Warranty?

[KPak]

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Hi everyone~

I have a D-Lux 3 and it seems to have a scratch inside the lense. I bought it from online at 'kenmore camera' but was wondering if i could return it to leica so that they can fix/replace it? there is a warranty card that came w. the camera from leica, but i didn't know if i can use the warranty b.c i didn't buy it directly from leica. If the warranty is a yes, then how do I go about doing so? the warranty card was not clear.

 

thank you

 

kim-

[farnz]

Hi, Kim,

 

Do you mean a scratch on the external surface of the lens or a scratch on one of the internal elements that are inside lens? If it's a scratch on the external surface I doubt that it would be covered by a Leica warranty but if its on one of the internal elements then it might be covered depending on the age of the camera and whether it had been dismantled, say, by a previous owner.

 

I'm fairly sure that D-Lux 3 cameras weren't covered by a Leica Passport warranty so it's probably covered by the standard 2-year warranty. You should contact Leica using this link: (I've assumed from your name that your based in South Korea but my apologies if that's a wrong assumption and you can pick your correct location from the drop down boxes.)

 

Leica, South Korea

 

Pete.

[KPak]

Hello~

Thank you for your help. When looking at the lense, you see no scratch, but when you take a photo for example of the sky, there is always the same blurry line. When i put the camera up to the microscope to take photos, you can see a distince clear line the same shape so that is why i'm thinking its a scratch on the internal lense.

 

Thank you for the link. I'm actually in Atlanta. =)

 

Thank you so much

 

kim-

[ho_co]

Kim--

In the US, the warranty is to the initial purchaser if the camera is purchased through an authorized Leica dealer.

 

1) What you're describing sounds like something other than a scratch. It's definitely a defect and shouldn't be there. If you could post an example, someone might be able to identify the problem, but that's beside the point if the camera is under warranty as it seems to be.

 

2) You might contact your dealer and ask to return or exchange the camera & lens. US law requires that a mail-order shop give you 30 days to do that.

 

3) If the warranty card is the international card and not the US card, the camera may be 'gray market.' in that case, the US importer might ship it to Germany for repair. (That's also the case for some work for which the US repair department hasn't the needed tools.) US card has the US address below.

 

4) You can check the Leica web site (Leica Camera AG - Service - worldwide network) for information. That's where I got this:

 

Address:

Leica Camera Inc.

1 Pearl Ct, Unit A

Allendale, New Jersey 07401

 

Contact person:

Dave Elwell; Sarah Mayville & Colleen Murray

Phone:

800-222-0118

Fax:

201-995-1686

E-mail:

repair@leicacamerausa.com

 

5) If you choose not to exchange it through your dealer (#2 above), it should go to Leica Allendale. You could call ahead, but since they can't diagnose over the phone, I would pack it and ship it to them insured with a description of the problem (send a sample if possible), the warranty card and a request for warranty repair.

 

Sorry for the problem. Good luck.

[KPak]

Here is an example

 

 

terrbile!~

[ho_co]

Kim--

You mean the squiggly thing, right?

 

I think you've got something on the sensor.

 

If you had a scratch on the lens, it wouldn't appear in the images. The effect of the scratch would be a loss of contrast in the image, but you wouldn't see an image of the scratch because the lens cannot focus something that is inside it.

 

This is the D-Lux 3, right, not the Digilux 3? Since the latter has interchangeable lenses, it's easy for stuff to get to the sensor and relatively easy to clean the sensor.

 

But the D-Lux 3 is a sealed unit. This kind of thing shouldn't happen with it.

 

The fact that it is blurry when looking at the sky but sharp with the microscope probably means that it is loose in the lens/sensor cavity. When it is against the sensor, it appears sharp; when it is further away, it will be fuzzier.

 

As I said, I don't know the insides of the D-Lux 3; it might be something that is wedged into the diaphragm or shutter mechanism; but it is definitely a foreign object.

 

I would send it off to Leica ASAP.

 

In your first post you mentioned that you didn't buy it directly from Leica. That's correct, since Leica doesn't sell directly to the public but rather through a network of dealers. But the warranty is to the purchaser anyway.

 

That's ugly. It shouldn't be there. They'll take care of it.

[jaapv]

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Howard is right, that is debris on the sensor and the camera should be replaced under warrantee. (Or repaired, depending how long you have it)