Re: [Leica] Re: R8 woes(?) probably not

["Dan S" <dstate1@hotmail.com>]

Paul, no offence intended to the LUG, but this is a pretty bad place to ask 
about reliability of any Leica product.  It is the nature of people to 
complain loudly when they feel wronged, but remain mute when treated fairly.

Indeed if you take what you hear seriously you would swear that Leica is 
close to death, sells re manufactured cameras as new, despises its customers 
and tosses dirt on little kids lolly pops.

The internet is a great forum for complaint, rumor generation and paranoid 
rants (my rants included), but more than ever you can not just accept what 
you read as fact.

In reality the R8 is probably as reliable as most Contax, Canon or other top 
line high tech cameras.  (Anyone who monitors the Contax G users list would 
say it is MORE reliable)

Buy the camera that fits your needs best, use it hard and make good 
pictures.  If it breaks down too much contact the company and ask them to 
make good.  If you don't TRUST the company buy products from one that you 
do.









>I find it surprising that so many complaints are registered about the poor
>robustness i.e. breakdowns of the R8.
>
>Recent correspondence has also compared Nikon's service performance against
>Leica's. It's good to hear that Leica wins hands down. However, R8 owners
>should not have to rely on backup support to keep their product 
>functioning,
>especially on recent purchases. Are Leica actively trying to change the 
>R8's
>poor reliability record?
>
>I'm more than happy with my M6 & M2 but have a concern that having sold my
>Nikons (F4S, F90 and F3 HP) I can't assume that the R8 will fill the gap 
>for
>long telephoto shots etc.
>
>This I find disappointing, as I have built up strong loyalyty to Leica in
>the last few months and naturally assumed the R8 would be on my 'wishlist'.
>
>Maybe, the F5 is the more reliable choice longer term (certainly, I've 
>never
>had breakdowns with Nikons in the past)? However, the Leica M chromes stand
>out on the light box so I know the Leica chunks of glass are superior.
>
>The R6.2 would be considered but I wanted an alternative to Nikon's matrix
>metering.
>N.B. I'm quite happy to use incident light readings with short focal 
>lengths
>but haven't found it reliable on long telephoto.
>
>I'd appreciate your advice, is the R8 really that bad or is it a case of
>wrong perception? I'm taken with its hunchback shape and would rather stick
>to Leica in the future. What the hell do I do?
>Kind regards,
>Paul.
>
>
>
>
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 09 Jul 1999 11:50:55 -0400
> > From: Jeffcoat Photography <jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net>
> > Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica's woes(?)
> >
> > When I bought the Nikon Equipment it was not in need of service. Over 
>the
>years that
> > I did use it and ddid need service-it started down hill. I've always 
>been
>treated
> > right with Leica and yes I do expect-demand service at the highest level
>no matter
> > what the price of the equipment as new. This is the same way we render
>service to
> > our clients for the past 30 yr. Your right, and we don't crawl or suck 
>up
>Period.
> > Cheers Wilber
> >
> > > Dan S wrote:
> > >
> > > Snip:
> > >
> > > > So, you got a replacement of a 2000+ dollar camera on request.  I'd
>say that
> > > > is pretty good service. Try that with Nikon...
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > Big deal, "pretty good service". If I buy a $2000 camera, I expect a
>$2000
> > > service.
> > > If I buy a $25 camera, I can only expect a $25 service.
> > > It has  got nothing to do what lousy - as I read between the lines 
>from
>your
> > > comment -
> > > service Nikon provides. If you know beforehand, that the service is 
>not
>up to
> > > scratch, why buy it?
> > > However,  from a manufacturer, who prides himself, to have the best
>cameras, you
> > > would expect nothing, but the best service.  If you actually get it, 
>you
>don't
> > > have to crawl and suck up to them, just because you received, what
>should be
> > > normal anyway.
> > >
> > > Horst Schmidt
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> >
>
>


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