Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] System Compatibility and Equipment Reliability
From: "Jim Laurel" <jplaurel@nwlink.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 19:38:43 -0700
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20011004154728.036b48c0@pop.alink.net> <3.0.2.32.20011004202433.0147592c@roanoke.infi.net>

Marc James Small wrote:
> So much for tales of gloom and doom and despair about Leica quality.  This
> is the photographic equivalent of the brick shit-house.


I've said it before...Leicas are just like Land Rovers.  It's not uncommon,
in my experience, to get a defective one right out of the box, but once you
get them sorted out, they are very durable and reliable.  As you all know,
I've had to return 4 defective M6s and 1 R6.2 bought new over the last 3
years for problems ranging from RF misalignment to shutter bounce, shutter
button lock up and electronics failures.

That's why NO ONE gets to touch my M6s but me!  The pair I use normally have
been round the world at least 5 times and I trust them implicitly.  But if
one gets damaged, I just know I'm in for another long process of
testing/returning/testing/returning, etc., until I find one that actually
works.  Seems to happen to me every time!

Veering off topic: Once, a friend of mine asked me to go with him down to
the local Land Rover dealer to pick up a new Defender 90.  While he sat in
front with the salesman, I made some disparaging comment about quality
control at the Solihul factory, which the salesman quickly dismissed.  After
all, he was trying to make a sale!  I mentioned that when I pulled up the
carpet in my new D90, I found several pence back there as well as
miscellaneous bolts and screws and some sunflower seed shells that had all
been sprayed over in the body color!  Also, that the spare wheel carrier was
about to fall off (6 of the 10 bolts holding the thing onto the vehicle were
loose or had lost thier nuts inside the rear door).  There were numerous
other little things as well.  Well, he dismissed this too and said he simply
could not believe it.  To make the point, I said, "watch this", pulled the
rear carpeting back a couple of inches and promptly retrieved a 13mm bolt -
you guessed it - sprayed over in body color!  You can imagine the look on
this guy's face.

Fortuntely, the local dealer solved all the little niggles on my 90 and it
has since taken me on many adventures without the slightest complaint.  The
1997 Discovery Tdi we used for our 40,000km trek this year is simply the
most reliable, toughest vehicle I have ever owned.

The Leica M is truly the Land Rover of the photographic world!

- --Jim Laurel


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Replies: Reply from "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> (Re: [Leica] System Compatibility and Equipment Reliability)
In reply to: Message from Jim Brick <jim@brick.org> ([Leica] Re: clearsight?)
Message from Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net> ([Leica] System Compatibility and Equipment Reliability)