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Experiences with Leica service


Ashkanani1985

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The camera had a stuck lens release button. Unsure what caused this, it just got progressively 'stickier' and eventually stopped working altogether. I sent it in to get that fixed. 

It came back with a new top plate (? perhaps because there was a small dent in a corner), a whole new bayonet assembly, etc. Given that the M10 was facing up during the light shower that I was shooting in and the water ended up in the bottom of the camera, it appears that top plate isn't keeping out water like every other camera (including an M-E, two M240s, and this very M10 before the repair) did just fine. In fact, tons of water got in: there was water pooling in the base plate! 

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Leica , as far as I know, always repairs a camera in such way,  that it will be " perfect" like new.   You don't have anything to say in this. But they give you a year guaranty on the whole camera after repair, so they have to do everything " by the book " . 

I know for a fact that this is false, because my M240 was absolutely trashed and they nicely fixed it up to work like new but with the trashed top plate. Which I loved, it has character. 

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I had a couple of negative experiences with this dealer a couple of years ago and haven't gone back. I won't elaborate because they aren't here to defend themselves but I agree that they failed SDW for sure.

Meh, I went around the dealer and spoke directly with Leica and it still took four months and the repair appears to be done poorly. I had issues with the camera before it started working as an aquarium: it heated up to the point of being hot to the touch and drained batteries super fast. It never did that before. What a clown show. 

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they definitely would not replace the top plate with a $2k bill without getting your approval. Something was lost in translation here. We are missing tons of info.

Anyways, it sounds as if you are very hard on your cameras, which is fine but you probably need 2 spares.

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I was in touch with the Leica customer service representative the entire time, so not sure how it would've been lost in translation. I even pointed out the faulty part that needed to be fixed. 

I carry spare bodies on this trip: a Sony A7R3 which fortunately hasn't failed me yet. It has gone through the same if not more abuse and held up to it. I absolutely abuse my gear, but Leica cameras have always handled it with aplomb. The issue is that once things fail, repairs should be done in a professional and capable manner, and taking four months and then not doing it right on top of that is exactly the opposite of what you expect after purchasing a $7000 camera. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I sent my M10 and two lenses to Wetzlar for service after I fell with the the camera across my body and another lens in a padded pouch on my belt.  Leica received the camera and lenses yesterday from German customs (that took only a day to clear). They already estimated the repair costs at 158.00. Most of the repairs are being done free for “good will” including replacing scratched parts and cleaning and aligning the camera. I couldn't be happier with their complete and careful responsiveness.

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Having just left my M10 with UPS for shipping to Wetzlar for rangefinder alignment I hope for a reasonable turnaround time.   I have known it needed doing for around 3 months now and just kept putting if off, fingers crossed it gets dealt with fairly quickly and speeds its way home.

 

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On 5/1/2019 at 8:13 PM, jplomley said:

How did the rangefinder manage to drift out of calibration. On the M10 that should be rock solid!

More a drop than a drift!  One of my grandchildren knocked it off the coffee table, no more than 2ft drop and onto carpet but was enough to put it out of vertical alignment, unlucky I think.

 

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vor 6 Stunden schrieb dkmoore:

I think 100 of us should volunteer to drop our M10s from 2 ft so that we can see how many out of 100 lose rangefinder adjustment. As long as none of those 100 people is me.

I made the drop with my MP , 3 ft, no rangefinder problem. It depends on how the camera hits the floor, right , left or frontal.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/25/2019 at 2:15 PM, hmathias said:

I sent my M10 and two lenses to Wetzlar for service after I fell with the the camera across my body and another lens in a padded pouch on my belt.  Leica received the camera and lenses yesterday from German customs (that took only a day to clear). They already estimated the repair costs at 158.00. Most of the repairs are being done free for “good will” including replacing scratched parts and cleaning and aligning the camera. I couldn't be happier with their complete and careful responsiveness.

An update on my repair from Wetzlar: 

My camera and both lenses will be back on the 20th of May.

Leica did a lot of the alignments and adjustments at no charge. The total cost even with shipping was a few hundred dollars. The 50mm Summilux that was in the padded lens pouch tested out fine. And pictures that I took on my last few days in Paris (after my fall) are fine even with the camera damage.    

 

As tracked on the Leica Service website:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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On 4/12/2019 at 12:38 AM, fotografr said:

The rationale for this is not that processionals buy more equipment than most others. Rather, it's that they rely on functioning equipment to make a living. Leica once had a "Leica Professional" program which I was a member of for many years. In order to be registered for it I had to provide several examples of published work, letterhead and business cards and a portfolio (Later it was changed to a web presence).  Credit card information was also required. In return, pros were given priority turnaround, without which we would have been hampered in our ability to make a living. I'm now retired so I don't know if Leica still has a Professional program. Both Nikon and Canon have them and I expect there are others (Sony?) I don't know about. I realize this doesn't seem fair to some people, but in my opinion the suggestion that everyone send their cameras in with "Professional" written on the box is deceitful and in poor taste.

Unfortunately the success of the new cameras and lenses bring in many more costumers, and not sure if the service centers grow with the bigger domande.

 

I sent in a 35lux FLE, the aspected turn around time is 10 weeks.

That said Leica should have a Professional photographer service if they want to be consider seriously by professionals. That is big part for a working professional in the buying factor.

I still have sony and Canon pro services, the annual cost pay out every time, even if you just sending in for cleaning. 

Tip: if you are a member of LHSA you can get 15% off the repair cost

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8 hours ago, Photoworks said:

I sent in a 35lux FLE, the aspected turn around time is 10 weeks.

Ten weeks is totally unacceptable for a repair. If the service department is that backed up they should hire and train more repair technicians.

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Just to report back on my very positive Leica Service experience.   My M10 arrived at Wetzlar three weeks ago today, and back with me today, all perfect!  Except for UPS that is, who for some unknown reason decided it was quite safe to just leave my package outside the door - no knocking or bell ringing,  I just happened to walk past the front door and noticed something through the glass, lucky I was first on the scene I think.  

 

 

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My SL90mm Summicron was sent in because it had a 'lens communication error' with both my SL and CL.

M lenses worked fine with the body.

A few months later it arrived back from Wetzlar with a certificate saying everything checked out and yes it did not work. It seemed as though the technicians hadn't even checked anything.

It's now on it's way back to Wetzlar this time with my SL as well even though there doesn't seem anything wrong with the body. So i will miss my lovely EVF + M lenses for a few more months :(

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Fingers crossed, I have good stories with Leica CS team, today I have just approved 3 lens repair (one cleaning, one full lens element check plus repaint engravings and 6 bit coding (35cron IV) and another lens with front element change an thorough check for any dust and all lenses will be checked for my accompanying M10) will take 4 weeks. I'd say that's a pretty good turnout time to me.

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4 hours ago, howiebrou said:

My SL90mm Summicron was sent in because it had a 'lens communication error' with both my SL and CL.

M lenses worked fine with the body.

A few months later it arrived back from Wetzlar with a certificate saying everything checked out and yes it did not work. It seemed as though the technicians hadn't even checked anything.

It's now on it's way back to Wetzlar this time with my SL as well even though there doesn't seem anything wrong with the body. So i will miss my lovely EVF + M lenses for a few more months :(

"months" being the key word...amazing timeframes

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