My Q succumbed to the damage from a volcano..

[mbphotox]

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Last year we took a sabatical to travel eastern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

On that trip, we also visited the famous Kawa Ijen with the "blue fire" and the sulfur mines. The hike was ridiculously easy, the weather was against us (blue fire was a 1ft puddle on the ground, the rest was hidden behind thick vapors.. then the wind wouldn't allow for the fog to clear so we waited for several hours for a chance to see the blue lake in the crater.. then we went home disappointed)

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That's one of the only pictures I even bothered to take, because outside the crater, we at least had nice weater..

It looks clear, but the fog was so dense, we couldn't see the lake, not even a glimps of the edge of it.

 

 

Anyways, a couple days later, I realised how EVERYTHING made from metal (the rings from my camera strap, the buckles on my think thank backpack, the screws in my glasses, you name it!) that wasn't coated with paint, had corroded.

The brand new backpack smelled like hell.. but the worst were the disgusting buckles that suddenly looked like they had been dumped in salt water for weeks..

That was 11 months ago. I told my partner back then already that I feared for my Leica Q.

 

Today was the day (I hadn't used the camera in the months after our return in January) and it started up to the "Welcome to the Leica Q" screen..
then there was a "System Error" message.. AF not working..
Switch it to MF and it starts up...
then there's another "System Error" message. This one had (O.I.S.) added next to it.

 

Quick google revealed that those were common issues with Panasonic cameras where the contacts had gotten loose or the wires weren't properly connected, etc.

I don't even have to open the camera up to know that nothing has come loose inside.., those contacts certainly look like my poor backpack's buckles..

 

Bought the camera in 2018 and paid 2'200 USD for it, barely used (less than 2'000 actuations).

I thought to myself: well, you can get that Q2 now.. shouldn't cost more than 2 grand by now, given that it has been 5 additional years and we're at a point where there's a Q3.. and the Q2 has been out for 4 or 5 years already..

Holy hell.. the cheapest Q is being sold used for 2'200 USD but the rest goes for up to 3'700 USD.. and the cheapest Q2 I could find is offered for 4'500 USD (used!)

 

I'm at a complete loss right now. I really don't want to be without my beloved compact.. but I cannot justify paying as much as I did 5 years ago.. it's still a good camera, but its technology has aged a lot!

 

 

Any suggestions?
Or at least some heartfelt pity?

 

 

P.S.: I've been on other mountains on that trip.. it really bugs me that it had to be Ijen where we both returned from deeply disappointed... dropping it on Mount Rinjani? Sure.. slip and sit on it on Mount Bromo during the sunset with 0 other people around? gimme! But volcanic vapors from horrible tourist exploit that came with tons of bad luck?!

 

PPS: I was aware that the vapours wouldn't be too healthy.. that's why I left my film Leica in the guesthouse and only brought the digital one.. I did NOT, however, expect it to be THAT bad.

[ropo54]

Beautiful photo!

Check Fred Miranda buy/sell forum?  You should be able to find a Q2 in excellent condition in the $3800-4000 range (USD).  (Or, in a similar price range, consider a pre-owned Hasselblad X1D II with a XCD 45P).

Good luck with your search.

Rob

Edited June 15, 2023 by ropo54

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[bobtodrick]

The reason Q’s hold their value is they are such capable cameras.

Bite the bullet!!

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello mbphotox,

Welcome to the Forum.

Sorry about your camera.

That is a nice photo.

Best Regards,

Michael

 

[Driften]

Maybe you should look into getting it serviced, maybe it won't be as bad as buying another one. I can understand your disappointment that used Q2's haven't dropped that much in price. I expect I would have been hoping to upgrade if I was in your situation. I owned a Q a few years ago and sold it when it didn't quite fit my needs. I missed it and bought a like new Q2 Reporter last November and love its added abilities and improved interface. If you can find a good Q2 you can afford, it's well worth the money. 

[mbphotox]

I'm not new here.. 😅

 

And while I agree it's a capable camera, there's no denying the ridiculous price inflation on the used market.

A used Q, 8 years old, shouldn't cost more than 1000 bucks at the maximum.

I'll talk to my insurance.. they're know to have covered some weird damages in the past..

 

But I cannot afford shelling out 3000 bucks or more on an old camera..

[jaapv]

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Did you claim with your insurance? 

[jaapv]

CL cameras are quite affordable right now. Maybe that is an option? 

[mbphotox]

4 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Did you claim with your insurance? 

gonna give it a try, yeah!

 

someone in my area has a Q up on fb marketplace for 1k...

on one hand, I feel like that's a fair price.. on the other, it smells like a scam. (considering how expensive other offers on ebay and co are..)

(3h drive so it would suck if it's not real..)

 

 

tempted to grab a silver one for sale here, perfect condition with original thumb grip and arte di mano case.. aber that's as much as I originally paid for mine.

[mbphotox]

short update

I got a silver Q (116) with nice accessories, but paid a premium for it.

 

Leica said they'd probably charge 2'000 USD for the repairs of my Leica.. and my insurance only covers "fall damage".. since I'm 99% sure that the damage is corrosion, the insurance would refuse payment.

What should I do?

Do you think I could sell it as "defective"?

According to Leica, they'd want to replace the lens unit.

[bobtodrick]

40 minutes ago, mbphotox said:

short update

I got a silver Q (116) with nice accessories, but paid a premium for it.

 

Leica said they'd probably charge 2'000 USD for the repairs of my Leica.. and my insurance only covers "fall damage".. since I'm 99% sure that the damage is corrosion, the insurance would refuse payment.

What should I do?

Do you think I could sell it as "defective"?

According to Leica, they'd want to replace the lens unit.

I've had lots of experience with corrosion issues (work at one of Canada's largest photo retailers).  I'm actually surprised Leica is willing to repair it if it is corrosion damage, and if they do highly doubt they would warranty the repair.  Corrosion issues go deep into the internals and just about always come back after a repair...if they are quoting $2000 it may be that they are replacing the whole internals of the camera.

As for selling it...I would be honest and advertise it as a parts only camera.

[mbphotox]

25 minutes ago, bobtodrick said:

I've had lots of experience with corrosion issues (work at one of Canada's largest photo retailers).  I'm actually surprised Leica is willing to repair it if it is corrosion damage, and if they do highly doubt they would warranty the repair.  Corrosion issues go deep into the internals and just about always come back after a repair...if they are quoting $2000 it may be that they are replacing the whole internals of the camera.

As for selling it...I would be honest and advertise it as a parts only camera.

they haven't gotten it yet.

The guy from customer support told me to expect 2 grand for repairs since they'd probably have to replace the entire lens unit.

 

I have no idea how much it would really be, but since they would send it in to Wetzlar in Germany, I'm very hesitant to give it to them for the repair.

Even if they quotet me a lot less for the repairs, I would probably have to pay a lot to get it back un-repaired...

 

 

Also, I wouldn't care about warranty. I honestly just want it to work again

The camera seems fine.. you can go through the menu, look at pictures, etc.

It's just as soon as you go into shooting mode, you get the lock-up error message tellling me that the OIS is faulty. (And I disabled the OIS already)

 

I suspect corrosion because the rings of the strap look like they got dipped in acid (the camera never got wet, was never in the rain, etc. but the vapours probably got inside somehow..)

[RoySmith]

Those fumes sound pretty corrosive/toxic. How do your lungs feel?

Were you wearing a respirator, or oxygen mask?

[mbphotox]

7 hours ago, RoySmith said:

Those fumes sound pretty corrosive/toxic. How do your lungs feel?

Were you wearing a respirator, or oxygen mask?

we actually did use a respirator, yes.

didn't protect the eyes though... they suffered.

[jaapv]

On 7/26/2023 at 6:49 PM, mbphotox said:

Even if they quotet me a lot less for the repairs, I would probably have to pay a lot to get it back un-repaired...

 

A lot? FrommGermany to Switzerland? I may bee completely wrong, but I think that Leica charges 60 Euro for an estimate and unrepaired return. Ask them, you only need to pick up the phone.