By David Farkas, LeicaStore Miami
At the end of 2014, Leica officially acknowledged the CCD sensor corrosion problem that started appearing
on many M9, M9-P, M Monochrom and M-E camera bodies. The corrosion issue,
identified by unusual spots on images with white “halos” around them, was caused
by a defective coating on the cover glass of Leica’s CCD sensors. It took some
time to develop a permanent fix, but since June 2015, Leica has been replacing
affected sensors with an updated version that is immune to the corrosion
problem. With most of the impacted cameras already fixed over the past four
years, Leica has been winding down the program.
CCD Replacement Program
In May of last year, Leica
drew a line in the sand and stated that any cameras which were purchased new
five years prior and hadn’t yet been sent for sensor replacement would be
subject to a $1,000 service fee. Now, a year and a half later that price has
been increased to $1,595, with a new purchase cutoff date of December 1, 2013.
But, it’s not all bad news if you have a camera older than this with corrosion.
For the fee, you’ll also receive a comprehensive overhaul and refurbishment on
your camera including:
- Overhaul and cleaning of the shutter cocking mechanisms
- Cleaning and maintenance/repair of the multifunction wheel
- Cleaning of the main switch and shutter speed dial
- Adjustment of the baseplate locking system
- Refurbishing of engravings
- Renewal of the protective film on the baseplate
- Maintenance/repair of viewfinder displays
And in addition to all
this work, Leica is also throwing in a full one-year warranty with the same
terms as newly purchased product. For those wanting to hold onto their
CCD-based M camera, this is actually a very good deal and a great way to extend
the life of your camera.
Upgrade Program
The other option is to
take advantage of the Upgrade Program, which remains active. The pricing
depends on what camera you are upgrading from and which you are upgrading
towards. We’ve got a full breakdown here:
Upgrade from M9/M-E Upgrade
Price
to M10 $5,450
to M (Typ 240) $3,850
to M-P (Typ 240) $4,350
to M Monochrom (Typ 246) $4,750
to M (Typ 262) $3,450
to SL (Typ 601) $3,100
to Q (Typ 116) $2,550
Upgrade from M9-P Upgrade
Price
to M10 $5,150
to M (Typ 240) $3,650
to M-P (Typ 240) $4,150
to M Monochrom (Typ 246) $4,350
to M (Typ 262) $3,150
to SL (Typ 601) $2,800
to Q (Typ 116) $2,300
Upgrade from M Monochrom Upgrade Price
to M10 $4,950
to M (Typ 240) $3,450
to M-P (Typ 240) $3,950
to M Monochrom (Typ 246) $4,150
to M (Typ 262) $3,100
to SL (Typ 601) $2,750
to Q (Typ 116) $2,300
How to tell if your camera
has corrosion
If you think your camera
may be exhibiting signs of CCD corrosion, you can email us a full resolution
JPEG file and we are happy to evaluate it for you. Should your camera suffer
from CCD corrosion, we can then discuss the best way to proceed with a sensor
replacement or camera upgrade. Here’s how to get us a full resolution image to
check for corrosion:
- Set the camera to its base ISO setting
- Set the camera to shoot either DNG+JPEG or JPEG only
- Attach a lens to the camera (a 35mm or 50mm works best)
- Stop the lens aperture all the way down (f/16 or f/22 depending on the lens)
- For a subject, either a solid blue sky or a solid, light colored wall is ideal
- If shooting the sky, focus the lens to the closest distance. If shooting a wall, focus the lens at infinity (you want an image that is as out of focus as possible).
- Shoot an exposure of the wall or sky and be sure to move the camera around during the exposure (to blur any details in the image, as we want to only see what may be on the sensor)
- Email us the JPEG file for evaluation
Below is an example of an
image from an M9 that is showing CCD corrosion, which is highlighted in red
circles. You can see the white “halos” around the spots that indicate
corrosion. The sensor also has numerous dust spots that can be cleaned, however
it is important to see the difference between the regular dust (easily cleaned)
and the corrosion spots (which require a sensor replacement).
Sensor corrosion indicated
with red circles
Press Release
We would like to inform
you about a change in pricing of the replacement program for corroded sensors
that affected some M9, M9-P, M Monochrom and M-E camera models.
Until further notice, we
will continue to offer free replacement of affected sensors for the camera
models stated above that were purchased as new products within the past five
years.
For all camera models
listed that were purchased over five years ago, we offer our customers the
following program: from 12/1/2018 onward, the customer pays a contribution
amounting to $1,595 plus tax and shipping for the replacement of the affected
CCD sensor.
In addition to this, the
program also includes a free general overhaul* of your Leica M camera and a
one-year warranty with the same terms as for new products. This offer expresses
our commitment to conserving the long-term usability of Leica cameras.
Our upgrade program will
continue to be offered as an alternative option. Instead of a sensor
replacement, we offer our customers the alternative of sending us their camera
affected by sensor corrosion as partial payment toward the purchase of selected
Leica M-Camera models of the Typ 240 generation and the M10 at even more
attractive terms.
With regard to the above,
we would like to remind you that the replacement of CCD sensors and the upgrade
offers apply only to cameras confirmed to be affected by this specific problem,
and only to the models of the Leica M-System we have listed. Preventive
replacement of sensors is not included in this program.
The general overhaul of
the Leica M-camera includes the following items:
- Cleaning and overhaul of the shutter cocking mechanisms
- Cleaning and maintenance/repair of the multifunction wheel
- Cleaning of the main switch and shutter speed dial
- Adjustment of the baseplate locking system
- Refurbishing of engravings
- Renewal of the protective film on the baseplate
- Maintenance/repair of viewfinder displays
For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right
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