shutter damage

[Guest guy_mancuso]

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Karen:

 

Since you are a professional, you should look into the Leica professional services. You may want to call your Leica representative, or Leica NJ to see what is required to get into the program. They may just be able to loan you a M8 while yours is being serviced.

 

Did not realize this call Christian Erhardt at leica NJ first

[Eikonphoto]

Karen:

 

Since you are a professional, you should look into the Leica professional services. You may want to call your Leica representative, or Leica NJ to see what is required to get into the program. They may just be able to loan you a M8 while yours is being serviced.

 

I did look into the professional services - or at least left several phone messages with NJ- none of which were returned. I will try again of course, but if they can't return a phone call, my guess is they won't lend me an M8. There is no Leica dealer in DC either. Accidental damage is one thing - but this was not anything that was done to the camera. I will let you know if I reach anyone at Leica.

Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate the help.

[gesper]

I had the same problem. See thread:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/20387-m8-shutter-damage.html

 

I had the same situation only fewer lenses, and am 1000% positive I didn't do anything to damage it. Still, you can't blame Leica for not taking people's word for it unless they see a significant number of occurrences.

 

I still live in fear it will happen again. The cost was over $800 and it takes forever to fix. The only advice I can give is give them a call and state your case.

[Shootist]

I had the same problem. See thread:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/20387-m8-shutter-damage.html

 

I had the same situation only fewer lenses, and am 1000% positive I didn't do anything to damage it. Still, you can't blame Leica for not taking people's word for it unless they see a significant number of occurrences.

 

I still live in fear it will happen again. The cost was over $800 and it takes forever to fix. The only advice I can give is give them a call and state your case.

So they DID CHARGE YOU for the repair????

[Eikonphoto]

Yikes! 800.00 for something that was not damage caused by you. Well you are a lot more understanding that I am. A long period without the camera is not acceptable in business terms.

I have finally reached Colleen in NJ. I will be receiving some forms. Once those are completed I will contact the company from whom I purchased the camera (B&H) and we'll see what happens after that. I will keep you all updated. Thanks for the support.

[Daniel Ortego]

Karen,

I am new to this venue although after reading several posts, its clear that Leica has its share of engineering and QA/QC issues. Based on other reports, foreign material entering the lens throat, either from manufacturing or debris as a result of a galling affect between the surfaces of the lens mount and/or body cap is likely to cause such damage. Likewise, a fracture of the body-cap locking tab(s) would most certainly have a more catastrophic result.

Regards,

[wparsonsgisnet]

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Karen, as a prof photog, do you carry commercial insurance on your gear? If so, some of the repair might be covered.

 

My policy covers breakage, damage, theft, and like that.

[Eikonphoto]

Hi Bill

Yes I carry pro insurance, but the deductable is 500.00. I guess I will follow the process and see what Leica has to say at that point.

[ho_co]

Karen--

Just curious: You say Allendale is sending you paperwork, and then you're going to contact B&H. Why? What paperwork is Colleen sending, and what advantage do you see in going through the dealer?

 

In my experience, it's always best to go direct with Leica. That way explanations don't get confused in being passed down the line, there's no delay while the dealer enters you into their system, etc.

 

My feeling is that establishing a direct professional working arrangement with Leica will save time and trouble in the future.

 

 

Another point--until Leica has the camera, don't worry about cost. For most of the people with shutter problems (I think), the work was under warranty. I have no idea what the decision-making process at Leica is, so I wouldn't try to second-guess it till they've sent you an estimate.

 

Respectfully,

--HC

[Eikonphoto]

Hi HC

Thanks for your question. Normally I would never have thought to go through B&H (don't get me wrong I spend a lot of money with them every year) . The paperwork I mentioned is to get onto Leica's pro care program. This requires a few forms and a lot of proof of your profession, as pro versus non pro.

They have a loaner program, which is 'discretionary' so we'll see what that means. There is also a speed up on repairs.

I am not at all sure about the role that B&H is to play in this,. Honestly I would prefer if I can simply deal with Leica directly, unless B&H is going to send a new camera my way - HAAA

Tomorrow I will speak with Leica again and get a bit more clear on the process. I am crossing my fingers I can get a positve result, since aside from the normal work, I have some destination weddings that I would love to not drag two dslr;s along to.

[psquared]

Why are we having all these shutter problems with M8s already? There have been at least half a dozen M8 shutter malfunctions in this forum alone. I believe it's basically the same shutter as in R9, and I haven't heard of early shutter failures in them. Is it the metering stripe in M8? Or, is that big mirror in front of the shutter in R9 protective? Any ideas?

[Eikonphoto]

Peter

It's pretty mysterious to me, especially that it's a 'ding' outwards rather than inwards. In terms of numbers of M8's with shutter problems, I did not get the impression there were that many, given the number of owners out there. It's interesting that the positioning seems quite similar though. It's also possible that a number of owners just don't look inside their M8's that often. I'm not wanting to start a 'shutter scare'

[Woody Campbell]

This is a well-docmented problem. It's a defect in the shutter. it looks like someone drove a nail through the shutter curtain from the inside out.

 

This happened to me. The shutter had 8-10 thousand cycles. The problem came out of nowhere. I sent the body in 8 weeks ago. Leica is repairing it at no charge, but the body has not yet come back.

 

There have been three or four other cases like this reported on this forum.

 

Thank goodness for my second body (which has a metering problem so it goes back once the first body gets back from Germany).

[Eikonphoto]

Woody

That's a very good description. I was wondering what could be back there that could do that. I have not turned the camera on since I saw the ding, and won't be apparently for a while. Hope your's come's back soon and restored.

[boilerdoc]

Just to add to the worries re: the shutter, mine came apart at the LHSA meetings in Rochester 2 weeks ago. Christian was nearby when it happened (I was using the MATE) and I showed it to him. He winced a little and said 'that needs to go in. Don't take another shot." One of the blades had actually separated and was visibly protruding into the lens opening! Ouch!!! Only had ~6000 actuations. Had been performing flawlessly. It's lucky I just had a got a second body before the price increase and as there are no loaners available while it's in the factory. I hope Leica does not have a quality issue with the shutters, altho it's really looking that way.

Steve

[Stan Yoder]

Last June, I dropped my M8 onto a gravel road and really bollixed the shutter - blades mixed up, etc. NJ at first said they would put in a new shutter, but then sent a replacement body at no charge.

[Eikonphoto]

Just to add to the worries re: the shutter, mine came apart at the LHSA meetings in Rochester 2 weeks ago. Christian was nearby when it happened (I was using the MATE) and I showed it to him. He winced a little and said 'that needs to go in. Don't take another shot." One of the blades had actually separated and was visibly protruding into the lens opening! Ouch!!! Only had ~6000 actuations. Had been performing flawlessly. It's lucky I just had a got a second body before the price increase and as there are no loaners available while it's in the factory. I hope Leica does not have a quality issue with the shutters, altho it's really looking that way.

Steve

 

Ouch! That' separated blade does not sound pretty. Mine has about 8-9000 actuations I would guess. I don't have a second body. Whilst there were still questions in my mind about long term reliability, I could not justify it. Now that SDS is more or less a none issue, it was looking like the reliability was less in question, but random shutter problems suggests otherwise. I'm not saying Nikon and Canon do not have their share of issues, but I know that if every peice of equipment failed I could walk in to a camera store and pick up a d2x and some lenses and get the assignment done. For me, at least it's the lack of accessibility that holds me back from switching systems completely.