Re: ATTENTION!!! LEICA RIPPING OFF PHOTOGRAPHERS. [rec.photo.equipment.35mm #16152]

[Tom Hodge <thodge@charweb.org>]

On Thu, 25 Apr 1996 rec.photo.equipment.35mm.Newsgroup@msc.cornell.edu wrote:

> 
> ------ Forwarded Article <zapcomix-2404961429400001@pm2-19.sba.silcom.com>
> ------ From zapcomix@silcom.com (Claude Trei)
> 
> I just spent 2800 dollars on an M-6, a 35mm 1.4 and a 50mm 2.0.  That's a
> lot of dough for a range finder and a couple of lenses.

No it isn't.  Not for an M-6.

  The camera and
> lenses work beautifully and take marvellous pictures.

Duh?????  Well, imagine THAT!

  I have not
> conducted any scientific tests,

You're experienced in the optical sciences?  You must be making a ton of 
money, then , so price shouldn't matter?

 but the images are much better than
> anything I've shot in years of using Canon and Nikon  equipment.

Not surprising.

  Only
> Olympus comes close.

And, only in your mind, too.  You must still be having :acid-flash-backs"!

  That's the 
good news.  On the down side, I have > these gripes:
> 
>   1. Leica camera strap is poorly designed, and plastic part broke.  I've
> sent it back to Leica for replacement.

OK

>    2.  The rear lens cap split in half, Leica refuses to replace it.  It's
> poorly made, and heavily over priced.  I can't afford to replace their
> crappy, ill-conceived rear lens cap!

The whole 2800.00 was your entire life savings?

>    3.  I need a lens hood for the 35mm 1.4, so I can reduce glare, and use
> series 7 filters, it won't take screw ins.  Those crazy Krauts want 95
> dollars for a lens hood!

The words is "Germans".  And they're not crazy.  The slurs towards 
Germans of this type ended with the WWII movies a couple of generations 
back.  Grow up or shut up.

>    4.  The 35mm lens is full of little black specks, believed to be bits
> of laquer which has flecked off from the inside of the lens barrel.  It's
> an obviuos design flaw.

Ya pays yer quarter and ya takes yer chances,  Didn't see this before you 
bought the lens.  Ever hear of "caveat emptor"?

  Those cheap shits won't 
even fix it for free!  A
> lens that costs 1500 dollars, should have some kind of decent customer
> service, especially when it is a flaw in the design.

Isn't it covered by a guarantee?  Complain to whoever you bought it 
from.  If it's used, congratulations!  You're wearing another monkey on 
your back.

>    Just wanted to share this information with anyone planning on buying a
> Leica.  The people that make that camera are arrogant and extortionate.

So am I.  What's your point?  Son, you ain't seen nothing yet!  It gets 
worse before it gets better.
   
> They should fix my equipment and incorporate design improvments in the
> next series of lenses.  They should replace defective equipment.

There was a neat program for folks like you a few years back called the
"Passport" program wherein they (those horrible folks from Leica) covered
loss and damage from just about anything under the sun.  For your sake, I
wish you'd been part of it.  You'd have seen what outstanding service they
provided.  They are now owned by a different group and like many things in
life, the rules have changed. 

>    I picked up an old battered pair of Swarovski (Austrian) binoculars.  I
> called them up in New Jersey to ask how I could eliminate flare at night. 
> They had me send in the binoculars.  They repaired them for free and their
> customer service was outstanding.  The Leica repair guy sounded rude and
> ignorant.  I was treated as if I did not know what I was talking about. 
> I'm really pissed off with Leica.  They better get their shit together,
> because I intend to pass the word around about their over priced equipment
> and shoddy customer service.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!

>    Having said that I wouldn't part with my Leica gear for the world.

Ah ha!  A sudden convert!  He has seen the light!

  The
> black specks are not affecting image quality, and if they do, there is a
> repair man in SB

(South Boston?  A great Irish bar down there called The Eire Pub.  Best 
corned beef sandwiches I ever had!

> who will fix the lens for 50 bucks, half of Leica's price.

Hey...you just saved enoug money to buy a new rear lens cap!!!  You're 
learning!  You're learning!!

> BEWARE LEICA RIP OFF ON SMALL BITS WHICH SHOULD NOT COST SO MUCH!!

Yeah, and I think Bill Clinton is guilty of something in the Whitewater 
case, too.

Please join the Leica forum when you have some REAL Earth-shattering news 
to share.

Regards,

Tom Hodge