Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I recently purchased my M6HM from Russ Sherrell at Glazer's Camera Supply in Seattle. Today, I looked at the first roll of Provia to discover bands of underexposure on frames taken at 1/1000. In addition, the rangefinder had some vertical misalignment such that when you would focus a vertical line, horizontal lines in the rangefinder patch would be slightly misaligned. It happened that the local Leica rep was in the store and he confirmed that the bands of underexposure at high shutter speeds were symptomatic of a "jittering shutter". As the curtain moves across the film plane, it does so at uneven speeds, "shuddering" it's way across, resulting in uneven exposure. Because the camera also had a rangefinder misalignment, he suspected that the body took a shock somewhere along the way in shipping. Anyway, Russ immediately took a brand-new M6HM off the shelf (they're well stocked for those of you still waiting for your M6HM), and wrote up an exchange, no questions asked. While I'm not happy with the fact that a brand-new camera found it's way to me, I am very pleased with this level of service from the dealer. He also told me that they will do things like giving you a loaner when your equipment goes in for repair or adjustment, etc. It's nice to have that kind of support locally. I purchased my first standard M6 from Tri-State Camera in New York and, while I've never had occasion to test thier service, I can't help but think that returning a camera would not have been as simple as with Glazer's. You can contact Russ at Glazer's here: http://www.glazerscamera.com/newstuff/leica.html It's very much like my Land Rovers which, though they require more unexpected maintenance (leaks, etc) than some other cars, the dealer service is absolutely exceptional. They never question a problem you tell them about and always make the extra effort to look the vehicle over whenever it's in for service to see what else needs attention and many times will do preventative maintenance (i.e., "that seal will go in 10k or so, so we replaced it for you"). Most Land Rover dealers will go over your truck for you right before the warranty runs out, just to make sure that it leaves the warranty period in perfect condition! - --Jim Laurel (a happy customer) Jim Laurel Microsoft Digital Television jplaurel@microsoft.com (425) 703-1143 http://www.microsoft.com/dtv