Digital Leica M Full Frame CCD Corrosion issue poll.

Digital Leica M Full Frame CCD Corrosion issue poll.

  • Yes, I have had an issue diagnosed as Sensor Corrosion that required repair by Leica.

    Votes: 56 36.6%

  • I have not had any issues with Sensor corrosion I am aware of.

    Votes: 30 19.6%

  • No I have not had any issues with Sensor Corrosion.

    Votes: 41 26.8%

  • I have an issue that may be Sensor Corrosion but have yet to return my Camera for diagnosis.

    Votes: 20 13.1%

  • I have had multiple Cameras with Sensor Corrosion issues repaired by Leica.

    Votes: 5 3.3%

  • I have had problems with some cameras, not others.

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Total voters
    153
I have two M9's. One (4 years old), which was my daily user, got The Corrossion. The other (3.5 years old), my backup, which by the way I never had to call upon for backup purposes, lived/lives in a dry cabinet, which is probably why it hasn't got the disease. Sydney, Australia is an often humid place. I never wet cleaned either camera.
I love them both, but the M (typ 240) is a more useful camera.
 
I've had my MM and M9 inspected and cleaned by Leica NJ this last month. Neither has the corrosion problem, per the repair order and invoice. The M9's sensor was replaced 2 years ago - it failed after about 2 years of use.
 
I called the Leica Repair Department which is located in New Jersey this past December and arranged to have my M9 sent in for repair. They requested it arrive by January 15th for them to inspect. I received a letter that was dated January 19th stating that they will replace the sensor under the 'Leica Good Will Warranty' program and the work should be completed by February 27th.

I called Leica Repair Department last week to inquiry about the repair on the M9. They stated that they did not have any sensors in the shop and that they were backordered and awaiting a shipment from Germany. They did not have an estimated date of arrival at this time. I did inquire as to where I stood on the list and they could not give an exact place except to say I should be near the top.

Please note they did not offer the upgrade at any time during the conversation. I had read about the upgrade program and cost at a couple of web sites.

After thinking about it over the weekend, I called Customer Service in New Jersey this morning and asked if I could join the upgrade program instead of waiting to have the M9 sensor replaced. The upgrade from the M9 to a MP 240 would cost $3750.00 (USD) after a credit of $4200.00 was given for the M9. I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a new camera with the full 2 year warranty instead of waiting for a new sensor. I thought the credit given for the camera was fair since I had been using it for the past four years.

I choose this path since this was the second time I had sent my M9 in for sensor issues. The first time was in 2013 and is was gone for about 10 weeks. It has now been gone for the past two months with no date of return provided. My other concern was if I waited for the repaired M9 to return and if another issues arose with the sensor it would be out of my hands once again. I am sure Leica would honor any problems I just do not like having a camera in a repair shop instead of in my hands.

So the journey will continue with a silver MP 240.
 
Dan, it sounds like a good choice. Though some believe the M9 has a distinct charm, I'm glad I sold mine to fund the M240. I hope yours arrives promptly and that you will enjoy it!

FWIW my (second-hand) M9 went in once for hot pixels, with much faster service than you relate. Maybe times have changed...

2/19/11 Sent to Leica USA in New Jersey for service.

3/1/11 Date of approved warranty repair estimate for $0.
Perform pixel/column restoration
Upgrade to current standard
Check and adjust for good working order
Back to me on 3/16/11
 
I just saw this poll and voted: No Issues.

Owned my Monochrome for a little more than two years. Only one wet cleaning was required.

Cal
 
Doug said:
Dan, it sounds like a good choice. Though some believe the M9 has a distinct charm, I'm glad I sold mine to fund the M240. I hope yours arrives promptly and that you will enjoy it!

FWIW my (second-hand) M9 went in once for hot pixels, with much faster service than you relate. Maybe times have changed...
Click to expand...

I did believe the M9 had a distinct charm, loved the camera and did have the intention to keep using it. If the sensor was replaced and camera returned I would have kept it until it gave out. With the delay, it caused me to re-think the idea of keeping the M9 or taking the upgrade offer as others have done.

With a few days to think it over I thought it best to take the trade-in and move on to a new chapter. I am looking forward to new camera.

I do not know if times have changed with the repair service. I certainly believe that the current M9 sensor issue has caused a lot of folks to send in their M9's to have them checked out and has created a queue in the service department. Keeping parts in stock for older models in the digital world must be a challenge for camera vendors, especially when one has a malfunction that impacts so many cameras. It must be a real challenge for Leica.
 
I've got one with obvious issues. Hesitant to send in until I have confirmation that they have sensors in-stock. On my last call to NJ they are expecting sensors soon, but unsure if they'd have enough to repair my camera in this batch - ugh.
 
I was told mine (which has been there since 1/21) will not be ready this month. They have no eta on sensors coming in, but I was assured it won't be within 2 weeks.
 
Sounds like the exact same thing I was told. Maybe I'll call about the upgrade option Monday. Do they offer the same trade in for newer M-E bodies as they do older M9? How much would a new M240 cost me in the trade?



seakayaker1 said:
I called the Leica Repair Department which is located in New Jersey this past December and arranged to have my M9 sent in for repair. They requested it arrive by January 15th for them to inspect. I received a letter that was dated January 19th stating that they will replace the sensor under the 'Leica Good Will Warranty' program and the work should be completed by February 27th.

I called Leica Repair Department last week to inquiry about the repair on the M9. They stated that they did not have any sensors in the shop and that they were backordered and awaiting a shipment from Germany. They did not have an estimated date of arrival at this time. I did inquire as to where I stood on the list and they could not give an exact place except to say I should be near the top.

Please note they did not offer the upgrade at any time during the conversation. I had read about the upgrade program and cost at a couple of web sites.

After thinking about it over the weekend, I called Customer Service in New Jersey this morning and asked if I could join the upgrade program instead of waiting to have the M9 sensor replaced. The upgrade from the M9 to a MP 240 would cost $3750.00 (USD) after a credit of $4200.00 was given for the M9. I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a new camera with the full 2 year warranty instead of waiting for a new sensor. I thought the credit given for the camera was fair since I had been using it for the past four years.

I choose this path since this was the second time I had sent my M9 in for sensor issues. The first time was in 2013 and is was gone for about 10 weeks. It has now been gone for the past two months with no date of return provided. My other concern was if I waited for the repaired M9 to return and if another issues arose with the sensor it would be out of my hands once again. I am sure Leica would honor any problems I just do not like having a camera in a repair shop instead of in my hands.

So the journey will continue with a silver MP 240.
Click to expand...
 
And another thing the rep mentioned was she noticed I lived in Texas and told me that humidity was likely the cause of the corrosion issue. So does that mean every Summer when humidity is high here that this is likely to happen again?
 
Katie said:
Sounds like the exact same thing I was told. Maybe I'll call about the upgrade option Monday. Do they offer the same trade in for newer M-E bodies as they do older M9? How much would a new M240 cost me in the trade?
Click to expand...

There were different prices depending on model trade in and model requested:

Trade Leica M9 or M-E for Leica M (Typ 240): $3,500
Trade Leica M9 or M-E for Leica M-P (Typ 240): $3,750
Trade Leica M9-P for Leica M (Typ 240): $3,150
Trade Leica M9-P for Leica M-P (Typ 240): $3,450


BTW, there is humidity in lot of places in the US and around the world. Not sure what that has to do with the problem. I live in an area of the country where the humidity is not as bad as other places and my M9 had a bad sensor.

I received the MP yesterday and got to take a few images today and will continue to familiarize myself with the camera over the weekend. Love the sound of shutter which is quiet and the response of the camera is quicker than the M9.

Good Luck with your decision.
 
I had an issue in 2013. . . many tiny marks that appeared like dust, but that could not be cleaned off the sensor. I sent the camera into Leica and they replaced the sensor at no charge. This was months before the sensor problem was officially acknowledged. I do not really know what that sensor degradation looked like in practice. I am going on the assumption that this was the problem that Leica ultimately acknowledged, but don't know for sure.
 
Saw this come up again through 'recent posts'. I voted some time ago but hadn't explained. I have two M9 bodies, both purchased new, one very early and one about a year and a half later. They both got new sensors in early 2016. I have a used Monochrom that I purchased in May of 2016 fresh from Leica with a new sensor.
 
This poll really needs to be done again as I'm sure the stats would have significantly changed to about 99% needing sensor replacement.
 
My M9 go 3 times in 5 years to Leica

and last time in Oct 2017
I felt the last sensor is a bit different with 2 previous one

I had many IR leak file...
the color is not quite the same with before..

Sincerely
William
 
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