How best to confirm that a new M10 has zero production issues?

[250swb]

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Now that I've dived into the forum a bit more I see how you may have gotten the idea that my original question was driven by either a preconcived assumption and/or paranoia.  I assure you, that wasn't the case.  Just simple questioning from informed rangefinder users, so hopeful one day I can become one myself!

 

I do take your point to heart that I do have a lot of education and practice in my future... based on the few times I've used a rangefinder, I say that with a smile.

 

Cheers, and thanks for the advice.

 

The paranoia comes from the people who assume their problem is also your problem. In much the same way skydiving is perceived as 'extremely dangerous' when one person plummets to the ground while the news media ignore all the others who float serenely down. My advice is/was to clear your head of chatter, enjoy yourself, 'break a leg' as they say in showbiz. 

[pgh]

The paranoia comes from the people who assume their problem is also your problem. In much the same way skydiving is perceived as 'extremely dangerous' when one person plummets to the ground while the news media ignore all the others who float serenely down. My advice is/was to clear your head of chatter, enjoy yourself, 'break a leg' as they say in showbiz. 

While there's no way to quantify, I'd venture to say that those who have problems with their Leica out of, or soon out of the box is much higher than the percentage of skydiving accidents. Many threads on this forum consist of multiple users reporting flaws that range from irritable to critical for the camera's function. If someone's life were on the line every time Leica shipped a unit out I think we'd see a lot less units and a much smaller rate of faulty units at the same time. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

The paranoia comes from the people who assume their problem is also your problem. In much the same way skydiving is perceived as 'extremely dangerous' when one person plummets to the ground while the news media ignore all the others who float serenely down. My advice is/was to clear your head of chatter, enjoy yourself, 'break a leg' as they say in showbiz. 

 

Skydivers always check their gear before they use it.

 

That's all the OP is doing.

 

Gordon

[willeica]

The advice given by James is, of course, correct. Taking pictures is the best test of all. I could also add that you should check everything that is in the manual, but that would be hypocritical on my part as I tend to read manuals as little as possible. Modern digital cameras are very sophisticated electronic devices and no amateur user would have the equipment that would be required to fully test such a device, if they actually wanted to do this. It is easier to test vintage cameras and if you look under the recent thread 'IIIB' in the Collectors and Historica section of this forum you will see the advice that a number of us have given to a potential purchaser of a Leica from the 1930s. Most people of this forum want to give helpful advice as far as they can in my experience.

 

I hope that you enjoy your M10. I met some of the team from Leica Store Miami at the LHSA AGM in Chicago last October. They were a fine bunch of people.

 

William

[Skyediver]

I never thought about it before (linking skydiving with my orignal question), but now that several of you have insighfully pointed it out, I see it.  Thanks for that!

 

Any experienced skydiver does indeed check their gear religiously, often several times before exiting the plane.  As an instructor, I defintitely have a mental routine that I go through religiously.  If anything throws that routine out of whack or I simply don't "feel right", I don't jump.

 

I'm sure that's the same mindset that was driving the idea of a "pre-purchase checklist" that I could do to make sure my equipment (and expensive tool) is in perfect working order.  I won't take that anaology too far of course: any issues I could potentially have with an M10 would never rise to the potential problems with faulty skydiving equipment!

 

@William, thanks for directing me to the Historical section: that sounds like an interesting read to learn about the advice provided to potential new Leica owner's in the 30's.  While it will never supercede actually getting out and shooting with a Leica, I do look forward to learning about the history as well.

 

All in, I plan to follow the best advice provided: shoot a lot once I have my purchased unit in hand, and enjoy my upcoming workshop with the Leica Miami team, which seem like a welcoming group.

[pico]

Skye, I would be interested in what kind of harness you will use for the Leica while jumping.

Yeah! A new strap thread!

[TG14]

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How was the boot camp?

Have you bought the m10?

What checks did you do before buying?

 

I am also thinking of getting the m10 and started a similar topic thread.

[Skyediver]

How was the boot camp?

Have you bought the m10?

What checks did you do before buying?

 

I am also thinking of getting the m10 and started a similar topic thread.

Hi TG14,

The Boot Camp was fantastic.  The Leica Miami crew were amazing.  For anyone like me that is new to rangefinders, going through a two-day boot camp was a great way to get exposed to the camera.  I did end up buying the M10 (and after testing several lenses, decided to pair it with the 35 Summilux).  Linking my purchase with the boot camp meant that I could do what was recommended: shoot a lot to confirm everything was working fine, and easily have things addressed by Leica Miami if need be.  Thankfully, I seem to have a good unit.  Another benefit of the 2-day boot camp (as opposed to the 1-day sessions Leica Akademie also puts on), is there was time to go through every single thing about the camera including shooting exercises and review of techniques on how to check proper rangefinder calibration.  Every button was reviewed, every menu setting discussed.  With all of that, I felt pretty good with my purchase, and decision to attend the Boot Camp.

[Skyediver]

BTW, I should add: there was one gentleman in the class whose rangefinder had the "sticky ISO" issue that some have experienced, where his ISO got locked at 400 and wouldn't change.  So, while I agree with the sentiment that most units probably leave headquarters working fine, it probably does behoove everyone to go through whatever pre-purchase checklist they deem appropriate, from "just shoot" to a more codified process.  My two cents.