Leica M4-P Needs Help

[tensimasuda]

<p>Hello,<br>

The other day, I was out shooting with my M4-P and as I was in the subway sitting on a bench, someone bumped into me as I was getting up and knocked my camera off of my lap. It hit the ground(concrete) quite hard but it has suffered from only one small dent on the bottom right hand side of the camera, right next to the small silver notch to hook the bottom plate on. I quickly inspected it and checked the lens, knobs, etc, but when I peered through the finder later, I found I could not focus to anything beyond ~5m in the finder. Lens seems fine, but the horizontal alignment in the patch is way off. Vertical on the other hand also seems fine. When the lens markings are at 10m-inf. the finder shows I am around 4-5m. Can provide photos if required. Would this be a costly repair? I am considering bringing it to Nippon Photo Clinic in NYC as it is the closest repair shop I know of. I assume that the camera's focussing mechanism needs alignment but that is all. Anything else possibly wrong with it? Also if anyone has a ballpark figure/estimate for pricing from past experience or anything, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>

[dhbebb]

<p><em>I assume that the camera's focussing mechanism needs alignment</em><br>

So would I. My regular repairman at Newton Ellis & Co. Liverpool UK would probably charge about $110 for this, NYC may be more expensive. PN archives include many references to Leica repairpeople, those located out of town tend to be a little cheaper, those working on their own may have long backlogs.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Your local repairperson might or might not have the proper gear for inspecting and repairing your Leica. I personally would rather entrust it to somebody specializing in Leica repairs. Several names come to mind....Youxin Ye, Sherrie Krauter and DAG (Don Goldberg). If you do a quick Google you can get all the necessary contact info and call them. FWIW when my M4 took a tumble several years ago (after going 35 yrs without one) I sent it to Sherrie who found that the focusing mechanism needed to be replaced (and she sent me the old one so I could see that she was right and not unnecessarily replacing a part which could merely be adjusted). I've used the 3 people I've mentioned over the years, so I'm not just guessing frequently tossedd names.</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<blockquote>

<p>"anyone has a ballpark figure/estimate for pricing" <strong><em>Tensi M.</em></strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Okay I just can't resist:<br /> <em>I slammed the back of my Ferrari into a wall as I was backing up. The car still starts and seems drivable, how much to fix it all up<strong>?</strong></em><br /> <br /> Com'on folks, all common sense tells you that in situations like this where the malfunction of the camera isn't related to it's own failure; (i.e. Impact, liquid contamination or tampering) <strong>who knows?</strong><br>

Without a hands on inspection, every "<em>ballpark figure/estimate</em>" is <strong>purely</strong> speculation...</p>

[dhbebb]

<p>Gus I don't feel your example is a particularly good one. Alone from the statement that the car seems to drive okay you can conclude that the frame is not bent, the differential and drivetrain are not damaged and there has been no impact on the exhaust leading to fracture of this or even the exhaust manifold. Pictures will show clearly the damage to body panels (rear valance, trunk rear wall, trunk floor, trunk lid) and light fittings and whether these can still be fixed or need replacement. This applies to any brand of car, the only difference with Ferrari being the size of the bill. I can say this with some certainty as an automotive layman, if I was a specialist with a Ferrari parts catalogue and a workshop pricing guide to hand (or in my head), I could get to a reasonably accurate figure quite quickly.<br>

The same applies to cameras – an experience repairman such as yourself knows very well what is likely to go wrong with various models, what the likely cost will be and also the likely secondary areas which may or may not need attention. I have no problem at all with stating "ballpark" repair figures, normal business practice in Europe is to accept that estimates are subject to a +/-10% margin, even a conditional estimate such as "X thousand dollars, maybe Y thousand dollars if ABC also needs replacement" is useful as a guide.</p>

[tensimasuda]

<p>Thanks guys for your help. I sent the camera in for an estimate and they came out with $350 USD to align the RF and also to fix the high shutter speeds which apparently aren't functioning properly. They said they would overhaul the shutter. I shoot most often with ISO100-200 so I am going to ask for the RF alignment only and will send back for shutter work after putting a roll through to test to see if I really need it. Labor cost in NYC seems to be quite a whopper. -T</p>

[james_elwing]

<p>That doesn't sound a lot to me. Mind you, its an estimate, so still flexible. Good luck</p>

[SolaresLarrave]

May I inquire where is it you sent it? Was it to a Leica specialist or to a camera repair shop? In any event, they will know more than you, so I would recommend that you let them work their magic on your camera, or else you'll have it, use it, find that it's not good and ship it back (on your penny). But it's your camera, so do as you please... Best of luck!

[tensimasuda]

<p>Francisco,<br>

I sent the camera to Nippon Photo Clinic in NYC. They claim to have factory trained technicians and I've personally had a good experience with them in the past so I entrusted them once again with a camera of mine.<br>

-T</p>