How long will Leica repair their R models?

chip j · Feb 7, 2014

Anyone know? I know the Leicaflexes have silvering problems w/their prisms.

Nick Merritt · Feb 7, 2014

I don't know whether they repair them now -- the Leicaflexes, that is. They may still service the R cameras. Some time ago Don Goldberg replaced my SL2's prism, which had really obtrusive desilvering, with another prism he'd had resilvered. He performed other service also. He (or Sherry Krauter) may be your best best for servicing the Leica SLRs.

gone · Feb 7, 2014

I doubt they have any spare prisms. Like Nick said, it will probably be a resilvered one of that's what yours needs. I've been lucky and the cameras I've owned were OK, but that was some years ago.

AgX · Feb 7, 2014

Leica has a 24h telephone service for such issues.

Furhermore on their german site they offer a special request form related to servicing and spares. The R-models still form a group of their own, the Leicaflexes would be subsumized under "other".

AndreasT · Feb 7, 2014

When was the R6.2 discontinued? I think back then they said they will have spare parts till about 2012 or 2014. This doesn't really help.

chip j · Feb 7, 2014

I actually don't have any Leica slrs yet, but I'm thinking of going that way and wondered if they'd be a good investment.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Feb 8, 2014

Sending a Leicaflex from Ohio to Germany , receiving it with most expensive courier service plus the hyper prices of Leica service. Costs 5 times the current price of a Leica SLR body. I think if they can replace lens elements , it would be a good investment for 2000 dollar lens but not suitable to any other hardware.

fotch · Feb 8, 2014

chip j said:
I actually don't have any Leica slrs yet, but I'm thinking of going that way and wondered if they'd be a good investment.

I would not consider any camera stuff a good investment unless you use it to produce income directly. If that is the case then I would want the most reliable problem free gear that money could buy. You may want to talk to one of the Leica repair specialist locally and see if they can shed some light on the issue.

Good luck.

benjiboy · Feb 8, 2014

Buying photography gear either film or digital as an an "investment" is what people tell themselves to rationalise their acquisitions to themselves and their significant others, if you need to get real World return on investing your cash, put it into something else.

summicron1 · Feb 8, 2014

Leica has totally abandoned its R line -- I made inquiry a coupla years ago about a repair to one and was referred to off-site repair people such as DAG.

Their web site doesn't even mention them. Sad.

summicron1 · Feb 8, 2014

chip j said:
I actually don't have any Leica slrs yet, but I'm thinking of going that way and wondered if they'd be a good investment.

The R line, sadly, is dropping in value because of the film market decline, but the lenses are still selling for big bux because they can be used on DSLRs. This means you can buy a really excellent body for very cheap. KEH has many for less than $300.

Investment? No camera is a good investment -- you buy the tool, you use it, if you are fortunate you like it so much you wear it out. The return on investment is job satisfaction.

As to their usability -- Leica R models are like all Leicas -- built to last. I can highly recommend the Leicaflex SL2. The meter is highly accurate, the screen incredibly bright and easy to focus, the camera is built like a tank and the shutter is like good sex when it fires.

Sirius Glass · Feb 8, 2014

Have you considered asking Leica?

AgX · Feb 8, 2014

summicron1 said:
Leica has totally abandoned its R line -- I made inquiry a coupla years ago about a repair to one and was referred to off-site repair people such as DAG.

Their web site doesn't even mention them. Sad.

See post #4

summicron1 · Feb 8, 2014

AgX said:
See post #4

i did. I live in the USA. I ain't sending my camera to Germany for a meter tune-up.

ct

AgX · Feb 8, 2014

But thus you can't state they totally abondonned the R-models. You are right, the US being a major market offering a local service would be a good idea.

chip j · Feb 8, 2014

benjiboy said:
Buying photography gear either film or digital as an an "investment" is what people tell themselves to rationalise their acquisitions to themselves and their significant others, if you need to get real World return on investing your cash, put it into something else.

I meant using it for a very long time, rather than financial concerns.

Ricardo Miranda · Feb 8, 2014

chip j said:
I meant using it for a very long time, rather than financial concerns.

Then get a Manual camera form Nikon, Pentax, Canon, etc., or any other manufacturer that sold thousands of units: plenty of spare parts available and easier to repair if needed.

miha · Feb 8, 2014

chip j said:
I meant using it for a very long time, rather than financial concerns.

A well maintained Leicaflex will serve you fine for a long time. I purchased my Leicaflex SL cheaply from a reputable dealer and have sent it for a CLA shortly after.

summicron1 · Feb 8, 2014

chip j said:
I meant using it for a very long time, rather than financial concerns.

well, for what it's worth, Leicas are made to finer tolerances than cheaper cameras, which means less wear, which means they last longer. The SL doesn't use foam for a mirror cushion, for example, it is mechanically damped, which means no foam to rot and need replacement.

You find 50 year old Leicas in use daily. Not many Canon or Nikon can say that, although the advice about spare parts is worth pondering.Then again, at the prices that even Leica R are going for, you can afford to just stock a replacement when one breaks.

AgX -- when i checked with Leica USA they didn't tell me about any "send it to Germany" option. They said "We don't fix those any more. Send it to these other guys ..." and gave me a list.

chip j · Feb 8, 2014

Ricardo Miranda said:
Then get a Manual camera form Nikon, Pentax, Canon, etc., or any other manufacturer that sold thousands of units: plenty of spare parts available and easier to repair if needed.

I want fabulous glass. Maybe a Contax slr would be a better choice. My Nikkors lack "sparkle".

miha · Feb 9, 2014

chip j said:
I want fabulous glass. Maybe a Contax slr would be a better choice. My Nikkors lack "sparkle".

What's your preffered focal length?

p.s. Nikon has fabulous glass too, and Leica has no more sparkle than anyone else.

rolleiman · Feb 9, 2014

chip j said:
I actually don't have any Leica slrs yet, but I'm thinking of going that way and wondered if they'd be a good investment.

If you have an eye on investment, then go for the "M" series rangefinder, although at today's high prices, you may have missed the boat. The time to buy was about 10 years ago. My Nikon F has been a good investment as well as a fabulous camera over the years, but, and it's a big but, because I've used it professionally it's not in the same mint condition it was when purhased back in the 70's. Yet it is still worth double what I paid.
If it had been kept mint, then I could sell it for four times the original purchase price.

You have to decide whether you are a photographer or a collector. If the former, then providing you use the best of the fully mechanical, top of the range gear, then it will hold (or even slightly increase) its value. The very best cameras whether German or Japanese, made in that decade roughly encompassing the 1970's before automation and plastics took over, were manufactured to the highest standards, to last a lifetime.

The digital stuff has no investment value at all, it's all made with built in obsolescance, like 5 year old computers, it's destined for "old technology" scrapheaps, somewhere in Africa or India.

chip j · Feb 9, 2014

rolleiman said:
If you have an eye on investment, then go for the "M" series rangefinder, although at today's high prices, you may have missed the boat. The time to buy was about 10 years ago. My Nikon F has been a good investment as well as a fabulous camera over the years, but, and it's a big but, because I've used it professionally it's not in the same mint condition it was when purhased back in the 70's. Yet it is still worth double what I paid.
If it had been kept mint, then I could sell it for four times the original purchase price.

You have to decide whether you are a photographer or a collector. If the former, then providing you use the best of the fully mechanical, top of the range gear, then it will hold (or even slightly increase) its value. The very best cameras whether German or Japanese, made in that decade roughly encompassing the 1970's before automation and plastics took over, were manufactured to the highest standards, to last a lifetime.

The digital stuff has no investment value at all, it's all made with built in obsolescance, like 5 year old computers, it's destined for "old technology" scrapheaps, somewhere in Africa or India.

I have a Contax G1/G2 system w/5 lenses, which will last me a very long time, I guess, since they get light use, and which I much prefer to Leica M {and my G lenses do have "sparkle!}. But I use slrs mostly and want that "sparkle" there also.

fotch · Feb 9, 2014

chip j said:
I want fabulous glass. Maybe a Contax slr would be a better choice. My Nikkors lack "sparkle".

:confused:

ambaker · Feb 9, 2014

chip j said:
I want fabulous glass. Maybe a Contax slr would be a better choice. My Nikkors lack "sparkle".

How to add "sparkle" to your Nikkors.

Nikkor Sparkle Maker

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How long will Leica repair their R models?

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