M11-D completely bricked

[username]

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18 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Yes, Leica does take part in the German training system with Azubis etc. However, it takes  years to fully train a technician, you won't find them on the open market, so advertising for them is rather useless. On top of that the present group has an age drain

Sure, they need the three years to complete their apprenticeship (and even more time to become a truly experienced Leica tech, surely) - but of course you can put them to work in the meantime, and they are leaning as they go, being able to fix more and more things, thus reducing the load on the senior techs.

I seriously do not believe the age drain is affecting Leica, of course I don't have the numbers but I mean who wouldn't do their apprenticeship with them and have that name in their CV.

 

Yea, I can imagine the outsourcing / supplying parts thing must be quite complex - would have thought though that at this point they'd really do themselves a favour if they made it as easy as possible for other techs to repair the analog bodies / lenses as well, as apparently Leica themselves have their hands full, to say the least.

[jaapv]

Actually my age drain remark comes from the number of my valued contacts in Leica CS that have retired over the last years. 

[username]

@jaapv ..ah, gotcha 👍  Sad to hear there apparently aren't enough people who succeed..

As a final note regarding the repair situation at Leica HQ - is there a thread on this forum dedicated to this topic? I didn't find one via the search, did I miss it?

I think it would be great to have a thread with real life feedback from people who needed to use the service in Wetzlar, so no "bashing" or creating more drama, but just people sharing experiences (would really love to read about the positive experiences as well), maybe also recommending alternatives to Wetzlar (for the occasions / models where is still an option I mean)?
 

[D-Mavignier]

By the way I just sold my M11-D now 9 Months after the first problem posted here and after I experienced a last issue a month ago when the camera gave me a battery replacement message and switched itself off during a theater general rehearsal shoot even though the battery still had 70% as I found out back at home. Without my second camera I would have lost a job and embarrassed myself infront of my client. So bye for now beloved M11-D. I miss the camera but not the experience running into problems.

[charlesphoto99]

4 hours ago, D-Mavignier said:

By the way I just sold my M11-D now 9 Months after the first problem posted here and after I experienced a last issue a month ago when the camera gave me a battery replacement message and switched itself off during a theater general rehearsal shoot even though the battery still had 70% as I found out back at home. Without my second camera I would have lost a job and embarrassed myself infront of my client. So bye for now beloved M11-D. I miss the camera but not the experience running into problems.

I would never rely on something like a D for client work. At the minimum you want to have a look at what the lighting/exposure is doing. Of course, I guess if you have a smartphone along as well you can do that....

[D-Mavignier]

I agree about better not to use the D or any M11 for client work. about the viewfinder - I was using the visoflex 2 for this work to be able to check the images now and then which worked great because the visoflex only turns on when the eye is detected. that thing is really perfect and it is great to be able to have both and to switch. Unfortunately still the camera failed me epically (again) and that was my last chapter with Leica for a long time to come.

[IkarusJohn]

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On 12/15/2024 at 3:11 AM, username said:

I think it would be great to have a thread with real life feedback from people who needed to use the service in Wetzlar, so no "bashing" or creating more drama, but just people sharing experiences (would really love to read about the positive experiences as well), maybe also recommending alternatives to Wetzlar (for the occasions / models where is still an option I mean)?

I’m not a professional photographer, and I haven’t bought into the M11 series, not because of any faults or flaws (though they are discouraging), but because I don’t like the direction the M11 is taking the M digital cameras.

You ask about repairs.  I’m a Leica fanboy, but that may be hard to understand from the following:

• M9 - corroded sensor cover glass, traded in for an M-A
• Monochrom - also corroded cover glass, repaired
• M Edition 60 - died and returned to Solms
• SL - fantastic camera, well sorted, but bricked and replaced
• M10-D - brilliant camera, flawless for 5 years or so, then a motherboard failure - two trips to Wetzlar, took over a year to fix

That left the M-A and the TL2 as the only Leicas I own which have not been back to the mothership for repairs, in each case taking months.  For those gaslighting here, this is just my experience.  To be fair to Leica, they have repaired each of the cameras (eventually), but I do have to accept that their turn around times require some work …

My next colour digital is the Hasselblad X2D I already own.  I love the 3 M cameras and 10 M lenses I own, but I suspect my M-A will be the only one I have in the long term.

[Photoworks]

For does people in the USA, Leica in NJ is making repairs quickly.

I have sent in my M11 a few times already, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for repairs.

They don't do SL service; at this point, it is sent to Germany.