New MP scratches film out of box

[DickieT]

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I had reported here 2 weeks ago that a little screw had come off my brand new MP. I can now confirm that it was one of the 2 screws that hold the RF assembly.

 

BUT the worst had yet to come - I received my first films back last week and they are all scratched. It looks like the scratching is where the screws are located on the pressure plate. Before anyone suggests that it was the film or the lab - I cross checked this week with a different film and sent it to a different lab and unfortunately the results are exactly the same..

 

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am - a brand new MP that malfunctions like this really makes me question the Leica quality control. How can they box a camera that scratches film - unbelievable!

 

Of course I can claim warranty and send it to Germany but I am afraid that it will be gone for months. Or send it to my trusted Leice repair service ? What do you think ?

 

Thanks for your council

[M9reno]

It's unlikely to be a complicated repair, as you describe it. If you send it in on warranty, it's unlikely to take long - and if you give it to your local repairman, it's unlikely to be expensive. Either way, the problem goes away, even if not the sour taste of the experience.

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[earleygallery]

It should be relatively easy to find exactly what is causing the scratches. Put a new film in the camera and roll on a few frames, then rewind and examine it - no need to process the film to see scratches.

 

What side of the film are they on? Can you feel any sharp edges on corresponding parts of the camera? It might be something simple like a bit of 'grit' that's stuck and can be wiped off. Worth doing before sending the camera anywhere.

[250swb]

You used a different film, so another brand or another type of film? Or did you use a different roll of film but from the same batch? Just saying because it is not unknown for a batch of film to be faulty.

[DickieT]

Good idea about the check before shipping. I used TriX and Provia and hoped for the same bad batch, but helas. So different rolls, different film, different make years

[MarkP]

Take it back to the dealer, demonstrate it was faulty out of the box and ask for a new one.

[wattsy]

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I'm not surprised by the OP's experience.  A brand new film M camera requiring warranty service is par for the course in my recent experience. I have bought, new, three film M cameras during the last 5-6 years and all three had/acquired faults necessitating service. I wouldn't mind if the service was efficient but it seems to be steadily getting worse. The first problematic camera was returned to me in 1-2 months with an apparently rebuilt RF (I should have known the camera was a bit of lemon because, straight out of the box, the shutter speed dial was loose and I had to dig out a jeweller's screwdriver to tighten the little screw). The second camera was simply swapped for another. The third languishes at Wetzlar without an ETA for its return. I was told by Leica customer care that there is only one technician currently working on film bodies so you can imagine how quickly things happen now.

[Keith (M)]

Faulty straight out of the box?  I would insist on a replacement.  My M7 died electronically after a few months and over a period of time made four trips to Solms / Wetzlar in unsuccessful attempts to rid it of gremlins.  The fifth time Leica finally saw sense and replaced it.  Touch wood, both it and my MP ALC have been fault-free - phew!

[delta100]

Hello DickieT. This is my experience on the problem. I purchased my first MP in 2010 only to find the camera like yours was scratching the film on the 'cell' side not the emulsion side. Horizontal scratching is due to the four screws on the pressure plate! Return the camera to Leica ask them to fit the M6 pressure plate - no screws, this can be done free of charge. When I purchased my second new  MP body this year I asked the Leica dealer here in the UK to send it back to Germany to remove the screw plate and to fit an M6 screw less plate and YES this does solve the problem! The second MP body did have a problem with all the bright lines in the VF showing with or with out a lens. Leica had to replace the VF masks. For a camera now costing near too £4K I do understand your problems. You could try loading a film with no lens on, shoot off the 36 frames and then rewind but stop just before the film goes all the way into the cassette. Take the film out and expose the film to the daylight . You should be able see any horizontal scratching be looking at the cell or emulsion sides of the film. Good luck, I have been in your position! 

[DickieT]

Thanks MP2 - I will have my local specialist (Will van Maanen) look at it first before sending to Leica. I purchased the MP in DC and so asking a replacement is complicated although I travel there often. But any Leica store is lucky to have a MP to begin with, so replacing it could be a challenge. Maybe he can make an adjustment on the screws or replace the plate for not too much money and then I can avoid sending it to Wezlar. Still, I am amazed that a camera can leave the factory like this and even more if other MP's suffer from the same issue !

 

I have a M6 that scratches too so now both babies can be taken care of

[pico]

[...]I was told by Leica customer care that there is only one technician currently working on film bodies so you can imagine how quickly things happen now.

And how talented  or qualified is he?

 

WTF?

 

I am through with Leica after 50 years but really because I've found more simple larger formats more reliable, with better outcomes.

 

Perhaps I am a Black Sheep - if so, I claim Black Sheep #1.

Edited December 28, 2017 by pico

[TomB_tx]

Back in the 1960s I bought 2 or 3 new SLRs (not Leica) that scratched film on the backside. Each time I found very slight burrs on the edge of the pressure plate. I used a very fine honing stone on the plate which solved the issue. After that I made it a standard practice before using a new camera.

[Paul Verrips]

During my last visit in Wetzlar i asked them to do some cosmetic changes to one of my M7 bodies. And i also was told that there was just 1 older technician who is extremely experienced in film camera's. There were some worries about the continuity because the older technician will retire someday.

[Paulus]

Faulty straight out of the box?  I would insist on a replacement.  My M7 died electronically after a few months and over a period of time made four trips to Solms / Wetzlar in unsuccessful attempts to rid it of gremlins.  The fifth time Leica finally saw sense and replaced it.  Touch wood, both it and my MP ALC have been fault-free - phew!

 

I would not, I my experience a repaired faulty Leica camera always comes back as te best controlled , repaired camera.  Even better than new I would say, because it got more attention than a regular production one. 

[pedaes]

In the recent video Luminous Landscape made about M manufacture in Wetzlar, the Leica Manager stated that anologue M's are built by one technician from start to finish, as opposed to the line assembly of digital M's. I think more than one tech is available for manufacture.  

[earleygallery]

In the recent video Luminous Landscape made about M manufacture in Wetzlar, the Leica Manager stated that anologue M's are built by one technician from start to finish, as opposed to the line assembly of digital M's. I think more than one tech is available for manufacture.  

 

Maybe to assemble them but not to make them work properly!

[DickieT]

I will keep you posted on my findings next week when Will is back from holiday

[wattsy]

I would not, I my experience a repaired faulty Leica camera always comes back as te best controlled , repaired camera.  Even better than new I would say, because it got more attention than a regular production one. 

 

 

Yes, I like to think that too but there are numerous anecdotal examples of lemon cameras that never seem to come back right – especially if electronics are involved.

[250swb]

I would not, I my experience a repaired faulty Leica camera always comes back as te best controlled , repaired camera.  Even better than new I would say, because it got more attention than a regular production one. 

 

All that means is the customer is doing Leica's quality control for them. There used to be a British car manufacturer called British Leyland who's quality control worked in a similar way, there would be faults on leaving the factory but they relied on the customer discovering problems and then transferring the issue for the local dealer to rectify. In this case with any luck the same man who built the camera gets to repair it and learn, so find out when he retires because just before the event is as good as it's going to get, after he's gone it starts all over again.

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Hallo,

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[Denys]

Thanks MP2 - I will have my local specialist (Will van Maanen) look at it first before sending to Leica.

 

That won’t invalidate your warranty?