Delivery of 39, 46mm Leica IR Cut Filters

[photolandscape]

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I was at home this a.m. sort of taking my own sweet time getting around to going to work, when I saw the FedEx guy walking up to my door. Opened the door, and there were my two Leica IR filters. I had registered for them on 1.2.07. Not terribly significant, but interestingly, the boxes both say "Made in Germany," but on the invoice the country of manufacture is listed as Japan. They were sent from a fulfillment company in Wetzlar, Germany on 3.22.07, So, they really exist and they are hitting doorsteps around the world. I'm anxious to put them to the test.

[James Mitchell]

I ordered the same two back in early December and have not seen them yet. Hopefully soon. There doesn't seem to be any priority given to early registrations and orders.

[DaveEP]

My E39 & E46 arrived by Fed-Ex today too - I am in the UK

[finkaudio]

My E39 & E46 arrived by Fed-Ex today too - I am in the UK

 

Hi,

 

maybe they only ship 39 and 46mm right now and that's the reason some people got filters others did not (like me).

 

Best regards

 

Karl-Heinz

[judybabinski]

Hi Just this minute received my E39 & E46 black filters. Both the box and the metal ring on the filter say Made in Germany. I purchased and registered my M8 around end of December.

 

Question, my 28mm and 35mm lenses are not coded, but assume the filters will still offer some relief from the magenta, I will just have to deal with some cyan corners. BUt not an issue if the images are converted to B&W.

 

I am off to Sicily this Thursday for a workshop to photograph the Easter processions. Taking the glorious M8 of course, but also M7 as back up. Will post some pics when I return.

 

Judy

[Artichoke]

that these filters are taking so long to deliver

Leica has known about this problem since December (and should have known about it well before) ...production of the filters should have been ramped up long ago

it is not as if they had to make a new design

I cannot imagine that their manufacture is all that technically challenging

maybe ir/cut filters require some sort of rare ingredient:(

[gogopix]

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I think the rare ingredient is Schneider.

 

MAny companies need to set up production lines, and make model runs. It does take time. And yes, glass (eg Noctilux) can be exotic and in scarce supply.

 

And there is the B+W line that Schneider needs to keep going. It is their long term business. I am surprised they responded so quickly.

It's just the real world of tight inventory control.. I remember waiting ovewr 6 mos till B+W ran a circular polarizer I needed.

[robsteve]

that these filters are taking so long to deliver

Leica has known about this problem since December (and should have known about it well before) ...production of the filters should have been ramped up long ago

it is not as if they had to make a new design

I cannot imagine that their manufacture is all that technically challenging

maybe ir/cut filters require some sort of rare ingredient:(

 

 

It could be as simple at not having the 60mm mounting rings. If the filters are made by a third party, it is very possible that they do not have a stock on 60mm filter rings. I think only B+W and Heliopan currently make any filters in E60, so if the manufacturer is another company, it may need to design and make the E60 rings.

[jaapv]

The problem was lack of proper filter glass. Apparently the first rush on Schneider used up all the glass in Europe (it is pretty rare and hard to produce stuff), so Leica had to shop around for somebody that could produce on short notice. Japan seems to have turned out to be the place where they could fire up the machines fastest, but even then , it takes time to get the train rolling. I suppose they are turning out the mounts in order of largest batch first....

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Well we forget about all that actually goes into this. outside of the glass itself the ring mounts and the sizes plus the imprinting of the name on it. The plastic box design and than the paper box it is shipped in. There could be 5 different companies working on it at the same time. Let's not forget the instructions too

[Artichoke]

Well we forget about all that actually goes into this. outside of the glass itself the ring mounts and the sizes plus the imprinting of the name on it. The plastic box design and than the paper box it is shipped in. There could be 5 different companies working on it at the same time. Let's not forget the instructions too

it has been 5 months since this problem was known (and certainly it would amaze me if the serious folks testing the camera had not known about this sooner)

whole buildings are erected in that time

a 60 mm mount can't take all that much engineering horse power & I am pretty certain BW had ir/cut filters available prior to the release of the M8

I have a great affection for my M8, but as I noted earlier, the problem with ir is much greater now that spring has arrived & foliage has had an infusion of chlorophyll

blacks are a much simpler fix than foliage greens

from the one ir/cut I have, I have seen how well the M8 deals with such greens (on a par with my S3, which is high compliment from me) but without the filter they are rendering a sickly yellow

Leica said in a post to me that the filters would ship in early February and now March is almost over

as I said I love my M8 & wish Leica well as a company, but they have dropped the ball on their fix

I think they did not anticipate the demand for this camera & are overwhelmed ...I also believe they will make good on their promises, but having seen what a difference the filters make I am itching to get mine, almost enough to purchase what would become a redundant filter

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Well i was not involved in any early testing. But being short handed and not expecting the issues is certainly part of the case. I am sure Leica was caught with there feet in the mud when all of this happened back then. it sounds real simple for us to say it does not need to take this much time but i worked at a fortune 200 company for 15 years that build avionics for jets and that is a 5 year plan in most cases and that is a short window. i want them as much as anybody don't get me wrong but there also dealing with other companies politics and processes too. I know this is not the same as building advanced avionics but when dealing with large companies feet draging is normal.