[Leica] Quality control while Leica basks in wealth

[shino at panix.com (Rei Shinozuka)]

I feel for you Phil.

I think my M9 was in the shop with red-pixel when you got yours.  And my 
M8 had the pixel streak a year before that as well.  And both had 
rangefinder misalignments that needed attention.  Nevertheless, they've 
seemed pretty reliable after the first year of adjustment (them, not me).

Finding a new bad pixel after the first one was fixed is pretty 
disheartening, I agree.

It would be easier to chuck them out if they didn't make such nice images.

Good luck,

-rei


On 08/16/2011 10:20 PM, Phil Forrest wrote:
> So, I just found ANOTHER hot pixel in my M9.
> This first one I found was in the M8 a few months after I got it. I
> dealt with it as long as possible but I had to have a digital
> camera.
> When I got the M9, I found the hot pixel 3 days after taking posession
> of it. I then sent the M8 out for repair and almost 3 months later, it
> came back in better condition. Right after that, I sent the M9 out for
> repair and it took just over 2 months to repair.
> Here I am right now with the M8 out for a rangefinder adjustment (among
> a few other dubious sounding procedures like "pixel alignment") which
> is going to cost me the same amount as a user M2.
> Now my M9 is going in ASAP, while it's under warranty but I'm seriously
> considering selling both of them due to this lack of reliability.
>
> I've babied both of these bodies and they have been in the shop a very
> significant amount of time that I've owned them. The M9 has been out of
> my hands about 1/3 of the time I owned it and the M8 has been out about
> 1/4 of the time. That's ridiculous. I took both my M4 and old M2 (since
> sold) to hell on earth and beat the crap out of them like I wasn't
> going to live past the click of the shutter. Both perform amazingly
> well to this day.
>
> I may be beating a dead horse but I "invested" in these bodies to use
> for a career but I've always known that the M4 would be my reliable
> backup. I can't afford to have this gear out for expensive repairs this
> often. It doesn't make financial sense and regardless how much I like
> the M9, I didn't want to own an Alfa-Romeo, Jaguar or a Triumph.
>
> I'm not set up yet to sell stock to pay for the camera. I got the older
> one through saving up and tightening my belt. The M9 I got through the
> Student Purchase Program and had help paying for it (GI Bill.) If I
> sell them, I'll never be able to own another M9 at any price over
> $2000. The big question is, can I afford to NOT sell them?
>
> So far, the cameras are glorious disappointments in reliability. They
> are fantastic implementations of some kind of ideal but when the rubber
> meets the road they don't work reliably. Leica has dropped the ball and
> while I love them and their products, they may have lost me for future
> new purchases due to their equipment failures.
>
> I'm just sick of this and needed to rant.
>
> Thanks all,
> Phil Forrest
>
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