Re: [Leica] Re: Newbie Leica questions...buy new!

["Bryan Caldwell" <bcaldwell@softcom.net>]

Jim,

>>This is not because I like to throw away money, but
because I have personally had so many out-of-the-box defects in my new Leica
equipment.  <<

Perhaps if you bought used you'd get equipment that already had the
"out-of-the-box defects" worked out.

In the past 20 years or so I think I've bought six M bodies and nine lenses
and with the exception of the recent purchase of a 35 Summicron ASPH, every
piece was purchased used. Never had a problem with anything when I bought
it.

Bryan


- ----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 1999 2:55 PM
Subject: RE: [Leica] Re: Newbie Leica questions...buy new!


> Kevin,
> Others may disagree with me on this, or think it's foolish, but I have a
> policy of buying all my Leica gear brand new with Passport warranty, from
an
> authorized dealer.  This is not because I like to throw away money, but
> because I have personally had so many out-of-the-box defects in my new
Leica
> equipment.  In the 2 years since I started building my Leica system, I
have
> had 4 failures.
>
> -- M6HM (.85x) - Shutter bounce at 1/500 and above caused vertical bands
in
> photographs.  Also, the RF was out of alignment.
>
> -- R6.2 - Supplemental viewfinder light not responsive to the switch on
the
> lens mount...light came on whenever the meter was switched on.
>
> -- Trinovid 10x25 binoculars - curly shavings of some material leftover
from
> production loose just behind the front element
>
> -- My 1.4/35 ASPH is out of alignment or something, as some carefully
> focused shots, taken at f1.4 can seem excessively soft.  This lens
exhibits
> an unusual effect that I can only describe as "multiple planes of focus".
I
> showed Ernst Hartmann, from Leica NJ a shot, taken a full aperture, in
which
> a near object was in acceptable focus, a farther object was in acceptable
> focus, and another in between these was totally blurry.  Very strange.
> Ernst confirmed that there is definately something wrong with the lens,
and
> that it was probably beyond the capabilities of the NJ facility.  Because
I
> bought this particular lens without a Passport warranty, I am hoping that
> Leica will cover it under thier 2-year international warranty.
>
> So, in the last 2 years, I have purchased 2 M rangefinder bodies, 1 R SLR
> body, 5 M lenses, 3 R lenses, and one pair of binoculars.  Out of those,
one
> body (the M6HM) was defective right out of the box.  The R6.2 started
acting
> up at around the 4 month mark.  The Trinovids lasted around 4 months.  In
> all cases, the dealer (Glazer's in Seattle) swapped the product with a
> brand-new one immediately and with no hassle at all.  The 1.4/35 ASPH is
> going to be hell to get repaired as it has to go directly to Solms.
>
> In contrast, over the last 3 years, I have purchased 2 Canon SLR bodies
> (EOS1n and A2E), and 10 other lenses, mostly from the L-series line, as
well
> as numerous accessories.  In the old Canon FD line, I had 5 or 6 bodies,
and
> at least 12-15 lenses over the years.
>
> My defective count with Canon products: ZERO  I have never had a defective
> Canon product out of the box, and I have never had a Canon product fail on
> me.
>
> So buy new, get your dealer to swap out the defective stuff, and hold onto
> your known-good Leica gear.
>
> --Jim
>
>
> Kevin Selner <kevinselner@pmail.net> wrote:
> >
> > I am about to take the plunge and buy an M6.  I didn't intend to buy
> > one, but after handling one in the store, I fell in love.
> >
> > I've been lurking here for a while trying to learn as much as I can and
> > now have a few questions related to my purchase...
> >
> > 1. I thought I might just buy the body new and get used lenses on ebay.
> > Does that seem like a prudent course of action?
> >
> > 2. I saw a 35mm Summaron on ebay.  It has the attached magnifiers which
> > fit over the body of the camera.  Is this extra piece removable so that
> > I can use just the lens?  What effect do these magnifiers have on the
M6?
>