Just a little bit grumpy at Leica right now....

[FlashGordonPhotography]

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Leica are doing to me what I've heard Nikon have done to customers.......

 

Sent my SL in for repair as the sensor is out of alignment. After 4-6 weeks I get the call. *Impact Damage* $A6-700 repair costs.....

 

This is a camera that lives in a Pelican Case, spends 90% of it's time on a tripod and looks new. Not a mark, scratch, blemish or dent. Hardly a fingerprint on it. Looks essentially like a new one. I'm not prone to being a liar. If I'd bumped it I'd say so. The harshest this cameras been treated is occasional use on a sling strap when I shoot the odd wedding. 90% of what I do is studio based or architecture/real estate. I'm far more careful than most working photographers I know. My A7R2 and Pentax 645Z get carried over hill and dale, in all sorts of weather bouncing along in a backpack and don't have alignment movements.

 

If this thing is so fragile that it can't handle normal use then it's kinda hard to recommend it to anybody else.

 

So what I've got is a 6-10 week duration with no camera, a BS story about something that never happened and a rather nasty repair bill. I'm the biggest Leica fanboy there is and this just makes me want to have a long look at the A9. Seems pretty obvious that Leics's claims about getting into the *pro* market are just a bunch of hot air.

 

[/END RANT]

 

Gordon

 

p.s. on another note a mate of mine dropped his A7R. Cost him $500.00 and was back in three weeks. Mine hadn't even made it to the service centre in three weeks........

[almoore]

It's possible that the camera sustained impact damage while in transit. I'd politely but persistently argue my case.

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[ramarren]

I'd call my Leica dealer and say, "What the f**k?!" 

If the camera is as clean as you say, there's no reason to accept that kind of nonsense. Demand it be re-evaluated. 

 

(Actually, your experience with the SL mirrors my experience with the Sony, and your friend's experience with a Sony mirrors my experience with other Leicas I've had serviced. It's a pig in a poke what you get from most companies when it comes to service these days, and generally at the behest of the regional distributor... )

[Jeff S]

I wonder how Leica handled the cost, if any, for David Perry, who posted in your other recent thread that he experienced the same issue. You might send him a PM.

 

I wouldn't put up with this, and neither would a good dealer ( who should offer a loaner).

 

I hope that you have insurance that would cover this under worse case scenario.

 

Jeff

Edited June 1, 2017 by Jeff S

[FlashGordonPhotography]

It's possible that the camera sustained impact damage while in transit. I'd politely but persistently argue my case.

 

Near Impossible....

 

Pelican Case loaded into car drive to job. Camera on tripod. Reverse. Never dropped the case, tripod or camera. Never flown with the camera. Here's my "daily" kit. This isn't poorly transported....

 

Gordon

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[almoore]

Near Impossible....

Just to be clear, I meant once it had left your hands and was enroute to Leica. Couriers have a horrible habit of tossing packages around.

[mikemgb]

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Just to be clear, I meant once it had left your hands and was enroute to Leica. Couriers have a horrible habit of tossing packages around.

 

I visited a United States Postal Service parcel sorting facility a couple of years ago, your package is transported to this facility in a large open top container. Once it reaches the facility the container is upended onto a conveyer, on average your package will drop 2 metres onto the belt. This is just the first of many impacts the package will go through.

 

I'm sure other shippers around the world treat packages with the same disdain, unless your camera is "VERY" well packed it could suffer some damage in shipping.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Just to be clear, I meant once it had left your hands and was enroute to Leica. Couriers have a horrible habit of tossing packages around.

 

I drove to the Leica store (2 hrs each way) and handed them the camera personally. It got to them in perfect (fault aside) condition. An actual Leica store. Not a boutique. So essentially a Leica employee has seen my camera in the condition it was....

 

Gordon

Edited June 1, 2017 by FlashGordonPhotography

[almoore]

I drove to the Leica store (2 hrs each way) and handed them the camera personally. It got to them in perfect (fault aside) condition. An actual Leica store...

Yes, but presumably the call on impact damage wasn't made by the store but by Leica service after the camera was couriered to them. Hopefully, the store will support you on this, but it's also possible for a camera to sustain impact damage without suffering any external marks.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I see what you're saying now. Apologies.

 

The call I got said that Leica deemed the sensor alignment issue (which is why I sent it in) had been caused by impact. So unless it got worse on the way to Leica I think they're implying I did it through rough handling or accident before I delivered it to the store. Neither is the case.

 

Gordon

[Guest VVJ]

You have every right to be IMHO, also the duration of the repair is completely unacceptable.  

[david strachan]

Gordon

Just lending my support. 

I'm sure Leica will come around, all things considered.

 

all best...

[Mute-on]

If the Leica store sent the camera on to repair, anything that happened to it after you handed it over is on them, not you. You transferred responsibility to the Leica store when you handed it over. If it is transit damage, they should wear the cost on their postage insurance if not their back pocket.

The affront of being told it is impact damage on an unmarked camera is inexcusable. Unless these is some observable evidence of impact, they have no basis for their claim.

I would pursue all avenues to avoid paying anything, starting with your dealer who should be supporting you.

Best of luck!

J

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited June 1, 2017 by Mute-on

[Sandokan]

Their logic is:-

sensor was perfectly fixed when it left factory. 

It is now misaligned. which can only be through severe shock. 

therefore it was mishandled. 

 

I would challenge them and simply state that you have not dropped the camera ever. If it goes to small claims - you have your workflow to demonstrate to a judge that you handle your cameras well. 

 

Alternatively challenge their logic -  ask what other damage is seen to corroborate their assumption and ask them to show how much of an impact would do that to a sensor (a drop from how many metres onto a hard surface). 

[wildlightphoto]

... the duration of the repair is completely unacceptable.  

 

 

Don't get me started...

[AlexP]

just another story about Leica support/repair turn around time frame. What puzzle me is we're paying for a super premium price, if the camera still within the warranty, why do we have to pay for the repair bill?

[Ingo]

Leica are doing to me what I've heard Nikon have done to customers.......

 

Sent my SL in for repair as the sensor is out of alignment. After 4-6 weeks I get the call. *Impact Damage* $A6-700 repair costs.....

 

This is a camera that lives in a Pelican Case, spends 90% of it's time on a tripod and looks new. Not a mark, scratch, blemish or dent. Hardly a fingerprint on it. Looks essentially like a new one. I'm not prone to being a liar. If I'd bumped it I'd say so. The harshest this cameras been treated is occasional use on a sling strap when I shoot the odd wedding. 90% of what I do is studio based or architecture/real estate. I'm far more careful than most working photographers I know. My A7R2 and Pentax 645Z get carried over hill and dale, in all sorts of weather bouncing along in a backpack and don't have alignment movements.

 

If this thing is so fragile that it can't handle normal use then it's kinda hard to recommend it to anybody else.

 

So what I've got is a 6-10 week duration with no camera, a BS story about something that never happened and a rather nasty repair bill. I'm the biggest Leica fanboy there is and this just makes me want to have a long look at the A9. Seems pretty obvious that Leics's claims about getting into the *pro* market are just a bunch of hot air.

 

[/END RANT]

 

Gordon

 

p.s. on another note a mate of mine dropped his A7R. Cost him $500.00 and was back in three weeks. Mine hadn't even made it to the service centre in three weeks........

 

I bought a third SL from a German dealer a couple of weeks ago and and used it only in my office for betatesting. The body never left my desk and was visually in mint condition.  (it was a demonstration model)  Because of my 'spirit level' issue during the test I sent it to Wetzlar at the end of the test phase. I got the same diagnosis "Impact Damage" ("Stoßschaden"), Heavy usage marks ("starke Gebrauchsspuren"), body damaged ("Gehäuse beschädigt"), and some other diagnoses. 

They even mentioned that the leathers has to be replaced (remember: mint condition).

 

Believe me, I know how to pack a body for sending it to the service. So I can exclude a transport damage. 

 

I don't know what happened or which camera they inspected but the next time I will bring it to Wetzlar in person. Fortunately this is only 1 1/2 hour away. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

To be fair...

 

the guys at Leica Australia have been great. I got great support and shipping to Melbourne from the store. There's no loan service but the Leica rep did offer me his personal camera if it wasn't spoken for. I've been shooting Leica for 7 years. I know to have contingencies in place. I was also told they'd ask for but couldn't guarentee priority service. Again. I'm ready for contingencies. It's just the "impact damage story that grates. Leica Australia know me well. I'm not prone to stories.

 

Gordon

[helged]

Does several, parallel experiences reflect changes in attitude/business model at Leica? I hope not. But the reported "Impact Damage" experiences are worrysome. Very worrysome.

 

That being said, I have had positive experiences with Leica repair/adjustments so far. 

Edited June 1, 2017 by helged

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[matnz]

Do camera's have internal shock indicators?