Why I cancelled and then reordered a Leica M240 - and never buying Leica again

[hamey]

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So -be happy to use the camera that fits your needs, but do not fall into the Internet trap of loudly proclaiming superiority of your gear. It is superior, for you- but not for others.

 

Thats my opinion and most proffessionals who use the Canon gear, I will stick with that statment.

 

Or are you one of those foolhardy persons that walks into the Arsenal’s supporter home loudly proclaiming that Chelsea is better?

 

As a long time Arsenal supporter why not, in some years Chelsea has been better.

 

We have to except the truth, we need to change and improve, PROTEST and COMPLAIN to make it better.

How long have you been using Leica equipment mister, I have been using their stuff since 1973, probably

you wasn't born then.

 

As a long time Leica owner I have the right to COMPLAIN as that is the only way to convince SOLMS

That they are not producing the quality stuff we expect from this once great photografic campany.

You're obviously prejudice towards me, frankly I couldn't careless what you think however I am not the only one on this great forum that complains and expresses our dissatisfaction about Leica equipment.

 

Didn't you bitch about your hotshoe on your range finder coming apart and requirment to go back to solms.

 

Isn't funny, how the truth hurts.

 

Sayonara.

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[jaapv]

So -be happy to use the camera that fits your needs, but do not fall into the Internet trap of loudly proclaiming superiority of your gear. It is superior, for you- but not for others.

 

Thats my opinion and most proffessionals who use the Canon gear, I will stick with that statment.

 

Or are you one of those foolhardy persons that walks into the Arsenal’s supporter home loudly proclaiming that Chelsea is better?

 

As a long time Arsenal supporter why not, in some years Chelsea has been better.

 

We have to except the truth, we need to change and improve, PROTEST and COMPLAIN to make it better.

How log have you been using Leica equipment mister, I have been using their stuff since 1973, probably

you wasn't born then.

 

As a long time Leica owner I have the right to COMPLAIN as that is the only way to convince SOLMS

That they are not producing the quality stuff we expect from this once great photografic campany.

You're obviously prejudice towards me, frankly I couldn't careless what you think however I am not the only one on this great forum that complains and expresses our dissatisfaction about Leica equipment.

 

Didn't you bitch about your hotshoe on your range finder coming apart and requirment to go back to solms.

 

Isn't funny, how the truth hurts.

 

Sayonara.

 

Hmm.. 1973 - I had been using my M3 a few years before that; I beat you by a decade - I wish I were not born then yet

 

You're right, I sat on my M9 plus flash and the hot shoe screws broke - probably a weakest point type of engineering. As for bitching - that was my wife taking the opportunity to point out the relationship between body mass and broken cameras...

 

On the subject of soccer fans, I admire your courage...

 

Still, preferring other gear is perfectly fine - for you.. Bear in mind that it may not be that way for others.

[hamey]

My apology to your birth date.

 

In 1963 I was having fun chasing girls and lisening to rock- n -roll to worry about photografic equipment, my first camera was a Minolta SRT 101 in 1969.

 

My Criticism of Leica is to their Digital models, not their Film models on which I can only and always praise.

 

Ken.

[jaapv]

My first one was an unbranded box camera in 1953...

[Leonil]

So to further the saga, I have received my refund - and I was really hoping to have my camera in my hands by Friday in time for Australia Day celebrations. (Had to delay my flight so now I can document Australia Day in the town I work as a teacher.)

 

In order to do this, The New Camera House in Lismore had to get the money by today, they ship it today, and then I receive it Thursday, maybe Friday. (Parcels take 2-3 days within the same state normally if all is well.) So I withdrew all the money ALL OF IT, and walked 1 kilometre across Sydney (since Im still in Sydney during the school break) with thousands of bucks in my camera back, and then directly deposited into the stores account so they had the money within minutes instead of waiting for due process with paying by credit card. (Long story short - Leica Australia recommended this new dealer that's why I did what I did - and it skips the delay of waiting for Wednesday to post.)

 

So now, the Package was posted at 4pm Tuesday - It will travel Wednesday, and delivered Thursday or Friday morning. Got the tracking numbers and receipt sitting in my email.

 

I jumped through a lot of hoops - but its been 7 years, 3 months and 5 days, hundreds of skipped lunches, sold video games, buying lots of glue to fix my light stands and thread to mend my white cotton seamless backdrops, shirts and borrowing my dad's suit jacket when mine started to tear and go grey. Using pens at work and not upgrading my Adobe CS2, and I still have Lightroom 3. Unashamedly asking my mum to promote me at her work to get clients. Its the accumulation of getting the second best of everything I own - Instead of the 5Dmk2, I got the 7D, instead of the 24-70, I got the 15-85, instead of a 2.8, I got an f/4 and so on..... Oh and lots and lots of Ikea furniture for my new house.

 

I'll let you guys know how it goes when the camera comes in and I do a bunch of Quality testing on a white wall to see if there are issues with the sensor and the Rangefinder. in the meantime, I cant stop looking at my receipt and tracking number. I thought this day would never come.

 

As I said before, It will be a long time before I buy another Leica item new, second hand sure, but I don't want another poor experience if its not directly from Leica - in the mean time, I will maintain communication with the NCH Lismore store and even though they are a 11 hour drive away from Canberra, I will probably only order gear from them from here on in.

 

Leo

 

PS: I love my Canon gear, its my workhorse. It does Everything I need it to do - it will shoot more things and do more than any Leica... Having said that - This is my first Rangefinder, and that is one thing Canon cannot do - give me an experience that's all about the photography, not the camera - I had 5 minutes of that experience, and I knew it was the right camera for me. Now... time to save for a 5Dmk4 or 5

[MarkP]

In 1963 I was having fun chasing girls to worry about photografic equipment, my first camera was a Minolta SRT 101 in 1969.

 

Ken.

 

In 1961 (well the second half of) I was in still utero...

but I was thinking about my first Leica

[Leonil]

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So -be happy to use the camera that fits your needs, but do not fall into the Internet trap of loudly proclaiming superiority of your gear. It is superior, for you- but not for others.

 

Thats my opinion and most proffessionals who use the Canon gear, I will stick with that statment.

 

Or are you one of those foolhardy persons that walks into the Arsenal’s supporter home loudly proclaiming that Chelsea is better?

 

As a long time Arsenal supporter why not, in some years Chelsea has been better.

 

We have to except the truth, we need to change and improve, PROTEST and COMPLAIN to make it better.

How long have you been using Leica equipment mister, I have been using their stuff since 1973, probably

you wasn't born then.

 

As a long time Leica owner I have the right to COMPLAIN as that is the only way to convince SOLMS

That they are not producing the quality stuff we expect from this once great photografic campany.

You're obviously prejudice towards me, frankly I couldn't careless what you think however I am not the only one on this great forum that complains and expresses our dissatisfaction about Leica equipment.

 

Didn't you bitch about your hotshoe on your range finder coming apart and requirment to go back to solms.

 

Isn't funny, how the truth hurts.

 

Sayonara.

 

I agree. Although, I hope I don't sound like some wiper snapper but I honestly believe that after 9 years of shooting (since 2003 - 4 of those years film) I have had yet find a camera that did what I wanted it to do for ME I mean, all my gear from my Pentax MZ50, OM1 and my Olympus E510 and my Canon 7D what I needed... but not what I wanted for me. I could not enjoy or experience photography, I only enjoyed sharing the photos... The Leica was the first time I honestly felt like I was part of the scene, and there was the sheer pleasure of just shooting and not worrying about anything else except waiting for that moment.

 

I openly complain about Leica, but not about Canon or Olympus (well, I complained about Pentax going bust) because I care about the company and what they offered and sold. I want something good - its why I didn't get the M9 and stuck to my guns to get the M despite its faults because its faults were not the ones that were important to me. But I will happily demand more from a company that has made mistakes as I did with Pentax. Canon and others I don't because they deliver what they say - workhorse cameras with features that work for particular styles... Leica offers something different - and it did it right with the M3, the M7 and MP imo. It got close with the M9 but it got it right for me when the M released.

[hamey]

Hi Leonil.

 

One thing our Canon's cannot equal is Leica's film cameras, the sheer magic that emanates from my M7

and the 35mm f2 asph and the 50mm1.4 asph with Provia slide film is simply beautiful.

 

If you ever get the chance, try it, you will be blown away by the shear magic.

 

Ken.

[Leonil]

Hi Leonil.

 

One thing our Canon's cannot equal is Leica's film cameras, the sheer magic that emanates from my M7

and the 35mm f2 asph and the 50mm1.4 asph with Provia slide film is simply beautiful.

 

If you ever get the chance, try it, you will be blown away, by the shear magic.

 

Ken.

 

Oh great, I think I slipped and ordered an A la carte M7, and broke open the seal of my Portra 400 boxes and all my film has fallen out and I have no where to store them except my bag... what shall I do?.... oh well, time to save all over again.

[Leonil]

So to further the saga, I have received my refund - and I was really hoping to have my camera in my hands by Friday in time for Australia Day celebrations. (Had to delay my flight so now I can document Australia Day in the town I work as a teacher.)

 

In order to do this, The New Camera House in Lismore had to get the money by today, they ship it today, and then I receive it Thursday, maybe Friday. (Parcels take 2-3 days within the same state normally if all is well.) So I withdrew all the money ALL OF IT, and walked 1 kilometre across Sydney (since Im still in Sydney during the school break) with thousands of bucks in my camera back, and then directly deposited into the stores account so they had the money within minutes instead of waiting for due process with paying by credit card. (Long story short - Leica Australia recommended this new dealer that's why I did what I did - and it skips the delay of waiting for Wednesday to post.)

 

So now, the Package was posted at 4pm Tuesday - It will travel Wednesday, and delivered Thursday or Friday morning. Got the tracking numbers and receipt sitting in my email.

 

I jumped through a lot of hoops - but its been 7 years, 3 months and 5 days, hundreds of skipped lunches, sold video games, buying lots of glue to fix my light stands and thread to mend my white cotton seamless backdrops, shirts and borrowing my dad's suit jacket when mine started to tear and go grey. Using pens at work and not upgrading my Adobe CS2, and I still have Lightroom 3. Unashamedly asking my mum to promote me at her work to get clients. Its the accumulation of getting the second best of everything I own - Instead of the 5Dmk2, I got the 7D, instead of the 24-70, I got the 15-85, instead of a 2.8, I got an f/4 and so on..... Oh and lots and lots of Ikea furniture for my new house.

 

I'll let you guys know how it goes when the camera comes in and I do a bunch of Quality testing on a white wall to see if there are issues with the sensor and the Rangefinder. in the meantime, I cant stop looking at my receipt and tracking number. I thought this day would never come.

 

As I said before, It will be a long time before I buy another Leica item new, second hand sure, but I don't want another poor experience if its not directly from Leica - in the mean time, I will maintain communication with the NCH Lismore store and even though they are a 11 hour drive away from Canberra, I will probably only order gear from them from here on in.

 

Leo

 

To finally end my saga, my Leica M has arrived in all of its silvery chrome goodness (I didn't realise finger marks were like a magnet to the chrome but in the end I don't care.)

 

With my silver 50mm summicron attached and all the accessories waiting patiently for the last piece of the puzzle, Im now holding onto it and the battery is almost finished its max charge for the first time.

 

The camera is heavy, I forgot how heavy it is for something as small as a paperback novel. I also didn't realise just how clear the view finder is - I looked at my 7D, and I guess the people at Leica have done come crazy voodoo on the viewfinder.

 

So while the battery is charging, Im reading my manual and writing a letter of thanks to the Leica GM for recommending The New Camera House Lismore, and I am forever thankful to the staff who have been super helpful and patient with me. It goes to show that even a store that's old and run down in a town that's off the beaten track, the people inside are what's important. A store with glossy signs in the middle of the city can sometimes not be the best store to go to.

 

Australia Day is coming this sunday, I might take this camera out for a whirl then, in the mean time, Im going to finish the battery charge and then shoot some white walls for some test pics to see the state of the sensor.

 

Thanks for everyone in the forum in this discussion as it has been helpful to learn from the community. You guys here have been super and most of all, thanks for putting up with my ravings about how a poor experience turned into a slap in the face and how Leica stepped in and stopped Canon from taking my money instead lol.

 

Wow... My first M.

 

Leo

[hamey]

Leonil....Good Luck with your Leica M.

 

Ken.

[stuny]

Leo -

 

Please be certain to post your favorite photos in the photo section. Congratulations and good luck.

[Archiver]

Congratulations, Leonil! Enjoy the Australia Day celebrations. If you hear a muted clack-fizzzssshh behind you, that's someone with a M9.

[Brenton C]

Ive already seen Leo's Aussie Day photos, and was eager to read the outcome of this saga.

 

I'm glad you got the camera once and at long finally last! I enjoyed your AD photos, and the paradoxical story of a man in a kilt who spotted a Leica on sight! A pin hole camera, one might think, but a Leica?

 

I look forward to more pictures and stories!