Repair of a T at Leica

[Linus84]

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Hello fellow Leica APS-C-people,

I bought a used Leica T for about two years ago. I have used it somewhat extensively, as a backup to my CL and also as a small family camera with the TL-18-lens.

About 2-3 months ago the camera just stopped working "out of the blue", completely dead/bricked. The battery charging light would turn on when connected to power but nothing else worked. Tried different batteries/SD cards etc. but to no help.

Contacted Leica and sent it in for repair. 333€ Later and a cleanup and new "main board" its now on its way back to me after a 2 week "waycay" in Wetzlar.

Just to let you guys know that if Leica still seems to be able to repair the "extremely old T", the CL will surely be repairable for some time to come.

Regards,
Linus

[wda]

Thank you for your valuable feedback and happy outcome.  A fair price for a reborn Leica T. And it will start with a new warranty. 

[Dopaco]

Thank you for sharing these experiences. You should tell us about the treatment that Leica has shown him and the behavior of the camera now.

[jaapv]

Leicavare normally (with some well-documented exceptions ) for at least ten years and often long after v

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Leica US repaired my CL for what I considered very reasonable charge. On the M8 board someone had an M8s sensor (not LCD) replaced for a lot of money, but not much more than a used M8 is going. He said Leica will repair the camera if they have the parts. 

[Einst_Stein]

I fried my T main board by connecting the USB port to USB charging power supply (though it would charge the battery). It stopped working on te morning when I wake up. I sent it to local Leica store and was forwarded to Leica in New Jercy. It was repaired by replacing the Bain board etc. Free.

I then learned the on-camera USB port of old cameras of any brand  is only for data transfer. Absolutely never connect to a USB charger.

[Dopaco]

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@Elnest_Stein

16 hours ago, Einst_Stein said:

I fried my T main board by connecting the USB port to USB charging power supply (though it would charge the battery). It stopped working on te morning when I wake up. I sent it to local Leica store and was forwarded to Leica in New Jercy. It was repaired by replacing the Bain board etc. Free.

I then learned the on-camera USB port of old cameras of any brand  is only for data transfer. Absolutely never connect to a USB charger.

I have been charging the battery of my TL 2 for a long time, via USB by connecting the cable that comes with the camera to the USB device of my iMac computer and I have not had any problems.

Also in the manuals it says the following:

BATTERY CHARGING WITH USB CABLE ( Fig. 3)
NOTE:
•In principle, the camera should only be connected to a computer or a standard USB charger on the market (with maximum charging currents of 500mA or 1A, respectively), not to a monitor, keyboard, printer or USB.
• The USB charging process only starts when the camera is turned off.
• If the computer goes to sleep during the charging process, the charging process may be interrupted.

[Einst_Stein]

i guess mine is not “Standard USB charger”. Such thing probably does not exist. Even the computer’s USB ports varies from brand to brand and model to model. It was worse in my case. I got the USB to power outlet adapter from UK (a store like 7-eleven or Safeway in US) while traveling.

I took the lessen to avoid charging through old cameras that did not advertise explicitly that it supports charging through USB port, regardless how the user manual says. I don’t trust Leica’s electronic in particular. Frying one Leica T is enough. I deeply appreciated that Leica didn’t charge me for the repair.    

Edited May 22, 2022 by Einst_Stein

[Dopaco]

13 hours ago, Einst_Stein said:

i guess mine is not “Standard USB charger”. Such thing probably does not exist. Even the computer’s USB ports varies from brand to brand and model to model. It was worse in my case. I got the USB to power outlet adapter from UK (a store like 7-eleven or Safeway in US) while traveling.

I took the lessen to avoid charging through old cameras that did not advertise explicitly that it supports charging through USB port, regardless how the user manual says. I don’t trust Leica’s electronic in particular. Frying one Leica T is enough. I deeply appreciated that Leica didn’t charge me for the repair.    

You may be right and it is better to take preventive measures and use as little as possible to charge the Camera via USB, I do not trust Leica electronics very much either.

[jaapv]

Leica electronics do not exist. Leica buys their electronic components from the large suppliers in the Far East like many if not all camera makers. The only Leica input in the electronic components may be that some parts are built to specifications supplied by Leica, again like everybody else in the business. 

[Linus84]

Just for your information, I have only been charging my T with various wall-socket-USB-chargers over the two years I have owned it and never had any problems. Unless the charger is defect in some way, this does not seem to be a reasonable thing to worry about IMHO. 

Will collect it from the post this afternoon, I'll let you know how it works!

//L