My M8 "Service Saga" may be finally over (sorry for the long "cautionary tale".)
As mentioned previously, in early November, I had finally become fed up with the spotty results of my M8 system, turned over the entire kit to my friend Irakly Shandize, PAID him to test everything and write a detailed report. (I was just too busy, and he writes equipment reviews). His well documented report confirmed my suspicions ... both M8s rangefinders were off, and 5 of my 9 M lenses were out of calibration ... including a 50/1.4 ASPH previously sent to Leica service twice for focus issues.
I called my long time dealer Sam Shoshan @ the Classic Connection and unloaded on him about all this ... including how pissed I was that I had to pay to code most of my lenses, some still under warranty, and buy 6 IR filters to supplement the 3 Leica had sent me (the 4th free one never arrived). He went to Roger Horn who delegated the mess to Robert Fisk who promised to get it all done in "professional time" (he subsequently left Leica in the middle of all this.)
On Dec. 3rd, I put it all in a Lowpro Bag inside a Hardcase and shipped it to Leica service with Irakly's performance chart ... less the M135/3.4 & WATE which were sent to Sam to sell.
Leica service NJ promised most would be done by Christmas ... except one M8 that needed the original update in Germany. That deadline wasn't met.
It wasn't met in Jan. either. I received one M8 and the three wide angle lenses the very end of Jan. which were the 3 lenses that only needed coding and the rangefinder adjusted. With that delivery, I was informed that all the other gear was now being shipped to Germany for repair. They had waited 2 months to do that.
Last friday, I received the balance of the gear, 3.5 months later. From preliminary use it seems all is now well, (but I'm cautious about the 75 Lux until I test it more, and both M8 meters seem to over-expose a bit.) The 50/1.4 ASPH and 35/1.4 ASPH appear to be perfect, as does the 90/2AA. Meanwhile, one of my battery chargers pooped out ... which Sam replaced overnight.
Cost to me: Zero. I don't know how Sam pulled that off, if he foot the bill or part of it ... and I really don't care. What I can say, is that Sam Shoshan repaid my long term loyalty to him with loyalty to me and dogged determination to "fix" this and get me back shooting.
I had dumped my trusty M7s in favor of going rangefinder digital wedding work. My intention had been to make the M8s my primary wedding kit, with some use of Canon AF. That obviously never happened. I cannot imagine being a professional photographer that primarily depended on the M8 for their livelihood. I know Guy has been able to do this, but I'm not Guy. I'm just a photographer that's spent a few hundred thousand dollars in Leica M and R gear over the past twenty years.
Hope the new fellow in charge can sort this out and get Leica back on track.
Hasn't dampened my absolute enthusiasm for the M as one of my favorite photographic experiences. When the package arrived I grabbed it all and started shooting everything in sight ... even though there was nothing to shoot ... LOL!
One of the "nothing to shoot shots" ... still love the pictorial qualities of the 75 Lux ... focussed on the forward open petal.
As mentioned previously, in early November, I had finally become fed up with the spotty results of my M8 system, turned over the entire kit to my friend Irakly Shandize, PAID him to test everything and write a detailed report. (I was just too busy, and he writes equipment reviews). His well documented report confirmed my suspicions ... both M8s rangefinders were off, and 5 of my 9 M lenses were out of calibration ... including a 50/1.4 ASPH previously sent to Leica service twice for focus issues.
I called my long time dealer Sam Shoshan @ the Classic Connection and unloaded on him about all this ... including how pissed I was that I had to pay to code most of my lenses, some still under warranty, and buy 6 IR filters to supplement the 3 Leica had sent me (the 4th free one never arrived). He went to Roger Horn who delegated the mess to Robert Fisk who promised to get it all done in "professional time" (he subsequently left Leica in the middle of all this.)
On Dec. 3rd, I put it all in a Lowpro Bag inside a Hardcase and shipped it to Leica service with Irakly's performance chart ... less the M135/3.4 & WATE which were sent to Sam to sell.
Leica service NJ promised most would be done by Christmas ... except one M8 that needed the original update in Germany. That deadline wasn't met.
It wasn't met in Jan. either. I received one M8 and the three wide angle lenses the very end of Jan. which were the 3 lenses that only needed coding and the rangefinder adjusted. With that delivery, I was informed that all the other gear was now being shipped to Germany for repair. They had waited 2 months to do that.
Last friday, I received the balance of the gear, 3.5 months later. From preliminary use it seems all is now well, (but I'm cautious about the 75 Lux until I test it more, and both M8 meters seem to over-expose a bit.) The 50/1.4 ASPH and 35/1.4 ASPH appear to be perfect, as does the 90/2AA. Meanwhile, one of my battery chargers pooped out ... which Sam replaced overnight.
Cost to me: Zero. I don't know how Sam pulled that off, if he foot the bill or part of it ... and I really don't care. What I can say, is that Sam Shoshan repaid my long term loyalty to him with loyalty to me and dogged determination to "fix" this and get me back shooting.
I had dumped my trusty M7s in favor of going rangefinder digital wedding work. My intention had been to make the M8s my primary wedding kit, with some use of Canon AF. That obviously never happened. I cannot imagine being a professional photographer that primarily depended on the M8 for their livelihood. I know Guy has been able to do this, but I'm not Guy. I'm just a photographer that's spent a few hundred thousand dollars in Leica M and R gear over the past twenty years.
Hope the new fellow in charge can sort this out and get Leica back on track.
Hasn't dampened my absolute enthusiasm for the M as one of my favorite photographic experiences. When the package arrived I grabbed it all and started shooting everything in sight ... even though there was nothing to shoot ... LOL!
One of the "nothing to shoot shots" ... still love the pictorial qualities of the 75 Lux ... focussed on the forward open petal.
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