M9 ME 3rd Party Sensor Replacements - Your View

Could anyone here mail their M9 to China for such a sensor repair/replacement? At which cost? This is possibly an option. Right?
 
Leica is not going to replace just the cover glass on a CCD as there is no way to bring the camera to original specifications. The revised sensors used BG-55 cover glass in place of the S8612, required new color Dye for the Bayer array, and required new firmware to process the image from the new CCD. Kodak/Onsemi changed the process of cementing the S8612 cover glass to the CCD during the run of the KAF-18500. Originally, the cover glass was held in with "a few beads of cement at the edge". This was revised to using more cement, essentially make it impossible to remove the cover glass with just a scalpel. Some third-party repair shops started using heat to soften the cement, which can cause problems with the CCD itself.

If you have an M9 or M Monochrom that is just a paperweight, might be worth sending to a third party repair shop. It is going to be a best-effort, with high risk of failure. Leica is not going to take on such repairs. There is a good chance the sensor will be damaged, and that the color balance will be different from the original. The third-party will not be able to revise the firmware.

Myself: if I come across a dirt-cheap M9, I'd send it to Jadon, Red Dot Repair, for the service.
 
I just read about Jadon.

"Over the past 2 months I’ve been working on a method to replace the corroded s8612 glass in the Leica M9s, I posted some of my later findings in another Thread. About 24 hours after my first post it was announced that kolari vision will replace the glass for $1000 and another company came out a day later saying they’ll do it for $1500. looking into these methods they seem to be much more invasive the latter even seeming very rushed, but who’s to say I’m not going to pay $1600 for something I can do myself so I can’t compare. Anyway, I’m coming out to say that I’ll be offering the repair as well. I’ve put a lot of thought into it and spent possibly too much time testing but I wanted to be sure. This method uses a glass that is similar to the original S8612 with the exception of it having a slightly higher transmittance across the entire visual spectrum. What you as the shooter will notice is a slight increase exposure and a slight drop in contrast due to the wider range. In other words it goes from looking like Kodachrome to looking more like Portra 400. I’ll post some test shots below, I’ll keep this thread updated with when I’m ready to start bringing in repairs for those that are interested!
And I should add that my conversion will only cost $700!"
 
raid said:
I just read about Jadon.

"Over the past 2 months I’ve been working on a method to replace the corroded s8612 glass in the Leica M9s, I posted some of my later findings in another Thread. About 24 hours after my first post it was announced that kolari vision will replace the glass for $1000 and another company came out a day later saying they’ll do it for $1500. looking into these methods they seem to be much more invasive the latter even seeming very rushed, but who’s to say I’m not going to pay $1600 for something I can do myself so I can’t compare. Anyway, I’m coming out to say that I’ll be offering the repair as well. I’ve put a lot of thought into it and spent possibly too much time testing but I wanted to be sure. This method uses a glass that is similar to the original S8612 with the exception of it having a slightly higher transmittance across the entire visual spectrum. What you as the shooter will notice is a slight increase exposure and a slight drop in contrast due to the wider range. In other words it goes from looking like Kodachrome to looking more like Portra 400. I’ll post some test shots below, I’ll keep this thread updated with when I’m ready to start bringing in repairs for those that are interested!
And I should add that my conversion will only cost $700!"
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FWIW I had a casual acquaintance with Jadon when he was at Advance Camera in Portland, OR. An excellent shop BTW. Jadon impressed me as a fellow who knew what he was about and who had given this some serious thought. He told me he had bought a "junked" M9 with the bad sensor and tried his technique with success. He also said he was planning on offering this as a service to others. He has since moved on to his own shop and has gotten recognition for good work.

My M9 has a factory repaired sensor. If it were not repaired and needed repair I would give Jadon serious thought. From my experience he is a straight-forward no BS fellow who says what he can do and can demonstrate that. I know him only professionally. He is not a personal friend or relative.
 
David Hughes said:
I don't know if Leica made the sensor but if they bought it and the maker no longer exists or worse then what can be done? I would have expected Leica to go to the makers and get them to sort out the problem but, as I said, I don't know if they made it.

All in all, it's a dreadful state of affairs, imo.

Regards, David
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It was a kodak sensor they went under... That's all she wrote.... My M9 which I purchased used from Leica Miami back in 2013.... sensor went out completely, I think it was in 2017.... Got it fixed for free that same year camera was back in my hands by Nov after shipping it to them in Sept... I was surprised as there was almost no communication....Camera has been working just fine ever since.... Its now my back up to my M10-P which I also got used as well this past year... Overall a much better camera still getting to know it, and how to work its files... Its been excellent thus far
 
ONSEMI bought the Kodak CCD line and manufactured the KAF-18500 with the S8612 cover glass for the M9 and M Monochrom after Kodak sold it off to them. ONSEMI developed the replacement KAF-18500-BG55 which included a revised Bayer filter with second generation Dye.

Dalsa and ONSEMI both stopped producing CCD's. No one manufactures large CCD's any more. Gone. Hamamatsu still produces CCDs for the scientific market.

https://www.hamamatsu.com/us/en/prod...ras/index.html

The sensors are small.
 
Not to take the thread sideways, but I thought that when Leica started its sensor replacement program that they were simply replacing a corroded sensor and cover with a new sensor and cover of the same make and manufacture. In other words, it would be a fix, until the new sensor went the way of the original. I have an M9 that had the sensor replaced. I should check it out, as I haven't used it in a little while. Last time I used it, the sensor was fine.
 
ONSEMI revised the KAF-18500 to use different glass from the original, around 2017 or so. Before the new version using BG-55 glass was available, Leica replaced it with the same part using the problematic S8612 glass. Leica replaced the CCD and the board that it was on.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
ONSEMI revised the KAF-18500 to use different glass from the original, around 2017 or so. Before the new version using BG-55 glass was available, Leica replaced it with the same part using the problematic S8612 glass. Leica replaced the CCD and the board that it was on.
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Using the button dance how can I tell what has been replaced? What are the indicators?
 
boojum said:
Using the button dance how can I tell what has been replaced? What are the indicators?
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A user on the Leica forum reported his replaced CCD was:

M9: the new sensor replacement: CCD ID 15, CCD Board 2, Control BRD 2, M16CID 0.

M Monochrom: CCD ID: 53,CCD Board ID:52,Control Brd ID:52,M16C ID: 0

On the M9 Button Dance: I did it once, and had to reload the firmware from the SD card to get it out of diagnostic mode. Very different from the M8.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
A user on the Leica forum reported his replaced CCD was:

M9: the new sensor replacement: CCD ID 15, CCD Board 2, Control BRD 2, M16CID 0.

M Monochrom: CCD ID: 53,CCD Board ID:52,Control Brd ID:52,M16C ID: 0

On the M9 Button Dance: I did it once, and had to reload the firmware from the SD card to get it out of diagnostic mode. Very different from the M8.
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Yes! Yes! The dealer who sold me the camera told the truth. M9 new sensor replacement.

I am stumped about the M8 button dance, it must be different. Anyway, lad, thanks so much for replying and soothing my troubled mind. I really like the M8.2 and the M9 that I have. There are detractors but I fall back on the old saying about dogs barking at the caravan passing in the night. The caravan continues on. I bought the cameras for me, not to please others.

I gave up pleasing others as a priority a while back. I do for myself, if it pleases others, great. I hope to learn how to take a good photo before I am ashes. The plus of this is that I am having fun along the way. I hope to make a coast to coast and back trip in the spring. There may be a worthwhile photo or two on the way. I am hoping.

And I hope that 22 is better for you than 21. This has been a tough year and we all have cabin fever. I am sure that just shuttling back and forth on US 50 in Nevada will help me. And then onward, and maybe upward. Let's hope you get even better. Cheers.
 
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