Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Just to play devil's advocate a minute, but could these problems in alignment be the result of rough handling in shipment? Perhaps the Elves of Solms might look at the way they pack their stuff! Dan (running, and ducking!) Post - ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Laurel <JimLaurel@earthlink.net> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2000 7:25 AM Subject: [Leica] Leica initial quality story > A couple of weeks ago, I decided to purchase a new Leica for my wife as an > anniversary/birthday present. It was to be given to her during our > vacation, so I wanted to make sure it was tested and in good order before > leaving. > > I went down to Glazers Camera Supply here in Seattle, and Russ Sherrel > prompltly produced a shiny new chrome M6 TTL along with a Summicron 35 ASPH. > As I have had several initial quality problems with past new M6 cameras (one > with a vertical misalignment, another with a 1/1000 shutter bounce), I made > it a point to check the camera thoroughly. > > The first body I checked had a terrible vertical misliangment problem. It > would be possible to focus, but the coincident images did not lineup > precisely. Russ agreed and opened up a new box. Second body would not show > the coincident images matched perfectly when the lens was focused at > infinity. I had my "known good" M6s with me, along with lenses, so I was > able to eliminate lenses as a possibility for this problem. > > Russ opened a 3rd box. Finally, I had found a body with no vertical > misalignment and was aligned properly at infinity. > > I don't understand what Leica is thinking. The foundation of thier pitch to > customers is high precision and quality. Yet, on a single day, I found two > clearly defective bodies sitting on a dealer shelf. Some people may not > notice the defects, but they were obvious to me (20/10 vision uncorrected). > My first M6 .85 purchased 2 years ago had a shutter bounce at 1/1000, and > the second had a vertical misalignment. A pretty poor record for one guy in > just 5 years. Thankfully, my dealer is very supportive, but it is > disturbing to see such poor quality control. > > --Jim Laurel > > > >