Leica Service

[aDam007]

I had such horrible experiences with multiple repairs across three countries that I'll never use Leica professionally again.

To be perfectly honest, Leica Singapore has been really good compared to Leica NJ or Leica Germany. Other than pricing discrepancies they've done the best they can (repair wise). And most of my gripes come from Germany themselves with repairs that were just never carried out despite multiple trips to the motherland. And NJ isn't any better with there don't care attitude!
I've laid off Leica bashing as I'm really quite low on Leica goods now. I've managed to minimise my kit to the point where it's of no consequence if my gear is being repaired or sitting in my dry cab. So I'm no longer stressed over the brand and it's issues, thus no reason to complain.

I'm happy to report that I have an M-D now that I like (have always liked the M240 sensor), and I just hope the RF mechanism doesn't have problems like my earlier M240s did. I have a 50APO that for the most part seems robust, but I really do wish they would have designed the aperture ring better (I've owned three of these lenses, all at least sent in once, it's a design flaw not a fixable thing). But it isn't anything I can't live with.
I have the SL + both zooms that "seem" to be good. I'm skeptical of the long term durability of the lenses due to my luck with Leica. And I have a 100S, which after the AF fix has so far been good, especially used with my S-adapter-SL.

Sadly I will probably not add any of the primes to my SL kit, as I'm slowly selling the SL kit. Yes I still dislike the sensor, even though I'm over being mad at Leica (for those of you who believed my dislike for the SL stemmed from my dislike of the company itself).

So here's to hoping that my M-D and 50APO survives the next 50 years.. If the body doesn't make it, maybe I'll give the M-A another shot (since I had to send the first one back due to having the film advance problem).


Doug, I'm glad to hear you FINALLY got your lens. I think we were all wondering when you'd get it back.

 

[algrove]

Thanks Lou. You mean to say Carmen Vargas isn't there anymore? :facesmack:

K-H
And Sarah too. Carmen, on her last day, told me she was going to CO. I joked with her if she was going to CO to be close to legal pot. She was going to help her son with his business if I recall properly.

 

[algrove]

Mail room lad: "Oops-a-Daisy ... I dropped this big lens on the cement floor."

Supervisor: "Meh, just throw it in the box and send it back. We'll blame UPS."

Lad: "Hey, isn't it lunch time?"

:banghead:

This last line reminds me of a trip to old Solms CS after the M240 came out. While I sat in the lobby I witnessed 6-8 employees taking a morning break. There was a little imbiss just maybe 75-100 meters from the door of CS. They went over to get a coffee and smoke. Then they would come back, but not before another group would do the same. I know German's love their mid-morning breaks.

Then I had to be back at the same location in the mid-afternoon and I see the same groups take afternoon breaks just like in the morning.

My only thought was no wonder things take so long to get them back from repair.

 

[k-hawinkler]

Update on my 280 APO: It arrived today, eight months after I sent it to Leica USA. I hope the rear cap wasn't on the lens when they smashed it.

Outrageous!
Doesn't Leica have a CEO, or two, one here and one in Germany, or Dr. Kaufmann?
They need to see this picture.
Wilson Laidlaw, alias wlaidlaw over at LUF, used to be able to get in touch with the bosses at Leica Germany.

 

[Knorp]

:bugeyes: stuff of nightmares - were the missing plastic bits of the rear cap in the parcel ?
Just wondering if this is to blame to poor packing (and poor handling) or may have happened at Leica facilities.

In any case: I feel sorry for your ordeal, Doug.
Hopefully you're lens is still usable ?

Best regards.

 

[k-hawinkler]

Hi Bart, inexcusable in either case, my 2 cents. :shocked:
Well Doug, like Bart I feel sorry for what happened to your lens.
Please, don't let that unfortunate incident wear you down.
I know your outstanding work is continuing undiminished while you use a Canon lens on a Sony camera. I am always looking forward to your images as they are such a treat. Thank you.

 

[doug]

:bugeyes: stuff of nightmares - were the missing plastic bits of the rear cap in the parcel ?
Just wondering if this is to blame to poor packing (and poor handling) or may have happened at Leica facilities.

In any case: I feel sorry for your ordeal, Doug.
Hopefully you're lens is still usable ?

Best regards.

The box is in perfect condition, inside and outside. I didn't find any crumbs of plastic. The lens appears to be usable but it's difficult to tell if there's any hidden damage or mis-alignment.

Acknowledging this is a first-world problem, but if Leica wants any market share from us first-worlders they need to fix their after-sales service pronto and for myself they'll need to offer a very significant goodwill gesture if they ever want to see another $0.01 from me.

 

[KeithL]

Handling problems such as this are obviously not exclusive to Leica.

I sent a lens generously wrapped in bubble polythene and packed in a large plastic container to Hasselblad UK for adjustment. On return the lens was loosely placed in the same large container with no other protection!

:cussing:

 

[atanabe]

So I just got back my 180 from Wetzlar, it was sent in on 4/15/2016, so that the front elements could be tightened. This was after it had been back for the motor replacement the year before. So eight months of non use from this lens, very disappointed in the turn around time. Considering a change in systems but to what? The S produces some of my best images, it is 100% paid for and the value as a trade is so far down that it would not make sense to start over again. As long as Leica will support it, I will hold onto it and be happy creating images. I really hope they get their act together.

 

[Speedgraphic]

Considering a change in systems but to what? The S produces some of my best images.

YOU create some of your best images. Sounds like the S is just getting in the way by denying you the use of your lenses. I assure you that you could continue to create fabulous images with a Pentax 645z or Hasselblad H6D-50C. In 6-8 months, you could get an slightly bigger and much better sensor in a Fujifilm GFX. Jump ship while you can.

 

[stephengilbert]

It's hard to imagine how you could do such damage to a cap that wasn't on a lens. The cap isn't heavy enough to be damaged from a fall, unless the weight of the lens is added. Good luck.

 

[fotografz]

Another S lens failure this AM. I currently have a 70 in Germany for AF failure, and now the 35 has failed.

Posted this on another thread in the MF area:

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/medium-...07-warning-potential-buyers-3.html#post712757

I'm now to the point that I genuinely want to help Leica figure this out in any way I could be useful.

I honest to God want this system to work. I do not need or want something else, and I sure do not want to take a financial bath to switch to something I don't want.


- Marc

 

[atanabe]

YOU create some of your best images. Sounds like the S is just getting in the way by denying you the use of your lenses. I assure you that you could continue to create fabulous images with a Pentax 645z or Hasselblad H6D-50C. In 6-8 months, you could get an slightly bigger and much better sensor in a Fujifilm GFX. Jump ship while you can.

The best photo that I have ever taken was with the camera that I had in hand at the time. Yes, a camera is a platform, the S is a great platform that has a special quality to the images. With film, the lens and film was everything, with digital the lens, sensor and software are integral to the final image. The S is just that combination and like Kodachrome film, hard to duplicate.

I am more reluctant to go down another rabbit hole in search of a new-new solution and stick for the time being, a great image solution that has proven to be frustrating at times. At least I can still manually focus the lens when the AF motor fails so although heartbreaking, not a 100% failure as I tend to use the OVF/MF for my focusing needs and depend less on AF. The denial in use of the lens is when it goes on spa vacations to Germany, if it fails in the middle of a session life still goes on.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

The IRS is NOT unresponsive if you owe them money. Trust me. Almost caught up. Lol oh the gear I could have bought.

 

[Paratom]

Another S lens failure this AM. I currently have a 70 in Germany for AF failure, and now the 35 has failed.

Posted this on another thread in the MF area:

http://www.getdpi.com/forum/medium-...07-warning-potential-buyers-3.html#post712757

I'm now to the point that I genuinely want to help Leica figure this out in any way I could be useful.

I honest to God want this system to work. I do not need or want something else, and I sure do not want to take a financial bath to switch to something I don't want.


- Marc

I am sure..one day..Leica will have figured it out.
I also still believe it must have something to do with certain bodies, since I still have not had any AF failure with my 8 S-lenses and 2 bodies, while others have had the issue with several lenses.

 

[algrove]

I am sure..one day..Leica will have figured it out.

One day too late for me.

 

[Woody Campbell]

I'm going to add two posts to this thread. The first post, this one, will tie up my loose ends, and the second will give my assessment of what the issues are.

To recap (I've researched and refined dates since my first post):

On March 17, 2016 I sent the following for service to Leica NJ: a new Monochrom body - the frame selector had fallen off. A 135 APO for a CLA and six bit coding. And a 50mm Sumicron ASP with a lose front element, suspected flair and for a CLA.

At the end of May (75 days later) I received one line acknowledgments of receipt of these items from Leica.

In early July (110 days after submission) I received estimates back on the Monochrom and the 135 - both zero. No word on the 50mm.

On August 1 I started this thread out of frustration.

On September 1 (day 165) the Monochrom and 135 showed up neatly packaged and repaired in accordance with instructions. The accompanying note suggested that the CLA required extensive work.

September, October and November: no communications from Leica on the 50mm ASP despite repeated attempts to contact them by every available means.

December 2, Popflash, a Leica dealer who I have a long-standing relationship with, reached out to me and offered to help.

December 14 (roughly day 270), today, a new 50mm Asp arrived from NJ. I'm assuming that this was under the policy of quietly replacing early models of this lens.

So that's the end of the repair saga for me.

In my next post I'll speculate on causes.

 

[JorisV]

This is a pretty depressing thread...

 

[Woody Campbell]

I pieced together what may be happening at Leica from a few facts and from my own experience helping companies that have experienced massive back office failures.

I believe that Leica converted to a new enterprise accounting and logistic support system in early April 2016. These conversions are difficult. People with experience with them have developed protocols that require off line test and modification before adoption, as well as training and documentation. When the enterprise is converted to the new system there is often a period of parallel operation until it clear that the bugs have been shaken out of the new system.

I suspect new Leica system is enterprise wide covering areas like point of sale at Leica stores, upstream supply chain and vendor management, management of inventories and dealer orders, and management of repairs. For whatever reasons I believe that the conversion to the new system did not go smoothly. This can be a very difficult situation to work out of. There are no excuses - this is management's job, but it's way more complicated than "accountability" or a desire to treat customers fairly. I wish Leica well but believe that they are dealing with a very difficult problem. A first step would be candid communications.

 

[MGrayson]

Woody,

I tried to contact someone at Leica NJ a few months back. Their phone message said "At off-site SAP training". It said that for a few weeks - I gave up. This sounds consistent with your explanation.

--Matt