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Slow is not the word


Iansky

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Well I received my 39mm UV/IR filter yesterday after waiting 10 weeks!!

 

I am alas still waiting for the 46mm filter to arrive and had a very impersonal e-mail saying it will be sent when it is available.

 

What a shame that a company that charges so much for the camera cannot be more efficient at supplying the filters needed to correct a known manufacturing/development fault!

 

I do wonder that if I was prepared to spend the money, I would receive it any sooner.............I am sure I would and that is probably a silly question, but it is little things like this that erodes Leica's standing in the market place.

 

Ah well, at least I know I can now use 1 of my lenses with the right filter and produce the correct colours.

 

Come on Leica - look after your customers better - we have spent hard earned cash on your cameras that are incredibly expensive and ask for little in return other than quick and efficient customer service.

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And do you think there is something they could do to get the filters faster to you that they haven't thought of? FWIW I am paying "hard-earned" cash for additional filters. I need another 46 and I've been waiting quite a long time for my dealer to get his hands on them. C'est la vie.

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Keith,

 

In answer to your question - Yes I do - it is not that they haven't thought of it, but more the fact that as the filters are free they are going to do whatever they can to avoid any additional cost over and above those necessary to right a wrong.

 

The point is that a company that charges so much for a camera with a known fault should make more of an effort to appease the purchaser ( before you ask - I have been an owner / user of M cameras for many years and carried them when I worked as a photojournalist)

 

I love the cameras and that is why I replaced my large and heavy DSLR with an M8 fully knowing there was the sensor problem, but expecting Leica to provide a prompt service to customers needing filters to rectify the fault.

 

As filters are made from a large piece of pre-treated glass then cut to size for the various filters, it should not be that difficult to work with the filter supplier and place orders on a regular weekly/ two weekly basis that correlate to the requests received - this way a regular supply is available at a sensible cost to the supplier and Leica as the work is consistent and predictable - in todays age of laser cutting, it does not require time consuming changes to cutting rigs to make this happen.

 

Where there is a will, there is a way!

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And do you think there is something they could do to get the filters faster to you that they haven't thought of? FWIW I am paying "hard-earned" cash for additional filters. I need another 46 and I've been waiting quite a long time for my dealer to get his hands on them. C'est la vie.

 

They are in stock at B&H in both black and silver.

 

leica ir filter | B&H Photo Video

 

Maybe it doesn't make sense to order from B&H from the UK but I have never wanted a Leica UV/IR filter that B&H didn't have in stock on the day I wanted it. On the other hand, reports of long waits for free filters seem pretty common. So like OP, I suspect that Leica could get them out faster than they do if they made it a priority. It is hard to believe B&H has better sources for Leica filters than has Leica itself.

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Apart from your particular disappointment...

The bigger performance issue since Leica's introduction of the M8, and subsequent realization that these filters are required, has been consistency of turn-around. For the first few months following the camera's introduction even the worst snots could understand that leica was playing catch-up and filter delivery could take a while. (I actually received mine within a couple of weeks in Feb 2007...no complaint from me.) But since then there have been periods of complaints of slow turn-around despite reported sales of the M8 dropping off to quite small monthly numbers during the past year. So you'd think they'd have stocked a supply in popular sizes.

 

I am not trying to band-wagon against Leica. But Ian does have a valid point regarding Leica's customer service; it's been very inconsistent on this and many other matters. How they plan to adequately service and support the S2, which will likely be primarily a commercial / rental product, is a mystery to me.

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Keith,

 

 

Where there is a will, there is a way!

 

Hmm! one of the mantras of consumerism that doesn't stand up to closer examination. But you have taken some very nice pictures without the filters so I'm sure your pictures can only get better. Well worth the wait!

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Hmm! one of the mantras of consumerism that doesn't stand up to closer examination. But you have taken some very nice pictures without the filters so I'm sure your pictures can only get better. Well worth the wait!

 

Oh come on Keith - I have a feeling you got out the wrong side of the bed this morning.*

I actually haven't bothered ordering any of the free filters yet so I've got no axe to grind here, but after two years Leica could and should have stocked enough filters to cover the demand that they must by now be able to predict relatively easily.

 

There's always someone on this forum who chimes in with some self-righteous criticism about how we all 'want want want' these days - but I don't think there's anything wrong with a premium brand trying (or at least appearing to try) to give good service to their customers. Especially when the item in question is one that fixes a known fault.

 

*I just noticed you're from Lancashire, in which case I assume grumpiness is genetic. ;)

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*I just noticed you're from Lancashire, in which case I assume grumpiness is genetic. ;)

 

Thas wrong lad. It's them Buggers fra Yorkshire wots grumpy uns. :D

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The point is that a company that charges so much for a camera with a known fault should make more of an effort to appease the purchaser

 

I think 'feature' rather than 'fault' is the appropriate word - you must have known what you were buying in the first place ?

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I think 'feature' rather than 'fault' is the appropriate word - you must have known what you were buying in the first place ?

 

Do you mean he should have known how long it will take Leica to supply the filters?:rolleyes:

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I honestly think those people trying to defend Leica's amateurish preformance with this filter issue are being utterly ridiculous.

 

What excuse can there be for not getting the filters to customers quickly, now that the problem has been around for over two years?

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Errr no, that's not what I said.

 

Well, you probably meant that he should have know that filters will be needed. Now, if they are indeed needed, don't you think it is reasonable to assume they will be sent straight to you after ordering them on the internet?

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Perhaps I was just lucky, but my filters (Ordered in mid February.) arrived within 2 weeks. I had anticipated a longer delay, and had purchased some B&W filters when I purchased my camera, so I'm now in the lucky position of having spare filters ready for when I can afford another lens or two. :)

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so I'm now in the lucky position of having spare filters ready for when I can afford another lens or two. :)

 

Pity you'll be limited to buying lenses with the same filter size... :rolleyes:

 

But anyway, for some people it appears that Leica can do no wrong, and that expecting reasonably good service from a premium-price company is equivalent to behaving like a spoilt child.

 

Nevermind, Leica will doubtless survive by producing some more limited-edition whacky color cameras instead.

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I think 'feature' rather than 'fault' is the appropriate word - you must have known what you were buying in the first place ?

 

Yes James, I was aware as I have stated that there is a fault however, that is not the point - the issue is purely around Leica's speed of supplying filters to rectify this.

 

I wanted the Leica and that is why I purchased it but I do expect them to provide a timely service to customers so they can correct the fault and reap the full benefits of the sensor.

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