rob_w Posted November 21, 2013 Share #1 Posted November 21, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Arranged a routine sensor clean of my M9 at Leica Mayfair and they advised instead that there was a "scratch" on the sensor which needed to be repaired. The sensor was last cleaned by Leica while the camera was in Solms for alignment adjustment in February 2011. This mark appeared between 13 and 22 May 2012 when there was no apparent activity which could have caused it. Certainly no sensor cleaning, inspection or similar. Because I shoot mostly at wide apertures it is not noticeable in photos. Once you know where to look it is quite easy to trace back to its exact first appearance. The mark is transverse to the direction of any cleaning -- not that it can be due to cleaning in any case. What is happening -- how can a mark like this appear spontaneously between one shooting assignment and the next? Appreciate any thoughts! Here is an enlarged picture of the mark: L9990017-2-2.pdf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 21, 2013 Posted November 21, 2013 Hi rob_w, Take a look here Scratch - crack - what is this?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
matlep Posted November 21, 2013 Share #2 Posted November 21, 2013 Hard to tell, but it looks like a crack. Send it in for repair. If it is a crack then i guess Leica will replace it for free. (See the long cracked sensor thread) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravastar Posted November 21, 2013 Share #3 Posted November 21, 2013 I have exactly the same problem on an M9. As far as I can tell it's a scratch in the antireflection coating on the sensor cover glass. What appears to happen is the particle causing the scratch rolls across the coating chipping it away. If you look carefully you can see the semi-circular chips in your picture. Before this happened on my camera spots appeared on the coating which were impossible to remove, it looked as if there were areas on cover glass coating which were peeling off. From other postings on the forum it would appear that some sensor batches have had a problem of the coating not adhering to the substrate and in these cases Leica have repaired free of charge. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_w Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted November 22, 2013 Thanks for the feedback, it helps to know others have seen similar problems. Have spoken with Leica and the camera is tucked up in its box ready to go home to Solms for a brief stay. (Hopefully brief ... ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted November 22, 2013 Share #5 Posted November 22, 2013 I'm surprised that Leica Mayfair didn't handle this for you directly. Poor service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted November 23, 2013 Share #6 Posted November 23, 2013 The actual cracks in M9 sensors ran all the way from edge to edge (generally across one corner). So I'd go with a scratch or gouge, or the coating separation mentioned by gravastar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matlep Posted November 23, 2013 Share #7 Posted November 23, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) The actual cracks in M9 sensors ran all the way from edge to edge (generally across one corner). So I'd go with a scratch or gouge, or the coating separation mentioned by gravastar. Actually, I had a friend who had a cracked sensor that did not go from edge to edge. It was a 2mm crack almost in the middle. We thought it was a scratch, but Leica stated a crack in the CS files. They swapped it without cost even though it was out of warranty. It looked almost exactly like the OP´s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_w Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted November 24, 2013 I'm surprised that Leica Mayfair didn't handle this for you directly. Poor service. Hi James, I should have said Leica Mayfair did offer to assist and it is via them that the camera will go back to Solms. They were unclear however as to the nature of the mark, which is why I posted here. Like Andy I expected cracks to look like, well, cracks. But this mark appeared spontaneously, just like a crack would, even though it looks more like a scratch. Hopefully the camera will not be away too long. Thanks everyone for helpful comments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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