Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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 - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html