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An internet survey of LUF M8 experience to date


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Thank you for this survey. As the sample grows issues are seen in perspective. But we have to agree that the percentage is somewhat high.

 

Have you grouped the cameras' serial numbers with the incidence of issues, as to see if there have been any positive changes during the production?

 

We have to see it as a percentage of what... not just these respondents, but the whole batch of M8's that have been bought - I've got no idea what this is ... anyone know? As a percentage of this population it's likely to be tiny...

 

What we're seeing here is that people who are upset with the failure of something that SHOULDN'T fail, are, quite reasonably, making a lot of noise.. Problem is, that their pain is not shared by all M8 purchasers - but happy bunnies tend to keep quiet...

 

Still - interesting to know the total number of M8s that have been sold ... Then our numbers begin to mean a little more.

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I also don't know what exactly someone could do with a full serial number, and have actually posted mine in the past, but since it is the key to certain things at Leica and so on, it just feels odd, like posting a credit card number online, although it needs a signature or security number to use.

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Agree Carsten - and I fully respect your position. My motivation was to get as much information to Leica as possible ... but it was left partial (as I thought) + optional so we could make a choice.

 

If others would prefer me to delete this section of the survey, can do.

 

Best

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the serial number ... identifies the respondent to Leica, or at least identifies the original purchaser.

 

I just got off the phone with Leica in Solms, to see if my 30% lens order had been lost. (it had, apparently, so I am starting over.) They do not have the ability in customer service to put in a serial number and match it to a customer.

 

scott

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Scott - interesting point - even after we've registered? Seems wierd - unless it's an EU data protection issue - could well be.

 

Good - we can all feel a bit more secure?

 

re the Survey - we're up to 153 completed surveys GREAT!!! - I wonder if this is getting towards the upper number of owners who subscribe to the list?

 

Whatever, I'll leave this until Monday, though it's easy to leave open if you all think it's useful.

 

Best

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Scott - interesting point - even after we've registered? Seems wierd - unless it's an EU data protection issue - could well be.

 

Good - we can all feel a bit more secure?

 

re the Survey - we're up to 153 completed surveys GREAT!!! - I wonder if this is getting towards the upper number of owners who subscribe to the list?

 

Whatever, I'll leave this until Monday, though it's easy to leave open if you all think it's useful.

 

Best

 

Chris,

 

I would be surprised if M8 ownership numbers among the 11,314 total forum members, was not at least four to five times that number, English speakers alone. Perhaps the moderators would agree to this being made a sticky while your survey is current. It is important to all us M8 owners and should provide very useful feedback to Leica.

 

Wilson

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Scott - interesting point - even after we've registered? Seems wierd - unless it's an EU data protection issue - could well be.

 

Good - we can all feel a bit more secure?

 

I think it's just that the IT system at Leica seems like a compilation of a hundred subsystems, and certainly not designed to optimize each new task. They did a major website upgrade for a nice clean marketing interface, and they offer repair tracking by either serial number or work order number, in Solms, but not in NJ (at least not to my knowledge). Other functions seem like afterthoughts or legacies. Calling Solms or NJ on the phone still seems to be the best way to find out what is happening.

 

scott

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John - agreed. If there's anyone on this forum who would be willing to help, I would be happy to put up a German version. The text is pretty straightfoward:

 

The text of the survey is given below... I had a look at Google translate and it would have been an insult to our German speaking colleagues. If anyone's up for doing this, if you PM me with the new text, I'll cut and paste into a second version of the survey and send back with a request for you to post it to the German language forum.

 

==============================================================

This short survey is being made available as a service to the Leica M8 user community. Please be assured that no personal data is being held on this system. Althouh you are invited to include the date when you purchased your camera, the firmware that you are currently using, and the last 5 digits of your camera's reference number as a way of assisting Leica in its efforts to improve the long term reliability of our camera, nothing is obligatory...I've included some questions on operating system and image editing software as they may give an insight into which groups have had most problems with RAW processing.

 

Please note that this survey accepts that the IR issue is not going to go away, and that most of us will be using IR cut filters with our M8 when it comes to colour photography.

 

Thanks for completing the survey.

 

A summary of results will be posted to the Leica User Forum.

 

 

How long have you been using professional level digital cameras (RAW images)?

Less than 1 year

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

more than 4 years

 

 

Which computer operating system do you mainly use for your image processing workflow?

Apple Mac OS X

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Linux

Other

 

What is your most frequently used image mode?

DNG RAW

JPEG

 

 

Which software do you use REGULARLY to process Leica M8 DNG files?

C1 Lite

C1 Pro

ACR in Photoshop CS / Bridge

Lightroom

Aperture

Other

 

 

Please give below the MAIN brand of SD card that you use with the M8 + the model number

 

 

LEICA M8 BODY ONE

 

When did you purchase Leica M8 no. 1?

November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007

 

 

Please give below the LAST FIVE digits of your M8 body. This is not an obligation, and you can leave blank if you'd prefer not to share this information.

 

 

 

Approximately how many actuations / images have you made with this Leica M8?

Fewer than 500

500 - 999

1000 - 1999

2000 - 2999

3000 - 3999

4000 - 4999

5000 or more

 

 

Which firmware are you currently running on this body? (I've put in the whole sequence - I'm not sure what happened with 1.07 / 1.08!)

1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.091 1.092

 

 

What kinds of major problem have you faced when using this camera (if any)?

Camera was delivered with a mechanical fault (e.g. shutter failure)

Camera failed from new - it never comes to life.

Camera froze and never recovered

Camera freezes but recovers after replacing the battery

Camera freezes but recovers for no clear reason

No major problems

Other

 

 

RAW / DNG images. What inadequacies (if any) have you noticed in using this M8's white balance capability?

Auto White Balance gives unsatisfactory results

Daylight WB gives unsatisfactory results

Tungsten WB gives unsatisfactory results

Fluorescent WB gives unsatisfactory results

Flash WB gives unsatisfactory results

Cloudy WB gives unsatisfactory results

Flash WB gives unsatisfactory results

Manual WB gives unsatisfactory results

Kelvin setting gives unsatisfactory results

No problems

Other

 

How satisfied are you with this M8's out of camera JPEGs?

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Not applicable - I don't use JPEGs out of camera

 

 

What other image related problems have you had with your Leica M8 (if any)

Green stripe

Blobs

Rainbow stripes

Vertical stripe

Horizontal stripe

None of these problems

Other

 

 

What other problems have you noticed with this Leica M8?

Shutter actuation

Light metering

Focus coupling

Shutter speed setting

AE function

Menu display

Settings display

Battery level display

Remaining shots display

Image review functions

SD card slot problems (NOT SD card problems)

No problems noticed

Other

 

PROBLEM RESOLUTION

How have any problems you have faced been resolved?

Camera replaced as faulty by my dealer - problem fixed

Return to Leica for "upgrade" - problem fixed

Return to Leica for repair - problem fixed

Firmware update - problem fixed

Camera returned to dealer - I now don't own this Leica M8

I've had no problems

Other

 

Please give details of any other problems with this camera body in the space below.

 

 

I have a second M8 body

Yes

No

 

LEICA M8 BODY TWO

 

================================

THIS IS THE SAME TEXT AS FOR BODY #1

 

================================

FINAL SECTION

 

How satisfied are you overall with the Leica M8

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

 

What, if anything, do you particularly LIKE about the Leica M8?

Size

Ease of use

Image quality

Rangefinder focusing

Manual mode operation

AE mode operation

Other

 

 

Please give below any practical suggestions you have for the long term improvement of the Leica M8

 

 

If you're happy for Leica to contact you to follow up on any of these issues, please give your email address below (NB - I won't be sharing this information with anyone other than Guy who will then pass to Leica).

=============================================

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I speak German and could do a passable translation, but I am not native, so someone else would have to proof it. Anyway, most Germans that I have been in contact with speak English quite well, so I think you could post it as is, and people over there will probably just add translations to your thread.

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Andreas - if you think this would be acceptable to German speaking colleagues, could you post it with a) an apology for it being in English, B) any comments that you think might be needed to help people with any of the language, and c) our thanks from the community for their participation -- the wider the picture the better + it will be easier to summarise if all responses are in the one survey.

 

The link is: Leica M8 - issues

 

If you do post, great if you could advise back to this list. You might also want to forward the results so far to the German list so that people could see where we're up to and how their input will help ensure a balanced view.

 

For anyone interested I'm posting the latest version of the summary information - 162 completed responses.

 

Best

 

Chris

Survey _ Leica M8 - issues 20070316.pdf

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