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Why it pays to have a backup ... not for the squimish

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Ben Norton

Guest
I think you'll be lucky with that one Graham. I repair them in the UK and i've seen lots like that. A quick blow with the compressed air to clean off the sensor of any glass/dust and a replacement IR filter should have you right as rain. I'd be surprised if it was any more than $1000 inc repair and tax.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Graham, Did you check if it worked despite the cracks on the IR cut filter?

Normally, there is also a permanent cover glass on the sensor itself below the IR cut filter. I wonder if that is the case with this back.
 
GrahamWelland

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Ben Norton said:
I think you'll be lucky with that one Graham. I repair them in the UK and i've seen lots like that. A quick blow with the compressed air to clean off the sensor of any glass/dust and a replacement IR filter should have you right as rain. I'd be surprised if it was any more than $1000 inc repair and tax.
Click to expand...
Ben,

I hope so. I've seen quotes for Leaf to replace the IR filter and test/re-calibrate the sensor etc for just under 1000 euro. (My dealer thought that it was likely about $1500 for the US). I know that the filter itself is about half of that. Leaf recommended sending off as-is and to let them assess it - I was going to remove the filter and clean it off as you describe just to make sure but since I didn't have another IR filter anyway it was kind of moot. (I've changed these with the Kodak DCS 645M in the past - I had the optional AA filter).

Vivek said:
Graham, Did you check if it worked despite the cracks on the IR cut filter?
Click to expand...
No. I might have been tempted to try it if I'd removed the filter assembly (four screws) but I figured that I may as well just send it off and not mess with it. The bump wasn't very hard surprisingly so I would be surprised if anything other than the filter would have been affected, worst case would be the IR filter hitting the sensor perhaps and causing damage there. That's the worst case I think.

I'm hoping that it's just the filter ... I guess I'll find out soon enough. :shocked:
 
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SergeiR

New member
Oy.. Deepest condolencies, mate.. :(

My ZDb just got display dropping dead in middle of family portrait session yesterday, luckily it was still writing and processing, so i just had to shoot old style - completely blind. Gonna send it for repairs today, doing 645 & Aptus for a week.
 
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ggriswold

New member
That's a heart breaker. Beats a broken bone though. I smoked a Kodak back a few years ago when a piece of the spring that holds the AA filter broke off inside (unknown to me). Powered it up and Poof... only a white picture. I had it two weeks. I did not have a lot of $ in it but the repair was quoted at $4500 at Midwest. Learn and move on is all you can do. Phase One now... working great, but will be a bit more careful after seeing that horrifying picture.

I hope they take pity on you and give you a break on the repair.
George
 
GrahamWelland

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
George

I hear you on the Kodak. My first DCS645M had a similar experience whereby it was an ex-rental that obviously someone blew up the FireWire port/board. I didn't find out until the first time I tried it tethered and it was no-go. The repair quote for the interface board was similar to yours so I bought another mint one used instead and sold off mine as-is later to someone who didn't care about tethering. That one probably ended up in a landfill courtesy of a phase or leaf competitive upgrade.
 
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ggriswold

New member
Graham, The biggest frustration with the Kodak is knowing that there were probably a few pallets of those circuit boards in a warehouse somewhere in Rochester.... lost behind the left over KAF-10500s.;)

Capture Integration got me through that crisis with a P21+. Now a P40+.. amazing.

George
 
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ggriswold

New member
Beyond repair?... or not worth repairing?
:mad:OUCH. Where do you go from here?

May be covered under your insurance depending on your type of coverage. I had a Panasonic full sized HD camera that fried (end to end) because of a bad power supply. Insurance covered the loss because it fit the definition of an "external cause". That was a $27,000 pay out... obviously saved the day.

I hope things turn out for you,
George
 
B

Ben Norton

Guest
Beyond economic repair? What did the report say was the problem?
 
GrahamWelland

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Damage to the sensor. I haven't received the unit back from Leaf/dealer yet but they informed me that there was some damage from the IR filter / impact to the sensor.
 
T

tetsrfun

Guest
A slight high-jacking of the thread but what procedures do people do when using a digital back with a tech camera. I am going to try my "poor man's" tech camera (Flexbody, 40mm CFE, CFV, "L bracket) and was wondering what people do to reduce the chance of damage resulting from repeated installing/removing the back.

Steve
 
GrahamWelland

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Be vewwy vewwy careful ... :ROTFL:

Actually I don't think it's that big of a deal unless you're using the ground glass a lot actually. I confess I'm a relative newbie at the technical camera but didn't have any problems getting into the rhythm of coarse adjustment, GG/loupe with hood on, open the shutter completely, compose, focus, compose & focus some more, remove the GG, mount the back & plug the cable in, close the shutter, set the desired aperture, meter the scene with a handmeter or cheat and use your DSLR, set the exposure, cock the shutter, remember to turn the back on (!!), release the shutter, squint at the dim LCD and check the histogram, correct as necessary, shoot again, open up the shutter a couple of stops, shoot the LCC card, forget to close the shutter down again and shoot +2 overexposed on the next shot .. duh, and so on. And that's without a wake up cable.

Well, that's my experience anyway. :D Once you get as far as the base exposure it then easy to repeat the last steps with any rise/shift etc and multiple images.

It's been a few years since I last shot LF so I'm still forgetting to recock the shutter at times.

With respect to taking the back on & off, I always put the cover back on it and never leave it with the sensor bare. Ditto with the GG too when I put that back in the bag. Try to minimize the time the back is exposed and take care to make sure that the bottom of the sensor mount board is securely in the slot/fingers before tilting up to lock. I also recommend not playing the GG off with the left hand, back on with the right shuffle either. That's almost how I screwed up - it's worth the effort of using both hands!

I don't know the Flexbody/Hasselblad configuration but with the Alpa the back is already mounted on the sensor board so any damage/wear ultimately would come from mounting/unmounting that vs the actual back / board. I only took mine off the mount at the end of the day and vice versa. (That's where you need to be careful in my limited experience, just as you would with your regular camera).
 
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Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Tip of the day have back cap firmly planted in left hand take firmly grip death of back in right hand and marry the two at all times. Maybe the most nervous part of my whole life is when that back is floating in the wind. LOL
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Be cool if there was a retractable cover so when released from the back it automatically comes down like a curtain. Wow I could make millions off that idea.
 
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Vlad

Member
So very sad to hear this, RIP dearest sensor.

I can feel your pain. The first day (!) I had my f/0.95 Noctilux I dropped it off my lap sitting in the SUV when my brother-in-law opened the passenger door. M9 with Noctilux dropped on the bare asphalt, butter side first of course.

The lens took the impact, the ND filter twisted into the filter ring and I couldn't get it off, even with pliers.

Fortunately Leica took care of it, 3 months later I got it back, like it never happened. Sadly Leaf doesn't have Passport warranties.

 
yaya

yaya

Active member
Graham, one (expensive) solution is to have 2 adapter plates: 1 attached to the back and 1 attached to the GG, the 1 for the back serves as a bumper so the IR filter os alway recessed a few mm...
You'll have to make some sort of dust cover for it but that should not be too difficult.

yair
 
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