Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/01/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 02:54 PM 9/01/97 -0800, you wrote: >after reading for the past several weeks about micl problems, whether >they be battery caps, loctite, lens coatings, or plastic parts that used >to be metal, the obvious occurred to me: > >Something's wrong at Solms folks: quality and quality control have >taken a vacation. If Leica were a medium priced camera, this level of >quality would be fine. > >But at these prices, no way. > >I suspect that a lot of the reason why Leica management makes these cost >cutting decisions is that no one is complaining loud enough to them. > >its the old squeaky wheel theory. if no one is complaining, they are >getting away with it, so they keep it up. > >If LUG members make it our business to complain to Leica about quality >lapses, we just might make an impact. (whether individually, or as a >group--whatever) > >I'm curious if others think it is a worthwhile effort. Since sitting >back and doing nothing is obviously not helping Leica, perhaps a lot of >loud voices will!!! > >Stephen Gandy > I couldn't agree more. I've owned a camera store catering mainly to pro's & Gov't for 25 years and I believe the overall quality of equipment has declined steadily, mainly over the past decade. Quality Control is definitely not what it used to be in many (not all) instances. Once upon a time if you bought a top-line lens from Nikon, Canon, Leica, Hasselblad etc., you were almost guaranteed quality of manufacture and performance in the field. No more. The manufacturer's & importers hate people like I (retailers) saying it, but many times we KNOW a particular lens for example is an "el-softicon". Other times we find several items from a batch to be faulty in some way. The average buyer of photo gear simply doesn't have the opportunity to put several examples of a body or a lens side by side and thoroughly test them. If they did they might be unpleasantly surprised at some of the results. No less a problem is the apathetic attitude of some manufacturers / importers. I know a person who purchased a Brand *n* Macro lens and found it to be soft compared to the 15 year old one he'd been using. The importer exchanged it after a lot of shouting; the next one was just as bad, as was Number 3. When the importer claimed all were 'within factory specs' he dumped his entire Brand *n* system and bought Brand *l*. Yes, camera manufacturers, like computer manufacturers and hi-fi manufacturers make a LOT of their gear for the *mass market*, and some Quality Control Officers seem to have been trained in the Mass Rejection Principal. Go for it; complain, scream, shout (but be constructive). If we don't, the quality of products will continue to decline. Brook Acklom, Managing Director Tessar Photographics Pty Ltd Suppliers of Photo & Digital Equipment 320 Waverley Road, East Malvern 3145, AUSTRALIA http://www.tessar.com Email: tessar@tessar.com