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Leica Upgrade program for M9 ( corrosion of sensor)


Stefan Daniel

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I'm a second owner, and my sensor was replaced for free, but I was obliged to pay for the RF calibration. This is such a fine camera that I'll be happy to pay for another sensor replacement, should that ever be necessary!

 

That is excellent to hear & I agree about the camera's quality. If it were just another DSLR I'd not be quite so unsettled.

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Do you know if some only are affected (serial numbers) ?

Either the cover glass shows signs of corrosion (i.e. it is affected) or it does not. It might or might not be or become an issue, regardless of the serial number. Ambient conditions could be such that corrosion is unlikely to happen anyway, or the coating on the cover glass may still be in good shape so humidity won’t even reach the glass.

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I'm a second owner, and my sensor was replaced for free, but I was obliged to pay for the RF calibration. This is such a fine camera that I'll be happy to pay for another sensor replacement, should that ever be necessary!

 

I'm certainly encouraged by your post, I expect I'll get confirmation of that policy from Leica Customer Service. Perhaps Monday.

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I just completed a chat with Mr. Alfred Schopf, the CEO of Leica AG. We had a friendly chat (in German), which was concluded with him inviting me to email him any time I had questions, after which we then could chat on the phone about it. I must say that he is a very nice man, and he pays attention to the comments/complaints that Leica users have been making.

 

We talked about several issues, but I recall the following highlights:

1. Leica is working on finding/developing a new glass cover for the CDC sensor. Mr. Schopf told me that they worked throughout December on this issue, and he knows that Leica cannot spend "four years on it" since by then it would be outdated. He talked about the problems of how to glue the glass on the sensor, and he mentioned the edges of the sensor and how to make them weather proof.

 

2. He affirmed Leica's customer service offer to replace free of charge the defective sensor. I asked him whether Leica would include second hand bought cameras, and he said "of course, it does."

 

3. He told me that when a Leica camera is sent in for repair, Leica offers rental cameras until the camera gets repaired.

 

4. He told me that they really don't know much about what goes into the Leica batteries and the generic batteries, but he does not believe that generic batteries can harm the Leica cameras.

 

5. I have to add this point" he thinks that my German is flawless!

 

I will try to recall other smaller issues that he may have mentioned. I hope that this summary is useful to you. After talking with Mr. Schopf, I feel happy to be a Leica owner and user.

__________________

- Raid

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I just completed a chat with Mr. Alfred Schopf, the CEO of Leica AG. We had a friendly chat (in German), which was concluded with him inviting me to email him any time I had questions, after which we then could chat on the phone about it. I must say that he is a very nice man, and he pays attention to the comments/complaints that Leica users have been making.

 

We talked about several issues, but I recall the following highlights:

1. Leica is working on finding/developing a new glass cover for the CDC sensor. Mr. Schopf told me that they worked throughout December on this issue, and he knows that Leica cannot spend "four years on it" since by then it would be outdated. He talked about the problems of how to glue the glass on the sensor, and he mentioned the edges of the sensor and how to make them weather proof.

 

2. He affirmed Leica's customer service offer to replace free of charge the defective sensor. I asked him whether Leica would include second hand bought cameras, and he said "of course, it does."

 

3. He told me that when a Leica camera is sent in for repair, Leica offers rental cameras until the camera gets repaired.

 

4. He told me that they really don't know much about what goes into the Leica batteries and the generic batteries, but he does not believe that generic batteries can harm the Leica cameras.

 

5. I have to add this point" he thinks that my German is flawless!

 

I will try to recall other smaller issues that he may have mentioned. I hope that this summary is useful to you. After talking with Mr. Schopf, I feel happy to be a Leica owner and user.

__________________

- Raid

 

Great news...especially #2. Thank you for sharing.

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I will try to recall other smaller issues that he may have mentioned. I hope that this summary is useful to you. After talking with Mr. Schopf, I feel happy to be a Leica owner and user.

__________________

- Raid

Can anybody imagine the CEO of other camera makers doing this? I can only add that Mr. Schopf and his team are all very friendly and outgoing people.

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Some people keep on complaining anyways. I want answers and solutions and not complaints. Nothing is better than talking with the top people at Leica AG. I threw in any comments that some people mentioned to me the past days and that sounded reasonable.

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A bit puzzled. Why should Leica replace corrosion-free cameras? Only a percentage is affected. My sources inside Leica tell me the percentage is not that high.

 

Leica clearly does not agree with the idea of surviving by catering to one affluent clientele. They are moving into the lower echelons by offering the T and X series, they cater to the professional market by offereing the S series and buying Sinar, they have a strong position in offering professional video lenses, binoculars, rifle scopes, observation scopes, etc. I think they are beyond the point that they absolutely need the M series to survive.

 

"Only a percentage affected" Got a call back from Leica New Jersey today and was told most of the problem is from high humidity climates.

 

We talked about cleaning and he cited the problem of using too much liquid and the principle of blowing off anything that will come off first. Evidently they experience cases vigorous swabbing inducing scratches if the swab picks up debris. Liquid can also seep around edges of cover glass causing permanent damage.

 

As far as not needing the M series to survive, it would be a sad day. I consider the less expensive cameras as less than profesional . The M is already very expensive and the S is up there with exotic sports cars. I am of course totally unfamiliar with sale quantities of S, but a continuation of the R would have sold better had the camera been developed with auto focus lenses.

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Even if the company would be able to survive without the M, which I believe they could if they had to, it would be a sad day indeed, it would not be easy.

The M is the flagship product and symbol of Leica and as such cannot be missed, if only for the corporate image.

 

So no worries there ;)

 

My post was in response to those predicting the succumbing of the M under an onslaught of mirrorless cameras and East Asian clones followd by te collapse of the company, which imo is a rather unrealistic scenario to put it mildly....

 

My point is that there have been people saying "If there were a cheaper alternative, buyers would desert Leica in droves" I try to point out that they didn't in the past and are unlikely to do so now. They only thing in the past that really hit Leica or rather the whole German camera industry was the advent of the Japanese SLR and Leica managed to survive that.

 

As for S and R, the R series has been a money pit all along and the S is making Leica money, so I think it was not a bad decision to drop the R. Especially as the DSLR market appears to be a shrinking one nowadays.

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Got a call back from Leica New Jersey today and was told most of the problem is from high humidity climates.

High levels of humidity plus the protection offered by the coating having been compromised in some way. As long as the coating stays intact the cover glass should be effectively sealed against humidity.

 

We talked about cleaning and he cited the problem of using too much liquid and the principle of blowing off anything that will come off first.

Excellent advice on both counts. Apparently some people let the swabs soak in the cleaning fluid which is not recommended practice, regardless of the kind of fluid used.

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I'm really pleased, and relieved. I received written confirmation from Leica Customer Service today that Leica will replace corroded CCD sensors regardless of whether the camera is owned by the original owner, or purchased used.

 

That just might be the best warranty in the business.

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I'm really pleased, and relieved. I received written confirmation from Leica Customer Service today that Leica will replace corroded CCD sensors regardless of whether the camera is owned by the original owner, or purchased used.

 

That just might be the best warranty in the business.

 

 

This is what the Leica CEO told me, and I posted it here.

 

2. He affirmed Leica's customer service offer to replace free of charge the defective sensor. I asked him whether Leica would include second hand bought cameras, and he said "of course, it does."

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This is what the Leica CEO told me, and I posted it here.

 

2. He affirmed Leica's customer service offer to replace free of charge the defective sensor. I asked him whether Leica would include second hand bought cameras, and he said "of course, it does."

 

Oh I believed you, and was extremely pleased when you posted that.

 

However, my local Leica dealer claimed otherwise last week, then used the assertion of original owners only to low-ball the trade-in value of my mint M-E. I needed to get written confirmation of their true policy direct from Leica. With that in hand, I'll give my dealer another crack (just one) at my business, and either do a deal, or just move on.

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This is what the Leica CEO told me, and I posted it here.

 

2. He affirmed Leica's customer service offer to replace free of charge the defective sensor. I asked him whether Leica would include second hand bought cameras, and he said "of course, it does."

 

Oh I believed you, and was extremely pleased when you posted that.

 

However, my local Leica dealer claimed otherwise last week, then used the assertion of original owners only to low-ball the trade-in value of my mint M-E. I needed to get written confirmation of their true policy direct from Leica. With that in hand, I'll give my dealer another crack (just one) at my business, and either do a deal, or just move on.

 

Report your dealer to Leica if they try to charge full prices.

 

And the deal is done, the materials Leica had given to my local dealer previously were ambiguous, but now clarified by the note Leica Customer Service sent to me explicitly spelling out their official policy. As a direct result my dealer greatly improved his previous proffer for my M-E and gave me a very attractive price on the M240. I'm a happy owner of a silver M240, whose battery is charging as I write.

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