Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/31

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Subject: [Leica] Reasons to buy from a local dealer
From: Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 13:23:44 -0800

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