[Leica] M8 Repair/ Leica NJ

[grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey@mchsi.com)]

Tom,

Sorry to hear about your m8 problem.  glad to see they got a replacement to 
you, but it is not good to hear that it is apparantly not brand new, does it 
have the latest firmware load?  So far mine has performed fine.  what is 
this flashing shutter display thing?  i have not seen this with mine.  as 
for turn on, i always wait until the card light stops flashing and the 
battery/frame counter comes up, a second or two before shooting.  good luck 
with the replacement.

gene

-------------- Original message from Tom Pastorello <etruscello@yahoo.com>: 
-------------- 


> In response to yesterday's M8 repair thread (I've 
> been off-line for quite a while), my tale of M8 woe 
> began last month. My M8 would not turn on -- 
> resetting by popping the battery in and out provided 
> no help. Waiting overnight before inserting a fresh 
> battery did not help either. Days before the failure, 
> the camera was doing quirky things. It gave an 
> occasional blank image while shooting (black and white 
> stripes only). Sometimes the play back would show the 
> previous image rather than the one just taken, which 
> may or may not show at all. 
> I sent it off to Leica NJ. It was not possible for 
> me to speak to anyone in the repair department. The 
> secretary played interference. The secretary said I 
> would receive a letter in one week, which would 
> probably say that I would be receiving a replacement 
> M8. The letter never came. Mr. Fisk never answered 
> my email (on this topic). Eighteen days after sending 
> out my camera, a replacement M8 arrived! That was 
> impressive, but communications with Repair were still 
> non-existent. I called to find out if the replacement 
> were a new M8 or a refurbished model. No one 
> could/would tell me. I'm sure it was a refurbished 
> model because it came in a damaged box and its chrome 
> finish was smudged with what I think was graphite. It 
> did clean up LN. Also, its serial number was about 
> 7000 cameras lower than than the one I sent in. I've 
> tested for a week in order to be able to say "it 
> works" well when I write this. It does work very 
> well, except for some minor playback quirkiness after 
> the camera is just turned on, e.g., skipping images or 
> giving an index rather than a blow-up. 
> The quick turn around time occurred because, I 
> think, of the intervention of my dealer with his Leica 
> representative. My dealer was Allen of Allen's Camera 
> PA, recommended by Len Taupier. It was a good 
> recommendation -- Allen served me well. It was Sean 
> Reid who advised me to involve my dealer. 
> Sean Reid is doing a survey on M8 failures, on the 
> Leica Camera Users Forum. I reported my problem to 
> him to add to the data base. I also told him 
> something all M8 users may find useful. I think I 
> know how to prevent major problems with the M8 (tested 
> on my M8, my daughter's and a demo model). When you 
> put your M8 in your camera bag, make sure the On/Off 
> switch does not slide from the Off position to 
> anywhere between the OFF and S positions. This will 
> cause battery drainage, overheating and quirky 
> electronic behavior while shooting. If the misaligned 
> switch is not found on time, it may cause failure. 
> Leica should recall every M8 and fix the switch. They 
> probably won't. I find also that it is useful to 
> allow the camera to "warm-up" after turning it on and 
> using it. Wait until the shutter speed indication 
> stops flashing. 
> This may all be voodoo, but it's what I'm doing and 
> so far its working. I have no regrets about having 
> bought the M8. The images it provides from my old 
> favorite M-lenses are superb. 
> Good luck to all M8 owners. I hope Leica NJ gets 
> on top of things soon. 
> Tom P. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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