Leica M8.2 - sensor issues.

My M8.2 is getting old and worn. I don't know what the actuations are but it's probably in the tens of thousands.

I'm also starting to see more frequently dark lines and dark bars on images taken in low light, and they seem to be appearing in increasingly brighter conditions (although still what most would consider fairly low light).

I know Leica still produces the M9 (aka the M-E) which has a similar CCD sensor as the older M8. Do they still have the resources (or parts) to replace the sensor in my M8.2 if it came down to it?
 
This is the contact info for Australia in Leica's website:

Leica Camera Australia Pty Ltd
3/876 Lorimer Street
VIC 3207 Port Melbourne
Phone: +61 3 9248 4444
Fax: +61 3 9248 4455

Is this the place you already called, and said that you have to pay $49.95 for evaluation?
 
No wait, that's not exactly true.

The guy I spoke to at the Leica Australia HQ was very friendly and we had a good brief conversation. I was asking him about the difference between sending my camera to the Australian authorised Leica repairer for a service/repair, as opposed to sending it direct to Solms.

The authorised repairer/service in Australia has a website which says:

Quotations/Inspection



Our quotations/Inspections are qualified quotes/inspections inspected by a technician.



Cost:



$49.50 (inc GST) per unit or per camera and lens combination.
An additional piece of equipment is $22.00 (inc GST)
Second body lens combination is an additional $49.50 (inc GST)

All inspections are carried out by a technician.



Any repair under $140.00 (inc gst) will not be quoted.
 
Well, it'll cost me $49.50 to find out what it is. If I go down that path I'll let you know.

I also have the vertical line thing but like yours it stays in the background and doesn't show up very often and only in the noisiest ISO conditions. Mostly.
 
I saw in FM forum that Leica is replacing the out-of warranty M9 sensors for free, but it takes 6-7 months. They say it is a well known problem. They were doing a similar warranty fix w. the old digilux 2s.
 
I saw in FM forum that Leica is replacing the out-of warranty M9 sensors for free, but it takes 6-7 months. They say it is a well known problem. They were doing a similar warranty fix w. the old digilux 2s.

Really? That's awesome. Any chance you get a FM link about that?

edit: Found it. 2012 posting.
 
Both an old battery and/or sd card issues can cause this. Had something similar on my M9 after shooting a sequence. Changed back to a card I trust and all is well.

Worth trying before a trip to Camera Clinic. Me. I'd rather send it direct to Solms. No chance of a complementary service if CC get a hold of it. Slim chance going to Solms.

Gordon
 
Gordon, I am using a new SD card ( been using the same card previously for years, never failed me) so I'll see if the lines pop up.

Batteries have never failed me either in the past couple of years. Maybe it's time to get new ones.

Definitely try the old card. See what happens. The one that gave me issues was a brand new Lexar 32GB class 10 (UHS1 card). I've got a few Sandisk cards that fail completely. All are OK in other cameras.

Gordon
 
Shouldn't. All sensor issues got to Germany anyway. Just email them asking what the best shipping address is....

The guy from Leica Australia told me that Camera Clinic technicians are sent to Germany to train and get qualified to fix everything here in Melbourne, specifically including sensor issues and sensor replacements. Apparently the only thing they're not qualified to fix are M240s. Solms has specific equipment for the M240 which no other Leica repairer or service centre in the world has.


Definitely try the old card. See what happens. The one that gave me issues was a brand new Lexar 32GB class 10 (UHS1 card). I've got a few Sandisk cards that fail completely. All are OK in other cameras.

I meant I've just started using a new SD card for the first time lat week so I'm waiting to see whether the line and bars show up with the new card. The previous one has never failed me in the past 1.5yrs unless what you're saying is true and it's leaving lines and bars due to wear and tear. They're both Sandisk.
 
The guy from Leica Australia told me that Camera Clinic technicians are sent to Germany to train and get qualified to fix everything here in Melbourne, specifically including sensor issues and sensor replacements. Apparently the only thing they're not qualified to fix are M240s. Solms has specific equipment for the M240 which no other Leica repairer or service centre in the world has.

Well that's plainly not true. Both my M9's have had sensor replacements. Both went to Germany (the latest came back late October). Today I was told my 90mm Summarit needs to go to Germany for re-calibration (after sitting at CC for nearly 5 weeks??) because for some reason they can't do it. Camera Clinic are also charging me $350.00 for calibrating a (under warranty) rangefinder due "to impact damage", which is BS, because it was over my shoulder at the time (got that call today). Unless my backside is made of granite it hasn't had an impact. Also have a 135 APO telyt "waiting for parts"... , which also requires warranty calibration, which I hope gets sent to Germany. Another user who sent a 135APO to CC for a 6bit coding got back a lens where the new mount hadn't been "blacked" causing flare so bad the lens was unusable. Not happy with CC at the moment and have told my local shop I'm no longer looking at getting a M240.

Tomorrow I might feel calm. Today I want to either sell the lot or jump on a plane to Melbourne.......

If it weren't for the warranty I definitely would have shipped my gear straight to Solms.

Gordon
 
That annoys me quite a bit to hear about your experiences.

It's almost like sending my car in for a service and the mechanics can tell me whatever the hell they want and charge me whatever they want and I am in no better position to dispute or verify their claims unless I took the car to another mechanic for a second opinion.

In fact that's what happened last year, I was charged $1200 for a regular service but when I drove my car away I could hear bad clunking noises coming from my brakes. I brought my car back, they diagnosed it and charged me a further $400 or so to fix it and when I drove my car away the second time the clunking noises were still there. I was very frustrated at them. I ended up having to take my car to another mechanic who properly diagnosed the problem as being the shoddy work during the initial service and it came down to a quick re-calibration to fix the clunking noises OR the replacement of a simple $10 part. And the whole time, the first mechanics were insisting they were right and that they needed to charge me more money for more 'fixes'.
 
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