“Bricked” Q2 - Advice?

[thisisliammercier]

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So this is my first post, and I wish it was under better circumstances. 
 

So my Q2 suffered water damage and I recently sent it to Germany for repair. I was offered an exchange, but declined since the camera still worked outside of the shorted LCD (I could use it using the EVF only). Upon receiving the camera back, the camera is completely “bricked”. I expect this is because they disassembled everything and that put the nail in the coffin / circuit board. 
 

I am currently waiting to see what Customer Care can offer, as I did not expect to receive the camera back in worse condition than I originally sent it. A rep at the D.C. store said they may offer me a trade in offer, but we will see. In the meantime, I figured it was worth asking all of you: is there any value in trying to sell it on eBay?

Forgive me if this is a novice question, but I only ask because I’ve sold broken computers in the past that eventually sold for parts. 
 

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Additional context: insurance denied my claim, and my warranty is expired

[jaapv]

Even the electronic and metal parts are worthless as corrosion is progressive as you found out

I am sorry for your loss, but the best thing to do is to take any goodwill offer Leica may make. In fact, you should have taken the original exchange offer. OTOH you could try eBay with an honest description. It only takes one fool. 
i would take legal advice on the refusal of the insurance company if I were you. 

[frame-it]

23 minutes ago, thisisliammercier said:

I only ask because I’ve sold broken computers in the past that eventually sold for parts. 
 

did the computers have water damage?

[bobtodrick]

4 hours ago, frame-it said:

did the computers have water damage?

My question as well.

I’ve sold iPhones that just ceased to work…people were willing to pay something.

Ive known people who took their smartphone swimming…pretty much worthless.

[thisisliammercier]

9 hours ago, frame-it said:

did the computers have water damage?

No they did not (cracked screen). 

 

9 hours ago, jaapv said:

Even the electronic and metal parts are worthless as corrosion is progressive as you found out

I am sorry for your loss, but the best thing to do is to take any goodwill offer Leica may make. In fact, you should have taken the original exchange offer. OTOH you could try eBay with an honest description. It only takes one fool. 
i would take legal advice on the refusal of the insurance company if I were you. 

Thanks for the feedback. So I opted not to take the exchange, because it was an “exchange” that would run me $4,800. I figured I might as well save that, and put it towards a Q3. Are you suggesting I take the exchange, and then sell the Q2 at a loss? In retrospect, I never considered doing that - also didn’t factor in knowing about the post-repair condition of the camera.
 

As for eBay, maybe I’ll give it a shot - another use case could be for prop use. I’ve seen Leicas in a few commercials used for set design etc… 

Re: Insurance - not optimistic here, nor do I want to deal with the hassle of taking this route. FWIW I covered my camera through “Lemonade” Insurance. Seems like that company has gone downhill, and it was impossible to ever get someone live to speak with me. 

[jaapv]

We had a similar case quite a while ago with an M8. The owner was very upset that Leica wouldn’t extend guarantee (they were right) and in the end got the insurance to pay up. 
After all, this is damage by an external agent. 

[sir_ian]

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HOW much water damage did your camera have? 

and by that I mean like what kinda wet did it get?

 

[thisisliammercier]

1 hour ago, sir_ian said:

HOW much water damage did your camera have? 

and by that I mean like what kinda wet did it get?

 

~3 hours of exposure in a light/medium rain during a hike. I immediately noticed condensation in the EVF and lens about 2 hours in. The camera was hanging around my neck for most of the hike, and I occasionally put it in my PD sling.

After using the old “bag of rice” trick, everything was seemingly fine with the exception of the LCD. I continued to use the camera for a good 6mo after the incident without any noticeable loss in image quality or glitches. 
 

Ofc I assume full responsibility for not understanding the IP rating definition. Certainly won’t be making that mistake again!

[trickness]

With respect: who in the world is going to buy a bricked, water damaged Q2 that Leica couldn't fix? How is your eBay sale description going to reflect this item is any substantially positive way?

See if you can get a discount on something new from Leica (you can get a perfect used Q2 for way less than $4800, so don't do that) - maybe get on a Q3 waiting list with a this giving you a little discount.

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by trickness

[sir_ian]

13 minutes ago, trickness said:

With respect: who in the world is going to buy a bricked, water damaged Q2 that Leica couldn't fix? How is your eBay sale description going to reflect this item is any substantially positive way?

See if you can get a discount on something new from Leica (you can get a perfect used Q2 for way less than $4800, so don't do that) - maybe get on a Q3 waiting list with a this giving you a little discount.

 

oddly a lot of people would buy it, we are on a site dedicated to this brand and full of fanboys of the brand. that's something you buy and put it in a case and display like you spent "5,000" on a camera because its ART .. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by sir_ian
spelling error

[sir_ian]

23 minutes ago, thisisliammercier said:

~3 hours of exposure in a light/medium rain during a hike. I immediately noticed condensation in the EVF and lens about 2 hours in. The camera was hanging around my neck for most of the hike, and I occasionally put it in my PD sling.

After using the old “bag of rice” trick, everything was seemingly fine with the exception of the LCD. I continued to use the camera for a good 6mo after the incident without any noticeable loss in image quality or glitches. 
 

Ofc I assume full responsibility for not understanding the IP rating definition. Certainly won’t be making that mistake again!

thats interesting ive shot a few times. in heavy rain and no REAL issues but I would 100% tuck my camera in as often as I could 

damn that sucks though sorry to hear that ... and thanks for the info. 

[pcgarner]

I too take my Q (Q2M) into rain--never more than 20-30 minutes--and have had zero problems. Three hrs though is extreme.

[azuled]

So, what kind of weather sealing does the camera have? They advertise that it is weather sealed, but there are obvious variations on what that means. I have used pro-level canons that I would take out into a heavy rainstorm without any real hesitation, and there are weather sealed phones that you don’t want to even get moist.

[thisisliammercier]

Just now, azuled said:

So, what kind of weather sealing does the camera have? They advertise that it is weather sealed, but there are obvious variations on what that means. I have used pro-level canons that I would take out into a heavy rainstorm without any real hesitation, and there are weather sealed phones that you don’t want to even get moist.

Look up IP56, and you’ll see it’s only guaranteed to protect against light water spray. The term weather sealing can be a bit misleading - then again, if you’re paying for a Leica, one should know better. 

 

41 minutes ago, sir_ian said:

oddly a lot of people would buy it, we are on a site dedicated to this brand and full of fanboys of the brand. that's something you buy and put it in a case and display like you spent "5,000" on a camera because its ART .. 

Sir Ian - are you sir interested in buying some art? 

 

54 minutes ago, trickness said:

With respect: who in the world is going to buy a bricked, water damaged Q2 that Leica couldn't fix? How is your eBay sale description going to reflect this item is any substantially positive way?

See if you can get a discount on something new from Leica (you can get a perfect used Q2 for way less than $4800, so don't do that) - maybe get on a Q3 waiting list with a this giving you a little discount.

 

Yeah I had the same thought. Just didn’t want to rule anything out, hence why I asked here. Maybe the description could read: “Bricked Leica Q2 - truly one of a kind” 

[thisisliammercier]

Anywho. Thanks to everyone for the replies! No need for further help - I’ll follow up once I figure out what next steps look like.

[LocalHero1953]

It is rated as IP52, supposedly good for spray no more than 15 deg from vertical. I’m a bit surprised it failed I have to say, but on a three hour hike I guess there could be the occasion that deviates from this, especially if the camera is not held vertically, which is likely.

[azuled]

8 minutes ago, thisisliammercier said:

Anywho. Thanks to everyone for the replies! No need for further help - I’ll follow up once I figure out what next steps look like.

Best of luck to you. 

[thisisliammercier]

11 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

It is rated as IP52, supposedly good for spray no more than 15 deg from vertical. I’m a bit surprised it failed I have to say, but on a three hour hike I guess there could be the occasion that deviates from this, especially if the camera is not held vertically, which is likely.

Sorry about the typo on my end. Thanks for the correction.

[jaapv]

49 minutes ago, azuled said:

So, what kind of weather sealing does the camera have? They advertise that it is weather sealed, but there are obvious variations on what that means. I have used pro-level canons that I would take out into a heavy rainstorm without any real hesitation, and there are weather sealed phones that you don’t want to even get moist.

Hmm my phone is IP68 I use it snorkeling. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[azuled]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

It is rated as IP52, supposedly good for spray no more than 15 deg from vertical. I’m a bit surprised it failed I have to say, but on a three hour hike I guess there could be the occasion that deviates from this, especially if the camera is not held vertically, which is likely.

I suspect the big issue is one of duration. The tests are over fairly brief periods of time (I think it’s 3 minutes per angle, on the IP52 level). OP says it was over 3 hours during which the camera was effectively continuously wet.

21 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Hmm my phone is IP68 I use it snorkeling. 

Yeah, modern phones are not ones I worry about, I’m more thinking of my first Galaxy-S from 12+ years ago, or the original couple weather sealed iPhone models. Even entry level phones are crazy sealed these days (and will likely be more so once the companies manage to finish the transition away from charging ports).

 

 

EDIT: Still, I think that Leica is a bit disingenuous with their marketing on this. They portray the camera as being Canon 1D-X level sealed, and it truly is not anywhere near that. Saying weather sealed and IP52 means something specific, but that specificity is lost when the rest of the material suggests something else. I’m not Leica bashing here, I think IP52 is pretty impressive for what the camera is. It’s way better than the M240, and is extremely impressive compared to the Ricoh GRiii, which is a entirely unsealed.

Edited July 8, 2023 by azuled
clarification and updated context.