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Leica Australia wants $945 AUD to adjust the vertical alignment on my M10.

nothing else is wrong with it and it still is very usable. I.e. only the slightest bit out of vertical calibration.

is that a really the going price for such simple work? Or are they having a laugh?

I am asking because if that is the going rate I might rethink my use and commitment to Leica gear.

 

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4 hours ago, adny88 said:

That sounds like a mistake in the pricing,

Especially since one of the new features in the M10 is a redesigned rangefinder mechanism - which, among other things, makes it very easy for a user to adjust the vertical alignment themselves.

All it takes now is a 2mm Allen-wrench/hex-key/hex-tool....

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....and, depending on which M10 model, removing the front red-dot logo, or the monster-screw that replaces it on the M10-P, M10-M and similar, to uncover the access port.

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4 hours ago, adan said:

Especially since one of the new features in the M10 is a redesigned rangefinder mechanism - which, among other things, makes it very easy for a user to adjust the vertical alignment themselves.

All it takes now is a 2mm Allen-wrench/hex-key/hex-tool....

....and, depending on which M10 model, removing the front red-dot logo, or the monster-screw that replaces it on the M10-P, M10-M and similar, to uncover the access port.

Very interesting. Can you describe the changes that make alignment so much easier w the M10 over the M9 or the M240? I’ve never adjusted the RF on any Leica but am keenly aware that I might need to someday. 

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The tool needed (the process is still about the same).

Prior to the M10, for decades, there was a dedicated "Leica factory" tool needed that was not commercially available to anyone but Leica, or authorized Leica 3rd-party service techs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/180682604819

It could "sort of" be replicated by reshaping the tip of a very small (jeweler's) flat-blade screwdriver (or similar) with a grinder, to be "|__"-shaped, and make the tip off-center and produce a one-sided up-and-down motion ("eccentric" lever or prying action) by simply rotating it.

Sort of like this (massively magnified view)

_________
                  |
                  |_____________
                                            |
——————————————

end-on view:  (- ) or (o )

Since the M10 redesign, the required "eccentricity" is built right into the camera RF itself, so it can be moved up and down with a simple rotating shaft (e.g. the 2mm hex-wrench - which can also be used for infinity adjustments to the roller-cam inside the lens mount). $4-5 instead of $64 or more.

Edited by adan
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7 hours ago, adan said:

The tool needed (the process is still about the same).

Prior to the M10, for decades, there was a dedicated "Leica factory" tool needed that was not commercially available to anyone but Leica, or authorized Leica 3rd-party service techs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/180682604819

It could "sort of" be replicated by reshaping the tip of a very small (jeweler's) flat-blade screwdriver (or similar) with a grinder, to be "|__"-shaped, and make the tip off-center and produce a one-sided up-and-down motion ("eccentric" lever or prying action) by simply rotating it.

Sort of like this (massively magnified view)

_________
                  |
                  |_____________
                                            |
——————————————

end-on view:  (- ) or (o )

Since the M10 redesign, the required "eccentricity" is built right into the camera RF itself, so it can be moved up and down with a simple rotating shaft (e.g. the 2mm hex-wrench - which can also be used for infinity adjustments to the roller-cam inside the lens mount). $4-5 instead of $64 or more.

Got it. Ok, that makes sense. I’ve never understood why Leica made it so difficult for users to adjust the RF ourselves. 

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Thanks everyone for the replies!  I'm getting them to return the camera to me.

Didn't Leica do vertical alignments previously in store for free? I seem to remember hearing they did that in London?

In the meantime I've used it for five years with the very slight misalignment. I can wait until I can find a more reasonable repair option.  Leica Australia is nuts if they think I'm going to pay even half of that price.  but hmm, maybe they've indexed their prices to Australian house price inflation, in which case it's bargain!

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3 hours ago, AceVentura1986 said:

Got it. Ok, that makes sense. I’ve never understood why Leica made it so difficult for users to adjust the RF ourselves. 

Probably because Leica figured they would have to fix 10-20 screwed-up RFs, for every one that a competent DYI-er managed to do themselves correctly.

(And they were probably right for a long time - and may still be 🤪. I'm not sure there is a significant overlap between "good photographers" and "good camera mechanics.")

Edited by adan
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Before the M6 the vertical adjustment was a small slotted screw. DAG posted about having to repair many where users had pretty much destroyed the mechanism trying to adjust it. Maybe that's what led to the special tool version.

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OP here. There's a positive ending to this story.

Leica customer care contacted me. They'd quoted me the price for an analogue M. Also seems they're in the process of making major upgrade to their local repair capabilities. So the staff is learning into the communication process -- hence the mistaken quote.

I think the vertical alignment only quote was between 200 and 300 AUD.

But they also found that my M10 was part of a batch that had some issues, e.g. ISO dial.  So they needed to fix that and that in turns needs the rangefinder to be recalibrated anyway.  So in the end they were able to do that work.

So, the end outcome was better than expected.

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On 11/16/2024 at 7:15 PM, mmanda said:

I'm not sure what State you are in, but I would start with a phone call to Imaging by Design and see how much they charge and turn around time.

https://imagingbydesign.com.au/

I was under the impression that Imaging By Design (Melbourne) does most of the work for the Leica stores here in Australia (they're the official Leica repairer?) but I could be wrong

They modified my Noctilux & serviced my M10 last year - costs were very reasonable - I even paid them a visit (was holidaying from Brisbane)

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20 hours ago, romualdo said:

I was under the impression that Imaging By Design (Melbourne) does most of the work for the Leica stores here in Australia (they're the official Leica repairer?) but I could be wrong

They modified my Noctilux & serviced my M10 last year - costs were very reasonable - I even paid them a visit (was holidaying from Brisbane)

Good to know re the reasonable costs.   I want to get my Summicron 6 bit coded, so should get a quote from them :)

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On 11/20/2024 at 7:39 AM, russell said:

They'd quoted me the price for an analogue M.

That is completely ridiculous. An analogue M is the same. operation, using a matte glass in the film gate for horizontal, and a standarized lens; a few minutes more. Vertical is virtually the same for all M cameras.  Horizontal adjustment is 5 minutes in DIY, analogue a few minutes more, vertical ten.That means that they are charging between 1500 and 4000 AUD an hour. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/23/2024 at 9:03 AM, jaapv said:

That is completely ridiculous. An analogue M is the same. operation, using a matte glass in the film gate for horizontal, and a standarized lens; a few minutes more. Vertical is virtually the same for all M cameras.  Horizontal adjustment is 5 minutes in DIY, analogue a few minutes more, vertical ten.That means that they are charging between 1500 and 4000 AUD an hour. 

I also felt that was an outrageous price for analogue, but decided not to press the issue.  In my opinion analogue should be same price or cheaper. It doesn't need more precise machinery to calibrate. Lots of third part repair people have and do carry that out for much less.

As far as I know, the quote of 945 AUD for analogue was the correct price for that service. i.e. not a typo or mistake on the side of Leica.

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