My M11-P experience

[waltb]

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I bought an M11-P in January. Loved the camera. After almost 3 months the shutter release button stopped working correctly. Suddenly had to press way harder to trigger the shutter.
Went back to the store I bought it from, they returned the camera to Leica.
After 2 weeks I call and e-mail Leica Wetzlar with 2 questions. (The call gets cut off multiple times so I just e-mail.)
How long is the repair going to take. No answer. (Store told me it could take up to 10 weeks, which is longer than I had the camera in my posession)
Can the camera just be replaced since it's less then 3 months old. No.
Can I get a loaner for the duration of the repair? Reply: Only professionals get a loaner.
I am a professional and I do make my living with photography. No reply.

And now, because the camera was sent through the shop, I was told they will no longer update me directly and all communication needs to go through the shop.
From the quote they received the whole camera needs to be taken apart to fix the shutter.
Repair printed circuit of top plate
Repair printed circuit of imageboard
...
So far this has been a very frustrating experience. Thank god I still have my m6 and sony r5, but I had expected some more support.
Just wanted to share my experience..

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[RMF]

Sorry to hear this has happened to your new M11-P. At this point after hearing the countless horror stories on the forum about Leica services issues (delays, lack of communication, extended wait time, etc..). Summing up of the state of Leica nowadays…its unfortunately non-customer centric” ☹️ which is the opposite of what it really should be; highly successful companies and organizations typically have this one thing in common…they are hyper customer focused.

[sebben]

This pretty much mirrors my experiences over the years since owning the Leica M8. It seems that as a professional Leica shooter it is expected that you own at least two copies of the body if you want to be sure of uninterrupted performance or have a second body from another manufacturer available to fall back on. 
 

Makes it difficult to use professionally unless you are regularly shooting big projects where the cost of the equipment is a small fraction of the production budget. 

 

 

[chris7273]

I was also told 10 weeks for a repair when I brought my M11 back for a Visoflex connection problem. Il was back after 4 weeks. Good surprise. 

The shop is your only contact, don’t call Leica, it’s useless and just consumes their limited time 🙂

i hope you will have your M11 back soon. 
 

i am an amateur, no pro. If I were a pro, I would never use a Leica. Why ? I was asked to cover a private event,  the M11 froze at the worst time, hopefully I had my trusty old Nikon dslr ready « in case of Diva behavior »… not fun…

Edited April 19, 2024 by chris7273

[Al Brown]

8 hours ago, waltb said:

I bought an M11-P in January. Loved the camera. After almost 3 months the shutter release button stopped working correctly. Suddenly had to press way harder to trigger the shutter.
Went back to the store I bought it from, they returned the camera to Leica.
After 2 weeks I call and e-mail Leica Wetzlar with 2 questions. (The call gets cut off multiple times so I just e-mail.)
How long is the repair going to take. No answer. (Store told me it could take up to 10 weeks, which is longer than I had the camera in my posession)
Can the camera just be replaced since it's less then 3 months old. No.
Can I get a loaner for the duration of the repair? Reply: Only professionals get a loaner.
I am a professional and I do make my living with photography. No reply.

And now, because the camera was sent through the shop, I was told they will no longer update me directly and all communication needs to go through the shop.
From the quote they received the whole camera needs to be taken apart to fix the shutter.
Repair printed circuit of top plate
Repair printed circuit of imageboard
...
So far this has been a very frustrating experience. Thank god I still have my m6 and sony r5, but I had expected some more support.
Just wanted to share my experience..

Where are you located? In EU, the legally obligating repair time under warranty is 45 days. If the repair cannot be made in such time you need to be given a new camera.

[hjddd]

I. had this same problem with My M10-R, one local third party technician resolved the problem and cost 90 USD ^,Leica can do nothing but letting you wait half year. 

[chris7273]

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9 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Where are you located? In EU, the legally obligating repair time under warranty is 45 days. If the repair cannot be made in such time you need to be given a new camera.

I am in Belgium. I don’t know this legal obligation, never heard of. Is there an official info about this ? 
anyway, 10 weeks announced is 50 works days, so it’s more or less the same 🙂

[Al Brown]

3 hours ago, chris7273 said:

I am in Belgium. I don’t know this legal obligation, never heard of. Is there an official info about this ? 
anyway, 10 weeks announced is 50 works days, so it’s more or less the same 🙂

Go through the EU legislation here: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

[waltb]

Thank you all for the replies. I guess I just needed to vent my frustration. I heard some stories but I am still surprised at how bad the whole experience is.
(Disconnecting phone lines, extremely short replies to emails with lots of spelling mistakes, being promised a lead time but never getting one, no loaner, .. )
While the store I bought it from has multiple m11-p's in stock. Just not worth it.

[01af]

Am 19.4.2024 um 14:07 schrieb waltb:

After almost 3 months the shutter release button stopped working correctly. Suddenly had to press way harder to trigger the shutter.

Did you use a so-called 'soft-release button' on your shutter-release button?

[waltb]

I did not. But should that be an issue? Most people with a leica use them it seems.

[chris7273]

2 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Go through the EU legislation here: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

Thank you. I don’t find the 45 days rule.  I read « a reasonable time »…

[Budfox]

14 hours ago, hjddd said:

I. had this same problem with My M10-R, one local third party technician resolved the problem and cost 90 USD ^,Leica can do nothing but letting you wait half year. 

... and you would likely void the warranty if you went to a local repair shop with a brand new M11-P.

[hjddd]

11 hours ago, Budfox said:

...如果您带着全新的 M11-P 前往当地维修店，您的保修可能会失效。

thanks I know this ， but my M10-R is not a local official retail

[Kiwimac]

It’s my wife’s 60th birthday and we’re going on a long cruise trip. 
 

Given the unrepeatable nature of the event, I’ve actually thought seriously about buying a Fujifilm X100VI as a backup just in case my M11 packs in. 

[dugby]

51 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

It’s my wife’s 60th birthday and we’re going on a long cruise trip. 
 

Given the unrepeatable nature of the event, I’ve actually thought seriously about buying a Fujifilm X100VI as a backup just in case my M11 packs in. 

It could be repeatable ..... with a different wife....

[waltb]

2 hours ago, Kiwimac said:

It’s my wife’s 60th birthday and we’re going on a long cruise trip. 
 

Given the unrepeatable nature of the event, I’ve actually thought seriously about buying a Fujifilm X100VI as a backup just in case my M11 packs in. 

That's what I did with my trip. Bought a x100V as a replacement for the leica. Not the same but atleast I had a small camera with me that works.

[Big John]

Experiences like this just make it harder for me to buy into the M11.  I have tried to make allowances for the freeze issue (difficult to tell just how rife it has been and whether it is truly fixed) but poor customer service is the limit for me.  

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[Herr Barnack]

On 4/19/2024 at 2:30 PM, RMF said:

Sorry to hear this has happened to your new M11-P. At this point after hearing the countless horror stories on the forum about Leica services issues (delays, lack of communication, extended wait time, etc..). Summing up of the state of Leica nowadays…its unfortunately non-customer centric” ☹️ which is the opposite of what it really should be; highly successful companies and organizations typically have this one thing in common…they are hyper customer focused.

Leica released the M11 on 13 January 2022.  People are still having problems with new in the box M11 cameras 27 months later. 

@waltb paid $9200 USD for a new M11-P that crapped out after three months and Leica is stonewalling him with regard to warranty service.  Their attitude appears to be "We'll get to it when we get to it; quit bothering us."  At the risk of stating the obvious, that kind of dismissive attitude toward a customer with a dysfunctional new in box $9200 USD camera is not okay. 

@sebben: 

Quote

"It seems that as a professional Leica shooter it is expected that you own at least two copies of the body if you want to be sure of uninterrupted performance..." 

We are supposed to buy TWO $9200 USD M11-P bodies in the hope that ONE of them will be functional when we need it??  I don't think so.  If both of them crap out, are we supposed to buy #3 to cover for the first two??  Wrong.

All the above is why I have abandoned my plans to purchase an M11-P.  I would not buy an automobile with such a history.  Hell, I wouldn't buy a $20 coffee bean grinder with such a history.

Leica management is allowing the M11 debacle to linger on without resolution.  They are leaving customers with dysfunctional M11 cameras twisting in the wind.  In doing so, they are alienating their customer base and revealing an arrogant and dismissive corporate mindset.

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2024 by Herr Barnack

[sebben]

@Herr Barnack I totally agree that this is a ridiculous situation but this seems to be the reality if one wants to shoot Leica professionally with piece of mind.