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I talked to someone at Leica New Jersey last week regarding a hot pixel and spots that I thought might be oil on the sensor. I have never cleaned the sensor and have changed lenses less than a dozen times since I have had the Monochrom. Now I am wondering if the issue is delamination. Does anyone recognize the condition in the attached file???

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Edited by chris_sanford
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Those look more like dust spots.

 

The de-lamination spots look more like a skin disease.

 

Edit: I note that you have added further examples of your sensor and I concur with those below, who consider the straight line to be an example of the problem with the sensor and not only dust.

Edited by andybarton
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Sounds reasonable. Still. Leica engineers must have known about the danger, so there must have been a compelling reason to go this route. Any ideas?

 

The transmittance of the S8612 glass is optimal for absorbing IR light and transmitting Visible light. Other glasses in the Schott lineup are as efficient in passing visible light, but not as good absorbing IR. Others are as good at absorbing IR, but not as good at transmitting Visible light. On the basis of optical properties alone, the S8612 is the best choice. Resistance to humidity- other types of glass are better. Often, that's the trade-off. In 1979 a PhD Physicist taught me the law of "conservation of inconvenience". Goes along with Murphy's law.

 

Products | SCHOTT North America

 

No signs of corrosion on my M9 and M Monochrom, I hope that S8612 seal lasts forever because the glass is just so efficient. If it doesn't, nice to know that Leica will take care of the problem.

Edited by Lenshacker
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Chris- have you tried a blower to clean the sensor? Dust spots will either go away, or at least change position. Oil spots could "smear". The white corrosion spots will remain unchanged. I've had a sensor get this dirty when the paint of a light baffle of a lens started flaking. Of course I was taking a picture of the blue sky to look for dust spots, and the paint flaked into the sensor. It cleaned off.

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Hi, K-H,

 

It's the whole sensor...

 

I tried to add an enlargement of a section.

 

chris

 

Thanks Chris. That doesn't look like dust to me.

I would take it in to Leica and have them examine it.

After all sensor cleaning by them is supposed to be free of charge.

Good luck

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I talked to someone at Leica New Jersey last week regarding a hot pixel and spots that I thought might be oil on the sensor. I have never cleaned the sensor and have changed lenses less than a dozen times since I have had the Monochrom. Now I am wondering if the issue is delamination. Does anyone recognize the condition in the attached file???

The straight bubbled line looks a lot like the flaw I saw on my Monochrom sensor. I have no verdict by Leica yet.

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Hi there Chris

I'm with Jaap - it looks to me that the straight bubbled line might be a problem - the rest, on the other hand, looks like dust.

 

However . . with the new information from Leica . . I think a bit of pragmatism is relevant here.

 

. . . saying this, I have an MM which shows a tiny spot of problem, and an M9 which shows something similar to what you have.

 

My feeling is that there might be a final solution - but even if there isn't, the queue will die down over the next few months and it'll be much simpler and quicker to get it fixed.

 

If you've managed all that dust on the sensor without noticing a degradation of image quality (absolutely reasonable) - then it seems to me that little line isn't likely to be noticeable either.

 

Now you have the assurance that it can be fixed - why not wait and get a new sensor (and presumably a CLA etc) later rather than sooner?

 

That's what I'm doing

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Thanks, Jono; that's kind of what I was leaning towards. I tend to shoot wide open (or nearly, anyway) with Summicrons; it's only if I'm doing some landscapes with a lot of clear sky that it tends to make itself evident.

 

I think that waiting for the resolution to be in place would make me feel a lot better and, as you have said, will be warrantied that much further down the road.

 

I do love the Monochrom, but following this issue has made me think more about the longevity of digital cameras and has me getting the itch to do more film. I have quite a few film cameras, many 50 - 75 years old, that are still relevant... and fun!

 

I appreciate you sharing your time and thoughts - thanks again!

 

best,

Chris

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I'm thinking I might not look until it becomes an obvious problem, and hopefully by then I will have the option of a trade-in on whatever is coming next ...

 

Sounds sensible to me.

I looked - and I found - but it was clear that the dust I hadn't bothered to clean (because it wasn't a problem) was much more significant than the very tiny defect.

 

I rather wish I'd been grownup enough not to look - but at least I AM grown up enough not to do anything about it until it becomes obvious on real images.

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I am not going to bother Leica until, if, I find an intolerable defect. As a retired professional photographer I have no images flaws that cannot be repaired. I believe the same is true for any discriminating amateur, but how many of such exist?

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I am not going to bother Leica until, if, I find an intolerable defect. As a retired professional photographer I have no images flaws that cannot be repaired. I believe the same is true for any discriminating amateur, but how many of such exist?

 

Oh, surely there are lots of us, but very few with such a good avatar :p. I do agree though - and I'm in exactly the same camp. What I can say is that (despite finding a defect) I've never had to repair any image flaws as a result of it. Maybe the true discriminating amateur DOES take pictures of large white expanses at f16 (but I don't) (at least, not ones I care about).

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