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Leica: new CCD sensor almost ready for M9

kuau

Workshop Member
FWIW, When the service center in New Jersey informed me that they could not provide a date when the sensor would be replaced, after the date they originally provided had passed, I choose to upgrade to the M-P 240. At the time the M9 was 4.5 years old, which I bought used, and the trade in value of $4250.00 towards the M-P was a good deal. The bonus is that the M-P 240 is a fantastic camera.

I did love the M9 and would have kept it if they did replace the sensor on the original date they provided. I just did not want to wait on a repair indefinately and decided it was time to move on.


Good luck with your decision.
Curious did you trade in a MP-9 or an M9?
Leica is quoting me $3500 for an M240 and $3750 for an M-P
 

kuau

Workshop Member
FWIW, When the service center in New Jersey informed me that they could not provide a date when the sensor would be replaced, after the date they originally provided had passed, I choose to upgrade to the M-P 240. At the time the M9 was 4.5 years old, which I bought used, and the trade in value of $4250.00 towards the M-P was a good deal. The bonus is that the M-P 240 is a fantastic camera.

I did love the M9 and would have kept it if they did replace the sensor on the original date they provided. I just did not want to wait on a repair indefinately and decided it was time to move on.


Good luck with your decision.
I am leaning towards the M-P upgrade,
Curious did you trade in a MP-9 or an M9?
Leica is quoting me $3500 for an M240 and $3750 for an M-P

Dave yes you are correct, what I was trying to explain for my situation is I would still receive the old sensor and when the new one eventually comes out the only way to could receive it is if my new replacement sensor went bad again.
 

asiafish

Member
My M-E is two-months-old, and at the one month mark I noticed some lines and spots in the sensor. Since the camera was so new, Leica gave me a July 7 "appointment" to clean or replace the sensor as required, and the camera has been at Leica NJ since July 2. I am eager to hear from them whether or not my sensor is corroded, but doubt that I would get the new and improved sensor as a replacement.

It doesn't matter if I do or don't as I am delighted with the way the existing sensor renders images and am confident that if replaced with the original type (or hopefully just cleaned) that I will enjoy years of trouble-free use and a free sensor replacement if and when it is ultimately required.

Here are a few images where the lines and spots aren't too noticeable (wide aperture) from my recent trip to Korea.


Leica M-E with 50mm f/2 Summicron (v5)

L1001471.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

L1001501.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

L1001485.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr


Leica M-e with 1963 Zomz 5cm f/1.5 Jupiter 3

L1001077 by Lawman1967, on Flickr

L1001062.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

L1001037.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

L1000971.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr
 
J

JohnW

Guest
I've been on the fence about the MM because of the sensor issue, but Leica's announcement just pushed me over. I've now got one coming from a member here. It's a financial stretch for me, so I'm hoping all goes well.

John
 

asiafish

Member
I've been on the fence about the MM because of the sensor issue, but Leica's announcement just pushed me over. I've now got one coming from a member here. It's a financial stretch for me, so I'm hoping all goes well.

John
You will LOVE it.
 

seakayaker

Active member
Curious did you trade in a MP-9 or an M9?
Leica is quoting me $3500 for an M240 and $3750 for an M-P
I had the M9 and choose to upgrade to the M-P model for the $3750. I wanted the additional 2GB image buffer and other feature set that the M-P model had available. I thought for the additional $250.00 it was great value for the extra dollars spent.

Good luck with your decision.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
This is one of the reasons I initially bought the S...I had such a good experience in the past regarding Leica cameras with issues (which all cameras have, especially higher end ones...for whatever reason) that I was confident that they would support the camera fully. I had an M7 with the older gold DX contacts, and it started to have erratic behavior when it was well out of warranty. They took it in and switched it to the electric contacts, gave the camera a full CLA and even replaced the leather (it was a la carte), all for free. Their behavior in this regard goes far beyond what I have experienced from other camera brands, and it gave me a lot of confidence in being able to invest such a significant sum into the cameras. I had another high end brand charge me 1000 euros in "preventative maintenance" on a brand new malfunctioning product still under warranty...suffice to say that Leica's behavior made me a customer for life, while the exact opposite was true for the other brand. This combined with the fact that you can talk directly to the people at the headquarters who can really solve problems makes for much greater peace of mind in purchasing.
 

asiafish

Member
Just found out today my brand-new M-E needs a new sensor, and I'll get it back in late September (ouch). They are sending me an M240 loaner until my camera is finished.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
Just found out today my brand-new M-E needs a new sensor, and I'll get it back in late September (ouch). They are sending me an M240 loaner until my camera is finished.
That was nice of Leica to offer you a M240 loaner to use, they did not offer me this, so after about 2 weeks of debating what to do I decided to go for there M-P upgrade which just showed up about an hour ago UPS overnight.

Since Leica is sending you a loaner, I would ask them if they can just hold on to your M-E until the "new" sensor starts shipping. If they replace your sensor now (September) you are basically getting the same sensor that went bad for you in a few months. Something to consider.
 

asiafish

Member
That was nice of Leica to offer you a M240 loaner to use, they did not offer me this, so after about 2 weeks of debating what to do I decided to go for there M-P upgrade which just showed up about an hour ago UPS overnight.

Since Leica is sending you a loaner, I would ask them if they can just hold on to your M-E until the "new" sensor starts shipping. If they replace your sensor now (September) you are basically getting the same sensor that went bad for you in a few months. Something to consider.
I did and so far the answer was no. I will ask again in early September as right now they just don't know if the new sensor will test positively or not. By September testing may be complete.

Either way is fine, I'll have a new sensor, a 3 year instead of 2 year warranty on the entire camera and the sensor is warranted forever.

Oh, they didn't just offer the M240, I asked for it and they agreed, mainly on account of my M-E only being 6-weeks-old at the time I scheduled the service.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
"6-weeks-old"

I didn't know Bakersfield, CA was so humid!
Just kidding. At least you are back in business with the loaner.
Was that a new camera or a used one you bought?
 

cam

Active member
Question for every/anybody on this thread:

Are you seeing the problem in your actual photos?

TIA
 

asiafish

Member
"6-weeks-old"

I didn't know Bakersfield, CA was so humid!
Just kidding. At least you are back in business with the loaner.
Was that a new camera or a used one you bought?
Brand new camera, not used.

- - - Updated - - -

Question for every/anybody on this thread:

Are you seeing the problem in your actual photos?

TIA
The line in my sensor corresponded to the lower third of the image area, so usually I couldn't see it even when stopped down, never wide open.
 
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