[Leica] Glass/concrete interaction...time for a CLA?

[Simon Ogilvie <simon_ogilvie@ionica.co.uk>]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later...

I was pulling my M6 out of it's bag yesterday while walking along
a pavement and didn't notice that the 35 'cron that I had put back=20
in the bag without its rear cap was nestling in the camera strap...
Camera came out, followed by strap, and the lens was catapulted
out of the bag and fell onto the concrete pavement!

Fortunately I saw it go and managed to break its fall with my foot,
but it still bounced onto the concrete and off into the grass verge.
It's a heart stopping moment when you see =A3600 worth of glass
accelerating to the ground, and was followed by a feeling of dread
when I went to pick it up and inspect for the damage which I=20
expected to be fatal.  Well, fortunately it wasn't!  The exposed rear
element, being receded into the metal lens mount, was completely
untouched, although there was a tiny chip on the side of the mount
and some grit around it.  Fortunately the front cap was on, and it
sustained a larger chip that would have been taken by the aperture
ring had it not been there.

I got away with it this time - I don't think I would have been so lucky
with any of my EOS lenses!  The aperture and focusing rings are
as smooth and easy to turn as ever, but how do I know I haven't
knocked something out of alignment and put the focusing off?
I guess the results will show that, and I'm shooting on Velvia at the
moment, so I suppose I could do some focusing tests with it.

Perhaps now would be a good time to send the whole kit to Leica
for a CLA...  Does anybody know what that's likely to cost for an
M6 with three 'crons?  I'm in the UK, so sending it to Sherry is out
of the question - are there good repair shops in the UK or should
I send it to Leica direct?

Simon.