50mm summilux-m ASPH

[alexander_arellano]

Hello.

 

After waiting on a waiting list for nearly a month, I've finally been able to get my paws on my new copy of the latest 50mm summilux.

 

I picked it up from a reputable Leica dealer by the San Francisco bay area. Because I paid an arm and a leg for it at a well-known

dealer, I didn't bother to open the box and examine it in the store. When I got home I was surprised to find a tiny white fragment

almost the size of a poppy seed stuck to the inside of the front element, close to the center of the lens.

 

I've read enough about lenses to understand dust specks and tiny abnormalities dont typically affect an image, but because this is a

new lens and the speck is obviously bigger than dust I told the dealer about this to see what he could do. He immediately told me to

bring it back to the store. He said he could ship it back to Leica but did not know how long it would take for them to fix the problem

and get it back to me. I've read the nightmares about Leica service turnarounds taking months with little or no communication but

those were were from posts that are about five years old now. Has anyone here had a recent experience with sending something

back to Leica? How long did it take? Is it better to send it directly to Leica yourself or have the dealer send it back for you?

 

Thanks,

 

Alex

[webcress]

<p>Last year I sent my 50mm Summicron ASPH to Leica Service in New Jersey. It was 6 weeks. I discovered that lens groups are replaced rather than disassembled when an element has a problem. My suggestion is to bite the bullet and send it in rather than try to find another 50 Lux in this market. Your lens will benefit from the extra care.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Some years ago (too many) I purchased a new Summicron 35mm from a Laica dealer in Montreal. It worked beautifully and I have some of my favourite B&W and colour photos made with it during a vacation to the Gaspé penninsula. A few months later, I noticed a mm or two size bubble in what appeared to be the back element. While visiting Toronto a month later, I stopped by at the then Leica Canada office and showed them the lens (still in mint condition). While they stated that it would have virtually no effect on the images (in retrospect, the images I had from it were as good technically as I ever achieved with the replacement lens), they replaced it with a new lens, without further question. It was a matter of 15 minutes.</p>

<p>I think that Leica should either immediately replace your lens, if the white fragment is found to be somehow attached to the element, or remove it if it is simply a foreign particle captured during assembly. You should not have to wait a long time, as this is not a normal service request and your lens has had no use to date. The problem ought to have been seen in QC. I would ask the dealer to telephone Leica, explain the problem, get a confirmation of the type of action, and go from there. It might be good to have a jpeg image showing the problem that the dealer can transfer to Leica.</p>

[ray .]

I agree with Arthur wholeheartedly. If you paid an arm and a leg then you want a new lens, not this one

fixed, and you should not have to wait, because you've already waited. Tell the dealer this and if he's not

able to do anything about it, you might consider calling Leica yourself.

[john_boyle3]

<p>In reference to Arthur's comment re. a bubble in his lens, I have a "fat chrome" 90mm Tele-Elmarit with a small bubble in one of the elements. I bought the lens new around 1968 and have taken many fine portraits with it. The bubble caused no adverse effects at all.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Yes, don't settle for a repair on a high end lens. Let Leica eat this one, and wait for a replacement.</p>

[colin_elliott]

<p>As others have stated.......this is no brainer!<br>

There is NO repair or replace consideration to be given here. Leica should just replace it. In fact, following a call from your dealer to them, they should simply "express" deliver the second unit. </p>

[alexander_arellano]

Appreciate the reply's. I just dropped off the lens. My dealer wasn't actually there today so I left it with a clerk who is

unfamiliar with the leica return protocol. I hope Leica just switches it with a flawless copy. I know your not supposed to

do this but before putting it back in it's box I looked into the lens with a flashlight and found more specks including two

hairline scratches. The new stuff is definantley less obvious and therefore less of a concern but nevertheless makes

me wonder about the QC at Leica.

 

Thanks,

 

Alex

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

<p>I spent an arm and a leg for an M8.2 when it first came out. It had a problem that was such that the dealer simply replaced the camera with another new one. <br>

You should get a replacement immediately. No repairs please.</p>

[alexander_arellano]

<p>A couple days after dropping off the defective lens I was asked if I wanted a new silver colored one. Because I've been trying to keep all my equipment the same color I had to pass on the offer. I was told by the dealer if I wanted a black one I will have to wait longer, but he doesn't know how long. He says he has emailed the higher' ups at Leica but due to these lenses not being available the Leica rep could not give him a date as to when I will receive my new replacement. He couldn't give me any more information. The dealer still has my money so it looks like I'm pretty much back on the waiting list now.<br>

Thanks,</p>

<p>Alex</p>