exchange as I did not want to be without a camera at this cost for 6 or more weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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