[Leica] Re: Leica's woes(?)

["Paul Bolam" <Paul@bolam67.freeserve.co.uk>]

I find it surprising that so many complaints are registered about the poor
robustness i.e. breakdowns of the R8.

Recent correspondence has also compared Nikon's service performance against
Leica's. It's good to hear that Leica wins hands down. However, R8 owners
should not have to rely on backup support to keep their product functioning,
especially on recent purchases. Are Leica actively trying to change the R8's
poor reliability record?

I'm more than happy with my M6 & M2 but have a concern that having sold my
Nikons (F4S, F90 and F3 HP) I can't assume that the R8 will fill the gap for
long telephoto shots etc.

This I find disappointing, as I have built up strong loyalyty to Leica in
the last few months and naturally assumed the R8 would be on my 'wishlist'.

Maybe, the F5 is the more reliable choice longer term (certainly, I've never
had breakdowns with Nikons in the past)? However, the Leica M chromes stand
out on the light box so I know the Leica chunks of glass are superior.

The R6.2 would be considered but I wanted an alternative to Nikon's matrix
metering.
N.B. I'm quite happy to use incident light readings with short focal lengths
but haven't found it reliable on long telephoto.

I'd appreciate your advice, is the R8 really that bad or is it a case of
wrong perception? I'm taken with its hunchback shape and would rather stick
to Leica in the future. What the hell do I do?
Kind regards,
Paul.




> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 09 Jul 1999 11:50:55 -0400
> From: Jeffcoat Photography <jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica's woes(?)
>
> When I bought the Nikon Equipment it was not in need of service. Over the
years that
> I did use it and ddid need service-it started down hill. I've always been
treated
> right with Leica and yes I do expect-demand service at the highest level
no matter
> what the price of the equipment as new. This is the same way we render
service to
> our clients for the past 30 yr. Your right, and we don't crawl or suck up
Period.
> Cheers Wilber
>
> > Dan S wrote:
> >
> > Snip:
> >
> > > So, you got a replacement of a 2000+ dollar camera on request.  I'd
say that
> > > is pretty good service. Try that with Nikon...
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Big deal, "pretty good service". If I buy a $2000 camera, I expect a
$2000
> > service.
> > If I buy a $25 camera, I can only expect a $25 service.
> > It has  got nothing to do what lousy - as I read between the lines from
your
> > comment -
> > service Nikon provides. If you know beforehand, that the service is not
up to
> > scratch, why buy it?
> > However,  from a manufacturer, who prides himself, to have the best
cameras, you
> > would expect nothing, but the best service.  If you actually get it, you
don't
> > have to crawl and suck up to them, just because you received, what
should be
> > normal anyway.
> >
> > Horst Schmidt
>
> ------------------------------
>
>