Leica SL not worth the investment, really bad service

[jonoslack]

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19 hours ago, johnbuckley said:

That said, I do believe the situation is getting worse, and I have a theory on why.

Leica is a comparatively tiny company, with extremely precise fault tolerances, and they now have five significant systems (S, SL, M, Q, TL/CL). Some years ago when it was only M and R parts they needed to stock, and expertise they need to have, 

Good thinking John

It's a big ask of a small company to support so many systems and so many parts (that's an observation, not an excuse).

Personally, I've had very little go wrong . . . the last thing was an M10D dropping out of an open bag onto a road . . . with the 28 summarit first - it bent the focus tab and that was expensive to repair - but they did it quickly (sadly the M10D belonged to Leica, but the summarit belongs to me!).  What has gone wrong has been fixed at Wetzlar quickly and efficiently.

The OP's experience sounds unfortunate and frankly, horrible, but I think our Grumpy Old Fart (Thighslapper) has it, there haven't been many reports of troubles with the SL, and mine is still going strong after taking quite a beating over nearly 4 years . . . but that doesn't make it any better for those who've had poor service.

All the best

 

 

[cdey78]

This is pretty sad. I've been saving up to buy this camera for a while, and to think that this is what I potentially may face is scary!!!

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[howiebrou]

My SL 90mm which is only a few months old and probably has less than 1000 photos on it, has gone back to Wetzlar because of a “lens communication error”. Their response and timeliness will determine whether i keep my SL or not. I have to say, though the photos are very nice, the speed of the AF is horrendous, and yes, that is with the latest firmware.

[howiebrou]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:52 PM, jonoslack said:

It's a big ask of a small company to support so many systems and so many parts (that's an observation, not an excuse).

Sounds very Elon Musk to me!

[frame-it]

55 minutes ago, howiebrou said:

the speed of the AF is horrendous

worse than the SL-50 ?

[jaapv]

Still, in case of claimed impact damage, I do think Leica should be more specific. It may not always be visible. If tha camera gets a hard knock inside the bag, any number of parts may be damaged without the owner noticing, up to a bent  bayonet which leads to water ingress. So Leica, please tell your customers what you found. 

[LocalHero1953]

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5 hours ago, howiebrou said:

My SL 90mm which is only a few months old and probably has less than 1000 photos on it, has gone back to Wetzlar because of a “lens communication error”. Their response and timeliness will determine whether i keep my SL or not. I have to say, though the photos are very nice, the speed of the AF is horrendous, and yes, that is with the latest firmware.

That does sound wrong. My SL90 is fast focusing.

I'm another one with no failures to report on my Leica kit other than a misfocusing Apo-Summicron-M 90 bought used. Took six weeks to fix, but fixed it was. I've thrown my Apo-Summicron-M 75 onto the cobbles outside Parma Cathedral, and that took 6-8 weeks to rebuild. Other than that, only a could of M body recalibrations.

Edited March 29, 2019 by LocalHero1953

[hillavoider]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Still, in case of claimed impact damage, I do think Leica should be more specific. It may not always be visible. If tha camera gets a hard knock inside the bag, any number of parts may be damaged without the owner noticing, up to a bent  bayonet which leads to water ingress. So Leica, please tell your customers what you found. 

Yes Leica need to tell customers what they fixed, they have kept everything a secret with me so far.

Could be onto the 3rd SL body in 14 months soon. 😩

[cdey78]

I probably will just get the Panasonic s1r and stick with just the lenses of the l Mount instead. Considering that Panasonic will have faster turn around times with regards to repairs.

[IkarusJohn]

7 hours ago, cdey78 said:

I probably will just get the Panasonic s1r and stick with just the lenses of the l Mount instead. Considering that Panasonic will have faster turn around times with regards to repairs.

That will be interesting to see, if true.

[thighslapper]

18 hours ago, cdey78 said:

I probably will just get the Panasonic s1r and stick with just the lenses of the l Mount instead. Considering that Panasonic will have faster turn around times with regards to repairs.

I don't think potential fault repair timescales are particularly sensible criteria to buy a camera on .....

I'd rather have a camera I really enjoy using 99.9% of the time and put up with the 0.1% of time whilst it's in hospital (if it ever occurs) than some dog of a thing that constantly drives me nuts because it's badly designed and awkward to use, even if it's ultra reliable or repaired the same day .....

At this moment in time the S1R has more benefits than drawbacks, so for landscape use it will become my main body and SL the back up ...... but that may all change when the SL2 appears. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by thighslapper

[frame-it]

22 hours ago, cdey78 said:

I probably will just get the Panasonic s1r and stick with just the lenses of the l Mount instead. Considering that Panasonic will have faster turn around times with regards to repairs.

Only $199/year

https://lumix-pro.us/

 

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Edited March 30, 2019 by frame-it

[earleygallery]

On 2/16/2019 at 11:03 AM, Ivar B said:

This is unfortunate, of course, but I don`t think your experience is universally applicable. My SL has never been to Wetzlar for servicing, but my last experience was a Summicron-M 2.0/28mm which despite careful use started rattling. It was several years out of warranty, but repaired free of charge with no questions. 

This is what I find difficult to understand. Leica provide one person with free out of warranty service when (presumably) you were fully expecting to pay for the repairs, whereas others who have equipment within warranty often seem to have to argue their case to get repairs carried out under warranty!

Bizarre.

[jaapv]

I don’t think the word “often” applies, James. There are an equal number of stories about liberal guaranty interpretations. 

[pico]

4 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I don’t think the word “often” applies, James. There are an equal number of stories about liberal guaranty interpretations. 

We should consider such issues as self-reported with appropriate skepticism.

Edited March 30, 2019 by pico

[Tina Manley]

I just ran across this thread and had to reply.  My experience with Leica repair service and the SL is the opposite.  I have never had anything but outstanding service from Leica.  Over the last 40 years, I have sent M's and R's to New Jersey or Germany, they have repaired the problem and gotten the camera back to me immediately.  I haven't had to send the SL camera in but it has been to at least 6 developing countries and caught in the rain, snow, and carried outside of the camera bag most of the time.  I was in Iran when my SL 24-90 lens jammed.  I sent a frantic e-mail to the technician in NJ and he immediately sent instructions on how to unjam the lens.  The trick of pulling on the lens hood worked for the rest of that trip, but I sent the lens in as soon as I got home.  It was gone less than a week and returned working perfectly.   I find the SL to be a very durable, weather-resistant, professional camera.  I have been using Leicas exclusively for over 40 years and the SL is the best camera I have ever used.

 

Tina

[wildlightphoto]

20 hours ago, thighslapper said:

I don't think potential fault repair timescales are particularly sensible criteria to buy a camera on .....

I'd rather have a camera I really enjoy using 99.9% of the time and put up with the 0.1% of time whilst it's in hospital (if it ever occurs) than some dog of a thing that constantly drives me nuts because it's badly designed and awkward to use, even if it's ultra reliable or repaired the same day .....

At this moment in time the S1R has more benefits than drawbacks, so for landscape use it will become my main body and SL the back up ...... but that may all change when the SL2 appears. 

If 0.1% was all the downtime I'd probably be much more willing to pay Leica prices for my equipment.  The lens I've most enjoyed using was the R 280mm f/4 APO and the downtime with Leica "service" approached 25%.  The SL may be another story entirely but Leica will have a lot of goodwill to restore before I trust any of my dollars with them.

[jaapv]

However that is a lens that is decades old. How many brands accept vintage gear for repair? Leica has not the tools nor the parts to service R lenses or cameras-  and I suspect the R expertise is getting lost as well. 

[wildlightphoto]

37 minutes ago, jaapv said:

However that is a lens that is decades old. How many brands accept vintage gear for repair? Leica has not the tools nor the parts to service R lenses or cameras-  and I suspect the R expertise is getting lost as well. 

The 25% downtime included a period when it was a current item.  Leica could also have returned it right away when they couldn't service it instead of sitting on it for eight months and causing additional damage before telling me that parts are no longer available (DAG subsequently repaired the lens).  

The "service" was so bad they were unable to even ANSWER THE TELEPHONE, for EIGHT MONTHS.  This has nothing to do with the age of the lens.  F*** 'em.  And I haven't mentioned the R8's mirror box "repair" a few years ago.

Edited March 31, 2019 by wildlightphoto

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[jaapv]

I get the impression that Leica USA has improved somewhat over the last few years.