Sensor is out of alignment

[FlashGordonPhotography]

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Well this sucks....

 

I have two SL's. I've been shooting 90% product and real estate for the last year. Last weekend shot my first of a few upcoming weddings and got to use my 50SL in anger for the first time.

 

One of my SL bodies has blurred images down the whole left hand side. Worse when wide open, of course. Not really an issue at f11, which I've been using a lot so I'm not sure how long it's been a problem. Same with different lenses.

 

Fortunately only a few situations where it's noticeable and I've got those shots in various apertures. A bit of judicious sharpening and the customers won't see any problems. But I can't unsee it.

 

I confirmed it today with a brick wall test. Measured equal distance to the wall on a tripod for accurate parallel testing. Same lens. Same settings. Exactly the same position on a locked off tripod. One camera is sharp across the frame and one is blurred down the whole left side. Still there but almost gone by f11. Either the sensor or lens mount is off. More likely the sensor as there's no movement/damage to the mount.

 

Looks like one of my cameras is going on a German holiday.....

 

Got another wedding Saturday. Looks like an SL/M10 combo this weekend...... Bummer. I really liked the kit I had last week.

 

Gordon

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[Ingo]

Sorry to hear this.

[helged]

Oh - a very unfortunate situation. Hopefully you will have your two bodies working in tandem in the not-to-distant future. 

[Bill W]

let us know how this turns out.

[david perry]

I got my SL back from Wetzlar on Tuesday having had a similar fault to the one described by Gordon. Focussing on the right of the frame rendered the left side much weaker, with noticeable blurring, and vice versa. At about a month including UPS delivery both ways the turnaround was quite quick and the customer service from Leica throughout the process was exemplary.  The repair notification stated "sensor adjustment" and "adjustment of all parts" was needed. Tested it yesterday with the 35 cron and the results are once again stellar. Not being able to afford a second body I simply had to be mindful and patient whilst the SL was away - which is easier said than done!

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Thanks David. At least I'm not alone.

 

Leica Australia has been their, as usual, wonderful selves. I use my cameras for work so they're going to assist where they can. There's no equivalent to CPS here yet so I don't think I can jump the queue but they're going to expedite shipping and see if they can arrange a loaner (currently in use so maybe late next week). The store has been informed I'm coming in and how to handle it. So a really positive response so far.

 

I have contingencies in place (I have too many other cameras that can fill a gap...), as I think most working photographers would, but it's been brilliant shooting with identical bodies recently.

 

Today I'll shoot with an SL/M combination. Even though it's a small camera I actually now need to take a bigger bag today to accommodate the extra lenses etc... But in a way I'm looking forward to it. I shot M's exclusively at weddings for a couple of years and loved it. I think the M SL combo might be fun.

 

Gordon

[Guest VVJ]

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Thanks David. At least I'm not alone.

 

Leica Australia has been their, as usual, wonderful selves. I use my cameras for work so they're going to assist where they can. There's no equivalent to CPS here yet so I don't think I can jump the queue but they're going to expedite shipping and see if they can arrange a loaner (currently in use so maybe late next week). The store has been informed I'm coming in and how to handle it. So a really positive response so far.

 

I have contingencies in place (I have too many other cameras that can fill a gap...), as I think most working photographers would, but it's been brilliant shooting with identical bodies recently.

 

Today I'll shoot with an SL/M combination. Even though it's a small camera I actually now need to take a bigger bag today to accommodate the extra lenses etc... But in a way I'm looking forward to it. I shot M's exclusively at weddings for a couple of years and loved it. I think the M SL combo might be fun.

 

Gordon

 

Hi Gordon,

 

Just out of curiosity, do you use your S exclusively for personal work?  Anything other than landscapes?

 

Thanks, Joris.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Hi Gordon,

 

Just out of curiosity, do you use your S exclusively for personal work?  Anything other than landscapes?

 

Thanks, Joris.

 

I don't use my S for landscapes. I would but it's crippled with long exposures and LENR and the 30-90 isn't brilliant. For landscapes I use a Pentax 645Z. I would like to use the S for landscapes but not until LENR and exposure times are sorted.

 

I use my S for commercial portraits, mostly. I have shot the odd wedding with it as well which was fun.

 

Gordon