Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/11/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]One of my M8's has been back to Leica after I dropped in on a marble floor in India. Both of them were under water in Honduras. My M9 has never been back except to have the Noctilux matched to it. I guess I'm just lucky! Tina On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 12:48 AM, Phil Forrest <photo.forrest at earthlink.net>wrote: > Nope, won't happen. > The Leica M9 failure rate was far too high for news professionals to > consider using them for work. It's a fun hobby camera but for the hard > working journalist, the Leica doesn't cut it. Both my M8 and M9 spent > about 40% of the time I owned them out at Leica for repairs. I > personally know owners of a total of nine other M9s in the Philadelphia > area and every single one of them had to go back to Leica a few times. > One of my friends went through three shutters in his M8 then two > shutters and a sensor in his M9. And he's a working pro in Philly who > luckily has Canon gear for backup but while his Leica was out at the > factory, the backup became the regular camera. > > All of the digital Leicas I have seen have had to have sensors remapped > or replaced due to the hot pixel / vertical line issues. So, about 20 > digital Leica M bodies in the Philly area that are owned by > acquaintances of mine and 100% of them had to be repaired. Not reliable > enough for a premium product. For a camera that costs that much, it > should not only be reliable, it should be PERFECT. > > You said the M9 was going to be the game changer a few years ago, Mark. > It didn't happen. It drove myself and two of my friends AWAY from Leica > as a matter of fact due to their incredible expense, slow service, and > then their declining support for the still excellent M8. > > So again, we won't see Leicas taking their place in the journalism > world. Everyone knew the rangefinder was on its way out by 1960, so > why would that change today? > > Phil Forrest > > > On Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:58:56 -0500 > Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > > > I do think though the M9 worked and the M is going to work a whole lot > > better and there are a huge amount of used Leica glass out there in a > > gamut of price points. Pros are familiar with what Leica rangefinders > > have done in the not too distant past and will be interested like > > they always have in what that might add to their work. I think the M > > is going to be a huge success for Leica and we'll be seeing articles > > about pros using them for jobs. We didn't wee that with the M9. We > > will see it with the M. Imagine shooting an f1 lens @ iso 6400! And > > video clips. I think the new M will get Pro support in the market; > > and Leica will be back in the hot spot at least where they were in > > the 90's. When sure a small amount of shooter used Leica but in each > > group there usually was at least one. > > > > Mark William Rabiner > > Photography > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > > > > > > > From: Chris Crawford <chris at chriscrawfordphoto.com> > > > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > > > Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:52:31 -0500 > > > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > > > Subject: Re: [Leica] Cameras Real Pros Use > > > > > > Nikon and Canon digital SLRs are used by 99% of the world's > > > professionals. Why? Because they're extremely reliable, have > > > extensive lens and accessory systems, and those companies are the > > > cutting edge technological leaders....and despite all that, they > > > cost less than Leicas. > > > > > > Professional photographers of all types are hurting economically > > > today, and that is especially true of journalists. They're poorly > > > paid, and newspapers have been shedding staff photographers to save > > > money. Leica has simply priced itself out of the professional > > > market. It really is that simple. On top of that, Leica's digital > > > cameras have had a lot of well-publicised technical and reliability > > > problems. Pros need cameras that "Just Work", every time. Canon and > > > Nikon cameras "Just Work". The lenses are affordable. The image > > > quality is magnificent. Using Nikon or Canon is a no-brainer. > > > > > > -- > > > Chris Crawford > > > Fine Art Photography > > > Fort Wayne, Indiana > > > 260-437-8990 > > > > > > http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio > > > > > > http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work! > > > > > > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798 > > > Become a fan on Facebook > > > > > > > > > > > > On 11/29/12 8:41 PM, "David Ching" <davidhhching1 at yahoo.com.sg> > > > wrote: > > > > > >> Come on, don't tease, tell us all. Which one/s? Why, if you know > > >> the reasons. > > >> > > >> And why not Leicas? > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> David Ching > > >> > > > -- > http://philipforrestphoto.wordpress.com/ > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/philforrest > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > -- Tina Manley, ASMP www.tinamanley.com