Leica M9 Corrosion - Sensor Replacement Starts Now!

[wlaidlaw]

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Their "Khaki" which is kind of greenish is very nice

 

Mine is that colour but smooth non-grained leather, which they used to call British Racing Green calfskin, which is a better description of the colour than Khaki. If I am offered a choice, I will go for the dark blue, which is a very similar colour to the original dark blue kid I had from Cameraleather.com. That is a much nicer colour than the lurid turquoise blue they used to offer. 

 

Wilson

[IWC Doppel]

Mine is that colour but smooth non-grained leather, which they used to call British Racing Green calfskin, which is a better description of the colour than Khaki. If I am offered a choice, I will go for the dark blue, which is a very similar colour to the original dark blue kid I had from Cameraleather.com. That is a much nicer colour than the lurid turquoise blue they used to offer. 

 

Wilson

 

 

I found the quality of these guys to be very good indeed a perfect fit http://aki-asahi.com/store/html/M8/M8.php Quick and cheap $31.00

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[wlaidlaw]

......and unlike Cameraleather.com, you should actually receive what you ordered within the same decade. I am still waiting after two years for Morgan to send me the material I ordered to recover my 1© Standard. Some idiot, when it was being restored, decided it would be a good idea to paint the original vulcanite with black gloss enamel. The restorer apologised but that did not undo the damage. Morgan sent a horrible rubber material in error, when I had ordered embossed Rollei black leather. He really is unbelievably disorganised. He acknowledged his error and said he would send the correct cover but still has to dispatch it in spite of many follow up emails. 

 

Wilson

[jaapv]

I have had experiences like that with Morgan in the past, to the point of getting covers somewhere else (which I regretted, Arte di Mano nor others  like Aka-Asahi could  match the quality of Morgan's products).

However, currently I find him responsive, efficient and fast.

[wlaidlaw]

I have had experiences like that with Morgan in the past, to the point of getting covers somewhere else (which I regretted, Arte di Mano nor others  like Aka-Asahi could  match the quality of Morgan's products).

However, currently I find him responsive, efficient and fast.

 

Jaap, 

 

It must be something about the name   I have been waiting 13 months now for my local Morgan car service dealer in Aubagne, France to arrange for a recall for a chassis strengthening brace to be fitted on my Morgan plus a whole lot of other work. The nearest alternative dealer is a nine hour drive away, which is too long in a three wheeler. 

 

Wilson

[jaapv]

  Wilson, I had similar experiences when I drove a Morgan. I solved it by doing most modifications myself. Like rebuilding the carb to remove the emission reduction gear -I know, that wouldn't do any more nowadays - and building a rear seat for children into my twoseater,  building my own tow bar, etc.

That threewheeler must be fun!

[wlaidlaw]

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  Wilson, I had similar experiences when I drove a Morgan. I solved it by doing most modifications myself. Like rebuilding the carb to remove the emission reduction gear -I know, that wouldn't do any more nowadays - and building a rear seat for children into my twoseater,  building my own tow bar, etc.

That threewheeler must be fun!

 

Jaap,

 

If it was in the UK where I have proper workshop facilities, including things like an engine crane and car lift, I would do all the work myself but In France, I don't even have a garage or concrete surface to work on. On the hottest day of the year, I fitted the Garage 56 stage one tuning kit (exhausts, inlet manifold and ECU), to cure the horrible pinking of the engine, which was mainly caused by the badly designed, over-baffled exhausts Morgan fit as standard and a poorly programmed ECU. I think I ended up even more overheated than the car ever got. Mine is one of the early three wheelers from 2012, before customers had had a chance to do the development and testing work, since the factory had not bothered to do much. A bit like the M8. I think by the time the next lot of work is finished, there will not be a single part of the car, which has not been replaced, modified or rebuilt, some of them more than once. 

 

Wilson

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[squarenegs]

Ah, service from Leica in the US (New Jersey) is so much worse it seems than the service in Europe. This is my experience:

 

- Terrible communication: emails go unanswered, calls go unreturned, instructions wrt the repair order are ignored (snail mail communication instead of email).

 

- Cross-grade offers to the M or MP (240) are offered but all responses and questions are ignored.

 

- Time for sensor replacement is now and unapologetically 3 months.

 

- No offer of a loaner camera.

 

- No offer to have my local Leica boutique send my M9-P in for me, paid that out of pocket myself via UPS ($150).

 

I'm not active on the forum but am a 15+year Leica customer (M2, M6, M7, M8, M8.2, M9-P, 21 Elmarit, 28 cron, 35 lux, 50 cron, 50 lux, 75 APO, etc, etc, etc.) and I think I'm finally done with them. Very jealous of you Europeans who appear to get prompt and professional service.

 

Bob

 

Bob

 

"...Terrible communication: emails go unanswered, calls go unreturned..."  That's my experience too.  They've had my camera for two months and the only confirmation that it is even in their possession is Canada Post tracking info. saying my M9 body was 'delivered' back in July.  I've bought and owned quality photographic gear of different brands for nearly 50 years and I've never experienced so little for a piece of kit costing so much.  I am not happy with Leica NJ.  I've gotten better customer service from Canadian Tire.

 

Regards and fingers crossed for both of us...

 

Sam

Edited September 10, 2016 by squarenegs

[ianman]

Just for the record, I took my M9 in on May 12th and got it back on September 2nd. (edit: in Brussels)

 

However I am really disappointed with the new "leather". It's nothing like the old one and feels horrible. I wasn't even aware that this was going to be changed, it wasn't mentioned on the estimate like it seems to have been for others.

Edited September 13, 2016 by ianman

[microview]

Mine is back today and was sent to Germany from Leica Mayfair (London) on 29th September. It has new firmware 1.210 (which apparently just recognises the new Summaron lens). It was explained to me that the nice textured finish would have to be replaced – which, as you say, is a disappointment. My actual receipt just says "sensor delaminated, please replace… under warranty".

[ianman]

Glad you have it back, that was a fairly quick turnaround.

 

You get used to that new covering but it's not as nice as the old one. On the plus side, I do have the impression that the images are better. It may just be wishful thinking but I find the color rendition especially more pleasing, less harsh that the original sensor.

 

That's great news about the new firmware supporting the new Summaron. I have one on order so I'll try to get my M9 firmware updated before it arrives :-)

[squarenegs]

I am still waiting for my M9 to be returned from Leica service in New Jersey.  

They have had it for 6 months and in that length of time I have had only one useful communication from them.  

In all that time, nobody at Leica N.J. has ever answered a phone or returned a voice mail, ever.

Staff there have been so elusive that I am now regard my M9 as having been lost or stolen while in their possession.  

If anybody on the Forum has any ideas for me, please forward them.

I am desperate and angry.

 

Here is the whole story as sent to the Leica Owners' Area of their website,

in the hope that it might be forwarded to some, anyone who could get my camera returned to me:

 

I reluctantly trouble you with this but hope that you can pass my message on

to those at Leica who can assist me in the following matter:

 

I sent my M9 sr. #3838593 for sensor replacement to Leica New Jersey U.S.A.,

because of the sensor corrosion issue.  It was sent in July of 2016

 

In an email dated September 28 2016    William M Weier,  Customer Care Manager

stated  “The camera should be done shortly.” That same day I was sent a .PDF copy

of my service estimate (no charge) #10031560

However, this document was two months old, dated  July 27 2016

 

I was patient.  I did not contact Leica N.J. again about my M9 repair

until December 27 2016  Emails from Mr. Weier and Ms. Roxana Lynch

told me operations were closed for the holiday but would resume on January 03 2017

and I would be informed about the status of my repair at that time.

It is now two weeks on and I have had no information about my camera.

 

I have never been able to reach anyone at Leica N.J. by telephone.

My experience is that Leica N.J. does not answer telephones, ever.

 

My camera has been out of my possession for so long that I must now consider it to be lost or stolen. 

I have been given no information since September to indicate that it is not.

 

I have been a loyal and enthusiastic Leica customer since 2008 with the purchase of my first M8

I own 7 Leica lenses, though not all are listed in the owners’ area, 2 M8 bodies, 1 M type 240

However, unless someone at Leica can tell me otherwise, it seems I longer am the owner of M9 body sr.3838593

 

Were it not for my large investment in Leica lenses I would have abandoned Leica brand cameras by now.

 

I am now a very unhappy customer. 

It is unreasonable for a repair to take 6 months but it is outrageous for

there to be so little useful communication during that time. 

Leica wants to be regarded as an upper echelon brand but my customer service experience at Walmart

has been far, better than with Leica New Jersey.

 

Please, I am asking for assistance in determining the whereabouts of my M9 and having it, or a

replacement, returned to me in good order.

 

Samuel J. (Sandy) Fairbairn

Canada

[wlaidlaw]

Sandy, 

 

This is appalling service and reflects very badly on the company at a time when they are launching a new flagship camera. Send a copy of your post to the CEO in Wetzlar, Oliver Kaltner. The normal format for anyone at Leica is first name dot second name at leica-camera dot com Some years ago, Leica service in the UK used to be like this and service in Germany was not great either, with work not done or not done properly. They are both now very good, so it can be done. Leica in Wetzlar need to know that New Jersey is letting the side down. 

 

Wilson

[squarenegs]

Wilson

 

The day after my last post here and after firing off that email

shown above.  I got grovelling phone calls from two 'customer care'

people at Leica in N.J.  These were the same people who never picked up a

phone or returned a call in the past.

My camera was discoverd parked in shipping and I was given

a UPS tracking number within hours.

 

Someone in Germany must have lit a fire in New Jersey and

I thank them for doing so.

 

Why had I been ignored for so long?  Did they think I was going

to forget about a camera body in their possession worth the price

of a used car?  I won't name these two people, but they are easy

to find as, so called, 'customer care' people in New Jersey.

 

I hope to have my camera back repaired this week,

though I remain a doubter when it comes to Leica New Jersey.

 

I'll be sure to let everyone on the Forum know if this 6 month

ordeal has been concluded or is to continue. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

 

Regards

 

Sandy (Samuel J) Fairbairn

Canada

[wlaidlaw]

Sandy, 

 

The worst Leica example I had was when the sensor was dying in my Digilux 2 within the warranty period. It was returned via my then local dealer H A Baker in Lewes UK, which was run by a man, Stuart Bean, who prior to retirement, had been the manager of Leica UK's service department. The early symptoms of this problem were totally washed out colour in bright sunlight. I had taken a note of the shutter actuations from the EXIF unique image ID, before sending it in. When it finally came back 4 months later, after much chasing, it was no better at all in spite of apparently having been "recalibrated". The shutter actuations had moved on by precisely 2 and stupidly and sadly for them they had left both images on the card. They showed a roll up cigarette smouldering in the lid of a tobacco tin, being used as an ashtray on a workbench. Stuart hit the roof and got straight onto the phone to the MD of Leica UK. I had a new Digilux 2 by the beginning of the next week. 

 

Wilson

[james.liam]

Last week I drove to the Leica Service Centre in New Jersey with my M9M; it's about a 30 minute drive from Manhattan. The people there were very courteous and took 15 minutes to confirm corrosion. An 8-12 week turnaround time was quoted so when I enquired if they might have a loaner, they identified one in minutes and happily signed it out to me, no questions asked. My prior issue with a malfunctioning sensor several years back was dealt with the same professionalism. 

[ehecatl]

I believe I also have the sensor corrosion issue on my M9, but because I was leaving for a year long stay in Turkey, I didn't have time to send it in. I will go through this process upon my return in August of this year, hopefully turnaround will be faster. Until then, I'll be using Lightroom to correct for the imperfections and avoid shooting blue skies stopped down to F11 (my experience is that shooting blue skies at around F11/16/22 has always made the corrosion most evident).

S

[robert blu]

Jaap,

 

If it was in the UK where I have proper workshop facilities, including things like an engine crane and car lift, I would do all the work myself but In France, I don't even have a garage or concrete surface to work on. On the hottest day of the year, I fitted the Garage 56 stage one tuning kit (exhausts, inlet manifold and ECU), to cure the horrible pinking of the engine, which was mainly caused by the badly designed, over-baffled exhausts Morgan fit as standard and a poorly programmed ECU. I think I ended up even more overheated than the car ever got. Mine is one of the early three wheelers from 2012, before customers had had a chance to do the development and testing work, since the factory had not bothered to do much. A bit like the M8. I think by the time the next lot of work is finished, there will not be a single part of the car, which has not been replaced, modified or rebuilt, some of them more than once. 

 

Wilson

 

 

That three wheelers is a beauty!

robert

Edited February 4, 2017 by robert blu

[wlaidlaw]

That three wheelers is a beauty!

robert

 

.....but a bit like that Hungarian lady film star, who died recently - beautiful but unreliable. 

 

Wilson

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Moss]

Edit.  I should have read Sandy's post above.  Yikes!  Sandy, how did it turn out for you?

 

----------------------------

 

Original post: Anyone else experienced a wait time longer than 12 weeks to have the M9 sensor replaced by Leica New Jersey?  Since I had received no updates and have been waiting about 16 weeks, I called Leica in New Jersey to check status and was told that the technician is working on it presently.  A coincidence I suppose.  Sigh...

Edited February 28, 2017 by Moss