I live in Indonesia and bought a new R8 here last January, complete with five year warranty. It now needs to be fixed, because the aperture control ring is sticking. I couldn't buy it from an authorized Leica dealer, because there isn't one in Indonesia, so I guess that makes it "gray market" but does that automatically make the warranty completely invalid? Does anyone know Leica's policy toward honouring the warranty for cameras bought on the "gray market"? How about if I returned it direct to Leica AG in Solms? I'd be very grateful for any information on this.

Regards,

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), August 21, 2001

Answers

Ray, if where you live is at all like Canada, firstly whoever you bought the camera from may have a deal cooked with a local repair shop who will fix the camera. Usually the dealer will cover the cost of this repair. The downside is the repair shop may have no Leica trained technicians. We've had instances of cameras being repaired with, literally, glue and wire. So if they give you this option check out the repair shops reliability with a number of knowledgeble people. Then I'd still avoid them. But yes, Leica should fix the camera in Germany. The only option for taking the first choice would be time. Sending your R8 to Germany will probably mean you'll be without it for a couple of months. Good luck.

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), August 21, 2001.

If I lived in Indonesia, I would not have an R8 repaired locally. Heck, if I lived anywhere, I would only have it repaired by an authorised Leica depot. The R8 has sophisticated circuitry that has under gone several updates. Only a factory repair depot would have access to the latest updates. Even though your camera was not sold through an official dealer does not mean that it was not sold by an official distributor....Hmm, that is too many "nots" but I hope you get my drift. Why not contact the nearest leica repair depot and have them check the serial number. If it truly is a grey item, then send it to Solms and they will honour the warranty regardless of origin.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), August 21, 2001.

If you have the warranty card stamped by an authorised dealer, then my understanding is that at least in Australia the Leica distributor will fix the camera under warranty. May be an idea to contact Adeal in Melbourne to ask them what kind of documentation & proof they need for warranty repairs - see the "repairs" section of the Leica FAQ.

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), August 21, 2001.

The only way to get your camera repaired under warranty when it is grey market is to send it to Leica in Germany. I know for sure that Adeal in Australia(the Leica agent) will not have anything to do with it even if you have a stamped guarantee card. Adeal will only repair non grey-market cameras under warranty.

The Hong Kong Leica agent Schmidt Photo have a full Leica workshop but they will almost certainly charge for repairs as well.

-- wayne murphy (wayne.murphy@ publicworks.qld.gov.au), August 21, 2001.

Thanks for your responses. I have sent an email to Leica Camera AG customer service (Horst Braun) in Solms, to check that my R8 can be accepted for warranty repair. If the response is favourable, I will ship the R8 to Solms and be prepared to wait a few weeks. I will have to try to make sure I don't get charged duty on the camera when it is finally returned to me in Indonesia!

I have been told that this problem with the R8 aperture control ring is fairly common and that dealers have had to return cameras to Solms, as they are unable to carry out the repair themselves.

Regards,

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), August 23, 2001.

Happy Ending!

I returned my R8 to the dealer in Jakarta who sold it to me and he promised to get it fixed, under the warranty, at Leica's distributorship in Hong Kong. That was on Friday, 5th October. About an hour ago, I was phoned by the shop to be informed that the camera was now fixed and that I could collect it. I immediately went there and, sure enough, my R8 was ready.

I tested it with a borrowed lens but at first I thought it was still faulty. Then I realized the shop assistant had given me an old Leicaflex SL-compatible lens with only 2 cams by mistake, so the aperture cam-follower was not being activated. When he changed it for a 3-cam lens it worked OK. I was charged only Rp150,000 (about US$15.00) to cover the courier cost. It would have cost me quite a bit more than that to send it myself and the HK distributor would have charged me HK$400 (about US$52.00) for handling, not to mention the hassle with customs.

So all's well that ends well, I guess! I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it still works properly when I get it home, using my own lenses. (Not that I'm a pessimist, you understand).

Regards,

Ray

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), October 17, 2001.

NOT! When I got it home it was misbehaving as badly as before, with every one of my 6 lenses!

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), October 17, 2001.

Ray,

I think we all share your pain and frustration. None of us likes to see a fellow Leicaphile unable to use his/her camera due to mechanical malfunction. Couple of questions: - Do you know anything about the qualifications of local person attempting to repair the R8? - Have you considered sending one or two of your lenses along with the body for testing the repair/adjustment? - Would it be safer to send the camera all the way back to Solms for repair?

Best wishes for a speedy and satisfactory repair/adjustment.

LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), October 18, 2001.